Constant cancellations, conversations over routes and fares leading to heated arguments — these are just a few of the many problems that commuters are left to face, when availing cab services. However, amid all the dissatisfaction, a tale of compassion has come to the fore, wherein a cab driver went the extra mile for an exhausted passenger’s comfort.
Harsh Sharma, a Delhi-based software engineer, landed in Bengaluru a month ago and boarded a cab being driven by Ravi, employed with a taxi aggregator. Exhausted after an early morning flight from Delhi, Sharma had arrived in the city, but the kind of warmth he was greeted with left him amazed. He even penned a note of appreciation on social media for Ravi. The post got 34,000 likes and more than three million views, with many praising the gesture.
Recalling the incident, the techie shares with us that on seeing him tired, the cab driver rearranged the seats and insisted that he takes a nap comfortably while en route the destination. He even offered to stop for a quick bite and accompany him.
“I hadn’t eaten breakfast. When I told him, he said he hadn’t had breakfast either. He then told me, ‘Today, we will have breakfast together’,” the 20-year-old tells us.
On reaching a restaurant for breakfast about an hour into their ride, the duo noticed that the eatery was completely packed. “We reached a restaurant, which was overcrowded. But somehow, Ravi managed to get us a table. He even got me the menu, though it was a self-service restaurant. He took my order, served me the food and even kept the dishes [once we were done eating]. He didn’t let me budge from the table, seeing I was tired,” Sharma shares, adding, “The kind of attitude that the driver displayed is extremely rare. He even got me coffee to power through the rest of the day.”
Ravi, on his part, says asking his customers if they have had a meal or not forms a part of his everyday conversation. A cab driver for over 15 years now, he adds, “I always ask all my passengers whether they have eaten or not, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner.”
For the Bengalurean, his duty is not just about driving a passenger from one place to another; it also involves ensuring that his customers are doing fine.
“Having picked up a lot of passengers from the airport, especially when it is so far from the city, I make it my concern to know whether they are hungry and want to stop for a meal. I am more than happy stopping for 10 minutes or so until they have finished their meal, before we get to their destination,” he shares.
“I have seen many kinds of passengers, but I strongly believe that they will treat me the same way that I treat them,” Ravi concludes on a positive note.
