What the?!?!
I don't get it. I really don't.
Just now, as i was headed upstairs to start getting ready for work, i noticed the car was parked in the driveway. That's odd, i thought. Why would the car be in the driveway at 2:30 in the afternoon, and why wouldn't Steve have told me he was going home early?
So, i went out to the car and found a note on the dashboard:
Bill
I tried to make a go of things, however became very frustrated.
See you Monday
Steve
And there was his sheet for the day's work -- a total of two trips, $23.40, that he apparently ran between noon and 1:20. What happened before that, i wondered. Gee, what a horrible day. No wonder he got frustrated and went home early ... but still, he should have called me or knocked on the door when he parked the car so i could get out there and finish his shift.
And then there was an envelope. I opened it:
March 15 / 06
Attn: Bill
After a great deal of thought and contemplation I have discovered the taxi business is not for me.
Therefore please consider this my letter of resignation.
I am willing to let this stand for a two week notice.
Sincerely
Steve Bishop
PS Thank you for your help, and good luck in the future.
And so, i say again, "What the?!?!"
I mean, the dude just had a record-breaking exciting near-$500-day on Wednesday and on Friday he leaves me a letter of resignation? I'm sure i told him about how Chris quit on me ... and maybe that's why Steve's note is at least on a sheet of lined paper, rather than the back of a credit card slip.
I'm just kinda flabbergasted, ya know?
I had thought i made it quite clear to him that i wasn't pleased with Chris's impersonal manner of resignation -- why wouldn't he have the guts to talk to me in person about this? What is the matter with people?
I called the office to see if maybe there had been some incident with him today, and i learned that he was late for his shift this morning and was de-authorized. Well, that's fair -- we have a rule, more than 30 minutes late showing up for a day shift and you forfeit the shift. You can still work, but not as a fully-shifted car. He could have gone to the airport and still had a decent day. I also learned that we were dispatching on the voice channel for a portion of the day, and i know he hates it when that happens -- it has happened four times in the past couple of weeks -- once for a software upgrade, once during a power failure, and twice now because of some crazy radio interference messing with our data transmissions. Still, is a bad day any reason to just throw in the towel ... so soon after having a day that was good enough to count for two?
In oddly related news, i met with a new trainee last night -- Judy. When discussing the documents that drivers must make sure they have with them, she saw Steve's Chauffeur's Permit in the glove box -- her brother has the exact same name! -- first, middle and last! Weird, eh? And of course, once she's fully trained, she'll be looking for work. Maybe i'll hire her. She's untested in the sense that she has never been a taxi driver before, but she seems nice and is certainly enthusiastic. I'll discuss the possibility with her tonight, and if she'd like to start next week, i'll tell Steve -- just as i told Chris -- that his two weeks' notice won't be necessary. I mean, jeez, he knows how pissed off i was that Chris had quit on me without any sort of face-to-face discussion -- why would he think i'd be okay with him doing the same thing?
Just now, as i was headed upstairs to start getting ready for work, i noticed the car was parked in the driveway. That's odd, i thought. Why would the car be in the driveway at 2:30 in the afternoon, and why wouldn't Steve have told me he was going home early?
So, i went out to the car and found a note on the dashboard:
Bill
I tried to make a go of things, however became very frustrated.
See you Monday
Steve
And there was his sheet for the day's work -- a total of two trips, $23.40, that he apparently ran between noon and 1:20. What happened before that, i wondered. Gee, what a horrible day. No wonder he got frustrated and went home early ... but still, he should have called me or knocked on the door when he parked the car so i could get out there and finish his shift.
And then there was an envelope. I opened it:
March 15 / 06
Attn: Bill
After a great deal of thought and contemplation I have discovered the taxi business is not for me.
Therefore please consider this my letter of resignation.
I am willing to let this stand for a two week notice.
Sincerely
Steve Bishop
PS Thank you for your help, and good luck in the future.
And so, i say again, "What the?!?!"
I mean, the dude just had a record-breaking exciting near-$500-day on Wednesday and on Friday he leaves me a letter of resignation? I'm sure i told him about how Chris quit on me ... and maybe that's why Steve's note is at least on a sheet of lined paper, rather than the back of a credit card slip.
I'm just kinda flabbergasted, ya know?
I had thought i made it quite clear to him that i wasn't pleased with Chris's impersonal manner of resignation -- why wouldn't he have the guts to talk to me in person about this? What is the matter with people?
I called the office to see if maybe there had been some incident with him today, and i learned that he was late for his shift this morning and was de-authorized. Well, that's fair -- we have a rule, more than 30 minutes late showing up for a day shift and you forfeit the shift. You can still work, but not as a fully-shifted car. He could have gone to the airport and still had a decent day. I also learned that we were dispatching on the voice channel for a portion of the day, and i know he hates it when that happens -- it has happened four times in the past couple of weeks -- once for a software upgrade, once during a power failure, and twice now because of some crazy radio interference messing with our data transmissions. Still, is a bad day any reason to just throw in the towel ... so soon after having a day that was good enough to count for two?
In oddly related news, i met with a new trainee last night -- Judy. When discussing the documents that drivers must make sure they have with them, she saw Steve's Chauffeur's Permit in the glove box -- her brother has the exact same name! -- first, middle and last! Weird, eh? And of course, once she's fully trained, she'll be looking for work. Maybe i'll hire her. She's untested in the sense that she has never been a taxi driver before, but she seems nice and is certainly enthusiastic. I'll discuss the possibility with her tonight, and if she'd like to start next week, i'll tell Steve -- just as i told Chris -- that his two weeks' notice won't be necessary. I mean, jeez, he knows how pissed off i was that Chris had quit on me without any sort of face-to-face discussion -- why would he think i'd be okay with him doing the same thing?