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.