Introspection

My previous trip to the airport was quite an adventure. Well, my recent trip was also quite spicy! However this time it was not the air carrier but the shuttle driver who really left me in a shocked and tormented state.

The last time I had to make last minute plans to fly to India. Hence I had to also arrange a shuttle in the last minute which was quite a pain. I wanted to avoid the same mistake this time. I was to visit my fiancé in Dallas for the spring break. I reserved the Red Shuttle http://www.primetimeshuttle.com/
two days in advance. I had a minimum day at school and added to that the last period of the day was my prep. So I had no problem leaving early and on time to the airport.
On Friday, I got a call from the primetime shuttle dept to confirm my reservation. I did confirm the reservation and also requested if they could pick me up at 12:25 instead of 12:00. The person on the phone said he would inform the shuttle driver but he couldn't promise me. That was still fine with me. I had brought my stroller with me so that I can leave from work to the airport.

Time passed very quickly. I had an IEP the other day and had to finish some paper work real quick. I worked on it very swiftly. Meanwhile at 11:50 I got a call from the shuttle driver asking me about my location. I described to him that it was a school. He informed me that he would be there in 10 minutes. I said that was fine and told him to call me back when he was there. Meanwhile I scurried through my paperwork and finished everything in time. I did not get any call. However while getting some of my things done; I kept looking out into the campus for the shuttle. At 12:20pm I get a call from the driver who was complaining that he had been waiting there for me and he would leave if I did not come out. I again asked him where he was and assured I would be out. He informed me that he was near the school. Meanwhile while I was still talking to him, I got a call from his supervisor telling me that his driver has been waiting for quite some time and that I did not show up. I promised him that I would be out in 2 min and asked him to describe the color and the type of shuttle which was waiting out for me. I was unable to see any burgundy colored van which had any wordings like "Red Shuttle" on it. I hurried out with my stroller and handbag and kept looking all over the parking lot. I get another call from the supervisor who informs me that the driver is leaving. I let him know that as promised I was out and had been searching for this shuttle which he had described but found none. While I was still on the phone talking to him, I see a burgundy van coming from the right side of the school. I wave to the driver and he stops. I hurry down the road, cross it and apologize. The driver picked up the stroller in a hurry, dropped it behind and in a strong voice told me to get in and close the door. I do as he said.
After getting in the cab I once again apologize for the confusion and try to ask him as to where he was parked. He tells me that there was no parking space available and so he was parked somewhere else. I was puzzled! The school has a huge parking lot and vehicles could be parked on the roadside too. No wonder I was unable to locate him. Any ways, I was more than glad to get into the cab. Even before I could take a breath of relief, the driver turned to me and in a very strong accent told me that I need to pay him $34.00 for the cab charges. Confused and still trying to understand what he said, I asked him to repeat himself. Hurriedly and in a very angry tone he told me that I need to pay him cash $34.00 for the shuttle charges. Surprised, I reminded him that I had already paid online using my credit card. He told me that the card did not pass through and that I need to pay him so that he can take me to the airport.

I understood his frustration. However, I told him that I would pay him using my debit card once we reach the airport. He demanded that he needed money right away and stopped the shuttle near a gas station which had an ATM. Even before I could talk, he demanded I get down and get the money. He also told me in a harsh voice that he was doing me a favor by stopping me in front of an ATM. Well, I had to get money anyways. I was still confused and was still trying to understand what was going on. However, I did not have any time to waste. I decided to the take the cool man approach of not arguing but giving the person time to cool down and then explaining everything. Meanwhile, I got down the cab, withdrew $100.00 from the ATM (I was charged an extra $1.50 for withdrawing money from the ATM). The driver got into the cab. Then he asked me if I had the money. I assured him that I did. While turning the vehicle, he turned back to me and demanded that I give him $34.00. Now that was the limit of my tolerance. However, I still maintained my cool and told him that I would pay him the moment I got down the shuttle. He was too adamant and kept repeating himself. I showed him the money which I had withdrawn. He was still not happy and continued to harass me. In a very calm but assertive voice I asked him to give me the phone no of his boss. Well, he became more offensive. He raised his voice and did not listen or even allow me to speak. He showed the time and told me that I was too late and I had to pay or else he would leave me there. I still told him I wanted to speak to his supervisor. Now way the guy was going to budge. He threatened me that if I did not give him the money he would drop me there. Well, that was more than I could ask for. I said "Ok" in a firm voice . My Ok sounded like a victory for him and he blushed. But the moment I reached for the door knob, he became very ferocious and swearing in his native language pulled open his driver's door, shouting swear words, took my stroller out and left me at the gas station.

I panicked. I was really scared about missing my flight. This was not just a pleasure trip to my fiancé’s place. We had also planned to drive to the Arizona Mexico border to get my visa stamped. I was aghast at his behavior. I did not have any time to waste. Even before I knew I had dialed the number to the local taxi service. The guy was still halted at the gas station. I had to literally struggle processing too many things. Confused, terrified and also in a very stressful state, I asked for the address of the gas station and was confusing the local taxi cab operator with the address. Somehow the people at the gas station helped me and I was assured of the taxi in a wait time of 5 -15 minutes. While I was still on the phone and figuring out the address, the shuttle driver hurriedly approached me. Interrupting my call, he grabbed my stroller and told me that his supervisor has confirmed that my card passed through and that I need to get into the cab. I could not handle it any more. I just screamed at him saying "I am not going to get into your taxi". "Ok fine then ," he said. Arrogant fellow did not even apologize for his rudeness. He fled the scene. Meanwhile while waiting for the other taxi I tried contacting the customer service for the Red shuttle. Unfortunately the line was engaged for more than 10 min. I gave up. I was really exhausted waiting for the taxi. It was more because of the anxiety.

I kept looking out for it and kept checking about the whereabouts of the taxi. The faint green and yellow car from a distance made me feel better. I found myself sweating at that time. It was more out of relief than anything else. The driver noticed me waving and stopped right in front of me. He greeted me. Wasting no more time, I set my stroller on the back seat and thanked the driver for coming down. I also said a few kind words about the taxi service. He was happy with my comments. I did not want to take any more chances after my bitter experience and thought making the driver feel better would surely help me getting to the air port early. We started off from the gas station at 12:54 pm. On the way I tried to breathe more slowly and relax. The driver assured me that the traffic wasn't a problem at that time of the day and we would reach way ahead of time. As promised, we reached the airport by 1:25pm. I had to pay $57.00. Glad to reach my destination I handed over $60.00 to him and thanked him. He picked up my stroller from the taxi and wished me a safe trip. I thanked him and headed to the entrance.

It was a real learning experience for me. After I reached Dallas, I couldn't stop myself from narrating the whole incident to Ram. He was very angry and told me to call the customer service immediately. Again it was a long wait but at last I could get hold of someone. The person noted down the complaint and informed me that action would be taken against the driver. He also told me to write a letter to the president narrating everything that had happened. What surprised me was the fact that the company already had a lot of problems from the same driver and the fellow still continued to repeat himself.

The whole incident was a very bad experience. I wanted to share this with everyone and anyone who boards the shuttle or any other cab services and warn them.