"Please call a cab for me"
 

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?

I call a cab myself - can't recall ever asking someone to call one.

It may be in the way you are asking the person to do this. This is something that may or may not be part of the door person's daily responsibilities. I think the reaction might be better if you instead asked "would you mind helping me get a taxi" or "do you know how I can get a taxi around here?"

Rather than asking the building security position to do this, how about asking your specific meeting contact if he/she or their staff could arrange this?

Building security?

Think of a "Rentacop" qual level slightly below that of a night watchman for a storage yard for prestressed concrete overpass beams. I wouldn't expect them to know what a taxi was, much less the telephone # for summoning one. Upstairs, the company receptionist would seem a far preferable alternative, especially if her top is low neck and the revelations thereof are not "crepey".

+1

I normally pre-arrange for a pickup if I'm taking a cab/limo to the client. If it's in a city where we have agreements with a car service, my admin can handle this easily. If not, I will ask the client contact if his admin or other staff can take care of that for me (first option over building security/reception, unless client refers me to the building concierge). It is also wise to ask a few hours prior to the expected end of your meeting or you may end up sitting around 30-40 minutes for a car to show up.

Agreed. I will ask the receptionist at the office or the person I'm meeting to handle that arrangement for me. Generally speaking the folks at the front desk of a building aren't really there to provide customer service of any particular level so it isn't much of a surprise that you get some gruff ones on occasion.

Wirelessly posted (goingaway's phone: BlackBerry8900/4.6.1.231 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Never asked security - do ask person I am meeting with to help me coordinate it, or receptionist/admin if I have been introduced/know them

The concierge is for cab calling, security is for security. If it is security, it is out of line for you to treat them like a valet or concierge. That's not what they are for.

+2. I always do this and it's never a problem. Ever.

I've only done this once, at the end of a job interview out in the burbs. I had been dropped off by a friend, had almost no idea where I was, and had another interview lined up shortly after. I asked the security what the best way to get a cab was, and they offered to call one for me. I think it's perfectly within reason, although they may be more apt to do it if you set the situation such that they offer to do it.

Interesting responses so far.

If I were to ask them where the restrooms were, or on which floor a particular tenant was one, would you expect them to say "Sorry, I'm here to provide security, not give directions." It seems to me that those sort of functions are obviously within the realm of what someone at a security podium in an office building is expected to do, even though they're not strictly speaking "security." I had assumed that calling a taxi for a tenant visitor would fall into a similar category.

I must be doing something wrong. I don't have a car service or an "admin." And, I think it would be presumptuous for me to expect a customer or prospect (or their "admin") to handle this for me. That's primarily why I ask downstairs in the lobby, as it doesn't involve the client or prospect at all.

That's not very useful at all. The security people in an office building are interacting with people all day long - hardly slightly below a concrete yard night watchman. And I'm sure they know what a taxi is.

If I'm in my own city, of course that's what I'd do. But if I'm in an unfamiliar city, I have no idea who the best company to call is. I could make a guess, call 411, and ask for Yellow Cab and that would probably work, but it may not be the best option. And, asking the cab you take from the airport isn't always the best option, for any of several reasons: In some cities, one company has an exclusive contract to pick up passengers at the airport, and either cannot or is just not set up to take people TO the airport. Sometimes, when coming from the airport, you may get a cab company that has just a few cars, or concentrates on the other side of the city. If you ask the cab driver, he's likely to give you his card or recommend a friend. In any of those cases, when you call them, you may very well get a "yes sir!" and then have to wait an extended amount of time because you called the "wrong" company. I would have thought that this would be a common occurrence and that the building people would know who best to call.

But from the reactions here so far, I guess it may very well be an uncommon request. Going forward, I'll remember to keep my options open rather than just assume that the building person will know.

Of course, it depends on your relationship with the person you're meeting with. If it's a first-time sales call or presentation, then of course you might not feel comfortable asking your prospect to do you this favor.

On the other hand, one of the great things about America is most people won't object to a polite, reasonable request. If the office that you're visiting has a front-desk receptionist, then I cannot imagine that he/she or the company would object to a friendly request as you're leaving (especially if you were courteous to the receptionist when you entered in the first place and built that bit of rapport).

I have been in this position many times, and find that people who work in these exurban office parks are very sympathetic to such transportation challenges -- virtually no one would think it unreasonable to help you a bit.

How about planning ahead a bit? It should be obvious if the taxi who took you from the airport is able to pick you up on the other side of town. Or get the phone number of the taxi driver who dropped you off at the start of the meeting. Or ask your hotel front desk for the phone number of a taxi company. Or check on the internet for local taxi companies before your trip. @:-) (Or rent a car, which can often be cheaper than round-trip taxis to the suburbs, and, in the days of Mapquest, is less risky than it used to be.)

Getting the business card of each taxi driver you patronize (or his friend) is a great idea. I have done that many times in many cities and generally had good service -- in such cases, they can often do the trip off-meter, which makes them more likely to want to do the job.

It's true that in a suburb you can wait a long time for the pick-up, so if the ending time of your meeting is variable, you might be stuck for awhile.

I am sorry but I would never feel it is out of line to ask the person I am meeting with or the reception at the clients office what is the best way to catch a cab from here to the airport/hotel. Of course I am usually a rent a car person though unless I am in a city that has a good train system.

That was my thought when I first read this thread a few hours ago. Ask in such a way that they offer to help, such as (what you said), "Do you know the best way I can get a cab?" or "Do you have any phone numbers for taxi companies?"

I'm not a business traveler, but I work in the service industry, and if someone came up to me (even if they weren't my customer) and phrased the request in that way, I'd be happy to provide that information or even call for them (even as jaded as I am after too many years dealing with the traveling public, whose collective IQ is infuriatingly minuscule).

I would think that a request phrased like that would be received just as well with your client's receptionist or even the client himself/herself--as long as it's phrased as a friendly request and not a demand to impose yourself on him/her.