I drive a lot of passengers for many reasons. Mostly, I drive my passengers to Newark Airport from their homes or from Newark Airport to their homes or offices. Sometimes I drive them to or from JFK and LaGuardia Airports as well.
Occasionally, I drive passengers to hospitals and medical centers in the Tri-State area. Sometimes these turn out to be “regulars” or “repeats” multiple times a month or year. Here are some examples of my regular hospital hops.
The Good Dentist
One passenger always requests that I drive him. I don’t know why, but I guess it’s because he likes my political views and he likes how I drive.
When we first started driving together, I would bring him to Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in Basking Ridge, NJ. I would pick him up at 6:15am from his home in northern New Jersey and drive him there, wait two hours for him and then head back to Northern New Jersey.
Special Stops
On the way home, The Good Dentist would ask me to stop at Kings Supermarket near his home so he could do his grocery shopping for the week. Since the ride is an hourly, I’m always happy to do this for him.
When I drive The Good Dentist to MSK in Manhattan, he asks me to go to various Chinese and Thai restaurants around Manhattan for dinner that he enjoys at home with his wife. Sometimes he asks me to pick up food at a Kosher Delicatessen on the Upper East Side.
Unique Tips
I first started to drive The Good Dentist before the Great Pandemic of 2020. Instead of a cash tip, he was kind enough to supply me with a box of N-95 masks so I could be protected from the Covid-19 deadly airborne particles. This “tip” was easily worth $100!
Once, when I picked him, his wife and dog up at Newark Airport, they asked me to stop at a bagel store where they got their bagel nosh breakfast. He gave me a bag of “baker’s dozen” (13) bagels. This was a nice surprise!
On two occasions, he noticed that I was doing a lot of running around on his behalf. Both times, he handed me two Andrew Jacksons. Yes, The Good Dentist is a nice man, as well.
Family Trips
Another customer who needed treatment for skin cancer always requested that I drive them. It was a family. The father always had his wife and daughter come on the trips to Lenox Hill Hospital (where my oldest daughter was born!
The family was always nice to me. They never gave me a tip, which was alright. The rides were always good paying “as directed” or “wait-and-return” rides.
Other Hospital Hops
I’ve done many other pickups and drop-offs at many different hospitals. Besides driving them safely, it is important to always show care and compassion for these special passengers because they have a lot on their minds, they may be in pain, and they may be anxious or scared.
Often, I wonder why people going to the hospital use a car service instead of driving themselves. I believe it is because they can “write off” the car service on their taxes as part of their medical expenses. The other reason is because they don’t want to drive or find parking on top of everything else they are worrying about, due to their special medical condition.
The moral of this Street Story is: Consistently provide the best service to your customers that you can, regardless of where the pickup or drop-off is. Try to show your passengers compassion and care. When you do, your customers will request you again and again!