November 24, 2011
Las Vegas Taxi Took Me The Wrong Way To Airport, What To Do?
Just come back from Vegas yesterday after spending 10 days there. This was 5th time over the last few years.
Had an excellent time BUT was plagued by time share reps to the point where they was running after us ( husband and I). I tried everything from politely saying no to ignoring them . Nothing worked!!!!!! They were more of a nuisance than the sex card workers. Can you give advice please for when we come again.
We stayed at the Hilton Paradise Road. The taxi that took us back to the airport charged over 20 dollars and did not by any means go the quickest way.He turned onto the strip at Circus Circus and went the whole length of the strip!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Refused to tip him saying he had not chosen the quickest route. He then got very abusive. Can I ask for your advice about this 20 dollars, we usually pay 15 dollars.
Love Access Vegas!
Angela M.
Ted Responds:
Here’s the trick when dealing with the time share people: Tell them you are leaving town “tonight” (no matter how many days you have left). If you are leaving, you can’t go to a presentation and are of no use to them. Of, you can do what I do and say “I’m a local” because I sure don’t need a Las Vegas timeshare!
Having said that, yes… they can be pushy in this economy. And yes, it is irritating. And unfortunately they pay the hotels good money for those spots they occupy so nobody is going to do anything about it. (Short of a hotel getting hundreds of letters per day from angry patrons, which probably isn’t going to happen because no one realizes this relationship).
Another way to handle it is to do what I do with the pornslappers. (For you new readers, that isn’t a dirty sex term. It refers to the people who pass out business cards advertising “girls to you room”). I simply pretend they don’t exist. I don’t look at them, don’t listen to them, don’t make eye contact with them. It isn’t rude. They aren’t some friend from your city that you just happened to run into who wants to bend your ear. They want to distract you and waste your time. I simply don’t allow them to!
Yes, the taxi driver was screwing with you. The Hilton is on Paradise Road. Guess what… the airport is on Paradise Road! It is a 3.3 mile straight trip if you don’t detour. I’m going to give you some advice that I’ve had to start following myself as I’ve been screwed with on cab rides by people who don’t know I’m a local:
Get the cab company name and number every time you ride. Take two seconds to email/text it to yourself. Why? For a number of reasons.
- If you leave your purse/wallet/bag or similar in the cab and you know the cab number, you can usually get it back quickly. Call the cab company, tell them the cab number, and the driver will head back your way (with the understanding that you need to pay for his time and miles). How do I know? My wallet rode off in a cab without me one time. It happens.
- If the driver isn’t very nice to you, call the cab company and complain. Absolutely. If you have the cab company name and cab number, they know who the problem employee is. Cab drivers are a dime a dozen. The companies don’t want trouble. A rude driver might also do other things to hurt the company.
- If you get long-hauled, you have a right to complain the the Taxicab Authority. They take complaints very seriously. If I remember correctly, three complaints and a driver loses his right to drive (I think for six months… it’s been a couple of years since I did this research). You can actually use this information in two ways:
- You can get out of the cab (wait until after he’s unloaded your luggage), tell the driver that he took the long way, and tell him you are calling the Taxi Authority. (Dial directory assistance if you need the number). They are screwed and they know it. If they start to put up a fuss, start to dial directory assistance on your phone and say “I’m calling them right now”. You’ll be surprised at how quickly they will decide that your ride was absolutely free (as long as you don’t make the call). They screwed with you… screw with them!
- If they are still abusive or argue, make the call and put in the complaint. Just remember… you do need to cab company name, cab number, and time of day to make this complaint. If you didn’t write it down (or text it to yourself) when you got in the cab, you’d better make note of it before he drives off.
In a perfect world, none of this should be necessary. And there are honest cab drivers out there. But the ones who aren’t should be held accountable.
One last tip: Don’t take too much of what a cabbie says to heart. They tend to be the worst conveyers of third-hand info out there. One cabbie was telling people that The Sahara was going to be blown up (not true). Another reader heard that The Stratosphere was closing (um, they just spent $20 million refurbishing the joint). Get your information from us instead!
CEO/Managing Editor
AccessVegas.com
Comments(7)
Click For More Savings
[...] Click to read my post Las Vegas Taxi Took Me The Wrong Way To Airport, What To Do? [...]
Great advice, Ted. I’m a Vegas local now, but when I was a visitor I never was sure how to deal with these situations. Pulling out of the Hilton and going to the airport via the strip was way out of line. As for the pornslappers, I too had to learn not to make eye contact with them and ignore the snapping sounds. I address the time share salespersons right when they come up to me. I tell them I live here and they bid me a good evening. I would also like to note I’ve never seen the same time share salesperson twice. It has to be one of the least rewarding jobs on the strip.
We had the taxi incident in October. The driver rolled down the windows! My step-daughter and I were in the back and our hair was blown everywhere. He took the long trip around and even slowed down at one point so we could smell a sewer problem! My husband was just chatting him up and was clueless about the window thing. When we arrived at the hotel, he said it was $40.00. Denver gave him twenty and told him we had been coming to Vegas for 30 years and knew the way to the airport. He started to object and Denver told him to call the police. He didn’t. It was a $10.00 ride to the airport on the way back. One problem at the airport is that people have to take the next cab in line and have no choice of brand. If it had been a first time trip, it would certainly have not given a good impression. We also were surprised at the crowd and long lines for buffets. We could have spent more time gambling. We will be back in February.
Thanks
Janice and Denver Flowers
Might not be the best way, but no matter what casino on the strip I am at, when I enter the cab “I say I have $20.
Charge what you want, but the difference between fare and $20 is yours”. For Downtown, I allow $25.00. Never had a complaint, also got the short route. The meter said $11 to Treasure Island on one trip.
Nothing wrong with that, but for a trip on The Strip, I’d move your number down to $15.
Great advice on cabbies. We got totally ripped off by a cabbie who ignored our wishes, drove past our destination and suggested he would “turn around” at the next intersection. We ordered him to stop immediately and tipped him one penny, a penny too much. Will use your suggestions in the future.
My husband and I visit Las Vegas twice a year and arrive from the UK at the international arrivals terminal. We are longhauled every single time, because the cabbies think we are probably first time visitors, and are easy prey.
In September the driver took us through the tunnel, up and down the freeway and eventually crawled round the back of all the city centre hotels. The fare had racked up to $31, by this time, and I was figuring out how to handle it upon our Cosmo destination.
Out of nowhere came a siren and flashing light of the transportation police. They had seen the meter because the cab was going so slowly over all the road humps, and knew we were being longhauled.
They took over and gave him a ticket and told him, and us, that we would be giving him $15 max when we reached our casino.
The rest of our journey was uncomfortable, to say the least, with the driver making no end of excuses about why he had taken us all around the houses etc.
We gave him $15 and fled!
It gives a very bad impression to overseas visitors and we always dread the taxi journey each time.