FOTD XXIV - Throwing Money At My Passengers

Sunday 2am-2pm shift. Always a good time. To start out I went straight over to Seamless which is around the corner from our yard. Memorial Day weekend, and the thugs from Cali were in town. I get up to load and six dudes and a chick try to get in the cab, I tell em only five and it's off to a rough start. These cheap bastards were only going to Bally's (~$10) I told them it would not be too much to take two cabs, but they weren't hearing it. One stayed behind so on the hope that I could swing them to the Rhino I took the six of them in the cab.

The group was a Mexican guy and four Black guys with an Asian chick. All of them were bling'd out with the shades and the jewelry.. after telling them about other clubs they decided to go back to their hotel. The Mexican was drunk and belligerent and sat in the front. Anyways I was ready to fucking kill this guy by the time we get to the hotel. The fare is $10.10 I get out to open the doors, they are dragging and digging in their pockets to get out the money, and one at a time they produce some wrinkled up dollars and they hand em over, the mexican is saying "you ain't getting shit for a tip" and I was like I don't give a shit just give me the money and get the fuck out of here. (I did care though I guess)... So they give me $10 and walk away and at this point I'm so sick of these fools, I turn around and realize they owe me TEN CENTS MORE. ..

(205am and there are plenty of people waiting for a taxi with no taxi's, I'm the only one there and I'm unloading these fools)

So I turn around and yell out for everyone to hear...YOU SEE THESE LOWLIFES? THEY CAN'T EVEN PAY THEIR TAXI FARE. THEY OWE ME TEN CENTS MORE. The people in line are like WTF??? So one starts to dig in his pocket and walks over and hands me two nickels and walks away, the mexican has what appears to be a penny and he's about to walk over and hand me my "tip" when I take the ten cents and throw it at their feet and call them all cheap bastards.

I get in the cab and pull up ten feet to load someone else.. the taxi attendant says "man, you got those guys good".. but did I really? I didn't feel to good about it but it was so busy, (18 rides in the first four hours) that I didn't dwell on it too much after that. However these are the kinds of rides and incidents that increases the taxi drivers chances of being shot in the back.

On Sundays I have a black medallion which is good only until 2pm Sunday. I just got done dropping off a very young, very cute, Dominican girl at the Hilton, who was out all night until 145pm partying at the Palms. She was from Miami and was used to the 'fast-life' so I figure it's my last ride and it's time to head back, but along the way back a taxi attendant is whistling for a cab, and after I drive by I do a U-turn and try to squeeze one more ride in. I pull up to the Marriott and the TA calls out three young black chicks from the lobby and brings out their cart with all their crap in it.

They have six pieces of luggage, three garbage bags filled with shit, and another four bags from M&M World (at MGM). I load em up and they tell me their destination and it turns out it's just down the street from the yard. Pretty perfect. Along the way, they ask questions about different construction projects, clubs, etc and I (as always) answer and carry on nice small talk with them.

We get to their new motel/hotel and the fare is $16.30, I open the side doors for them and unload their crap to the curb. One pays me $20 and I give them $3 change (I don't expect a tip from them) I turn around and close the cargo door and I come around and one is talking to another (the third went inside) and I hear "where's my seventy cents?" ...

For the first time in over 2000 rides do I hear somebody ask for their full change back. I was like "excuse me?. . . you want your seventy cents?" before they can answer I continue on,

-was I not polite and professional? (she nods yes)
-did I not unload all of your bags? (she nods yes)
-was I rude at any point in this ride? (she nods no)
-you want your seventy cents? okay, I got your seventy cents.

So I reach into the cab and into my bag to dig out some change, but I then decide on a different course of action...

-instead of your seventy cents i'll give you a dollar back instead.

So I take a dollar and throw it at the ground as I get in the cab and shut the door.

-here's your dollar and you can keep the change (ho's)
-this is the big city girls you have to act like you belong here
-enjoy the rest of your time out here

At this moment the third walks out and is like WTF ..

-you three need to get some class (I glance down at the ground and the dollar is already gone)
3rd: what's going on?
-ask your friend.

and I drove off. My only regret is that I didn't rip ~70% of the dollar and throw that on the ground and then throw the remaining 30% and yell out KEEP THE CHANGE as I burn rubber back to the yard.

<----Asshole