From the Yellow Cab Weirdness Files; You Left WHAT in a Cab?!?!?

So, I admit it, I made people cry with my last blog……sorry!! That wasn’t my intention. Today, I am hoping to make you laugh. Our business deals with people when they are their most miserable and most jolly. Your car breaks down, you call a tow truck then you call us! You had a little too much fun out on the town, you call us to get you home safe. We deal with people at their lowest, and their highest…..sometimes literally.
We often find people, in their highs and lows will leave the most random things in our back seats. Sometimes these things are harmless, other times they leave us slightly more afraid of the world our drivers are in.
From the weird files here at Yellow Cab, we present: “You Left What In a Cab??”
Canes, canes and more canes have been left in cabs more times than we can remember. But one cane was waaaaay more interesting than any we have ever had dropped off in our office. It looked a little different and it wasn’t until someone pulled on one side that we understood why. It was actually a dual purpose cane. It could help you walk, and also help you in a fight as it had a sword concealed in the leg. Also not our only weapon, as someone did leave a gun in the back of a taxi. Rest assured, it was quickly removed and was turned over to the proper authorities.
Believe it or not, we once had a passenger leave an artificial leg in the backseat. We had a hard time figuring out exactly how that was even possible. More shockingly, two sets of false teeth have been left in our cabs. Both sets of recovered teeth were returned to their proper owners, and we are going to leave it at that. Another time a customer called because she thought she had lost her teeth in the cab, but we were informed by the driver they were likely on the side of the road and she owed him $25 for the car wash he had to pay for after she was dropped off. EEEEWWWWWEEEE!
Medications are left in cabs often and we make every attempt to locate the owners and return them. We have returned them to pharmacies, nursing homes and rightful owners when they are able to be located and verified. Self medications are another topic. Yes, we have had illegal substances left in cabs. Those too go to the proper authorities ASAP! I don’t know what they do with them, but we definitely don’t want them here! Please don’t do drugs and mostly, please don’t leave them in our cabs!!
Probably the saddest thing ever, not to make you cry or anything, was a puppy! We had a tiny little puppy left in the backseat of a vehicle once. The driver brought it to the office and he got to stay with one of our operators overnight until the owner was found and they were reunited.
I hope if we have to come get you one day that if you’re at your lowest, we are able to pick you up . If we pick you up at your highest, we just want to get you where you are going safely. If ever you happen to leave something in the cab that you wouldn’t go to jail for, or something that is a danger to the general public, we are always more than happy to reunite you with your lost item.

What Is Family?

My name is Joanna, I am the General Manager of Yellow Cab. I have been with Yellow Cab since I was born. Yes, really. I used to come with my mom, now owner, Tammy, when she came to work. I’d visit my Grandpa, then owner, Corky. I’d listen to the radio and all the calls that would go out. Occasionally, if my dad was here and we were short drivers, I would go out and ride along on calls and meet our customers face to face. I remember a lady in Triangle, almost across the street from our office, right off of route one giving me a quarter tip one day when I was probably 3 or 4. I don’t recall her name, but if she is reading this, thanks again! I remember there was a cot in the office then, we were still required by law to be open 24 hours a day, but there weren’t ever many calls that came in overnight, so napping was allowed. Often, in the early days, it was my grandpa sleeping on the cot, waking up to take a call, getting in the cab and getting a customer, then coming back to take more calls or another nap. He’d go home and shower just to come right back to work. We could walk across the street to McDonalds for lunch, and I remember also getting candy from the 7-11 with my grandpa. All of those buildings, even our first office, are gone now. Then, the drivers would hang out in the office and a few of them I remember. What I remember the most about all of it was laughing. My Grandpa, my mom, the drivers, and other people who worked there, we laughed. It was hard work getting started, a lot of long hours, most of which I was too young to remember, but it seemed to me a fun place to be.
When I look back on it now, I am proud of the work that my family has done. My family is the people I am related to, obviously, but it is also the people that walk through these doors every day. We have drivers that have been with us for 30+ years, call takers and dispatchers who we’ve been blessed to work with for 15+ years. These men and women are my family. We have accomplished so much together. We have watched our industry change from writing down trips on paper, cash transactions, and radio dispatching, to apps, and computers, and GPS, and backseat swipes. We have implemented those changes sometimes with a happy heart with no problems what so ever. Although, I will admit, some of those changes had us sleeping at the office, crying and screaming. Once we figure it all out, we’re right back to where we started, laughing with our family.
I wrote this blog so you could see the personal side of all this. I wrote before that when you need us you can chose to talk to a machine, book through an app, or online. We are so much more than the technology we have, though. We are my sister, our office manager, who is getting married soon to our daytime dispatcher, and our overnight dispatcher who recently got married, and our daytime operator who is getting married even sooner and better hurry up and get everything done in time! We are the driver whose wife just had twins last week. We are the Duke graduate that works here part time. We are the band that make up the daytime operator and midnight dispatching shifts. We are the single mom who has supported three amazing kids that we all love. We are the dad working here and another job to support his kids. We are the driver who has put his kids through college and just went home recently to say good bye to his mom. We are the operator who sang kick butt karaoke the other night! We are the college boy who worked here while he finished school and just became a dad. We are the operator and wordsmith of emails that always entertain. We are the dispatcher who is trying to get a job with the 911 operating center and we are all pulling for him! We are the driver who fled his country at a young age with his mother who dressed as a man to keep them safe and had no shoes as she walked over mountains to protect her children. We are people. We are a family. We have grown together. I want the best for all these people. I appreciate them all. I am proud of every single one, even if they are not listed here.

Living, Breathing, Customer Service

We have an app! We have several to be exact. We have our Yellowcabpw app, we have the Mars app, and we also use GATA hub (all available in the google play store and in the apple store as well). You can text us for a cab if you need to. If you prefer to call and NOT talk to a real live person, you can book a cab through our automated service by selecting three. We are working as hard as we can to make sure we have the latest and greatest technology on a small business budget………some things are obviously easier than others when it comes to owning your own business.
One of the awesome things we do have here, for when you need them, are REAL, LIVE PEOPLE! People that are breathing and can talk, some even know a few languages! This is our advantage in the ever changing transportation industry. When you have a problem, (Yes, we know we should be perfect every time, but problems do happen less than occasionally) you can call us, a real person will answer the phone and help you, or put you in touch with the person who can, and we work to resolve your issue. Whether it’s a complaint, leaving something in a vehicle, a compliment (we like those) or anything, really, there is someone on the other end of the line here to help as best they can! The best part about all of this is that you will get someone who cares. Family owned and operated means our name is on the line. We are a part of the community. We want you to have good things to say about us and say hi when you see us out and about! We want to be more than an app and a stranger, we are part of your community, we are your neighbors!