This is going to be a Non-PC question of mine. I think this question to the editor subliminally hints at it.
Is the body odour of certain identifiable groups of people which are prominent in Toronto's cab industry one of the reasons why people are turning away from them ? Apparently Uber drivers are much cleaner.
Metro NewsViews
Should you say something to the driver of a smelly cab?If the driver of your rolling garbage dump is an owner who wants to stay in business, they need to up their game.
Courtesy Ani Castillo
Published on Nov 25 2015
Ellen VanstoneMETRO
Dear Ellen,
I recently got into a cab that was filthy dirty. It reeked. When I got out, I reeked. Should I have said something to the driver?
Katie in Ottawa
Dear Katie,
When it comes to being on someone else’s turf, or inviting someone on to yours, there can be a fine line between polite behaviour and being a doormat.
Take the dinner party, for example. Should I tell a guest to stop talking with his mouth full and stuff my napkin in his gob the next time he laugh-spits half-chewed pasta particles onto my spectacles? Never. As a gracious hostess, I must smile through bits of flying food as if this masticating monster is the most charming man who ever graced my table. Then, if forced to invite him again, I would simply seat him far away, in the section reserved for drunken slobs and boring egomaniacs. Since all these specimens are completely oblivious of everyone else, and therefore immune to the kind of torture each one of them inflicts, I consider this to be a fair and tactful solution for all concerned.
Similarly, if you’re invited to someone else’s home, and it’s a filthy, stinking mess, you have no choice but to choke down whatever is on offer, and then check yourself in for medical tests the next day if you’re not feeling well.
None of this hostess-guest etiquette, however, applies to taxicabs, or restaurants, or any other transactional business where you are paying good money for a product or service, and your peace of mind, and, possibly, health, are at risk.
With a filthy taxicab, you have several options.
Back away from the car, with or without an explanation (“I just remembered, I’m allergic to vinyl”).Decline the service with an honest explanation: “Your cab is dirty and smells terrible. I think I’ll wait for another one.”Get into the cab if you can’t wait for another one, and suffer in silence.Get into the cab and decline to tip when you reach your destination, though in this case, you do owe an explanation: “I’m sorry, but the state of your cab doesn’t warrant a tip.”
If the cab is actually a health hazard, or you need to redirect it to the nearest dry cleaner in order to get the smell off your clothes, you should not only say something, you should snap a pic of the operating licence and make a complaint, either to the taxi company or your city’s licensing body, or both.
Taxi driving is a difficult job, and thanks to Uber — whose operators should also be held to a cleanliness standard — it’s tougher than ever to make a living at it. But if the driver of your rolling garbage dump is an owner who wants to stay in business, they need to up their game.
And if the driver is an employee being forced to work all day in a dirty, stinking environment that you can’t stand for 20 minutes, then consider that your official complaint might help them out too.
http://m.metronews.ca/#/article/views/urban-etiquette/2015/11/24/should-you-say-something-to-the-driver-of-a-smelly-cab.html
Is the body odour of certain identifiable groups of people which are prominent in Toronto's cab industry one of the reasons why people are turning away from them ? Apparently Uber drivers are much cleaner.
Metro NewsViews
Should you say something to the driver of a smelly cab?If the driver of your rolling garbage dump is an owner who wants to stay in business, they need to up their game.
Courtesy Ani Castillo
Published on Nov 25 2015
Ellen VanstoneMETRO
Dear Ellen,
I recently got into a cab that was filthy dirty. It reeked. When I got out, I reeked. Should I have said something to the driver?
Katie in Ottawa
Dear Katie,
When it comes to being on someone else’s turf, or inviting someone on to yours, there can be a fine line between polite behaviour and being a doormat.
Take the dinner party, for example. Should I tell a guest to stop talking with his mouth full and stuff my napkin in his gob the next time he laugh-spits half-chewed pasta particles onto my spectacles? Never. As a gracious hostess, I must smile through bits of flying food as if this masticating monster is the most charming man who ever graced my table. Then, if forced to invite him again, I would simply seat him far away, in the section reserved for drunken slobs and boring egomaniacs. Since all these specimens are completely oblivious of everyone else, and therefore immune to the kind of torture each one of them inflicts, I consider this to be a fair and tactful solution for all concerned.
Similarly, if you’re invited to someone else’s home, and it’s a filthy, stinking mess, you have no choice but to choke down whatever is on offer, and then check yourself in for medical tests the next day if you’re not feeling well.
None of this hostess-guest etiquette, however, applies to taxicabs, or restaurants, or any other transactional business where you are paying good money for a product or service, and your peace of mind, and, possibly, health, are at risk.
With a filthy taxicab, you have several options.
Back away from the car, with or without an explanation (“I just remembered, I’m allergic to vinyl”).Decline the service with an honest explanation: “Your cab is dirty and smells terrible. I think I’ll wait for another one.”Get into the cab if you can’t wait for another one, and suffer in silence.Get into the cab and decline to tip when you reach your destination, though in this case, you do owe an explanation: “I’m sorry, but the state of your cab doesn’t warrant a tip.”
If the cab is actually a health hazard, or you need to redirect it to the nearest dry cleaner in order to get the smell off your clothes, you should not only say something, you should snap a pic of the operating licence and make a complaint, either to the taxi company or your city’s licensing body, or both.
Taxi driving is a difficult job, and thanks to Uber — whose operators should also be held to a cleanliness standard — it’s tougher than ever to make a living at it. But if the driver of your rolling garbage dump is an owner who wants to stay in business, they need to up their game.
And if the driver is an employee being forced to work all day in a dirty, stinking environment that you can’t stand for 20 minutes, then consider that your official complaint might help them out too.
http://m.metronews.ca/#/article/views/urban-etiquette/2015/11/24/should-you-say-something-to-the-driver-of-a-smelly-cab.html
