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I can't figure out what forum this should go in. It could go in religion, paranormal, work, transportation, psychology, or politics, so mods, please move if need be. I am a subject in a medical experiment and can't drive at the moment so the lab is offering Lyft transportation to and from for my appointments. The driver showed up. He was in his early 30s and seemed nice enough, but it soon became apparent that he was a very strange dude. He was extremely religious, and I normally don't care one bit, but he was completely obsessed with it and talked about it nonstop on the ride. He was singing along to the local Christian station and after I got in, he explained that he had just moved here from Miami because God had given him all these messages telling him to move here to help his sister. He told me "I don't like Miami because Miami isn't America." I asked him what he meant. He said, "The people there didn't want to be American. They refuse to learn English but here (Houston,) the Hispanics try very hard to learn English."
I was appalled at his blatant bigotry disguised in this overly Christian package. I tried to change the subject and talked a bit about other things and he suggested I write some problems my acquaintances were having down on his prayer list notepad in his car. He started talking more about his sister and told me his brother-in-law was possessed by a spiritual demon who had also taken control of the sister and it was his job to try to make the family normal again (normal being fundamentalist Christian, I assume.) He asked me if I believed in spiritual possessions and when I explained to him I wasn't religious he persisted in questioning me about my spiritual/religious beliefs. He told me he was partially successful in getting his niece to read the Bible with him so maybe he was making progress. Finally we arrived at the destination and he asked me to pray with him before I left! I refused, telling him once again I wasn't religious.
I didn't feel unsafe riding with him but thought he was possibly mentally unstable. There is a difference between religiosity and being delusional and I thought he might have been the latter. In any event, I don't want to ride with him again, especially considering he also harbored racist beliefs toward Hispanics. However, the lab orders the rides for me so I can't cancel him if he comes to pick me up again. Is there a way I can refuse him? The lab said there is nothing I can do. I contacted Lyft and am awaiting their response.
You're going to have to think of ways to turn this into the lab's problem to get them to take action.
You might have some luck in getting the lab to advocate for you with Lyft if you explained the issue as your feeling very unsafe in the presence of the religious lunatic to the point that you actually fear for your safety. Also point out that everyone you know knows the lab arranges for the rides through Lyft and that you have expressed your concerns to them and have mentioned that the lab knows about your concerns but has declined to do anything.
Point out that therefore, if anything untoward were to happen, the lab would be at the center of some bad publicity and someone in authority at the lab almost certainly would be interviewed by some media outlet with questions about why they did nothing to ensure that Lyft did not send that driver for you again after you had made it clear that there were danger signs and red flags in abundance. (This might or might not happen, but you have to make them worry that they will look bad).
If they see it as a potential problem for them (and an embarrassing experience for someone in authority at the lab), then they might be more likely to make some effort to help you. You're going to have to make it more potentially inconvenient for them to ignore the problem than it is to address it. Become a thorn in their side until they do something.
The driver does sound crazy and you have every right to refuse to ride with him again. The lab is probably going to try to ignore the issue unless you can make them understand that there is the potential for making them and their management look bad. If they won't do anything for your sake, they might do something for their own sake.
Either way, if you have a cellular telephone I'd keep the number of the local mental health/crisis hotline (or insane asylum?) in its speed dial just in case you get this guy again and he goes bo-woi-oi-oing. He's clearly a nutjob.
You're going to have to think of ways to turn this into the lab's problem to get them to take action.
You might have some luck in getting the lab to advocate for you with Lyft if you explained the issue as your feeling very unsafe in the presence of the religious lunatic to the point that you actually fear for your safety. Also point out that everyone you know knows the lab arranges for the rides through Lyft and that you have expressed your concerns to them and have mentioned that the lab knows about your concerns but has declined to do anything.
Point out that therefore, if anything untoward were to happen, the lab would be at the center of some bad publicity and someone in authority at the lab almost certainly would be interviewed by some media outlet with questions about why they did nothing to ensure that Lyft did not send that driver for you again after you had made it clear that there were danger signs and red flags in abundance. (This might or might not happen, but you have to make them worry that they will look bad).
If they see it as a potential problem for them (and an embarrassing experience for someone in authority at the lab), then they might be more likely to make some effort to help you. You're going to have to make it more potentially inconvenient for them to ignore the problem than it is to address it. Become a thorn in their side until they do something.
The driver does sound crazy and you have every right to refuse to ride with him again. The lab is probably going to try to ignore the issue unless you can make them understand that there is the potential for making them and their management look bad. If they won't do anything for your sake, they might do something for their own sake.
That's a great idea. Nothing like CYA to get a company to take action. Failing that, I might be able to pay for the rides myself and get the lab to reimburse me so I can cancel a driver I don't want.
Well when you rated your ride, you could have given him 1 star and Lyft would have immediately contacted you to ask what the problem was. If you give the driver less than 3 stars you wouldn't be paired with him again anyway, so there would be nothing you would have to do. Also, in the comment section of the Lyft app, you could have summarized what happened.
Well when you rated your ride, you could have given him 1 star and Lyft would have immediately contacted you to ask what the problem was. If you give the driver less than 3 stars you wouldn't be paired with him again anyway, so there would be nothing you would have to do. Also, in the comment section of the Lyft app, you could have summarized what happened.
The problem is I didn't hire him. The lab did. That's why I don't have control over who I get paired with or how to rate them.
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