Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

taxi torment

Red Top Cab? You’re on my List.

I learned from my experience last year and called the night before to schedule a 4:30 a.m. pick-up from my apartment to National, so I could be sure to arrive in plenty of time for my 6:10 a.m. flight. The dispatcher confirmed my address and phone number and told me that I would get a phone call 3-5 minutes before the cab arrived.

Getting ready this morning, I was actually a bit relieved that the cab hadn’t arrived right at 4:30, as it gave me a few more precious minutes to gather my things and make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. But then, waiting in the lobby of my building, the clock ticked ticked ticked to 4:45, and I began to get a bit concerned.

I called Red Top to check in, and the dispatcher told me that my pick-up was marked as “completed” in their system. It took some effort to keep the snide edge out of my voice as I told her that, obviously, the pick-up hadn’t been completed. She promised to send out a new cab as soon as possible, but couldn’t or wouldn’t give me an ETA.

5 a.m. Still no cab in sight. (Keep in mind that I live no more than five minutes from the Red Top dispatch center.) I called Red Top again to check on the cab. This dispatcher, different from before, also couldn’t give me an ETA on that cab. Angry, I gave up on cabs altogether and took the Metro, which had just opened for the day. Throughout, Rob patiently listened to me fume about the whole affair, and how, if I’ve arranged for transportation for a given day and time, it’s downright unprofessional not to provide that service as promised. Not that the company seems to care overmuch.

I made it to the airport, through security and to my gate with minutes to spare, the last non-standby passenger to board the plane. If it hadn’t been for online check-in (I’d printed out my boarding passes while I waited for that first cab), I doubt I would have made the flight at all.