Quiet Ways To Beat Shady Taxi Drivers [Part 2 of 2]
Many of the quiet ways to beat shady taxi drivers I mentioned in Part 1 take place before you ever meet the driver. The hardest part of not getting ripped off by a dishonest cab driver is when you are actually sitting behind them. I once read that being silent hides your ignorance and the less you say the more you convey.
As long as you are conveying the right things you can get a strong message across that you won’t be hustled easily.
Be Cheap Not Stupid
Go with whatever ‘official’ taxis there are and don’t try to save by going in an unmarked vehicle or one that doesn’t feel right (as I almost did in India). In many parts of the world there are official or government cars. These official vehicles might be a bit more expensive but aside from fixed prices you’ll also be safer.
Lose The Sympathy
I can’t tell you how many sob stories I’ve heard from some drivers, in particular the older ones. They try to make you feel sorry for them in hopes that you’ll leave a big tip or be OK with a drive that’s an hour longer than it should be. Be heartless and convey it by not responding much. (Don’t engage in conversation!)
Scope The Meter
Just because a meter is off doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. Ask the driver to turn it on and if there is a problem with it confirm the average price you researched before the ride. Based on your prior research if working meters are common don’t get in a cab without one.
Mind Your Manners
- Be Nice Without A Smile - It almost goes without saying but be polite. A smile might give you away as naive though because in many places it’s an international faux pas.
- Eyes Up and Speak Up - You won’t notice the 10 left turns a shady taxi driver has taken if your nose is buried in a guidebook and he or she certainly won’t stop it if you don’t say anything. Trust your gut and ask why the driver is taking a certain route or to speed up if you feel like you are being taken for a ride.
- Dan mentions that you should pay once you are outside of the taxi either through the driver’s window or face to face after unloading your luggage. That way the driver can’t hold you up in the cab if you refuse to pay the fare being asked. (Thanks for the tip Dan.)
Don’t Let Your Guard Down
I know I’ve made taking a taxi sound like a horrific experience but it never has to be. None of these quiet ways will work if you don’t stick with them. Like anyone else trying to scam or hustle you out of some money a shady taxi driver will work all of the angle he or she thinks will work. Stay quiet and be firm and learn to blend in. A few minutes of Googling, a straight face, and a tight lip will go a long way to keeping your fare fair.
[photos by: Who.is.Bill.Posters?, lumierefl]
My 5 Cruise Mistakes You Don’t Want to Regret At Artun Travel
June 9, 2009 by Anil P.
Filed under Guest Post
Artun Travel has published a guest post by me on 5 cruise mistakes you don’t want to regret. I hope you’ll visit their blog to read it and leave a comment or two if you’ve ever made one of those cruise mistakes.
Let me know if you’re looking for a guest post for your travel blog. If you think my writing would be a good fit for your blog contact me and I’ll work with you to make it happen.
Quiet Ways To Beat Shady Taxi Drivers [Part 1 of 2]
It’s easy to get scammed by shady taxi drivers who know that you are from out of town, may not know the local customs, and have extra cash to be cheated out of. Not all taxi drivers are going to cheat you but there are a few quiet ways to be your own travel insurance against it.
Being prepared is the best way to take away most of the leverage shady taxi drivers have to rip you off and you can outwit most without uttering a word.
Research The Local Customs
Taxi culture in Turkey is different than in South Africa than in Argentina, etc. It’s important to know the specifics. Otherwise you’ll just have to take the taxi driver’s word and expect that their actions are the norm. Spend a few minutes Google hacking your next trip the local tipping, meter, and baggage customs.
Know The Average Fare
There are a number of travel blogs that will tell you approximately how much it should cost you to get from the airport to your hostel, between major sites, and any other local hot spots. You don’t want to trust the taxi driver, the only thing you should rely on them is to drive. Find out everything else yourself before you get in the cab. Calculate international cab fares with World Taximeter, do a blog search, or get on Twitter and ask me, I’ll help you find out.
Be Vague About Where You’re Going
Start with the area of town you are going to and get more specific with your final destination as you get closer. It’s more difficult for a driver to wander around when you can see the signs to the part of town you want to go to.
Don’t Engage in Conversation
Almost universally taxi drivers will try to chat with you, especially if you look very foreign. While they might just be curious, the more you talk the more you give away about how clueless you are. I was once ripped off by a driver in a large city I had visited many times because I unwittingly gave away that I was unfamiliar with a part of town.
Have Correct Change
You should always have small bills on you whenever you travel separate from your larger ones. Your socks are a good place to hide your big denominations since opening a fat wallet with a bunch of bills just makes you a more tempting target. Besides, taxi drivers never have correct change, ever.
It’s All Quiet
Good body language and communicating non-verbally will help you bargain when you don’t know the local language. The more you research beforehand the more confident you’ll be directing traffic from the back seat. Tomorrow in Part 2 I’ll share a few ways to be firm, confident, and not get ripped off while being quiet at the same time.
[photos by: Who.is.Bill.Posters?, jk5854]
7 Questions For Diddit
The online service Diddt, which lets you find places you didn’t know you wanted to visit, answers 7 questions about it’s vision, competition, and tools for travelers.
In a ‘tweet’ of 140 characters or less, why would a traveler want to sign up for Diddit?
Diddit is the only place you can check off and share all your travel experiences and discover new and interesting things to do beyond travel.
How many users do you have right now?
We have around 20k registered users and over 100k new visitors each month. We just launched publicly in February of 2009 and are still growing rapidly.
What was the inspiration behind the site?
The vision of the site is to become the Amazon.com for your life. We hope that Diddit becomes the place you go to both share your perspectives about meaningful experiences in your life and discover new and interesting things to do. By continuing to check stuff off on Diddit and leave your ratings and stories, we are able to start making recommendations about new things to do for you across all the interests of your life including travel.
Facebook and Twitter are the predominant social networking sites out there, how does Diddit compare?
Diddit complements your Facebook and Twitter accounts by allowing you to share and connect via those established networks. You can create an account on diddit with your Facebook or Twitter credentials and then share your diddits and wannados with your friends and followers on both services.
In your opinion what are the strengths of Diddit for travelers?
Travel experiences are often some of the most memorable ones in our lives. Diddit is a great place for people who like to travel to check off all the places they have been, leave stories and ratings, and suggest new things to do for other travelers. Because for most of us travel is just one aspect of who we are and where we have interests, Diddit also has over 20 more channels of interests such as Art, Entertainment, Sports, Family and Kids just to name a few. You can build a profile of diddits and wannados across all of the channels of interest that you can then share on any other social site of blog and is the foundation for great recommendations.
What about weaknesses?
If you are looking for ways to book hotels or find the best fares, there are many other sites much better equipped to help you with that. If travel is just one of your passions though, we hope you will check out Diddit.
Any new features in the works?
Many more than we have time or space for here. 
We recently released the Twitter Connect capability and are updating the way we display and recommend things to do around a given location that will help the browse and discovery process on the site. We are technically in public alpha, so we actively poll the community and take all feedback in to build a better service for our community and visitors.
Please stop by and check us out when you get a chance. Thanks!
Diddit.com is free and links to your existing Facebook account and worth a few clicks. Watch Diddit in action and check it out and let me know what you think.
