The Impossible Quest Of Hailing A Taxi On Christmas Eve Read Free Page A

passing by, but they shrugged and
moved on.
    His nose
was turning red from anger. He fished out his phone and tapped for
another taxi. There were no cars available, the app said. Please
try again in a few minutes, we are sorry for the inconvenience.
"What a horrible service! I'll be sure to leave them a firm review,
I tell you that," he muttered to himself. Scrooge didn't drive. He
had a license, sure, but he preferred to be driven and over the
years, his skill had vanished anyway along with his eyesight. It
was cheaper nowadays to use a service like Supertaxi, to use the
car only when you needed it, driver included. He had done the
balance sheet of course, it was the cheapest choice. He had been
using Supertaxi for years now, relying on them for his daily
commute to and forth from work, but also on the rare times when he
needed to visit someone, usually for work related issues, and
occasionally when he treated himself with a proper meal at a
restaurant. Nothing too fancy of course. He would have a steak on
his birthday, and a proper wine to wash it down. Table for
one.
    And he
liked the Supertaxi's service, there was no interaction involved.
Sure, Greek cabbies were always talkative, but when they saw that
you didn't want to strike up a conversation they shut their yap and
drove along. No interaction was necessary, tap the app, hail the
cab, get inside, drive you there, get off and go home. The
destination was selected from the app, no need to explain the
address every time. So efficient. And the payment was taken
directly from his bank account, in a neat exportable spreadsheet
that could be put into his expenses with ease.
    No
talking necessary. Scrooge loved it.
    But now, he had to call up a phone , wait in line , talk to an operator , like Neanderthals . The horror. So he
found Supertaxi's phone number and called them to complain. He was
placed on hold, said to wait patiently by a recorded woman's voice
and was soothed by some modern music he had never heard of
before.
    A few
minutes went by and Scrooge dropped the call in
frustration.
    He
retried the app and found another taxi. A 4.9 star rating. That's
more like it, a proper gentleman. He hailed it and shoved his hands
in his pockets, enjoying his victory.
    The taxi
arrived, a long and wide Mercedes, yellow of course but the colour
couldn't possibly detract from the elegant machine's beauty. It
stopped at the spot before him and Scrooge got in the back seat.
Warming seats, in fine black leather. Aaah... His joints untensed,
taking in the warmth. A smile came to his face, and he made himself
comfortable and waited for the driver to take him home.
    The taxi
didn't move.
    On the
contrary, the driver switched off the engine and leaned back to
him, putting his arm on the passenger seat's headrest. He was a
weary man, middle-aged, flecks of grey on the sides of his head. He
had a big well-trimmed moustache, quite old-fashioned. He seemed
friendly, a man from an older age, where politeness and hard work
were the norm. He was the kind that takes care of his old car,
drives safe, makes sure he is dressed clean and his trousers
ironed.
    "Good
evening Mr. Scrooge," the driver said in a deep voice.
    "Good
evening," Scrooge replied and turned to face the window
again.
    "I've
been informed by the office upstairs that you have been flagged an
undesirable client."
    Scrooge
stared back at him and his eyes flared. "What does that mean? I
have been a client for two decades! Is my money not good enough
anymore?"
    "On the
contrary," the driver said remaining calm. "It's because you are
such a long time customer that instead of simply banning you from
our service, we wish to offer another option."
    "Banning
me?" Scrooge spat out. "How can you ban me? I'm the paying
customer! I give a star rating to the driver at the end of every
ride."
    The
driver raised his palm. "And the driver gives a star rating back to
you," he added.
    Scrooge
was caught unaware for a moment. Really? They rated him back?