Not all of Manila's taxi drivers are nice...
I had just landed from Guam. Tired and hot I boarded one of those yellow, metered airport cabs that are reliable and have friendly drivers, but this would not be one of them.
It was bad enough that we were running head on into Manila's famous rush hour traffic, worse the driver was ornery. I guess one traffic jam after another makes people grouchy.
Often I engage taxi drivers in a conversation. With Philippine elections around the corner and politics being one of the country's pastimes, I asked the driver who he would be voting. His response was a negative, "I don't trust any of these guys, they are all in it just for the money." How cynical," I thought.
Stuck in traffic I saw a poster of a candidate for senator who is a Christian and was known for being a man for the masses. I pointed to the poster and asked, "What about him, would you vote for him?" He replied, "Of course not, guys like that prey on people who have weak faith and take advantage of them." Then he said, "religion is something you are born with and guys like that take advantage of those who are weak."
I didn't back off just yet, instead I asked about his family. He obliged by answering my question. I followed with how long have you been driving? He said, "I'm really not a driver, I'm an engineer and am waiting for my papers to go work overseas but I've been ripped off and I have no choice right now.
I said, "I'm sorry to hear that," and asked "where are you headed?" "Toronto," he said. "My family is there and they have petitioned me." After a few more exchanges I asked him, "Are you familiar with the Nissan Coupon Taxi?" He said, "Of course that's the standard of all airport taxis, in fact if you've ever worked for them you'll be an immediate hire in any other company."
I told him, "For years I rode nothing but Nissan Coupon Taxi cabs, they were so reliable that I was wiling to pay the extra cost for the quality and security. Issuing coupons that had the plate number and name of the driver to make sure that the experience was positive was great idea." He said, "Actually, that's where yellow metered cabs got the idea of the coupon."
Then I told him a story: " On a flight about five years ago, I met an American passenger, I told him to make sure that as he exited the airport to go to the Nissan counter and he can be assured of quality service and security. The American said, "Why woud I do that? The yellow metered taxis do that too, the drivers are friendly and the cost is half a Nissan taxi."
Apparently this guy has been coming to Manila often. He was the one who introduced me to your type of taxi. I am grateful because he is right, I get the same service at half the price. I guess it's like what you said earlier about being born to something that you should believe in. While I have been a firm believer of Nissan but when somebody told me about a better experience and a better value I made the shift.
It's possible that the people whom you said have weak faith have encountered something that is a better experience and one that has proven to be more valuable than what they got when they were born.It's also possible that those who brought the message to them was not preying on them but wanted them to experience something good."
For the first time his eyes looked back at the rear view mirror. It was clear that I connected. I sent up a prayer for the driver as I sat for the rest of the ride.
Here's the point, all fo us can move people further when they are stuck by cynicism and a string bad experiences. We don't always have to bring them to the place of salvation but we can move them forward one step at a time.
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