Uber?

Quote: Fleastiff

Depends on your views...'Bakersfield' is the literary equivalent of 'New Jersey' in describing places. You can be in Costa Rica and see nothing but pick up tricks, hear nothing but English being spoken despite some signange in Spanish, be invited to BBQs, drink beer, have any food item you can get in the USA .... but your dollars go very far.

I just always heard that Bakersfield was not such a great place.

Its where Cool Hand Luke was filmed. Any culture there is found in a cardboar cup marked yoghurt. Oil rigs and cowboy bars abound. Beer and peanust; not wine and cheese.

Quote: AZDuffman

I just always heard that Bakersfield was not such a great place.

Biker bars and strip malls and
desert. It's a hole.

Quote: Fleastiff

Its where Cool Hand Luke was filmed. Any culture there is found in a cardboar cup marked yoghurt. Oil rigs and cowboy bars abound. Beer and peanust; not wine and cheese.

Well, not much to do in the evening then. Otherwise sounds like half my kind of town. Culture is often overrated. I work on the edge of the cultural district. Bars and food are nice, my chances of seeing one of the events close to zero.

Quote: Fleastiff

That may be why so many English speaking enclaves exist in Costa Rica where in the "look and feel" is that of Bakersfield, California, social security checks get cashed easily and replacement parts for your yacht are not subject to excessive taxation. Servants and services tend to be cheap. Lyft/Uber are sources of income even if the locals have to 'shave points' to get the business.

I've been to Costa Rica three times and the only one I'm aware of is Escazu. It seems a really nice area. If forced, I would compare it to a ritzy neighborhood in San Diego or Honolulu. Bakersfield would never come to mind.

BTW, Bakersfield is not that bad. My brother lives there and I visited last summer. Not very visually attractive and not much to do you can't do anywhere in a city of that population. However, it's cheap to live there and seems pretty clean. My brother said they had one of the highest rates of complaint of police excessive force, but I'm not sure if that's true.

That was interesting. I was at the airport and
my wife couldn't pick me up so I decided to
get an Uber. I had my tablet, I don't own
a smart phone. It says a Malibu is coming
in 7min. I wait and wait and eventually see
a red Chevy waiting on the other side of
the concourse.

I go over and he says he's Uber. I say I've
been waiting on the terminal side.

Him: We pick up on this side only.

Me: How was I to know that?

Him: Uber sent a text to your phone to explain it.

Me: I don't have a phone, I use a tablet, it doesn't get texts.

Him: (I have the front door open, starting to get in.) I don't need
your money SIR! Close the door SIR! (He's furiously angry, he's
screaming at me)

Me: What? What's going on?

He takes off with the front door fully open,
stops about 100ft away and comes around
and closes it. Then he storms off, squealing
his tires. I'm aghast. I'm thinking of the
Uber driver who got angry last year in
Kalamazoo and drove around shooting
people at random for hours.

This guy was mid 50's with a screw loose.
It was frightening. This is what happens
when you hire anybody who has a car
and a drivers license. I want to report him
but don't know how yet.

Quote: Evenbob

That was interesting. I was at the airport and
my wife couldn't pick me up so I decided to
get an Uber. I had my tablet, I don't own
a smart phone. It says a Malibu is coming
in 7min. I wait and wait and eventually see
a red Chevy waiting on the other side of
the concourse.

I go over and he says he's Uber. I say I've
been waiting on the terminal side.

Him: We pick up on this side only.

Me: How was I to know that?

Him: Uber sent a text to your phone to explain it.

Me: I don't have a phone, I use a tablet, it doesn't get texts.

Him: (I have the front door open, starting to get in.) I don't need
your money SIR! Close the door SIR! (He's furiously angry, he's
screaming at me)

Me: What? What's going on?

He takes off with the front door fully open,
stops about 100ft away and comes around
and closes it. Then he storms off, squealing
his tires. I'm aghast. I'm thinking of the
Uber driver who got angry last year in
Kalamazoo and drove around shooting
people at random for hours.

This guy was mid 50's with a screw loose.
It was frightening. This is what happens
when you hire anybody who has a car
and a drivers license. I want to report him
but don't know how yet.

So you are upset because you were in the wrong place waiting for him?

It's easy to imagine, not your words, but your tone set him off.

I saw two ladies get in a nasty exchange by one lady, just saying "Thank you." Of course it was said very sarcastically as the one let the door shut in the other's face. It was kinda funny.

Quote: AZDuffman

So you are upset because you were in the wrong place waiting for him?

I wasn't upset in the slightest, I was
glad he showed up at all. He was
mad because he could see me on
the other side and I didn't know
to go over there. On the side
where I was is where all the taxis
drop off and pick up. It's where you
pick up and drop off people
taking flights. The side he was on
is for buses and shuttles. It makes
no sense not to be on the taxi side.

He was angry all out of proportion
to the situation. I was scared of
him and glad so many armed
police are at the airport. I felt like
he was going to go around and
come back and shoot me. He
was screaming at me like he
was unhinged.

Quote: rxwine

It's easy to imagine, not your words, but your tone set him off.
.

There was no 'tone'. He obviously saw me
on the terminal side and got angrier and
angrier the longer he sat there. If I was
driving cab, I would have got out and
asked. That's what you do in the service
business, you serve. This guy is not a
pro, he's a prima donna who's lowering
himself to give me a ride. So he just
sits there and sits there. What an idiot.