While driving on the highway last weekend, on our way to our little cabin in New Hampshire, the alternator “went” on our van. I didn’t even know what an alternator WAS, so it is a good thing that good ole hubby was driving. He noticed the problem while we were on the highway, and the amazing GPS on my phone led us right to a Sears Automotive where, pulling into the parking lot, the car stopped working. (My life is just SOOOO filled with luck…we could have broken down on the highway which would have been much more problematic!) The time was 6:45 pm, too late to have them fix it, but enough time to talk to a mechanic who promised to fix it first thing in the morning. He recommended we stay at a nearby hotel for the night and he graciously called a taxi for us.
My husband and I are not world travelers. I can count on one finger the number of times I’ve ridden in a taxi, and my husband never has. We enjoyed the sweet smelling cleanliness of the car, and were treated to tour of the city on the way to the hotel. It sure did look pretty with sparkling with city lights. The driver told us they had a one price policy, $10 for anywhere we wanted to go in the city, and our hotel was within the limits. What luck! When we got to the hotel, my inexperienced husband graciously handed the driver $12 while he shook his hand and thanked him for the smooth, scenic ride to the hotel.
Hubby and I checked in to the hotel and had a wonderful evening in a much more elegant setting than that of our tiny cabin in NH. (Electricity!! Cable tv!! Hot showers!!) The next morning, we feasted on at the wonderful breakfast in the hotel. We could make our own WAFFLES!! And I could eat more than ONE!! Joy, joy!!
Gathering up our things, we sauntered, (as experienced travelers,) into another taxi for the return trip. On the ride back, the taxi turned left on the main avenue, then took another quick left and we were there. The mileage on the meter read .5 miles and the cost was $3.95!! Our hotel was only a half mile from Sears! ($20 a mile per the evening ride there!) I realized that the scenic tour of the city, and giving us the “special” low price of $10, was a “con”. I suddenly felt “worldly”! What an adventure! And what great fodder for my blog!
Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities and Remaining Sane Blog 
Comments on: "“That’ll be $20 a Mile, M’am”" (27)
This happens in my country too. Sad.
considering the taxi was a call out , there will be a call out fee added to the fare,so the $10 is not too unreasonable. so dont feel it was a con. the taxi driver have to make a living too.
Thanks, I feel better…
I would have understood that except for the “scenic ride” we took around the city as a ruse for the money…
well, i would like to think of that as the driver trying to give u some pleasure. as the fee is fixed ,and he cannot do much about company policy and the charging regime,(that is what i gather from what he said), you would have to pay that anyway; it looks like he could have taken u straight to the hotel, but think of it as him trying to give u some pleasure by giving u a tour of the city. when u think of it like that, it makes it nicer, dont you think? after all, u did enjoy it enough for u to give a tip. Some of your readers , even you, might think u were suckered to do it, but i would rather think of you giving joy to the driver showing you appreciate his gesture and helping him out financially. it gives everyone a great feeling which i think is the important part whenever we interact with our fellow beings. perhaps that is a naive way of looking at life, but i get a lot of happiness out of it. haha.
I agree with your way of looking at it. (Although the fee was not fixed because it was the same cab that picked us up the next morning.) We were happy for the ride and it was well worth the $10. I think I mostly found it a little humorous, and that’s why I wanted to share the story. But I do lshare your attitude!
but it made a good story.. and it was scenic… (sorry for your luck though)
Grrrrrrrrrrr?
Karma will get him.
sorry we once had to pay for the luggage to take
it, since we were in italy we paid but I felt fleeced.
Hey, the universe will give the $ back, and that happens to everyone at least once. Happy that you could get away!
I rather enjoyed Alfie’s outlook on the tour. And, at least it wasn’t $200. You did get a nice tour with, I assume, pleasant conversation. Maybe he was practicing to be a tour guide. There is always a fixed starting price and in some cities it is higher than in others. I think I would like to look at it as both of you winning.
I agree completely!
This happened to me too while I was on vacation in New York. When I realized that we took a “scenic” tour and not the direct route, I was upset.
Make sure you never take a taxi in Sydney Australia then! You can’t get anywhere for under $50.00! And they aren’t conning you, it’s really just that expensive! I suppose it’s something to do with our ridiculously high petrol prices…..
Wow!
That wasn’t good. I like to think most people are good, but then there are a few rotten apples thrown in to remind us.
That’s really funny. Just figure it was $$ for scenery!
It could have been much worse! : )
Most certainly! We were very lucky.
It always amazes me how much fun you have with little things (and this is a compliment!) 🙂 happy you enjoyed the adventure 🙂
In these here parts, if you got away with only a $10 charge you would consider it almost a gift. Even your con men are cheaper!
Wow, had this happened to me, I would’ve had ALOT worse things to say about it on here…..am going to try and adopt your more “grown up” attitude! You’re absolutely right, there are alot worse things than having a little adventure with your husband even if you did pay a little extra for the privilege!
Reblogged this on Souring With Autism and commented:
🙂 🙂
That’s a bummer! Not too costly as far as being fleeced goes, but I, too, cavil at dishonest people! I’d like to think that while the driver was taking you around on the “scenic tour,” he missed a really great fare! 😉 I’m not near as philosophical about things like that. I used to work hard for a living as a waitress, carrying heavy trays and rushing around to give people great service, for almost no salary and un-guaranteed tips. So I don’t have a lot of patience with people that rip others off. 😦
I enjoyed reading about your adventure – at least you ended up at a lovely place to stay :). Sometimes the little things entertain me the most – thankyou for the follow and I look forward to reading more of your posts too 🙂
Thanks for sharing:) I often find that my experiences with suspecting my RAD kids make me more suspicious of others. Hazard of being a RAD mom!