Originally Posted by
Athena53
Burbank Airport seems to have contracted with a cab company that hires from only one national origin. Never mind what it is; my intent is not to bash the ethnic group. I should have been more concerned, though, when I told the driver I wanted to go to a particular Marriott and he asked if I had directions. He got on the road and called the dispatcher; they had several lengthy discussions in their native language and I wasn't even sure if we were on the right road as I watched the toll mount up. Finally, in desperation, I pulled out my newly-issued Blackberry to see if it had a GPS. It had enough technology to list directions from BUR to the hotel and I determined that we were on the right road and told him what exit to take.
Shortly after that he stopped at a gas station to ask directions and we got to the hotel soon after that.
How in the heck do companies get a contract when their drivers don't know where the hotels are and they're more comfortable dealing in a language other than English? I probably don't want to know.
Welcome to my world! These guys are a particular breed and it's not just the language. One time my flight out of BUR was delayed and I decided to hop down to LAX to make my International connection in SFO. The cab driver insisted on going on the 101 to the 405 instead of going over the hill even though it was morning rush hour. So we're in the fast lane on the 405 when all of a sudden he pulled onto the middle divider and slammed on the brakes. Then he proceeded to BACK UP on the divider of the freeway for what seemed like a quarter mile and then stopped and got out of the taxi. It turned out that he spotted an abandoned hubcap and wanted to pick it up!