Foreigner shares bad experience with cabbie
A FOREIGNER who has been in Thailand for 2 years and runs the web page Easy English Thai posted a video clip relating his showdown with a taxi driver who verbally abused him as he tried to overcharge, the Thai-language daily Matichon reported today (April 18).
Mr Danny Mark said at the start of this video clip that he apologizes in advance for running this type of material, “but I have been verbally abused by a taxi driver, and I want the viewpoint of Thais so as to improve myself.”
This video clip related that he just returned from a trip to Chiang Mai, and upon hailing a taxi at the airport to take him to condo, the driver asked for 500 baht.
When he asked him to flag down the meter, he refused, saying it was not working. However, when Mark said he would hail another cab, the driver did flag it down.
When they reached the expressway toll booth, the cabbie asked for 300 baht, saying they had to go through many sections. Mark said he knew very well it was 100 baht, so gave him 200 baht.
When they reached his condo, the meter showed the fare was 375 baht, and he gave the cabbie 500 baht, who turned to him and said,” this settles it.”
When Mark asked for his change, the cabbie said there is an addition 50 baht fee for hailing a cab at the airport, which takes it to 425 baht, adding, “so 500 baht is okay.”
Mark said he did not want to give this cabbie a tip because he had a bad feeling about him right from the start.
The cabbie verbally abused him saying, “stingy farang, stupid farang, other farangs are not like this, hope we don’t meet again,” this despite him asking for extra money.
Mark said he should have had a choice as to whether to give him a tip or not, and in the end the cabbie chased him out after hurling more abuse at him.
CAPTION:
Top: Danny Mark, left, with the the abusive cabbie at right. Photo: Matichon.
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