Highway Robbery

Maybe now this guy will try his customer with respect...

I would have done the same thing had I been in your place (well, actually, I have). I hate being taken advantage of when I am in a foreign country, and I think it is important for people to realize that foreigners are not stupid. I am a 23-year-old American female, and when I travel in certain countries people seem to think I have "sucker" stamped across my forehead. I don't allow people to take advantage of me though, just as I would not take advantage of a foreigner in America.

Dear Rabbi Salomon,
I listened with great interest to your video of "the cab ride" and as a person who has travelled all over the world I would like to warn you and tell you to be very careful if ever you experience a situation like that again. I am european and in some european countries debating the price of cab fare while already in the cab can prove to be unsafe! Tempers can be short and politeness quickly forgotten
when a prospective passenger decides to debate the price of the trip while already in the car.
Always, when you are not sure, ask when you are still on the curb, with all your belongings! Even then the natives will know right away that you are not one of them, nomatter how well you speak their language, they know and some will try to take advantage of you by charging you more.I have experienced this while living in Paris and in other european countries and even in the larger cities of my own country, simply because I do not speak the dialect of their city.And I agree, it is not a nice feeling to know that people will take advantage.. I always knew about how much was reasonable and depending on how much time I had, would either take or decline the ride.
Travel safely!

Perhaps the higher price reflected the later hour. Cabs often charge a different rate later in the night which is to be expected. Furthermore, because of the many one-way streets in certain cities it may have been a longer ride the way back to the hotel.
So you cannot totally use your drive to the restaurant as a basis for establishing the exact price for the return trip.
You should not have just jumped out like that.
PS - what is with that clock behind you?

I very much appreciate what you did! I had a cab ride like that once and then started talking to the guy in his own language, well, I didn't see the same landmark for the third time!

You did the right thing. If everyone took the responsibility to do what you did, I then ask, would any taxi attempt such a thing?

I think that it is also a lesson for everyone, regardless of where you are -- not to take advantage of "strangers". Once, in London, I was with my family having coffee and dessert in a restaurant late in the evening. It took forever, far longer than the simple orders should have. The "bill" arrived and I put the amount before the suggested service fee of 18% on the table and we left. The maitre d' came running into the street to tell us we had not left any amount for service-- I replied that was because we did not receive any and we kept walking.

This is always a sticky point between my wife & myself. I react exactly the way you did & "there ought to be a law"!

I couldnt agree more with how you handled the situation,and hope that many will learn from you not to be taken advantage of by the takers.

I agree that he was trying to take advantage of you, but you could still ahve tried to haggle your way down, Hashem gives us chances to correct ourselves and we should act in the same way in our dealings with people,
and after all.. haggling is half the fun!

I agree with you. If more people would do that the kindness not only to the cab driver, but everyone else would soon be evident.

You were correct.

I agree with your reaction,and I probably would have done the same,but, I would have negociated a price first B4 driving one inch.He was absolutly trying to take advantage of you.Just remember two wrongs don't make a rite.So you should have sorted out the price first.

The cab driver obviosly was wrong in trying to take advantage, personally I probably would have laughed at his suggested fare, making it clear that I knew better. I would then have given him the oppurtunity to do teshuva, and agree on a fair price, isn't that what we all need? "Hashem tzilcha". I think you may have missed the chance to be mevater for a fellow jew (who may see us all as rich Americans)working to support his family. I remain a devoted talmid.

I think that since you asked the driver to suggest a price you got what you asked for. You did not ask him to suggest a fair price; you asked him to suggest a price. He did and you should have counter suggested. I do not think you taught him a lesson or helped the next passenger. Most people when in that situation believe they are bartering. He suggested high and you should have counter suggested low. That is how batering is done. You were out of tune with what you were doing. Shalom and Blessings!

hopefully the driver learned a/the lesson; we have no way of telling if he brushed off the lesson or not; what matters is you had the opportunity to not let him get away with a wrongdoing... I think THIS is where many times WE miss opportunities; his habits are well established, how about ours?

Dear Rabbi

I believe you were right-- however when you got to the next taxi, what price did you pay?

The country I believe with 99% sureity is Israel. Tourists naturally are unfamiliar with the norm. So heres how it goes. Because of tax evasion or "MAM" thats VAT, evasion. Drivers prefer running without a meter as of course the meter logs every metre and cent or agora as this case may be. Normally "knowing" passengers know what the price of a certain trip may be if they have done it before. So say its normally 24 shekels on the meter, the driver may say 25 and the passenger may say no 20 will do and that completes the pre trip bargaining, this way both sides save a few sheks. If the passenger does not know the value of the trip they will say immediately "Tafil Moneh" put the meter on. That way theres no doubts at the end of the trip. With tourists no doubt the drivers will try and pull a fast one with their pre trip price. Thats just how it is. ALL tourists should say "Tafil Moneh" or put the meter on before the start of the trip.

Now I have used taxis in Jerusalem a bit and can tell you that the Jewish drivers are by and large ok. Many are nice and helpfull. However without trying to sound like a racist thats definately not the case with many arab drivers who run cabs in Jerusalem. Most are from E. Jerusalem and many have taken over the taxi industry. Now they have a complete different attitude. Almost every trip I have had with them has been most unpleasant. Not only with the meter ys or no. But mostly my extra sense of perception. They dont say a word but you can feel the contempt they have for you if you clearly are a Jew. I have experienced this on a number of occasions and its most disconcerting. You could almost cut the air with a knife. Theres not much getting around this, as you may only discover the driver once the cab start to move off. Important tip is to have change in your pocket. When it comes time to pay say 35 sheks from a 50 all of a sudden he hardly has any change, its a ploy often used by the arab drivers, they will try anything and everything. And as a palestinian come so called Israeli who can freely travel over Israel they see everyone as an "occupier" of "theyre" land, hence the contempt. Taxis in Israel especially Jerusalem is a tricky business. You have to know the score.

As far as the authors actions. If the driver was one of those with contempt, you did well and yes serves him right. Only hope you didnt have to hang around for an hour waiting for another cab. And if he was a Jew, well now you know how to behave. And I have to tell you the Jewish drivers that I have encountered were all great and sweet.

Excellent decision- not to say that i would have done the same just given my personality, but you certianly did made the correct decision. Exaxcly as you said, if you went back and forth with him, he wouldnt have learned his lesson, he wouldve thought anyime i see a tourist ill shoot high, and if the cusotmer is a little savvy hell bargain with me- but if you taught him that if u push to hard you might lose the entire sale, then he would think twice about going for "the kill"

Rabbi Salomon,
As someone who has done his share of foreign traveling, allow me to comment on your taxi experience.
The time to negotiate a fare is before entering the cab. If you can't reach agreement with the driver, simply say "no thank you" and move on. Getting in the cab before reaching agreement on the fare risks a confrontation between you and the driver, which can become potentially dangerous to you and those who are with you.Consider yourself lucky that nothing serious happened to you or your family.
Ken Sigel MD

right along Rabbi, however you shoulf know that in general there is an additonal charge for the 3rd and 4th person and at night there is a 25% increase in the price,

I might have asked him: "Is there some reason you particularly need $24 when $14 was sufficient for the previous driver?" Look, taxi drivers live from hand to mouth, and your extra $10 would not make him a rich man. Perhaps his wife or kid needed some medicine that day, or he had to pay for his kid's braces. If he said so, and you believed him, it would have been worth paying extra. (And by the way, don't you psychotherapists just give a "50 minute" hour in therapy?) Finally, if he had offered you a price that was $10 less than the previous driver, would you have ordered your family out because the driver had no self-respect? Would you have insisted on paying more if you knew he was inexperienced and undercalculating the fare? I really think your degree of punitiveness was based more on wanting to punish those whom you had wished you stood up to on prior occassions. For this analysis, I will charge only $10, which you may donate to the charity (or taxi driver) of your choice!

You did exactly what I would have done. Show the cabdriver that tourists are no pushovers, and they can't be taken for a "ride" I wish there would be more like you!!! Kol Hakavod!

My husband doesn't quibble with the taxi drivers in Israel, he feels they are hurting when there are fewer tourists so he doesn't mind giving a bit more. When I took a taxi to the airport and the driver gave super service I gave him $5.00 american over the agreed upon price. I feel they are Jews so I don't mind as much. Your driver asked way too much more.

I remember many times that a very high price would be quoted with the idea that negotiations/bargaining would bring the price down to a mutually satisfactory level. Could this possibly have been done? If you tried bargaining and the driver was adamant, then you were perfectly right in getting out, and you may have done a favor for the next customer. But don't forget, this driver has been at it for a long time, and is probably inured to these things, so he may not have learned at all, chas v'shalom.

Also, two other thoughts: did you try to explain that it was only "$14" coming to the restaurant? And also, is it possible that, since it was later at night, the cost went up for whatever reason (danger, he was tired, etc)? ... just thinking out loud...

In the end, though, kol hakavod for not getting ripped off!

AFTER ALL THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO FEEL LIKE LONELY LITTLE PETUNIAS IN AN ONION PATCH. I REALLY WONDER IF A JEWISH PERSON DID NOT WRITE THAT SONG.......AT LEAST TILL MOSHIACH ARRIVES.

B"H
Let us us be fair. Maybe yes, maybe no.
Never the less, a lesson well learned. Honesty is still and always will be the best virtual. To be truthful is a Blessing in and of it's self. To live as Hashem has shown us is the only way to live our life.. I spent thirty five years in the same business, in N.Y. C. I can truthfully say that I never tried to take advantage of any passenger. I do mot take pride in myself for being honest, but Hashem takes pride in me, for learning my lessons of honesty. Now I have earned the right to live the rest of my life in peace and contentment, in the land of the Jews, Florida. Give my regards to Brooklyn.

I would have made sure there were other cabs available before I did that.

Wouldn't want to stand on principle for 25 minutes waiting for the next cab to come along

Rabbi Salomon, I believe you did do the Right Thing in handling the taxi driver issued. I believe that you response did help future riders with this cab.

It was appropriate. Sure, you could have confronted him and he would have met your price, but he would just go to the next fare and try to do it all over again.

This may teach him a lesson. Be fair up front on the first try. Life doesn't guarantee second chances.

He was attempting to take advantage by almost doubling the going rate and assumed tourists would not know better. Shame on the cab driver, not the passengers who stood up for themselves and protected their purse strings. An unarmed thief is still a thief.

I'm not sure that jumping out without explaining to the cab driver what was going on accomplished your goal. I think it would have been better to tell him exactly what you were thinking and then exit the cab if you were unable to resolve the issue. My fear is that he did not surmise from the events what you trying to teach him.

I agree 100% that we have an obligation to take action. Too often we eat at a restaurant, have bad service and then never go back. Why not tell the manager or call the owner to give them a chance to take action. As the owner, wouldn't we want that? To some people, silence is synonomous with acceptance and they will keep doing the same thing, or increase the bad behavior. Sometimes people have never learned to respect and we have to go out of our way to teach the lesson.

Dear Rabbi,
I must say you sound like the typical American tourist, religiously convinced that the American way is the only conceivable way, even when visiting remote countries.
You need to understand that in THAT country the rules (believe it or not) are different then the rules in your country. You probably noticed that in that country the taxi fees are not written on the cab door, like in they are in the US. The way it works there is: choose "meter" price, which can variate according to traffic, OR choose to "bet" on the price; in other words, taxis prices can be bargained. Sounds crazy? Well, I find it crazy (and a bit immoral too) that a coffee in America can cost up to 4$.
It seems to me that you refused to play to that country's rules, and even more you decided to test the taxis driver honesty, according to US rules, and let Him call the price. In fact, if you knew what the "right" price was, why didn't you accept the driver's offer to call the (right) price when he asked you to, but instead you ask him to call the price?
I hear from your voice that you care about that country, and that you take things to you heart, even when it comes to check taxi driver's honesty. But, please don't forget that that country is NOT the USA, it is rather a very different country.
Chodesh Tov. Rami R.

I admire you for not allowing the drive to rip you off. Too many people just acceptwhat happens, and when you ask why, they say I didn't want to make a scene.

Those are the people who if some spit on them they would think it is raining!

JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHICH COUNTRY THIS HAPPENED IN AND WHY YOU CHOSE NOT TO SAY? I WOULD HAVE TOLD THE DRIVER THAT I KNEW THE WHAT THE AOUNT SHOULD BE FOR THE RIDE AND THAT OTHERS LIKE ME ALSO DO...THEN HE WOULD REALLY HAVE TO THINK TWICE BEFORE DOING THAT AGAIN!

i think an appropriate response was to confront the cab driver. Your price was way too high. Bartering today in a foreign country seems to be the order of the day. I'm sorry but your price is too high, how about X amount. If the driver says he can or cannot do it, then an appropriate response either get out of the cab or agree on a price.

You were a hundred percent right. Hopefully he will think twice next time.