Rant: Just gave the best cab tip ever

[Maclowery]

I don't like using cabs out here in the city, but we do it pretty much every 4am shift, because the train commute home would take over an hour due to waiting. So, a decent portion of my budget goes to late cabs home, which works out to probably about what normal car-ownin folks would pay for gas/repairs/insurance on a given month in an expensive city. I don't like it, but we do it.

Tonight, I got off work particularly tired. No worries. Made a lot of money. Talked to the nice cabbie as he drove me back to Queens. Gave him his 26 dollars in ones, even laughed and apologized that my customers give to me as I give to him. I always shake the cabbies hand, just out of respect for another guy in the service industry. Walked up the stairs to my apartment. Counted my cash out for tomorrow's deposit. Realized three of the 26 ones I gave him were hundreds that were meant for rent. Of course he was gone into the sunrise, gleefully enjoying his biggest day ever.

I didn't get a cab number or receipt - jesus, who the hell does that out here. There are about 5 billion NYC cab companies, and even if the guy was honest enough to report it to his company, who knows if they'd be honest enough to just hand me 300 bucks, or if I'd ever figure out what company. I filed a report with 311, the local cab service thing for lost property. But it's not lost property, the dude can easily just say he got a crazy tip.

I just lost 300 dollars because I was really tired. I feel like I just got punched in the guts, directly after barfing.

I can't tell pretty much anyone I work with. I can't tell my friends, they'd mercilessly mock me. I was [expletive] sober for christ sake.

[expletive] [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] [expletive]

God damnit [expletive] [expletive] [expletive]

What a terrible way to start my month. I'm taking the miserable subway with crackheads and drunks at 430am until August. [expletive].

[longhornbaseball]

That sucks, man. Always keep your hundos separated from your other bills, especially 1's and 10's.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

good idea pop. There are good people out there. Better odds than the lottery.

[heyzeus]

A long time ago, I was visiting a good friend, a playright and fellow St Louisan, who lived somewhere in Brooklyn. We were out pretty late celebrating the opening of his show. We took a cab from midtown back to his place, in a weird isolated corner of Brooklyn. As we head into his house, I realize I left my cell phone in the back seat of the cab. I don't even know my own parents' phone number, it's literally all in that phone and not backed up anywhere (this is 2001, there is no cloud). I don't even know what cab company we used, so there's no one to contact to get it back.

As I'm cursing my luck, the cab comes barreling back around the corner. Cabbie got lost trying to get back to Manhattan, and he's pissed about that, and pissed about the tip we gave him, and probably just an angry person in general. So as he's yelling at my friend, I open the back door, slide in, and find my phone sitting right where I left it. Victory.

[Maclowery]

Yea, just spent an hour and a half calling every cab company I could, asking if they had a driver of a Ford Transit, starting his shift at 4am in midtown, report a large overtip. I did have one guy tell me about a pair of sunglasses left, that was nice of him to offer.

It was just a whirlwind of stupid on my part. I always keep my large bills separate, and cannot fathom why my exhausted, stupid ass had wrapped the hundreds in with the small bills. I have had to have looked through my shorts fifty times now expecting to pull out the big bills.

Moral of the story, etc and onward. Who knows, maybe my online report will come to fruition - the cabbie really was pleasant, he theoretically could have reported it and given three hundred easy bucks to the police for holding. Ya, right. /hits head against wall again.

[lukethedrifter]

https://www.nyc.gov/apps/311universalin ... nd%2BFound

who knows?

[KyCardinalFan]

I feel for you Mac, sleep deprivation is a horrible thing.

I'd like to offer words of hope, but I'm afraid that your money is likely long gone. It seems if the cabbie was an honest guy, he would've pointed out your error in the moment. Who knows, maybe his conscience will get the better of him.

Sorry. Good luck.

[Maclowery]

It'll smooth over my budget in the long run. I'll stay in a few more times this month, and I went to the grocery and bought a bunch of stuff to cook big, reheatable leftover style meals instead of eating out once or twice a day like I've been spoiling myself doing.

And, hey, maybe that guy had a family who really needs the money more than I do. There's a slim-to-none chance he reported it through the 311 service, and if it gets back to me, I'll certainly do a cartwheel. Just not expecting it. C'est la vie. Off to work! Hopefully it's sleepy so I can pay some attention to the Heat/Pacers game.