To the Editor:
In response to the Letter to the Editor by David White published Feb. 5 (“A vote for Uber”). Mr. White knew that he had an appointment at the hospital, and he knew that a blizzard was coming. He lives down a long dirt road that’s slightly hilly, which was not plowed well, in the woods off Lambert’s Cove. Although he know well ahead of time that he had a hospital appointment, he waited until less than an hour before the appointment to call our taxi company, located in Oak Bluffs, to come get him.
I answered the phone, and nicely explained to him that the taxis would not be able to successfully get down this road without getting stuck in the snow, and that if we did manage to make it to his house, we would not be able to get back out. We probably would have had to call a tow truck, and he would not have made his appointment. I did inform him that he could try a company that had a four-wheel-drive, but that they were also getting stuck due to the extreme amount of snow from the blizzard.
He got mad and unreasonable, and wanted the impossible to be done. I told him I could not fight Mother Nature, but he rudely insisted that he wanted door-to-door service, and that I was obligated to get to his house and bring him to the hospital. He kept on insisting that I was not fulfilling my duty to him as a customer, and that he would write a Letter to the Editor.
I listened to his unreasonable insults, and when I had enough of them, I laughed and told him he was out of his mind.
His letter is full of rude insults to the entire cab industry on the Island. This man stated that he wants to demand that the Martha’s Vineyard Commission make taxis fulfill their obligation to transport him: Wow.
Well, sir, Your Taxi has been operating around the clock, nonstop, for 22 years, as long as the weather has allowed our wheels to roll, so I do believe we fulfill the obligation to provide the best service we possibly can at all times. During those 22 years, I have learned very well the capability of vehicles and how to safely and successfully transport passengers in winter weather. I certainly do not appreciate your unjustified and insulting letter. It seems that you might have been mad at yourself for waiting until the last moment to figure out how you were going to get to that appointment, and when you realized your road was awful, you took your anger out on me when I could not perform a miracle.
I think you should think before you speak, or write a nasty letter that degrades a business that works hard around the clock to provide the best service we can. You say you sit on a healthy-aging task force. I think you should set a better example. Instead of badmouthing a business that can help you, maybe next time you could set an example for your group, such as possibly rescheduling hospital appointments if a blizzard is coming, or maybe getting a neighbor to drive you to the main road, or just simply calling in advance to see if the owners have a referral or any advice.
I am all for resolving the issues that the elderly endure, and would gladly talk to your group about how to make transportation easier on the Island. It would be in your best interest to work with taxi owners to resolve transportation issues, instead of bashing them in the press.
Instead of doing the things I mentioned above, you immediately wrote a nasty Letter to the Editor, in which you claim I honked at you about three times. The Simpsons? Goose-like? Come on now. You are a senior? This is childish behavior.
In conclusion, I recommend that in the future you don’t attack the service industries, when most of us are doing our best. You also criticized the treatment of the roads and called it an abomination. Maybe if you have specific requests, you could nicely discuss what you are referring to, and as a senior on a task force, you might get something accomplished, instead of complaining.
Diane Habekost, co-owner,
Your Taxi
Oak Bluffs