Now I am from the other side of the country and I don't know where anything in Melbourne is. But I'd looked at google maps and it looked to be about a 20 min walk up some major hills. In high heel 'interview' shoes.
Also it was POURING with rain. And had been for some time. So taxi it is. No one wants to arrive at a job interview looking sweaty, puffed out with acheing feet and soaked right? So anyway I got in the first taxi and was greeted with a big smile and "Hello! This is my first day ." I am thinking "oh-oh" but smiled and had a chat with the driver. It turns out his brother in law is the normal taxi driver but he is off sick today. I gave him the address and off we went, until, of course, he got lost....very, very lost. He did have a Tom Tom but he didn't know how to use it...He kept asking me if I knew which street to take. Obviously, I didn't.
He pulled over and called someone up, I presume to ask for directions but since it was a foreign language I couldn't tell for sure. After about 2 mins of him talking I noticed that the meter was still running. I pointed towards it silently since he was still talking and he ignored me. Another few mins passed and I'm starting to get irritated that he didn't, at the very least, turn the meter off while he was lost. I pointed at it again and asked him to turn it off while he is parked. He doesn't. It seriously climbed up about $10 in this time.
He pulled away from the verge and kept chatting, even though its obviously illegal to talk on a mobile and drive at the same time. He seemed to be having some sort of argument with the other person on the phone with much gesticulating and shouting - the whole way to a street where he stopped and told me we were at my destination. I looked at the address and the big vacant block he had stopped at.....I pointed out that it was the wrong street than what I asked for. He said it was just around the corner from the right one and I just had to walk there. I asked if he had noticed that it was still pouring with rain and having only packed carry-on luggage I didn't have an umbrella. Also IT WASN'T THE DESTINATION I WAS PAYING TO GET TO.
He SWEARS at me, goes "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck" and pulls out sharply. At this point I actually started to get scared but wrote down his taxi number. He drives around the block to another street that isn't the right one and tells me to GTFO. I point out (again) that this isn't the address and besides, he had pulled up next to a huge puddle. He told me, again, to GTFO. I'm like "but huge puddle....interview....pants getting wet up past my ankles!". He then THREW the phone at the drivers side door . I panic and brave loads of traffic coming the other way and risk life and limb so my pants don't get wet by getting out the other side.
The fare comes to $22 after this and I just gave him $15. He threatened to call the police on me for the other $7. I told him fine and walked off down the street. I have reported him to the taxi company since but who knows wtf that will do, if anything.
TLDR: Taxi driver takes first day stress out on me - drops me at the wrong destination, swears at me, charges me extra for getting himself lost and then tries to make me get out at huge puddle.
ETA: Yep, did get offered the job in the end but decided not to take it. Nots ure I can stand the weather in Melbourne ;)
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