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gridlore13 hours later, and I still cannot believe it.
Last night, about 2255, five minutes before I close and go home, the phone rings.
Now the night had been insane, mainly due to the massive number of weather-related flight delays. I had six drivers who were going to be out after I left, all with arrivals after midnight. Two had arrivals after 0100! So I had been hopping, updating ETAs, making sure the drivers had passenger phone numbers (when we had them), and generally trying to make sure that things would run smoothly for the answering service.
Then the phone rings.
Strike One: Don't call from in front of the speaker stacks at a Megadeth concert. I literally could not hear this woman until she walked for about fifteen seconds to a quieter place.
Of course, she needs a trip for tomorrow. 2300. Sigh. I ask if she has ridden with us before. "Oh, yeah, a couple of years ago Craig drove us to Oakland." I've never heard of a Craig, never seen any evidence of a Craig, and seriously doubt that you've ever been in our cars.
Strike Two: But I soldier on, and ask what flight she's arriving on. She doesn't know, but can "call back in a few hours with that." I cannot make an arrival reservation without a flight number. Why? Because we track flights so our driver is there at the right time. She didn't even know what airline she was on! I explain that I'm leaving in a few minutes, and after that she can leave a message with the answering service. She gets huffy and says, I swear this a direct quote: "I thought you were a formal company."
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Resiting the urge to go off, i explain that the office is closed between 2300 and 0600 on weekdays. She can leave a message but I cannot make a reservation without flight info, I then explain I can start one, and leave it for the day dispatcher to complete. I was thinking name, destination, credit card info, etc. So the first thing I ask is what time is the flight arriving...
Strike Three: "Oh, six, six-thirty or forty in the morning. Something like that..." This is the point where I told her that we could not accommodate. 2300, my early drivers are in bed. I am not waking someone up to tell them they might have a reservation sometime in the six o'clock hour. Maybe. I told her that we would not be able to book the trip, and she screamed at me.
Lady, you waited until seven hours before you wanted the ride.Not my problem.
The second insanity involves the BossLady snarking someone in email.
We charge an extra $10 for international arrivals. The reason is simple: we meet the flight when it lands. International passengers have to clear customs, which means longer waiting times, and a higher parking fee for the driver. People can avoid this fee by calling our 800 number when they clear customs. We send them out to the limo stand, and the driver, who has been waiting off the airport property, swoops up and gets them.
There is a company that has made calling the 800# standard policy. Yesterday, we has a No-Show at SFO for one of their Russian employees. Driver waited nearly 3 hours for the call. An email exchange revealed that Boris had "looked for his limo for 40 minutes and couldn't find him, so he took a taxi."
BossLady replied that these folks aren't supposed to look for their limo, they are supposed to call us. Any deviation from their policy needs to be specified. We're more than happy to send the driver into the terminal to wait, but you gotta pay for it.
What we got back was an epic whine. The company wasn't sure if he had his confirmation, or knew how to find a pay phone, or spoke English, or was competent in any way so it is all our fault.
If this guy is so helpless, why is this company flying him around the world?
I don't get paid enough.
Last night, about 2255, five minutes before I close and go home, the phone rings.
Now the night had been insane, mainly due to the massive number of weather-related flight delays. I had six drivers who were going to be out after I left, all with arrivals after midnight. Two had arrivals after 0100! So I had been hopping, updating ETAs, making sure the drivers had passenger phone numbers (when we had them), and generally trying to make sure that things would run smoothly for the answering service.
Then the phone rings.
Strike One: Don't call from in front of the speaker stacks at a Megadeth concert. I literally could not hear this woman until she walked for about fifteen seconds to a quieter place.
Of course, she needs a trip for tomorrow. 2300. Sigh. I ask if she has ridden with us before. "Oh, yeah, a couple of years ago Craig drove us to Oakland." I've never heard of a Craig, never seen any evidence of a Craig, and seriously doubt that you've ever been in our cars.
Strike Two: But I soldier on, and ask what flight she's arriving on. She doesn't know, but can "call back in a few hours with that." I cannot make an arrival reservation without a flight number. Why? Because we track flights so our driver is there at the right time. She didn't even know what airline she was on! I explain that I'm leaving in a few minutes, and after that she can leave a message with the answering service. She gets huffy and says, I swear this a direct quote: "I thought you were a formal company."
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Resiting the urge to go off, i explain that the office is closed between 2300 and 0600 on weekdays. She can leave a message but I cannot make a reservation without flight info, I then explain I can start one, and leave it for the day dispatcher to complete. I was thinking name, destination, credit card info, etc. So the first thing I ask is what time is the flight arriving...
Strike Three: "Oh, six, six-thirty or forty in the morning. Something like that..." This is the point where I told her that we could not accommodate. 2300, my early drivers are in bed. I am not waking someone up to tell them they might have a reservation sometime in the six o'clock hour. Maybe. I told her that we would not be able to book the trip, and she screamed at me.
Lady, you waited until seven hours before you wanted the ride.Not my problem.
The second insanity involves the BossLady snarking someone in email.
We charge an extra $10 for international arrivals. The reason is simple: we meet the flight when it lands. International passengers have to clear customs, which means longer waiting times, and a higher parking fee for the driver. People can avoid this fee by calling our 800 number when they clear customs. We send them out to the limo stand, and the driver, who has been waiting off the airport property, swoops up and gets them.
There is a company that has made calling the 800# standard policy. Yesterday, we has a No-Show at SFO for one of their Russian employees. Driver waited nearly 3 hours for the call. An email exchange revealed that Boris had "looked for his limo for 40 minutes and couldn't find him, so he took a taxi."
BossLady replied that these folks aren't supposed to look for their limo, they are supposed to call us. Any deviation from their policy needs to be specified. We're more than happy to send the driver into the terminal to wait, but you gotta pay for it.
What we got back was an epic whine. The company wasn't sure if he had his confirmation, or knew how to find a pay phone, or spoke English, or was competent in any way so it is all our fault.
If this guy is so helpless, why is this company flying him around the world?
I don't get paid enough.
