Gothamist has a pretty standard taxi routine: get in the cab, say our destination, repeat our destination, repeat our destination a third time (we sometimes speakabitquickly), roll down the windows because the AC is off or sucks, wait, pay and tip the driver, get out. Occasionally we'll get into a conversation with the driver of the standard "where are you from" or "how's traffic" variety but most often we get too absorbed in looking out the window. Which is to say we haven't ever really had any problems with our cabbies, though admittedly we don't taxi that often. But many people have had problems, and now one company is trying to do something about it. Yellow Cab SLSJet, which has 700 cabbies in its employ, is starting to institute a charm school for its drivers. Over the next few months drivers will learn "cabby etiquette" (i.e. stay calm, don't talk politics, smile) and "grooming" (i.e. not so much cologne, stay clean, smile). Cabbies will also be told to lay off the cellphones and to tone down their cultural music.
While Gothamist admits this is probably a good idea (who couldn't use some charm pointers) we're not really sure what all the fuss is about as we've always enjoyed our cab rides. And as for the music, as long as its not too loud, how else are we supposed to learn about new music if not from our cabbies? Do you think our cabbies need more social graces or should they just concentrate on getting you where you need to be?
