Bangkok taxi driver sets good example by returning money

[webfact]

Taxi driver sets good example by returning money
By The Nation

 

 

BANGKOK: -- A Bangkok cabbie was praised for his honesty yesterday after returning a wallet containing Bt35,000 to a passenger who dropped it in his taxi during Songkran.

 

A ceremony to witness taxi driver Somkid Mukham, 37, returning the wallet to 58-year-old Anukul Tanpipatari was held at the Police Radio FM 91 station in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district. 

 

Anukul and family members had hailed the taxi to take them to Don Meuang Airport to start their Songkran vacation on Thursday but realised he had lost his wallet when he checked in.

 

He filed a police complaint with the Don Meuang precinct and called the radio station’s 1644 hotline.

 

“I was relieved when I returned to Bangkok and was informed that someone had returned my wallet to the radio station,” Anukul said. 

 

To show his gratitude to the driver, Anukul gave him a Bt3,000 reward.

 

Somkid, a native of Ubon Ratchathani who has been driving taxis for 10 years, said that after dropping off Anukul he picked up another two passengers but found the wallet later and called 1644.

 

“I have a difficult life but I never want others’ things because I would feel uneasy,” Somkid said, urging fellow cabbies to return lost items.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312401

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-17

[darksidedog]

Amid all the stories of abusive and foul mouthed taxi drivers, many of whom look to overcharge whenever possible, a ray of sunlight, showing that there are good people out there.

Fair play to him for returning the wallet and to the guy who lost it for giving some cash as a reward.

[rkidlad]

I'm sold. Uber and Grab out! I shall look forward to using taxi drivers who are rarely, if at all, held accountable when they're doing something rotten. 

[doremifasol]

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I LOVE waking up to  good news!

.

[Penicillin]

Headline should be :

" Taxi driver stands out among peers "

[new2here]

For me, I have to say that the overwhelming percentage of rides are exactly as they're supposed to be... meter turned on, no muss, no fuss, no questions.. tell him (rarely it's a her, but a few times it is) where I'm going and we're off.. If there's any confusion, he'll usually ask before we depart. If it's a trip that may use the expressway, I'm almost always asked "highway?" first..

Now, yes, I have had drivers that play the meter game.. refuse a fare, take (what I call unnecessarily long) route that only serves to up the fare... but... when I count those times and measure against the whole - it is overwhelmingly rare.. not zero, but rare. Doesn't mean those few trips are somehow ok, but for me at least, I have to say regular taxis work well for me.. but I do cede that where you want to go, what you outwardly are or look like and where you wan to go/at what time can play into this (but feel it shouldn't)

[Khon Kaen Dave]

A poster did say, the other day that this would happen again soon. What with all the adverse news about TD's lately.

He was right. Notice this time, it was a Thai passenger, not a felang tourist.It was all an act. They used a Thai guy so the money would have been given straight back.

What a load of old cods.

[brianj1964]

This happened to me a few years ago, I dropped my wallet in a taxi on the trip from the airport to our hotel in Silom. we had the receipt you are handed by the company before you set off which had the drivers mobile phone number on but he wouldnt answer when we rang him.

Later that day we were heading to MBK and my wife casually mentioned it to the new taxi driver, he asked if we still had the receipt and we said yes, he phoned the original driver and on this occasion he did answer.  claiming he had been sleeping earlier. He said that he had found the wallet and wanted to return it at the airport office in front of his boss, to prove his honesty I got my wallet back, though it was £20 short, i gave him another £20 and the second taxi driver got 1000 baht for helping. this wallet had about £600 in it.

I have met my share of scumbag taxi drivers in Bangkok but you do get the odd good one.

[richard_smith237]

Quote

Taxi driver sets good example by returning money

 

Which doesn't offset the crappy, lazy, complaining Taxi drivers I have encountered this week !...  

 

....and they were the one's who didn't simply drive off rejecting my fare... 

Edited April 17, 2017 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

9 hours ago, new2here said:

For me, I have to say that the overwhelming percentage of rides are exactly as they're supposed to be... meter turned on, no muss, no fuss, no questions.. tell him (rarely it's a her, but a few times it is) where I'm going and we're off.. If there's any confusion, he'll usually ask before we depart. If it's a trip that may use the expressway, I'm almost always asked "highway?" first..

Now, yes, I have had drivers that play the meter game.. refuse a fare, take (what I call unnecessarily long) route that only serves to up the fare... but... when I count those times and measure against the whole - it is overwhelmingly rare.. not zero, but rare. Doesn't mean those few trips are somehow ok, but for me at least, I have to say regular taxis work well for me.. but I do cede that where you want to go, what you outwardly are or look like and where you wan to go/at what time can play into this (but feel it shouldn't)

 

I guess more than anything else it depends where you are...  I used to live on Rama IV near Sukhumvit 42 and encountered about 10-20% rejection and poor taxi drivers from that area. 

Now I live on Sukhumvit 20 and encounter somewhere closer to 40% rejection and poor taxi drivers. 

 

Combine this with night time and the negative stats from both areas doubled... 

 

... Some are good and its a shame that the negative percentage tarnish their honesty, additionally, when compared to other cities in Thailand the taxi's in Bangkok are a pretty good bunch... However, this is not a valid basis of comparison...   

Saying that a taxi driver is good because he didn't rip us off is more of a slur on the industry than a direct compliment... our expectations are generally so low when we are not faced with some issue we are pleasantly surprised !!!...  The only city I can compare this to is KL Malaysia, where the taxi drivers are also chancing opportunistic scam artists *(IMO)... 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by richard_smith237

[Maestro]

Removed some troll posts and the replies to them.

[wakeupplease]

Well done Mr taxi driver, I hope this is not just a fad and people in this neck of the woods are turning into honest citizens. Yea Right dream on