It’s very rare that I get rude people in my car, however it happens. However some passengers experience the dreaded rude Uber driver. Just absolute silence, abrupt or unkind. I very rarely shut up unless I’m told to or I get a vibe from a passenger who just doesn’t want to talk. My first passenger told me that most of the uber and Lyft drivers she has encountered have been extremely rude to her. Not sure why? She also complimented me on my people skills. Once I was criticized for my people skills in Australia. I was working in NSW as an archaeologist and part of our job was consult with the traditional owners. Nine times out of ten I’d get along with everyone and would be cracking jokes left right and centre when necessary. One day, one of my bosses told me “Look the Aboriginal people are not your friends, you got to be careful what you say to them”. There was no scene setting for this comment at all and made me think that this boss was an absolute prick. Maybe I had said something about a project that I shouldn’t have? However that was still part of our job. It was no secret that a big developer wanted to rape their land even more so. It was bloody obvious. Another boss also said to me once that I should be careful what I say around the “reps” (Aboriginal representative). This was in relation to a totally unrelated project I had worked on in a different part of the country, yet the boss got upset because I had mentioned that one engineering company was getting $300,000 per month just to manage a mining railroad corridor. It wasn’t even to do with archaeology and it’s no secret that big business gets a lot of money. The point is, I am an open book and I don’t hide anything to anyone. This is probably why I have such good ratings in uber. I am easy going and laid back. I’m not pretentious or think anyone is beneath me. Another thing about me, is I don’t crap lying down. If I know I’m getting screwed or not looked after I speak up. That has gotten me in trouble before, but I honestly don’t care. If a company isn’t prepared to listen to my views or anyone else’s then change is impossible.
Anyway it honestly surprised me that there were rude uber drivers out there, why would anyone want to be rude to a person who could tip you more or give you more ratings? It just doesn’t make sense to me. Do they hate their life so much that they have to take it out on others? Billy Connolly once said that life is the longest fu#$ing thing we ever do. Life isn’t short basically is what he was getting at. So my argument is why be a prick? You could encounter that same person again in an awkward moment. Maybe they become your boss, maybe they become a regulator or maybe they end up making your food order and could accidentally spit in your sandwich. 🤢
My next passenger was a bloke from that total profit Christian organisation, Faith Life. He told me that Faith Life is the one religious organisation in the world that is for profit and not a non profit. Honestly I said “That’s great, you’re not hiding behind religious beliefs and ideals to scam the government out of paying taxes”. He said “ah yeah, you’re Australian aren’t you?” Changing the subject. “Yes I am”, I responded. “I’m going to Adelaide for a Faith Life conference soon”. “Why Adelaide?” Then I thought stupid question they don’t call it the city of churches for nothing. There’s literally one on every corner. Okay most corners. I obviously gave him tips of where he could go and what he could see if he had time. From Woomera, Kangaroo Island, Naracoorte Caves, Mt Gambier, Cooper Pedy, and Victor Harbour. He asked me about the fires on Kangaroo Island, I told him the fires had finished now. I said “they could probably use the tourism and economic benefits from outside people”. “True” he said.
After dropping Faith Life man off I got a ping from a lady who started talking about her nose. I think this came up when I said I was starting a medical trial for my sinus issues. She had her nose cauterized and mentioned her nose bleeds had stopped. I occasionally get them due to dry weather or seasonal changes.
Final passenger of the day was a coding engineer, who in his spare time plays with his father’s band “Ike and the Old Man”. His father is the old man by the way. The phone app creator travels the state with his dad, playing music for people.
Two trips uber and one ride Lyft. Next up fruitful Fridays.
