There's A Riot Going On & Official City Complaint & Dennis Roberts Fund Raising Ends First Week In July & Needing Cabbies Saturday And Sunday Nights

Last night here in Seattle, and also around the USA, protests and marches against the police killing of George Floyd resulted in general mayhem and property damage.  Also last night, I-5 was closed for a number of hours, and as I am writing this at 6:09 PM, Pacific Time Zone, the freeway has once again been closed from I-90 to State Route-520.  While its understandable why people are dismayed over police maltreatment of ordinary citizens, its an overreach to say breaking windows and looting stores is the proper response.  More than once yesterday I rescued folks stranded by the chaos, with one gentleman going all the way north to Arlington, WA from the train station, saying "Get me the hell out of here!"  The same situation might be reoccurring at this moment but I have others priorities, like communicating to you the state of modern-day taxi.

Another Off-the Wall Complaint

Nonsense is as nonsense does, and last week I got a complaint filed with the City of Seattle charging me with overcharging a customer with an unapproved ten dollar tip.  Very strange as I ask every person giving me a large tip if this is what they want to do, having no interest in unduly taking someone's money.  What makes this complaint even stranger is our new MTI dispatch system's credit/debit machine is located behind the front passenger seat, situated about 10 inches from the customer's nose, meaning the customer either personally punches in the transaction, or if needing assistance, watches the transaction take place.  Tipping is always voluntary, and when, as in this case, the passenger's erratic behavior signals disturbance of some kind, I take note and confirm if this is what they want to do minus all doubt.  Passengers also receive a printed receipt, making this doubly mysterious as to why she decided I had deceived her.  My guess is that a combination of forgetfulness and psychiatric resulted in this accusation, her tip that morning a gesture of appreciation after Yellow once again was late, with me getting her to her Virginia Mason Hospital Clinic appointment on time.

Something perhaps more disturbing is the complaint process itself, when the City, fully aware of how our system works, allows a compliant to go forward when its clear, given our MTI processing, that its fully volitional and and directed and operated by the taxi customer.  The only time when this isn't true is when the cabbie is using a Square or some other brand of credit card approval system.  And part of the initial investigation should be a determination of which system was used.

Also, many regular readers might remember that last year I found a travel bag in my cab containing thousands of dollar, something I promptly returned to the rightful owners.  Now if I did that, why would I attempt to overcharge a customer any amount?  No reason I can think of.

Month of June Fund Raising Push for Dennis Roberts

Talking to the King County Medical Examiners Office, Dennis's body will be held until July 9th, ending a 90-day holding period.  That means this upcoming June is extremely important to enable what I outlined last week to be achieved.  I will do my best to bring in the needed 3-4 thousand dollars.  Donations keep coming in.  I will keep everyone informed concerning the gathering process.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/burial-and-obituary-for-dennis-roberts

A PSD dispatcher told me yesterday Dennis once showed him a list of 20 movies he appeared in as an "extra," including the hit, "Little Big Man." 

A Plea to my Fellow Yellow Cabbies

We need more of you working on Saturday and Sunday nights.  Last night was nuts, and I remain tired after staying out late covering the bells. All I can say is, WE NEED YOU!