Taxicab Confessions

Date of Occurrence:    12/23/07

Time of Occurrence:    6:40 am

Location of Occurrence:     Las Vegas Terminal – Delta Departure Terminal

Comments:
Virgin Valley Cab Co. Cab# 7008 Driver – Fair/Red Hair After unnecessarily speedy and “rushed” but otherwise eventless cab ride (zero discussion w/driver) from the Wynn to the airport, we arrive (2 passengers, myself and female friend, w/2 carry-on size bags total), the fare is $13.50. I hand the driver $15.00 and he snaps at me – “1.50!!!”. “Huh”, I responded, not understing what he meant as I was sleep deprived, and he responded nastily “you’re giving me a $1.50 tip?!!!” I responded by going into my wallet and handing him another dollar (which upon reflection may have been more appropriate as a tip under normal circumstances, although he deserved $0 tip based on these events). He responded by physically getting in my face and yelling at me “Are you f___ing kidding me, I drove you here quickly, I drove you here safely, I did my job, that’s what you’re f___ing giving me” in an obvious attempt to intimidate more tip out of me. Although I was not going to give him a dime more based on his mean and nasty attitude, I backed up and asked him calmly “Well, what is customary?” and he replied “To the airport, $20.00″ to which I responded that I’m sorry and walked away. The driver began to follow me yelling and calling us “Shuttle trash” and other expletives in attempt to further engage me into either physical or verbal altercation. Notwithstanding, I simply continued to walke away and did not engage him. He finally turned around, got in his cab , and tailed us while yelling out his window til we finally entered the terminal building. This man should not be driving a cab and certainly is not an ambassador to your city. He should be fined and his permit should revoked or suspended. My guess is this is not the first complaint against him. He is a menace preying on tourists and based on his losing it seems to be a potential threat for physical violence. Everyone in the area was watching the incident. All of our taxi drivers were beyond fantastic all weekend. I have never gone out of my way to file a complaint like this in my life, but this incident was so extreme. Please feel free to contact me if you require further information. The other passenger may be filing separate complaint with her own account of the incident. Please advise as to what action, including whether or not if any, will be taken regarding this matter. Thank you for your attention, Tourist I

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