14 July,2009 08:52 AM IST | | Jayita Bandhopadhyay and Prawesh Lama
That's what a young woman reportedly did when a cab came to pick her up at night. The 'rude' driver of Quick Cab service called her names. The company was equally callous about registering her complaint
Amrita Ray Chaudhuri will never hire a Quick Cab again. Even though the comparatively affordable radio taxi service reduces the 33-year-old media professional's travel expenses substantially, she has promised to steer clear of the company's 'rude cab drivers' and 'callous officials'.
On the night of July 7, Chaudhuri called Quick Cab's customer care number (45-333-333) to book a taxi to travel from a friend's house at B-Block, East of Kailash in south Delhi to her home at Dwarka in the southwest part of the capital.
The night
"I called the Quick Cab call centre executive at 8 pm and made the booking. As usual I received an SMS confirming the registration details of the cab and the driver's mobile phone number. Around 8.45 pm I received a call on my mobile phone from the driver. He said he was near Kalkaji and asked for further directions. I directed him to come to Iskcon Temple, which is the nearest landmark for my place. After 20 minutes, the driver called again. He said he still couldn't locate my address. He handed the phone to a passerby and I explained the route again. After a while, around 9.30 pm, the driver called and gave me his location, which was quite a distance from where I was. As it was dark and I didn't want to take a chance so I asked him to come to my doorstep, which is what's expected from a radio taxi service," said Chaudhuri.
Crabby cabbie
However, when the cab finally arrived, Chaudhuri was in for a rude shock. "As soon as I opened the back door of the cab, the driver started screaming abuses at me. He accused me of misleading him, whereas any driver who drives around Delhi would know the Iskcon Temple," said Chaudhuri. The final straw came when the driver allegedly said, "Tum log bakwaas karte ho. Rent par gaadi mat le."
Chaudhuri claimed she lost her temper at this and refused to go with the 'rude' man. "The drive from East of Kailash to Dwarka takes about an hour. And I didn't feel it was safe to go with such a uncouth man," said Chaudhuri adding that she was not sure if the driver was intoxicated.
'Callous' call centre
They said the driver allotted to my route was at Paharganj. I called again and then they accepted that a different driver had come to me. This is strange because the company claims to track their drivers at all times.
When I complained about the driver's behaviour, they callously said my complaint had been registered and would be dealt with eventually. They even refused to send me a replacement taxi."
It was later Chaudhuri realised the cab number SMSed to her didn't match with the one that had finally arrived. Even the driver's mobile number was different. "The cab number SMSed to me was DL-1RY-1116. The one that arrived had the registration number DL-1RY-1117," said Chaudhuri.
Even after Chaudhuri warned the call centre she would lodge a police complaint, the executives were unmoved. "They said, 'do whatever you want to,'' Chaudhuri alleged.u00a0
Cab firm screams 'sabotage'
When MiD DAY contacted Quick Cab, one person called Karan, claiming to be the manager at the company's Rajouri Garden office, said they haven't received such complaint.u00a0 In fact, he termed it a sabotage move by a competitor. "We haven't received any complaint and we will look into the matter in case there is one. This can be a ploy by our rivals to tarnish our image as we charge less compared to them," said Karan.
Rs 9.50
Quick Cab charges per kilometre
Cops at help
Chaudhuri called a PCR and registered a complaint against the cab company and the driver. An officer from the Amar Colony police station, where the complaint was registered, said they were investigating the case. "We have the name of the driver and will be talking to him and the agency owner soon," the cop said.
'Strict' measures
When questioned about the measures Quick Cab takes to ensure customer security, Karan said his company was very 'strict.' "Our agency ensures we hire drivers only after proper identity verification. We take in drivers with clean records," said Karan.
