Will a cab show up faster if the bartender calls?
September 4, 2007 2:26 AM   Subscribe

BarFilter: Will a cab show up faster if I ask the bartender to call?

Do cab companies have an understanding with bars--i.e., they wouldn't want to disappoint a bar that brings them steady business? If this is not the case, I'd rather not bother the bartender; I'll use my own phone. Help me, cab & bar professionals!
posted by Superfrankenstein to Society & Culture (15 answers total)
 
Not in my (barman) experience, no. Also, if the bar staff in your bar are anything like me, they'll not be pleased to be asked.
posted by my face your at 2:32 AM on September 4, 2007


I'd figure just the opposite. Barman calls cab, cab company figures the bar is trying to get rid of a disruptive drunk that they're throwing out of the place = the cab is probably in no rush to get there and pick the person up.
posted by meerkatty at 3:07 AM on September 4, 2007


I used to work as a taxi dispatcher. Having the barstaff call did not make any difference, unless the taxi was specifically ordered for staff. I guess barstaff are too busy to notice how long a customer waits for a taxi, but they know how long their own takes to arrive.

Nowadays, more and more taxi firms are moving to GPS- enabled automated dispatching systems. Obviously, these don't care who calls.
posted by Jakey at 3:54 AM on September 4, 2007


It may depend on the bar's reputation.

I have been blacklisted by cab companies before, for calling and then taking another cab. After a cab didn't show up, I called to complain, and the dispatcher had a list of the times I had failed to show up. Your bar could be blackslited.

In my experience, for a small tip, hotel bellhops and strip club bouncers can call you a cab that will be there very fast. The driver may be disappointed that you are nt going all the way to the airport.

I am lucky to drink and work close to expensive hotels and a strip bar.
posted by Dataphage at 4:32 AM on September 4, 2007


I notice you're in Seattle. I lived there for quite a while, and had to take cabs more than anyone I've met there. I don't know if you caught this article in the Stranger, but they came to the same conclusions I'd come to: you're pretty much screwed no matter what you do, though Yellow is best.

Upscale places will probably call a cab for you. If it's busy, don't ask, it sucks. Even if they're nice about it, and do it for you, it still sucks. They have a job to do, and you can sit there on your cell phone; they can't, really. It would be perhaps different if there was a company there that had special priority lines for businesses, but I am pretty sure none do.

Sorry.
posted by blacklite at 5:19 AM on September 4, 2007 [1 favorite]


In San Francisco, yes. The bartender knows what cab company is likely to come quickly if they call. The bar probably has an ongoing relationship with that dispatcher and may even have a priority dispatch phone number.

The SF cab dispatch system is absolutely awful, though. Maybe in a more civilized city cabs come without heroic efforts.
posted by Nelson at 5:49 AM on September 4, 2007


Best answer: This is the perfect question for your bartender, dude. Its going to depend on what city you're in, where you're at in that city, what bar you're at, how busy it is, etc. - what everyone is mentioning. If you just ask the bartender "Hey do you guys have a cab company you like to use or will I find one just as fast on my own?" - hopefully he'll be straight with you.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:05 AM on September 4, 2007


*any half-decent bartender at any half-decent bar is going to be smart enough to call you a cab, for exactly the reasons item pointed out. any half-smart cab company is going to want to develop that bar relationship as well - drunk people tip better. hell, in nyc, i know cabbies that get paid by bars / stripclubs for referring / delivering riders *to* the paying establishments, let alone back home from.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:07 AM on September 4, 2007


Jakey's got it - the bar *staff* will get their cabs quick enough, if the company/dispatch is on their game. Bartenders are the best customers - they're always there when you come and they tip well. When I was driving, there was no real difference between having the bar call and calling yourself. (Actually, I remember that from bouncing at the bar prior to driving the cab!) Depending on the system in place at the cab company, the bartender might be able to get his/her call answered faster if the dispatcher recognizes the number as a regular (that was the case with my company for quite a while).

Answering a call at a bar is hit-or-miss, so there's usually no rush. There's a decent chance that the caller has been waiting outside, and has just flagged someone down, or they've decided to stay and won't cop to calling.
posted by Banky_Edwards at 7:49 AM on September 4, 2007


Another data point: I've had the bartender call cabs for me at 2 different bars in Portland, OR after Metafilter meetups, and both times had to wait over an hour for the cab to arrive. That could just be Portland, though.
posted by matildaben at 7:54 AM on September 4, 2007


I'm in Atlanta and at my bar we have particular taxi company that we call and in exchange for that, they are there in about 15 minutes usually and will give us a ring inside when they are there so our patrons don't have to stand around outside.
posted by stormygrey at 8:33 AM on September 4, 2007


Response by poster: Thanks, everybody. Based on these, I'll do my own calling (and ask if the bar likes a particular cab company).
posted by Superfrankenstein at 12:03 PM on September 4, 2007


yes, do your own calling, by all means.

they'll not be pleased to be asked

because they're too busy pocketing a tip for putting themselves out and having actually poured a drink, poor things
posted by matteo at 12:10 PM on September 4, 2007


If you've been a crappy tipper, the bartender will remember and may only pretend to call. I've done that two, three times, maybe fifty tops.

Anytime you occupy the bartender's time for something like that, you are taking then away from money-making activities. Something to keep in mind.
posted by vito90 at 1:44 PM on September 4, 2007


Response by poster: I agree. Bar patrons should tip well for basic service, and better for anything extra. Probably should have mentioned that in my question.
posted by Superfrankenstein at 7:27 PM on September 4, 2007


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