Heading to downtown Washington D.C. for an early morning ethics presentation for the Federal Bar (at the GAO building), I encountered an ethical dilemma that got the day off to a challenging start.
Traffic in D.C. is ridiculous, so I arranged to have an Alexandria cab pick me up at 8:15 AM for a 9:30 AM presentation, assuming that I would arrive close to 9:00. I would have too, except that my young, African-accented cab driver had no idea where he, or I was going. I should have foreseen the problem when the cab was ten minutes late (this company knows my address and typically arrives early), but it came into sharp focus when the driver asked “So you know how to get there, right?” (No, I don’t know how to get anywhere, which is why you are the cab driver, and I’m not) and made it startlingly clear that he didn’t know how to read his GPS. As a result, he made multiple wrong turns, even though the screen in front of him was showing him the way, and I ultimately had to interpret the GPS directions for him. I barely arrived on time, and felt like I had done the driving.
My initial instinct was to call the company and complain. I even took down the cab number.
And my thinking went like this:
- This is unconscionable. I depend on the cab to be reliable and efficient. I assume the drivers are competent. I had to take over the navigation of a basic journey, when I wanted to be preparing for my presentation, therefore…
- I have a duty to let the company know that one of its employees, representing its name and business, is incompetent, because…
- I would want a passenger experiencing what I experienced to alert the company to protect me from similar bad service, and perhaps a crucial late arrival, but…
- I didn’t arrive late after all, so there was no harm done, which shouldn’t matter in principle except…
- …this is obviously a new cabbie, and quite possible a new D.C. area resident, and..
- ….I know from experience that the kind thing would be to give him a break, chalk it up to the type of on-the-job learning we all had to go through at one time or another, and..
- I recalled the times long ago when I had botched early assignments in new jobs, and how grateful I was for those who were tolerant and understanding, and how miserable I was when someone berated me or complained about my rookie mistakes, and…
- …how difficult it must be for someone in a new job, in a new city, and perhaps even in a new country and culture, plus, I’m ashamed to say…
- …it occurred to me, while weighing all of this, that he had my address.
I didn’t file a complaint, and I gave him a 15% tip ( I normally give cab drivers 25%).
He was extremely grateful and apologetic. “I’m so sorry for the confusion,” he said. “No problem,” I replied.
“Live and learn.”
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Graphic: Fun Cheap
Ethics Alarms 
You did the right thing.
(I think he did a right thing).
I don’t there is one right thing in that scenario. Informing the cab company does a valuable service. It let’s them know that their vetting / internal training protocols need to be reviewed. Whether or not the cab company overreacts and blasts the *possibly* new guy or a guy handling other circumstances is not a consideration for the client. If their leadership sucks so much as to do that (and believe me, I’ve encountered bosses who idiotically fly off the rails on employees without gathering enough information or considering external circumstances) that’s the leadership’s issue to treat as a gut check and resolve their own personal methods.
The manner in which a client presents a complaint can make subtle differences in how much a boss tries to investigate versus coming uncorked, but that is all in tact and candor and tone.
Even though you were technically ON TIME for the presentation, based on the presentation’s start time, you were not ON TIME based on when you intended to arrive. So no, you weren’t on time…
Good observations. I also want to thank you for spelling “new” as “knew”—this is the kind of quick typing error I make too often, and spellcheck can’t save me.
I fixed it, lest P.M. pounce…
That’s a start, grasshopper.
Now you have to learn – deeply, inwardly – that there is never just one bug (well, hardly ever), and that finding one is not a call to fix it but to go on a thorough check. If it turns out that there is just one bug after all, at least you know that after a thorough search and you are ready to move on to the higher level of not putting in bugs in the first place.
My style in drawing these things to your attention is based on needing to get that attention in that full way, as otherwise you will read it superficially, as only telling you about just one bug.
Wait…isn’t a grasshopper one bug?
I have just checked the requirements for taxi drivers in my area (Auckland, New Zealand).
As a taxi driver is required to hold a current passenger (P) endorsement on your driver licence, and hold and display a current photo driver identification card.
A taxi driver must hold an AREA KNOWLEDGE CERTIFICATE for the area or areas in which the approved taxi organisation, for which they work, operates.
A taxi driver must have demonstrated an ability to communicate in English.
Is there any requirement anywhere in America for taxi drivers to show that they know the area?
Based on experience, I’d be shocked if there was.
I can’t decide what I would have done.
Even if I wasn’t late, I would have been extremely stressed by that ride.
My heart is telling me the right thing to do was give the guy a break.
“Forgiveness” is one of your Seven Enabling Virtues. And “Caring,” including empathy and benevolence, is one of your Six Pillars of Character,
You did the right thing. Caveat: because DC has so many immigrant cabbies, I’d get internet directions next time, just to be sure.
At least there’s one guy in Washington who’s ATTEMPTING to earn an honest living- however ineptly. That’s something… I guess.