A rude or overcharging taxi driver in Hong Kong is kind of a given and is usually not news, unless they’re umm, special. I blogged previously about going after an overcharging taxi driver and well, here’s one about going after a rude one.
Rockstar and I were on what should’ve been a quick, uneventful errand recently, and the fare had a 20 cent figure in it. Now, this is usually rounded up (some but not that many cabbies might round down, and it is enough of a “thing” whereby you’d kinda be, “Oh, what a nice cabbie,” about it) unless you really have the exact change – this day I happened to have a 20 cent coin in my wallet so I gave the cabbie that.
The cabbie throws the coin back at us sitting in the back seat and it lands on the floor of the cab after hitting me on the knee or lap. He starts snapping in Cantonese (rough translation) “I don’t want it! Give me this for what, no one wants them etc etc.” I calmly look for his taxi license registration number (which is unusually faint – usually it’s very prominent so it takes me awhile to make it out – all the while with a big glowering face and body at the side of my vision) and when Rockstar asks what I’m doing I say “taking down his number for a complaint”.
At that point, I still don’t mean to do it yet, it’s just retaliation for having the 20 cent coin thrown back at us. (Again, varying degrees right – Rockstar would later ask me where it hit me and I realize if it had been either of our faces or upper body then well that is worse right… So he really threw it, not tossed it or whatever, but I was more distracted by his constant stream of rude Cantonese because it didn’t hit us anywhere more erm, significant?) I do find that there is a set of real bullies who are particularly mean if you have little kids with you though it usually manifests as over charging because they assume you are too busy with the kids to check. He’s still berating us in rapid-fire Cantonese that I ignore as I slam the door behind us (my hands are full, how hard can I slam anyways)…
However, as we walk to our apartment building entrance we realize the taxi driver has paused nearby while making a round. He winds down his window and roars at the top of his lungs, “POOK KAI AH Lei Ge Sei Pat Poh!!!”
Our receptionist and another mildly amused resident waiting for a cab fail to explain exactly what “pook kai” means (“Go and die” right?) but assure me it isn’t actual profanity so I still typed it here 😛 (Btw in our huge development of several hundred (thousand?) units, cabbies are supposed to go back to the main waiting area to queue because otherwise it’s considered unfair to those who have been obediently waiting in line and YES this is a thing and some will get upset especially at non-peak when they have waited longer.. Speaking of which there are umm, “Queueing Rules” around here. As in don’t know queueing rule can still kena hammered because most people who deliberately cut queue pretend they don’t know the rules anyway so chances are they don’t believe you really don’t know. I mention because it’s part of living here and is probably different from elsewhere…)
So… here we go complaint hotline. It was about 1.15pm and the taxi number was EJ8820 (someone please tell me if that’s not ok to put up since I already lodged formal complaint). I was asked if the driver was male or female (they would have preferred his name as well but time and plate does indicate who was responsible for the cab at the time.. I was too busy trying to see the blurry number on display while still being berated and glowered at), and then they explained my two alternate courses of action:
1) lodge police report and the police will come take a statement (I said no to this because I am not about to let a nasty person take up more of my time)
2) have the taxi complaints hotline note down the complaint and if he gets another one within a year the Transport Department I think it was issues a formal warning… After that…. suspension of license for a certain period? I didn’t ask specifically beyond the formal warning because the person on the other line briskly but politely finishes up and rings off, having politely rattled off points (1) and (2) up to formal warning bit in rapid fire Cantonese as well as good English.
When I finish, Rockstar remarks, “I’m glad you didn’t let him get away with it.”
