Driving Me Mad

Drivers.  It's a problem that is never ending and you'd think in a country with so many unemployed people that finding something as straightforward as a driver would be relatively simply.  Well believe me, it's not.

The first driver I had, Ken, was actually the owner of the vehicle we were renting.  The problem was, even thought we were paying, he thought the vehicle was still for his primary use.  Similarly our the office, the internet, the photocopier.  Then, when he moved into a room in the house I was renting, without asking, sneaking in and out and using what little water was available, that was the final straw and he had to go.  Which was a shame because he was a nice guy but he just took kindness to be weakness and then took advantage.

When I moved to Subic I had another driver/vehicle.  He drove like a nutter.  On a trip to Manila I had to keep telling him to slow down.  But he couldn't.  It got to the point where I was about to tell him to turn around and go back.  The only good thing he did was help me get a local driver's licence.  Then I spent a period driving for myself

Joel came next.  A good, capable and professional driver.  I liked him.  I could relax whilst he did the driving and I didn't feel the need to do the driving for him, constantly jumping on a brake pedal that didn't exist in the passenger foot well.  But he also took advantage and was moonlighting whilst I was away, driving and using the vehicle for his own commercial means.  I wouldn't have minded so much had he stopped the first time I caught him out but he either thought he was cleverer than me or just thought I was plain stupid and he got caught out time and time again.  I just became too much and so I had to sack him too.

Then there was a guy who lasted one day.  He was supposed to know Manila but didn't have a clue and we spend the whole day driving around lost.  Then he got a ticket for an illegal U turn.

In desperation I tried another guy, John.  He turned up at the meeting point with his family.  He seemed okay and a reasonable driver.  Our deal was for him to drive and when in Manila we would buy him lunch.  He took this to the max and ended up spending more money on food than what we paid him in salary, even disappearing at one point, leaving in the lurch the airport whilst he went off to buy himself more food..  Plus all the loose change in the car went missing to boot.  I almost overlooked all of this but the following day he failed report for work and left me sitting in the rendezvous car park like a lemon for an hour.  No phone call.  No text message.  Oddly enough, even now he keeps texting me to see if I need his services.  He just doesn't get it.

Chris was another contract driver I employed at an exorbitant rate as I was desperate and had to go to Batangas for a meeting at short notice.  He told me he was desperate for permanent work because he had two young kiddies and one on the way and needed a regular income.  I offered him a job and told him what the salary would be and he was enthusiastic to say the least.  So it was more or less a done deal.  The next day, he did the same as John: didn't report for work and didn't call or text or let me know.  Not at least until after lunch  And I was depending on him.  So he was another one who fell by the wayside.  I've given him a second chance but suddenly he didn't like the salary we were offering.  I figure his idea of a "regular" salary is sitting at home awaiting a one off, once a month at exceptional rate job whether it materialised or not and regardless if it was less than the monthly salary we were offering.  It's hard to feel sympathetic.

Then there's Ronnie.  Really, he needs putting out to grass.  I don't feel safe with him in the car and have to watch him the whole time and correct him.  Several times I've had to tell him to get on the right side of the road.

Hence, I've taken to driving myself more and more.  I don't mind but it's not worth it when driving in the mayhem of Manila's traffic.  Last week I was reverse turning in the driveway I share with my neighbour.  Totally preoccupied with banking and work issues, I failed to see the car behind me and there was that sickening crunch of metal on metal.  I thought the damage wouldn't be too bad as the car was just rolling on tick-over.  I was half right.  My Fortuner had a small scratch on the bumper and a bit of paint from the other car.  But the other car!  It looked like it had been hit by a train.  The passenger door was completely demolished.  I went round to my neighbour and apologised and he was amazingly good natured about it.  In the end I ended up paying for all the repairs to his car (rightly so).  

I could have had his car repaired on the insurance but that would have meant getting the police involved and I can't even begin to tell how complex, not to mention costly that would have become.  That's where having a driver comes into its own.