I almost missed my flight this evening. Nearly every Sunday for the past few months I’ve taken a flight to Raleigh, NC. This flight is preceded by a trip in a taxi from my house to the airport.
Except tonight it didn’t go as planned.
As routine turned to complacency, I wasn’t alarmed when the cab wasn’t there 5 minutes early…nor was I alarmed that it still hadn’t shown up 10 minutes late. Then 20 minutes late. Finally at 23 minutes late I picked up the phone.
Me: Um…I ordered a cab for 7:15 and I just wanted to check the status of my ride.
Operator: Oh, he should have been there a while ago. Let me contact the driver.
…Waiting…
Operator: Yeah, he’s right down the street. You should go outside…he should be there any minute.
Me: Great! I’ll be out there.
…10 more minutes pass…
Me: *Muttering* I better call again… (This time was same as before, just with a new operator.)
Operator: Yep, my system shows that the driver is right up the street. He should be there any minute.
Me: Great! I’ll be out here. (I don’t know why I’m endlessly positive with people in service industries. I have patience well beyond my needs…)
Eventually Karen noticed that I was still outside and offered to drive me to the airport. I took her up on it…and it’s a good thing I did. The cab never showed.
But why did all this miscommunication occur in the first place? Perhaps it has something to do with the communications systems that the cabs are using. This technology is a likely culprit. If you look around at the driver’s seat in any cab in the US, you’ll find that it’s a mess of wires, screens, and sounds…and this is before you take into account the fact that the driver has to drive. Of course the driver says he’s right up the street…that’s how he gets the operator to leave him alone, so he can get to his destination/talk on his mobile phone (by the way, who do these cab drivers talk to on their phones all day? My guess is that they talk to each other. It couldn’t be their family members…could it?).
All of this is turning into one big rant. The point is, a cab driver’s seat holds endless opportunities for innovation. It is ripe and ready to be tapped. So, somebody, please (pay me to) do some ethnographic research and redesign this workplace. I’m sure us regular taxi riders would benefit immensely.