Originally Posted by Steve M

Here's something I've been wondering that you business road warriors can chime in on. Occasionally, I'll be at an appointment in a business building where I took a taxi to get there. When I'm done with the meeting, I need a taxi to get back to wherever I came from, which in most cases will be a hotel or airport. In downtown situations, I just go out to the street and hail one myself. But if I'm in a suburban or office park setting where cabs aren't just going by all the time, and if I'm in a building that has an always-staffed security station at the entrance, I'll ask the person on duty to please call a cab for me.

Sometimes, they respond nonchalantly with an "of course sir" and then go about it, calling a number for a preferred cab company they have readily at hand, often taped on a note by the phone. Other times, they react as if I just asked them to polish my shoes or order a pizza for me, as if I was completely out of line.

So, what does the collective wisdom of FT think? Is calling a taxi for a building visitor a legitimate and reasonable function for the front desk security/reception person, or am I totally out of line?