I Hate Taxis

I'm totally making my hotel pay for my cab fare today. The shuttle driver didn't come in. Piss! I was able to randomly get a ride to the conference today, but I had to take a cab back to the hotel after my session was over (and after I took pictures with statues!) So I call the stupid cab dispatch place, and the guy was real nasty on the phone. So then I stand outside in the very cold and wait. And wait. 2 cabs go by, and I flag them down, but they aren't mine. The second cab made me get in though, so I did. He dropped off his first passenger and then took me to the hotel. I could barely understand him, and he spent the whole time talking to someone on a speaker in a language that sounded Arabic in nature. At least when it's Spanish I can get a word here or there. Then my phone rings, and it's a local call. But the cab driver tells me I'm not allowed to answer my phone in his taxi. For real! I didn't want to piss him off, because for all I know he could take me around the entire town and I wouldn't realize it. He charged me $9 for a ride from campus, which is practically next door. So I get to the hotel and my phone rings again. It's the cab driver who was originally dispatched to get me. He's waiting for me in front of IKEA. WTF? I told him I already got a ride, and he told me to call the cab place to cancel the call. So I call the cab place and she told me he was at the IKEA, and I said "I was not at the IKEA today, I was at the Stamp Student Center." The lady was all pissy and canceled the car. This is what happens when you go budget friendly. I may have saved $400 at this hotel, and my pillow was really comfy, but it's a lesson learned in asking lots of questions before booking.