Putting the "Cop" in Copter

Yup, pretty much the angle I got midday today as I sat in the cellphone lot at the airport. The landing pad for this copter is right on airport property, closer to the Coast Guard station. I thought 'Hmm, that would be a good name for today's blog...putting the Cop in Copter!'

Today was long and wearying. I was in the car at 7:42 am and did not stop til just about 90 minutes ago. As much as I love to drive for Uber, it makes for a long time in the car and it is and can be tiring. I get to do it all again tomorrow too. I have a bill coming this week that (of course) is due before my first paycheck from my new job, so I am hitting the road to have enough in my account to cover it. I yearn for the days when this can slow down some. I'm hitting a critical level of burnout now. 

Fingers crossed that tomorrow will pay out handsomely. 

The House of Stang

The House of Stang is not the name of some Chinese restaurant, although it could be. It describes the house I saw this morning on the way to collect someone for a ride. The above photo is a stock photo, so it's not mine and as my Uber app was on, I couldn't take a pic. Seriously, this house I saw had a green Stang in the driveway, I'd say a 2003 or so and on the grass next to this one...two battered Foxbody 5.0s from the late eighties/early nineties plus one more Stang, I'd say 1995 or so. I was in heaven! I see a LOT of this sort of thing. I also see vintage VWs all over the place, rusting in driveways and at times sitting halfway hidden under tarps in people's backyards.

I LOVE cars and anyone that knows anything about me, they know it too. And being on the roads most of the time, I see some great ones. Whenever I'm doing Uber, it depends on where I'm driving. In an area that is more affluent, I will see more Teslas and high-end muscle cars like the Challenger Hellcat or a souped-up Shelby Mustang. I have seen plenty of  vintage VWs driving around as well, some which I've seen at local shows or others I've never seen before.

I have seen some things where I had to go home and look them up online because I didn't know what they were. I see many Ferraris, Maserati and my personal favorite, the McLaren. I've seen tons of Bentleys, Rolls and other things. I saw two Prowlers this weekend, one in Tampa and one today. Anything that makes me turn around to look at it is a find in my book.

So, speaking of today, it went far better than yesterday. I met some awesome people and they were airport pickups. The 'Paul Blart Rent-A-Cops' seemed to have disappeared and I didn't see them screaming at people today and it was a nice change. They are such a buzzkill. They make picking up people into such an ordeal for everyone. It's stressful enough trying to find people who you don't even know what they look like and here you have some make-believe cop yelling at you. Very vexing.

But today was good and I plan to be at it next weekend as well. Fingers crossed for next weekend too.

Crowd Control

The above photo is possibly one of the only places on earth that I'm okay with a crowd. That photo was taken back in 2016 at a VW event locally known as 'VWs Over the Skyway' and it is infested with VWs of all vintage. That's one of my side things, taking photos of cars, especially these. I once attended every single show locally and beyond for good photos and in those times, it was fine being in the midst of crowds. 

Driving as a rideshare person, I get a lot of email from Uber regarding events in my area. Yes, you can make really good money doing those, if you're so inclined. But, my take is that you could promise me $500 an hour and I still wouldn't do it. Driving in extremely crowded areas gives me a panic attack. I just don't like it. To me, it's unsafe and if something happens to my car due to someone else not watching what they're doing or being distracted by people walking in the roads then it's a recipe for disaster. Add to that, I have people in my backseat that I'm trying to drop off and the stress of other cars and people not watching what they're doing, sends my nerves through the roof. 

Back in January, we had the Gasparilla event where people dress like pirates and drink the day away. I mean, to each their own, I suppose but I could find about 100 better ways to spend one's time. But regardless, I had a trip of four people in my car who I dropped over there. It was a nightmare! A lot of the roads were closed and despite GPS, I still didn't know where I was going. Cars everywhere and people walking right in front of my car,  never even glancing up from their damn phones! Seriously? Because the world revolves around you! I drop them off and try to make it back to a main road, almost running over a damn bicyclist who popped out of nowhere. It was just a mess. That's not fun for me at all. Rideshare is supposed to be my fun job but when it's more stressful than anything else, than no, count me out. I will happily return to taking people to work in the weekend mornings or some other thing. 

Some drivers adore the 'overnights'. That would be when the bars close and they pick up all the drunks. My patience for drunks is minus 0000. I do not enjoy myself with drunk people. Nor, do I enjoy hearing from other drivers about these people that puke in their cars. Yes, people are that disrespectful that they lose their cookies in the back of someone's else's car. Haven't we outgrown this yet? I can see if you're twenty one and it's your first time out with the ability to legally drink and not get busted for it or if you've become twenty one and want to experience just getting plowed for the first time, then maybe sure. But any age past your twenties, grow up! If you're drinking to the point of puking, then you've got issues. 

I have yet to drive those hours. I know that there is great money to be made but to make that money, I have to be all in or it's not happening. I have to get as much out of the experience as the other person is and if they're shit-assed drunk, what's the point? Yes, okay, I might be saving them from a DUI but still. I have had riders who have said to me yesterday that I could stand to make the big bucks last night and I said nope. I had plans anyway last night and just in driving home from my friend's house, there were three spots where I saw cops congregated by the roadside with people pulled over. No thank you. 

So, that being said, I'm once again hopeful for a good Sunday. 

Then again...maybe not...sigh

And then, despite the best intentions, you have one of ' 'those days'. I think most, if not all, rideshare drivers have a day where things just don't go quite as expected. Today was one of those days. I anticipated making more money today due to it being a holiday and Spring Break to boot. But it just never got off the ground in the right way. I liken today to being like a plane you think might fly but it has a wing problem and it never really gets off the ground totally and finally you just give up and stick it back in the hangar and call it a day.

My first ride of the day was smooth, picked the guy up and brought him to the local Arbys so that he could open and start the day. Dropped him off and got another ping. However, the GPS could not get a read on where this person was and the address was well away from the area where the GPS pin was trying to settle. This was in a bad section of town no less, which normally I don't have a problem with. What I do have a huge problem with is when a rider moves, meaning walking or not being where they're supposed to be. I ended up cancelling the ride because I was getting aggravated which led me to #2 pet peeve, answer your damn phone! I'm calling the guy trying to figure out where the hell he is and naturally it goes to voice mail. If you cannot care enough to answer the phone and I cannot find you at all, oh well. I got nothing for you. I'm wasting my gas playing hide and seek in a bad section of town while you meander all over the place. STOP MOVING!!! The Uber driver is NOT going to find you if you keep moving! The GPS needs to get a read on a stationary object, not one that is hopscotching everywhere!

From there, I get another ping where I pick up a surly older woman who when I ask her specific questions about her destination, mumbles and grunts in response and then has the gall to get pissed at me when I miss her turn. Also in a bad section of town that I was unfamiliar with. The whole time this is going on, I have some guy who is tailgating me and then  whipping around me and being an idiot. I got fed up after I dropped her off and headed up to the airport.

I got a couple of okay rides and then the last one of the day there was this guy who barked out a location, imagining that I knew what the hell he was talking about. And then got mad at me when my GPS was acting up and he was backseat driving, telling me where to go when he had never even been to this place and neither had I. This was one of those people who imagine that drivers and others are their servants/. I could not wait to get this idiot out of my car! He was pissing and moaning about all the traffic. Well, duh, it's Tourist Season here, what did he expect? That everyone was to stay home in expectation of his arrival? Yeah, that'll happen...not. If you have a problem with the traffic, then perhaps choose a better time to be here. We all know what they say about lack of planning, don't we?

Needless to say, I was done early because my patience had worn thin and my temper was simmering. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be better. Historically for me, Sundays are extremely lucrative and there tends to be a slightly better crowd. Sundays are good for people going to work at retail and hospitality jobs as well as people wanting to go wherever. Fingers crossed that it gets better.

Vroom Vroom! Go car go!

Yes, that IS a Bentley Continental GT racing car. (It's a stock photo. I didn't take this.) The St Pete Grand Prix was this weekend and I had plenty of business from that including a Scottish guy who was a sponsor for a Scottish driver in this weekend's event. He was the one who told me about this vehicle in the series. I think his eyes lit up when I shared that I loved cars, especially things like the McLaren which is my dream car.

Today's business was brisk but I cut it off early because I need to get up tomorrow for personal business. Yesterday was the record breaker and today came close but not quite.

As much as I love driving, there are also downsides too. The first one being that some of the people that arrange for these rides really don't use their heads. I was at the airport a couple of hours ago and a ping came in from someone named 'Crew'. Now, we don't have photos of the people we're picking up. We don't know if the person is male or female and just because 'Anna' might be the name on the screen, it doesn't always mean that we get Anna in the car. We might get Mark or Anthony because people will use their parents' Uber accounts or a friend's or what have you. So, this being Grand Prix weekend, I imagined that 'Crew' might have meant racing crew or even another crew or better yet, someone from Allegiant who needed a ride.

This ties into Airport Pet Peeve #2...when the Uber/Lyft drivers are coming to the curb to pick you up, please for the love of God be ready! The riders CAN see my car, my photo and a photo of my car right on the rider app. It's annoying beyond belief when you're holding up traffic behind you looking for your rider and they are looking at their damn phone!!! Or better yet, looking ABOVE the traffic! People, UBER does not FLY!!! Uber is on the ground, which means your line of sight needs to be on the approaching cars and not in the sky or in your phone!

So, I'm driving like my grandma slow as hell, looking for someone who MIGHT be looking for me, Nope, nothing. So, I have to drive around again but this time, I call the number of 'Crew' and this snippy woman answers the phone saying that I "drove right past her crew member." To which I said, "I see ONLY the name Crew. I do not know if this person is a man, a woman or more than one person. There is no photo the driver app. So, basically I have no clue who I am getting if they are not waiting at the curb and looking for me." Needless, to say, she dropped the attitude immediately. Once I got closer to the curb, there was a woman waiting there, who by the way was NOT there earlier and it was the person I needed to collect. I got her sorted out and dropped her where she needed to go. (In case you're wondering, you CAN call your riders but it's like a blind number and is not tied to them personally. The UBER app does that for their protection.)

Airport Pet Peeve #3, Paul Blart aka "I have a badge on, so I'm big man now!" The airport usually hauls this guy out when it gets really crowded curbside with all the vehicles crammed in there. Tampa Airport has a few of these too who take themselves way too seriously. The one today accused me of 'holding up ALL the traffic' when there were at the very least 40 cars all crammed into the same space. I'm not sure what he imagined I was supposed to do, push a button and fly over everyone, maybe? He attempted to tell me how it is to do airport pickup for Uber. I just rolled my eyes and moved on down the road. I work that airport almost every day. I do not need his help. Also, he was standing right in the middle of where the cars were pulling away from the curb and then screaming at people when they wouldn't stop. Well, when you just stand there like a dummy and don't attempt to direct traffic, that's what you're gonna get. We're not in your head, reading your mind, dude. None of us know what you want unless you tell us directly. Eyeroll.

Other than those things, it's a good because the positive outweigh the negatives, every time.

Sweet Dreams

(Coin left behind from a Canadian rider)

When I was cleaning the back of my car last weekend, I found this coin lying on the backseat. It was shortly after I had dropped some Canadian women at their destination. It might have fallen out of a purse or something. I've kept it as a 'good luck' charm for now. It's not like i could spend it or anything. I also put this on Twitter and asked a Canadian friend what it was. 

At any rate, yesterday was my BEST day ever at least from a financial standpoint. No, it's not like winning the Lotto, not like that but by the same token, it's helping keep the lights on and the bills paid. And that makes a lot of worries go away. 

I drove to Tampa twice, to Clearwater Beach once and many places in between. I didn't get as many huge long trips but the one at the end of my time last night was huge. I picked this young lady up out in one of our fine beach communities and drove her to the other side of St Pete, easily a forty five minute drive. I peeked in the backseat at one point and she was out cold, stretched across the seat. I have a lot of people that fall asleep back there. 

One thing I've noticed the more I drive on a daily basis, is that I've become more patient. Right now, in Florida especially, we are at the height of Tourist Season and the roads are full of out-of-state cars everywhere. So, that means increased traffic. I've become less apt to be angry behind the wheel and it someone really needs to get in front of me, I let them. It's not a race. I have really come a long way with that because road rage has been an issue with me before, either from me or getting it from other people. And when you have people in your car, you really need to behave and be professional. 

Another skill that is being sharpened as I continue to drive is my customer service abilities. There's a lot of "Yes, sir" and "Yes, ma'am" from me, particularly when the riders are older. There's a lot of me getting out of my car and assisting with the luggage being placed in the trunk. There's a lot of me being willing to stop at a 7-11 to let a rider pick up some beer on the way to their hotel. Ditto for someone who needs to use a restroom. It's called being accommodating and people like that. They like what you can do for them. I know of some drivers that won't stop for beer for people, won't stop so the rider can use a restroom. That's on them. I would prefer to treat people how I'd like to be treated. 

Most of my riders are awesome! Most of them make this worth doing. But in any job where you're working with the public, you're going to get a few that treat you like you owe them something or they treat you like you are inferior. (Sort of like some people treat waiters and retail people, that same entitlement attitude.) Inwardly, I'm gritting my teeth but out on the outside, I'm pouring it on thick going out of my way to be even nicer. Luckily, I'm not so thin-skinned that I would allow one bad apple to turn me away from doing this. The positives of driving outweigh the negatives. 

Heaven on Earth

Okay, so you've got to be wondering why there's a shot of an Allegiant Airlines jet on my blog. Well, this is where I spend a lot of my time. It's become my 'home away from home' and it's where I get my best business as a rideshare driver.

I sit in the Cell Phone lot which faces this view and sign onto the Uber app, which then places me in the queue. As the flights arrive, the passengers then arrange for a pickup. Their names will come up in my app and then I swing out and head towards the terminal. St. Pete Clearwater Airport is the bomb and I guess the word has gotten around about its greatness because they are in the process of expanding their parking lot because they have more cars than spaces for them. Their other main cell phone lot is being paved, so we were shuffled over into this smaller one. But I gotta say, can't beat that view!

I love to watch planes come in and take off. I always have long before I ever did this rideshare thang. This airport also backs up into the St Pete Clearwater Coast Guard station where they house the C-130 planes and the glorious Coast Guard helicopter. I have the pleasure of watching them fly in and out all day long. Now, some people think that airplane noise is annoying but I like it. Nothing evokes summer like having all the windows down in your car and you hear the thrum of a Cessna flying over or a lightning fast corporate jet launching itself from the end of the runway. It's a beautiful thing.

This airport's main airline is Allegiant and they fly from all over the country, adding more cities as they go. It's a budget airline and plenty of people take it. I have had people who lived closer to TIA (Tampa International Airport) who far prefer this airport over that one. This place is where you fly in, deplane, get your baggage if checked and you're literally right out the door to the curb. About 80% of my passengers who come in from other states love the convenience of it. They liked being able to literally step off the curb and right into my car.

I got out there late today due to some personal things I had to take care of in the morning but from noon on, I was hanging out here. The more time I spend here, the more I start seeing the same Uber or Lyft drivers or both (as some do both services). I'm recognizing the same cars and of course, I have named for them such as 'Honking Big GMC Truck Guy' and the 'Gold Malibu Guy' then there's the 'Red Toyota Twins' who literally have the same exact car.

I never feel unsafe or threatened in any manner in my time there. The people are respectful of each other. So, I just sit windows down in the nice weather and play games on my iPad until I get a ping.

Today I had three great riders, my favorite of all of them being this college kid from Syracuse. He was down here to visit his girlfriend who is going to Eckerd College which was some distance from the airport. We talked the whole half hour drive. He was VERY smart and with it, extremely polite and well-mannered. He was raised by Ivy League parents who both went to Columbia. Just an impressive young man in a way that I never was at that age. Not to sound too much like an old fart but I was like "I wish I had my act together at your age like you do." He was just a breath of fresh air.

Contrast to the guy I picked up last weekend and drove to Clearwater Beach. This guy was here on vacation with his family and in-laws. He was very sharp as well but seemed to be unhappy in his lot in life. The more he spoke, the more I picked up on a sense of 'Coulda Been'. We were in the car together for an extended period because the main road down to the Beach was closed so I had to take an alternate route. We were talking nonstop. I guess he just wanted to vent. I got the impression that he got married too fast and had children and didn't really realize the difficulties of being a parent. I felt that he might have wanted to stay single longer.

I get a lot of people who seem to want to tell me about themselves which I welcome. Some people just want an impartial listening ear, someone who isn't going to judge them and will simply let them speak.

And there are others who just want to chill after riding in the 'flying bus' as I call the planes. They tend to hunker down in the backseat and read their phones or sometimes even doze off. I keep the volume down on the radio so that they could do all of that or even make their calls.

Tomorrow, I plan to be back at it, bright and early. I tend to get up, get my game face on, check the arrival schedule at the airport and just go. I also will probably do some local driving here. Just because it's Saturday doesn't mean that no one is working. Most of my early weekend riders are those who go to work in restaurants or hotels or even retail.

Well, I will check back in with you all tomorrow, I am sure with a new story to regale you with.