Got up, got Ron ready. Ride is on time, we go out.
Driver: "I need to see some ID RIGHT NOW"
They do that to keep friends/family from riding on a client's name. It is apparent Ron is a man with multiple disabilities and is clearly the client. Ron: "What's the problem?"
"Maybe" I said "He's new" Worried about losing his job because he didn't check an ID. There was a client named Johnny died and his wife kept riding on his name for years, even had customer service put a note "Client is a woman". Then paratransit went to checking ID's for everyone and it came out Johnny had been dead for years.
The driver got all upset and said he wasn't new.
So I could understand him doing that. I sat down and the seat is drenched in some sort of liquid, my clothes were soaked for hours, then the driver tries to force me to buckle up before I have put Ron's ID away. I am not going to stop what I'm doing to take the seatbelt, if you want to stand there and hold it you will have to wait for me to put the ID YOU demanded away.
But my clothes were soaked. He gets in up front, he is wearing a ragged pair of rubber gloves which we all know are WORSE than bare skin, especially if you are not changing them periodically, you are just collecting all the germs you touch. He does this bizarre ritualistic cleansing ritual that takes a couple minutes so clearly a germ freak, too.
I don't know why he didn't just stop driving for a while like Jack did. Jack didn't want to take a chance of getting sick so he stopped driving and is living off his retirement check.
This guy is not a good driver, gets us to to work. If the driver needs to change lanes or take an exit I always tell them about a mile in advance, this guy rode in the wrong lane as long as he "could" and then turned at the last second.
I didn't think much of him unloading Ron, and frankly wasn't watching, until I heard Ron yelp and find him hanging sideways off the ramp, about to fall. The driver is holding the handles of the wheelchair and is smirking at me.
I shout something along the lines of What are you doing?! and run over there. No driver has done this in the 17+ years Ron has been riding.
I get over there and try to take the wheelchair handles, he won't "let" me. Instead he says "I got this". Ron is still teetering, about to fall. "Give me the wheelchair" I demand. He says he "has" this again, Ron is still precarious.
I would assume "having" something meant that the person was safe, but not to him. I lunge for the wheelchair, get it away from him, get it safe. I push Ron toward the building, cursing under my breath. Ron yells "thank you" sarcastically back over his shoulder.
And YES you can bet I DID call in a complaint the minute that line opened. I told them about Ron nearly falling and she gasped, was aghast, said OMG how awful. She was HORRIFIED and I made sure to explain NO other driver in the fleet has ever done this with Ron, I even explained Ron is slim at 150 pounds and the driver went off the ramp sideways instead of straight back. He was in the middle of a parking lot so room was not an issue.
She was VERY upset and said a supervisor will be handling it. Good. That guy needs to go.
1. Germ freak
2. Nasty attitude
3. Not a safe driver
4. Reckless handling clients
What if Ron had been non verbal and traveling alone? What if he HAD fallen out on the ground and hit his head? That is the LAST thing we need with him having seizures.
I got him in the building and did what I needed for sales tax, took the money out of the machines, counted it for the bank (enough for sales tax, happily), etc. Once I finished all the "financial" we had some time to stock, and did the bottled vendor. I did the inventory for Dr Pepper, which we will get shortly.
We had a bad coin jam in one machine, which Ron fixed by beating up the mechanism. LOL
We went to the bank and deposited the money, and came home. I helped Ron some and then took a nap.
Ron woke me up but he sort of "had" to, listening to his digital recorder, because he had a deadline on the Dr Pepper order. So I got up, I wasn't having good dreams anyway.
Ron is having problems getting his phone to charge, I think he needs a new outlet, he has a 6 way in the wall but I don't think it is a good one. Many times his phone simply fails to charge, but when I plug it in up here it always does quite well.
I need to check the mail pretty soon but that's about it. But you never thought I would call in a complaint on a driver: I did.
I was, and AM, furious he took that kind of risk with Ron.
13 comments:
Since when does Ron having one seizure translate into he has seizures (implying that he has had multiple seizures)?
The other stuff sucks but being a “germ freak” is not bad. There is a pandemic and he’s not just protecting himself he’s protecting the riders too. Glad he was wiping everything down with his weird ritual.
He had one seizure that I witnessed. One time I came home and he was on the floor next to his wheelchair, bleeding, very confused - this was some years back. I assumed it was alcohol but now thinking it could have been another seizure.
I didn't have a problem with him cleaning the cab or his hands. I did have a problem sitting in the chemicals and having to work in saturated in chemicals that could have very well ruined my clothes. And his reckless and haphazard handling of Ron.
I understand a lot of people don't like Ron. I accept that. But that doesn't mean you endanger him to make the point you "can". He could have told Ron to shut up or pulled over and called a supervisor, even though Ron was very well behaved and said please and thank you multiple times.
I don't think even the harshest reader is going to say it was OK to endanger Ron like that, especially when you are being PAID to care for him. Good money, too, last I heard about $4-5K a month, not bad for only a clean driving record, no criminal, and a high school diploma.
Where did you get that amount of $4-5K a month? As far as I know they only average $15 an hour. I sure wouldn't like that job. You complain about other riders all the time for a number of reasons, and that's just for your trips. Those drivers have to put up with them all day long, and now have to worry about the virus too. But, you were right about reporting that driver.
I have been told, by the drivers. Remember this is no technical education aside from driving and a high school diploma.
Maybe 4-5K$ gross, before taxes. Or they are lying to you.
They make $31 an hour, 12-14 hour shifts. Can do 7 shifts a week.
Again, probably lying about that rate.
Don't believe me, I don't care. Google "Metrolift driver houston" or "paratransit driver houston". Yellow cab calls them Independent Contractor Drivers so you could try that.
According to Salary.com The average hourly wage for a Paratransit Driver in the United States is $20 as of March 26, 2020, but the salary range typically falls between $17 and $24.
According to GlassDoor.com The national average salary for a Para Transit Driver is $14 in United States.
I think your drivers are lying to you to make themselves sound important.
Point being it's a LOT of money to lose because he was reckless with Ron.
It is one thing if a driver gets cut off on the freeway or runs a yellow light. Another entirely to have a client falling out of their wheelchair yelling for help and you are laughing saying you "got this". And you don't help.
It is one of the things that makes me not want to leave Ron alone with anyone.
The average Paratransit Driver salary in Houston, Texas is $42,646 as of December 26, 2019, but the salary range typically falls between $35330 and $51090. Not quite $31.00 an hour though. More like a little over $20 and after taxes even less.
Still some pretty good money to blow because you were reckless. Odds are, if he really is a 20 year veteran like he said, they will put a black mark in his file and make him attend a training class.
Post a Comment