Altercation with a taxi driver

[baansgr]

Welcome to the "real thailand" it happens on a daily occurrence. not a lot a do about nothing.

[varun]

Count yourself lucky you didn't end up like Troy Pilkington:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/american-hacked-death-over-1-60-cab-fare-thai-police-v19346962

 

[gppower]

59 minutes ago, Monkeyrobot said:

When you reached the 3rd sub soi why did you not tell him to turn ?...

 

9 hours ago, JimP said:

Why didn't you you just tell him to turn when you were at the sub-soi?  

 

It was dark and I could not figure out exactly how many turns we passed. Being the taxi driver, I thought he knew...

He probably didn't understand that we needed the third turn....I thought the term ''yak'' was a commonly understood by Thais....   

[fak119]

On 1/9/2019 at 6:22 PM, gppower said:

Ermm....I did not know I had that option...

I reckon the badge number is shown on the dashboard together with his picture, right?

But then, how do I get in touch with the DLT? 

Ok, we understand that you have only just recently arrived in Thailand. It is all a matter of time to get used to the way everybody ticks.

[vinegarbase]

Just get the Grab app on your phone and be done with them. You can set your exact pickup and dropoff location in advance and you agree to the fare in advance so there is no dispute. 

[Hanuman2547]

2 minutes ago, fak119 said:

Ok, we understand that you have only just recently arrived in Thailand. It is all a matter of time to get used to the way everybody ticks.

As was mentioned earlier by Bangkok Barry, I believe the number is 1584.  They might tell you to call the tourist police who in turn might tell you to call DLT.  

[Hanuman2547]

3 minutes ago, vinegarbase said:

Just get the Grab app on your phone and be done with them. You can set your exact pickup and dropoff location in advance and you agree to the fare in advance so there is no dispute. 

I used them up in CM and they were great!  I highly recommend them especially if you are in a party of 3-4 people.  It is often times cheaper than taking the red songtaews.

 

In Bangkok I don't use them as much but perhaps on Soi 11 at 10pm it might be a good idea.

[gppower]

7 minutes ago, vinegarbase said:

Just get the Grab app on your phone and be done with them. You can set your exact pickup and dropoff location in advance and you agree to the fare in advance so there is no dispute. 

Do you need to attach your credit card details like with Uber or do you settle with cash?

[Hanuman2547]

4 minutes ago, gppower said:

Do you need to attach your credit card details like with Uber or do you settle with cash?

You pay cash.

[JimmyJ]

I would have been upset also.

 

For next time - take Grab.

[GettingBye]

You gypped him 10 baht and this is over a 100 baht fare?

 

My calculator must be broken because it keeps telling me that 10 baht is 31cents.

 

I give you far more credit as an intelligent farang to think you risked injury for 31 cents. Only a fools fool would do that.

 

And guys on here say Thais have an ego problem about losing face...Lol

Edited January 13, 2019 by GettingBye

[AlexCanada]

At the first sign of any problem with a Bangkok taxi driver, get out of the taxi and hop into another metered taxi.  Cut you losses in time and get into a more reasonable taxi, there are many in Bangkok.    Always take a photo of the license and make sure the driver matches the license.  Report the driver.  An alternative is to use an app like Grab if you are going to a place that may be difficult to find.  Grab tells the driver EXACTLY where you want to go.  

 

Seems like your anger ruined your night, not his.

 

Thailand may not be the country for you.

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by AlexCanada

[GettingBye]

I think being respectful and good natured when you first get in the cab helps alot...thats the only reason I can think of that my cab rides have always been good. 

 

Thats BKK cabs, I don’t think it might help in Phuket where they put farang in the hospital.

[JetSetFvr]

No brainer.....pay the amount and walk away.  Period. At the most a guy can be out $10 or so. Is it worth getting your ass beat with a baseball bat or motor taxi drivers jumping your ass for trying to beat the shit out of him?  Up to you. Always take a pic of the plate inside the car and when given a quote for anything, not that this was the case, have them write it on your hand. Problem solved. This goes for anything!! Always smile and be cool when you first get it. Say hello in Thai. I've never had a problem and never acted in a hurry.  Small talk means a lot too. Even a simple, " nice taxi.....chop chop will do it.

Edited January 14, 2019 by JetSetFvr

[Zonka]

On 1/14/2019 at 3:46 PM, JetSetFvr said:

No brainer.....pay the amount and walk away.  Period. At the most a guy can be out $10 or so. Is it worth getting your ass beat with a baseball bat or motor taxi drivers jumping your ass for trying to beat the shit out of him?  Up to you. Always take a pic of the plate inside the car and when given a quote for anything, not that this was the case, have them write it on your hand. Problem solved. This goes for anything!! Always smile and be cool when you first get it. Say hello in Thai. I've never had a problem and never acted in a hurry.  Small talk means a lot too. Even a simple, " nice taxi.....chop chop will do it.

Yeah thats the way! Shut up, pay, dont complain.  Thats why you will always get crap service!

Write it on your hand??? <deleted>??? I'm having a guy round this weekend to quote for new kitchen units.  I will be sure to follow your advice and get him to write the quotation on my hand! 

 

Best advice?? Do as I did after 20 plus years of putting up with crap in Thailand, move to another country.

[lamyai3]

On 1/10/2019 at 4:05 PM, NightSky said:

Or you could replace 'wrench' with various other tools / adjectives including but not limited to...

• Hoe

Wench? 

[lamyai3]

On 1/9/2019 at 5:59 PM, gppower said:

A few weeks ago I had a taxi ride from Asoke to Sukhumvit soi 56. Before setting off, I explained to the taxi driver that the exact destination was on the third sub-soi (yak) off soi 56 and off we went.

When we turned into soi 56, I kept repeating that we needed the third sub-soi but he kept on asking for the name of the building which I did not know. He drove on, missing the turn, to the end of soi 56 and then he stopped. He refused to turn around to look for the sub-soi, claiming that I did not give him the name of the building (even if I did, in order to have a chance to see it we should have been on that bloody yak 3). He told me to pay, get out and take a motorbike taxi. Things started to heat up. In principle, I did not take a taxi to end up stranded in an unknown neighborhood at dark and pay another extortionate fare to a motorbike taxi. On the other hand, I was also very aware of the context: I was a farang in a dark alley in Bangkok, out there just to be ripped off. Nevertheless, I thought I would give him a bit of a hard time, so I told him that I could not pay him if he didn't take me where I wanted to go. At that point, he raised his open hand threatening to slap me mumbling something in Thai and went with the classic line: "you pay now!" . I was not that impressed by his physical threat, as he was quite old and not in shape, but after weighing the multiple consequences, I decided to pay. Not the fare on the meter though, which he had kept running for the whole discussion, but I knocked off 10 baht, just to piss him off.

 

I was upset for the rest of the evening, thinking that I had been ripped off for the 100th time and even physically threatened. What were my options or what would you have done in the same situation?

 

1) Respond to his threat by raising my hands

2) Walk away without paying

3) Call the police (yeah right...)

 

I feared he would pull out a knife and/or call for the help of fellow nationals to beat the crap out of me, so I swallowed the pill and payed. It was not for the money, because the fare was around 100 baht, but it was a matter of principle. But then again, how many fights/beatings between farangs and thais happen over just a few hundred bahts...

More or less any taxi driver would be angry with and perhaps threaten a customer who refused to pay them the full fare on the meter. Sounds like you are entirely at fault in this situation, for presenting unclear directions, and then failing to pay attention once inside soi 56 (which was obviously the only part of your instruction the driver understood clearly). Soi 56 is a dead end and a fraction of the length of the 4 mile Sukhumvit section from Asok to the top of the soi. If you spoke basic Thai you'd easily have been able to remedy this situation, ask him to stop or go back (which he had to do anyway to get out of the soi). The fact that he wanted you out of the cab at that point suggests you were agitated and raising your voice at him, and trying to then underpay when you couldn't clearly identify where you wanted him to stop was a very unwise thing to do. 

[gppower]

On 1/17/2019 at 3:44 AM, lamyai3 said:

More or less any taxi driver would be angry with and perhaps threaten a customer who refused to pay them the full fare on the meter. Sounds like you are entirely at fault in this situation, for presenting unclear directions, and then failing to pay attention once inside soi 56 (which was obviously the only part of your instruction the driver understood clearly). Soi 56 is a dead end and a fraction of the length of the 4 mile Sukhumvit section from Asok to the top of the soi. If you spoke basic Thai you'd easily have been able to remedy this situation, ask him to stop or go back (which he had to do anyway to get out of the soi). The fact that he wanted you out of the cab at that point suggests you were agitated and raising your voice at him, and trying to then underpay when you couldn't clearly identify where you wanted him to stop was a very unwise thing to do. 

Never during the whole scene did I raise my voice nor did I respond to his gesture of slapping me. I was fuming yes, but I did let it show.

I am polite and treat everyone with respect. Clearly this doesn't pay off all the time. The only person who raised his voice and his hand was him.

I wouldn't have posted my frustration if I had been a complete b@$#rd with the taxi driver in the first place.

Do I speak basic Thai? No, you are right.

Did I give him unclear directions? Possibly, but who is the local taxi driver and who is the paying customer? If I had seen the turn inside soi 56. I would have told him to stop or turn around, basic Thai or not. The lay out of soi 56, as you describe, is even more aggravating as he didn't even try to go back that little distance. He just wanted to take the money he didn't deserve and get rid of the dead load in his taxi. Underpaying him was my little revenge...

In agreement with all the others who replied to my post, it is not worth getting hurt over pennies. I think I am not at fault though... 

[MasterHongThong]

On 1/18/2019 at 2:16 AM, gppower said:

Never during the whole scene did I raise my voice nor did I respond to his gesture of slapping me. I was fuming yes, but I did let it show.

I am polite and treat everyone with respect. Clearly this doesn't pay off all the time. The only person who raised his voice and his hand was him.

I wouldn't have posted my frustration if I had been a complete b@$#rd with the taxi driver in the first place.

Do I speak basic Thai? No, you are right.

Did I give him unclear directions? Possibly, but who is the local taxi driver and who is the paying customer? If I had seen the turn inside soi 56. I would have told him to stop or turn around, basic Thai or not. The lay out of soi 56, as you describe, is even more aggravating as he didn't even try to go back that little distance. He just wanted to take the money he didn't deserve and get rid of the dead load in his taxi. Underpaying him was my little revenge...

In agreement with all the others who replied to my post, it is not worth getting hurt over pennies. I think I am not at fault though... 

I think you made the right call and handled the situation as best as you could have. Learning the language is the only thing that might help prevent this situation in the future, but there will always be lazy pricks who get jobs as taxi drivers.