STL cabbies freak me out (St. Louis: transportation, best, area)

[TechmanOR]

I'm from Portland OR and I was freaked out by them.

#1) Rude
#2) Tip is expected and they will demand it
#3) They don't know what they're doing

I was visiting a local in St. Louis who was too intoxicated to give directions, but we gave the cab driver an address. They're in the business of personal transportation and doesn't have even the most primitive navigator.

The driver flagged down some random motorist and asked where the street address is, although he got lost. The local I was with gave confusing directions and the driver started going in a loop a few times before we finally got back to his place. He was getting very angry with us and threatened to just drop us off right there. I'm just sitting helpless, because I don't know the area at all.

Not only was he rude, he racked up the meter, because he didn't know where he was going. When we finally got to our destination, the driver demanded tip, complained we didn't leave enough. We should have asked for change given the attitude he's given.

Is this the typical cabbie culture in St. Louis???

[DinsdalePirahna]

Its not unique to Saint Louis. You really have to understand the type of person that becomes a cabbie.
They are either immigrants from some third world backwater, or they are just too stupid to do anything else.

And you said you were intoxicated. Maybe something got lost in the translation from drunken babble to Farsi.

[northbayeric]

No no, the OP's local was the only intoxicated one. The OP was, by all accounts, stone-cold sober at the time. That's what I got out of the post at least.

I'll just stick with a good pair of walking shoes and make dang sure the address isn't in a crime-infested part of town! Spend my $17.95 on something else other than a cabbie with green teeth....

[DinsdalePirahna]

You are right. Doesn't really change the cabbie situation. If you plan on taking a cab in any strange city its best to come armed with at least some google maps. These days most smart phones have some sort of GPS.