So I flew to Toronto yesterday morning for the Jann Arden concert last night.¹

Dropped off my suitcase and briefcase at my friend's office and then headed up to see my favourite barber for a much over due haircut - I was looking a little bit like a Wookie.

Then I grabbed a couple pints o'Guinness and a wicked Grilled Cheese with Bacon on Rye and headed back down to my friend's office to grab my stuff, go back to his place, freshen up and head out to the concert.

So we are standing on Bay Street² looking for a cab, have to find a specific cab company because my friend has an account, and one comes around the corner so we flag him down.

Here is where it all goes down hill;

1. He cuts from the right lane across 3 lanes of traffic to the left lane, we are on a one way street, and comes within centimetres of getting t-boned by a king cab pickup that is blasting down the street.He pulls up and he has the shittiest rock music blasting though blown speakers. Trying to act like he is a cool mo-fo.We load my crap in the trunk and jump in and give him our final destination.
2. On the way we decide since we have time before the concert, and because the stores will be closed when we get out of the concert, we are going to stop and pick up some libations³ on the way to the apartment. It is right on the way and in Ontario, The Beer Store,⁴ is super fast with their service so it is pretty much a 2 minute stop. Great if you are really thirsty.Cabbie says that he is not going to wait for us, he doesn't want to wait. He then barks that he will either drop us off there and leave or take us to the final address we gave him but not both.Well that pisses me off right away. So I grab my mobile phone and called the dispatch office, dispatcher picks up the phone here is the conversation from that call....
   

   D- Thanks for calling ********

   T- Hi there how are you doing this afternoon?

   D- Great thanks, how about you?

   T- Pretty good, although we are in a car right now and the driver is refusing to make the stops along the way that we have requested. He states that he has a pick-up at the airport that he has to be there for.

   D- What is his car number?

   T- ####

   D- (under her breath) Jesus. // OK thanks just one moment and I will transfer you to our supervisor...please hold a moment.

   So I am on hold while this car is crazily driving down the street at wicked speeds weaving in and out of traffic. I finally connect and describe the events of the ride but of course more happened...so keep reading.

3. As we are whipping down the road, I stretch as far as my seat belt would allow to see how fast we are going. His speedometer is broken - NICE!
4. He comes to our corner, where he would have to turn left, but he is in the right lane and heads straight through the intersection. My friend pipes up, he has been quietly seething in the back with me⁵ and reminds Cabbie that we need to turn left and head north. Cabbie SLAMS on the brakes and turns across traffic from the right lane to head north. I look out my window and there is a street car heading right for my door. FUCK!
5. As we are heading north up the street he continues to «Dukes of Hazzard» it like we are being chased by Roscoe. We come up against a traffic back up. There is a stalled bus in the left lane so cars are moving over to the right lane to pass the bus.But not our Cabbie, he crosses the centre line, drives down the wrong side of the street, with traffic coming towards us.

This whole time I am still on the phone with the supervisor giving him a play-by-play of what is happening. Poor supervisor is frantically writing everything down while cursing ever so carefully under his breath.

OK, so we finally stop. We have made it, but the drama doesn't end there...

My friend says, «Open the trunk!»⁶ jumps out and stands behind the car as he is writing out the chit for the payment on account.

Well Cabbie is thinking he is not going to get paid so he refuses to open the trunk. I pull the phone aside and said to him, «Well you have a choice you can either open the trunk and let me get my stuff or I will call the police and instruct them that you are holding me and my stuff against my will.»

I don't really know if that is what «it» is called but it scared him enough to open the trunk. Supervisor heard me say this and he made some crazy comment, that I don't remember, about the Cabbie.

My friend passes Cabbie the chit, no tip of course, and we walk away.

Now here comes the «cherry» on top of it all.

Cabbie rolls down the window, as he is peeling out of the parking lot, and yells, «Faggots!» as he drives away?

«Faggots?» You have got to be shitting me! This is the first time either one of us has been called a Faggot.

So basically the supervisor told me that Cabbie would immediately be suspended, which does not really stop him from picking up anyone that is flagged but it means he won't get any calls and is cut off from central dispatch until he comes into the office for a «chat.»

Supervisor is right pissed-off and informs me that they do not take this type of behaviour lightly and the Cabbie will be dealt with directly and harshly.

We still need to launch a complaint with the Taxi Commission about it though and my friend is going to talk to his legal department about the incident to see what advice they have for following up with this.

This cab-company is quite a large company that has numerous corporate accounts. My friend's company is one of the largest companies in Canada and is an International Company with offices all around the world.

If I wanted shit-and-abuse I would go to an S&M Club - when I want a car to drive me home and make a few stops along the way, as what I thought a cab was supposed to be for, I call a cab.

One final thought, what really is the issue here is not the shitty customer service, I mean hey we all get shitty customer service. Cabbie not wanting to stop along the way at The Beer Store was an inconvenience that can be dealt with. What is really the issue here is calling us «faggots» - unacceptable.

1. an upcoming post about that is coming↩
2. well just around the corner from Bay street - and for those that are not familiar with Toronto this is the heart of the Financial District↩
3. beer↩
4. Cabbie seemed to have a problem with us stopping at The Beer Store, later while I was on the phone with the supervisor the Cabbie kept yelling at me, «Tell him you wanted to stop for beer». I don't care if I wanted to stop and pick up live chickens, you drive a cab you drive your fare where the want to go↩
5. ok so I wasn't so quiet about it↩
6. remember my stuff is in the trunk↩