Lessons in a Taxi

Taxi drivers. There are one of two things in this world that can make me angry and irrational beyond any reasonable measure. I take great pains to avoid them whenever possible, not because I think they’re bad people, because, as I’m about to demonstrate, they are most certainly not, but because I don’t want one of them to end up on the wrong side of my temper because they did something stupid, or, more likely, something I perceived to be stupid.

In actual fact, I get some of my best practice with the language talking with cab drivers. I’ve also learned a whole lot about the culture here from them. But once in awhile I’ve also had bad experiences with them, hassles, and just all around irritating situations that leave that sort of vague conditioned feeling of, I’d rather walk 4 miles than deal with this today.

But yesterday, I had to take a cab. D had a work function that we were to attend at 7, and I had only arrived back from class at 5:30 and had to get changed and across town during peak traffic hours. I called a cab, and thankfully there was one available. The cab driver was a quiet, well dressed, middle aged Indian man. He didn’t say much when he picked me up, and all was fine. Then, he decided to stop for gas while the meter was running. I’ve had a variety of experiences with this, and usually I just get out of the cab and walk away, but yesterday I couldn’t do that, as I knew the chances of grabbing another would be slim at that time of day. Plus I was all dressed up and not interested in standing at the side of the road trying to flag down a cab. But it had been a crummy day, and I was really irritated. So when he got back in the cab, I handed him the money from the fare when we pulled into the station and insisted he start the meter over. He did as I asked, and then gently said, you know, when you do that, you lose. And I launch off into this tirade about how I’m in a hurry and he shouldn’t be getting gas on his customers dime.

He says yes, yes I understand that, but, you cut the meter. Sitting at the station the meter ran up 40 sen extra right? But you cut the meter, so now, instead of just subtracting the 40 sen when we arrive, you’ve just added RM 2.00 to you fare, since the meter starts at RM 2.

It was one of those moments when all I could do was laugh at my own stupidity. And in that moment I thought of a manager I once had at Applebee’s years ago. Not long after I started waiting tables and was particularly ticked because I hadn’t made much money that day. He said, sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. J So true.

The cab driver was a lovely man. We talked the rest of the way about cab etiquette and how they are taught to treat their customers with respect and how to ensure repeat business. His thought on the really obnoxious and rude drivers was that they probably didn’t go to prayers (he was hindu) and were generally lacking in moral values. It’s a common thing in Malaysia for people to link morality with going for daily prayers, and whilst I don’t agree with such a black and white statement like that, I was interested to hear his take on it just the same. He also told me his oldest daughter was Muslim, having married an Indian Muslim. I especially happy to hear him say that this was not a problem for him or the rest of his family, as long as his daughter was happy. In Malaysia, this type of tolerance is pretty common, but given the state of things in the world today, I’m always happy to hear it again.

So yesterday, I got a lesson from a cab driver and some more insight into this culture that I live in, though still somehow exist outside of. And a reminder that sometimes, anger costs the one who is angry, far more than the person at whom it is directed. Maybe it’s RM 2, but often it’s a whole lot more than that. If we’re lucky, there might be someone around who can gently get through to us, and maybe even make us laugh at ourselves a little.