You don't have the right to be rude

I'm not a fan of Grab Taxi before. Besides its wifi requirement upon access, it has an additional booking fee of P70. But I cannot deny the fact that it's very accessible since there's free wifi almost everywhere, and the booking fee may guarantee a safer and less hassle trip! So whenever necessary, and ofc if there's available grab taxi nearby, I allow myself to spend more of what's allotted for my transportation allowance. lelz

But just recently, my friend introduced me to Grab Car. Since I'm pretty close-minded in using the Grab Taxi app, I also am not able to explore all of its features. I knew from the news that Grab Car's finally registered to LTO, but what I didn't know was that there are promo codes I can use whenever booking to avail a discount! So thanks to my friend, Trina, I became a Grab Car convert. HAHAHAHA

So, when you use Grab Car, any private vehicle will pick you up. Its booking procedures are also the same with Grab Taxi, so there's pretty much no adjustment needed for the non-techies out there. Haha. One time I experienced that a Fortuner picked me up at SM Aura! I was so shocked that I even asked the driver if I can enter HAHAHA

Anyway, yesterday (28 July 2015) I booked a car going home from Market! Market! It wasn't very late (9PM, to be exact) and I decided to book a car since lines on the FX were definitely very long by that time. The driver, Jimmy Pajaron, was very friendly and talkative. He said it's his 4th day in business and I should bear with him if ever he asks for directions going to my destination. Personally, it doesn't matter to me when taxi drivers ask for directions whenever I'm going somewhere, as long as I know the place I'm going to. (Fact: Grab drivers use Waze app as their guide). So I asked him if he had previous experiences with rude passengers. He seemed delighted with my question and shared his story: *non-verbatim*

"Buti nga mam di ka maarte eh." He mentioned this because I was the one who went to his destination (near Market lang din naman, btw) since he was stuck in traffic. "Yung ibang pasahero, 'kala mo kung sino. Nung isang beses, nag-sundo ako sa Megamall. Eh di ko alam kung alin yung Building B, medyo natagalan tuloy ako. 'Pag sakay nung babae (pasahero), sinigawan ba naman ako. Kung ano masasakit na salitang sinabi. Muntik na nga ako maiyak eh. Inisip ko na lang baka matandang dalaga sya." 

That's when I realized how rude someone can really get when upset. But of course, that cannot be a valid reason to be disrespectful to others. Upon listening to Kuya Jimmy, even though he delivered his sentiments with some side-jokes, I knew that he was hurt with that experience.

I also asked him if they still have profit when a passenger books with promo, since P100 discount will be given upon entering the promo code. I was surprised that he shared how Grab Car works.

"Ahh yung bayad nyo naman samin Mam eh saktong pang-gas lang. Ang habol lang namin ay yung points. 'Pag inenter nyo promo, may points kami. 'Pag naka-ipon na, may corresponding incentive 'yun samin. Tsaka mas gusto ko nga pag customer ng Grab eh. May feeling ako na maayos yung pasahero, na hindi ako mapapahamak sa kanila kasi may mga cellphone na sila. Kaso minsan 'pag madaling araw, mga mayayamang lasing naman sumasakay. Ineexpect ko na [na] sisigawan nila ako o mumurahin. Pero pinagpapasensyahan ko na kasi 'yun nga, lasing."

I was relieved that they gain incentives from their "promo passengers." All the while I thought Grab was just generous to give discounts to regular taxi passengers. Hahaha.

After I have spoken with the Kuya Jimmy, I felt bad that we always thought of taxi drivers (or public vehicle drivers) as bad people or even criminals. Blame the news for always featuring accidents involving infamous taxi drivers. I know most of us are just taking precaution since in reality, not all drivers are like Kuya Jimmy who's so transparent. But we should always consider other people's welfare, and for this instance, the drivers who we put upon the responsibility of dropping us off safe and unharmed. We should not act rudely or as if we own the streets! Also, we should consider that not all of them memorize every street or corner of the metro. Better yet, let's save some patience whenever we go!

So, I salute all the virtuous drivers who not only see their business as a source of profit, but also a means to enable passengers to reach their homes safely. Kudos to you guys!! :))

On other news, the new promo code for Grab Car is "umbrella" ! ! ! Make sure you enter this when choosing Grab Car to avail P100 discount! I even experienced a free ride when my fixed bill was just P94! Haha! Now I have proved the convenience of this app! Hoping that there will always be promo codes! Hahahaha!