13 comments so far.Bad taxi experience means “we will never visit Gozo again”
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Dear Sir
“Whoever the Mayor is, please can you ask that he question the integrity of the Taxis on the Island. I am of the opinion that whilst visiting Gozo on Sunday last, we were taken advantage of by at least one of the taxis we made use of.
On Sunday last and having arrived on the Ferry from Malta, we asked to be taken to the craft market at Ta’ Dbiegi, having established it’s location and what it was about with the taxi driver.
The taxi driver took us there, dropped us off and we having paid the fare, she departed quickly. Only then did we discover that the market was closed.
The result of this, we will never visit Gozo again and all that driver has done is to leave us with a bad taste for Gozo and the determination to warn others about that experience.”
Thank you.
Paul J Silverberg,
Wallingford,
Oxfordshire,
UK.
File photograph by Alain Salvary
Perhaps you need to use a bit of common sense before you blame the taxi driver or Gozo.
Did you ask the taxi driver if the Craft Village was open. Probably not!
Did you check online whether the Craft Village was open, probably not!
Do you expect everything in Wallingford, which I know well, to be open on a Sunday? Probably not!
So looks like your problem then!
If you ask a taxi driver in any country to take you somewhere they are not going to say no!
There is only one person at fault here!
Ray thank you .they never asked and they asked for the bus stop .I showed them the bus stop they paid me and I left .What was I suppose to do ?I took them to the destination that they asked for .
As well as never visiting Gozo again, may I suggest that you never visit anywhere again. At least not until you’ve learned the basics of looking things up, and engaging in communication. As the previous commenter has said, a simple question to the taxi driver would have resolved this.
Our apartment is very close to Ta’ Dbiegi and we regularly advise people to tell the taxi driver to take them there. Should the taxi driver refuse based on the opening hours of the craft village.
Paul, I am so sorry that you have had a bad experience while visiting Gozo. It is a wonderful island and I always find the local population to be very friendly and amenable.
However I do have to agree with Rory on this one.
I also tell visitors to ask the Taxi to take them to a point of interest rather than the actual address of where they are going, as otherwise it causes confusion. The majority of the time the English translation of a street name in Malta and Gozo has no resemblance to its actual name, so it’s easier to ask to be dropped off at the Craft Village or a well knows shop etc. The taxi drivers are also aware of this.
I have had a lot of experience with taxis on Gozo and know they they are closely regulated because of the amount of tourists on the island. So to do what you say, deliberately, would really be more than that drivers licence is worth.
I would ask that this experience does not cloud your judgement of Gozo and its residents.
Sometimes these experiences are just learning curves in Foreign travel.
I just hope you visit again and see what delights this Island has to offer.
To all who are writing to me, the thing is, we did ask the taxi driver before we went about the Craft Fair as well as how much the cost of the trip would be. We might be naïve and trusting, but we are certainly not daft or abusive.
Paul J Silverberg
Not as daft as the taxi driver who, if she had waited, would have got another fare off you for taking you to somewhere that was open.
I am the Taxi driver I am mentioned on the above article .you asked me to take you to the craft village and you never asked me to wait for you .you asked if the buswhat ‘ passes from there to Victoria and I showed you the bus stop. What did you expected me to do ? I am sorry if you felt you had a bad experience in Gozo .in my opinion I gave you the service that you asked for
Of course we didn’t ask you to wait for us, why would we, but you being a resident of Gozo and a Taxi driver, you must have known the Craft Village was closed and yet you failed to mention that to us on the journey whilst we chatted about the increasing level of crime on the Island. I think failing to mention to us that the Craft Village was closed on Sunday was a pretty shameful thing to have done and I am just so very sorry we fell foul of this experience. Yes you did provide the service we asked for, we don’t deny that, but we did not expect to find the Craft Village to be closed, yet you remained quiet about that little aspect of the journey whilst with you. As Revel Barker remarked, you lost out on another journey and I’m sorry Ms Formosa, I think you should be ashamed over your actions.
I am not ashamed of my actions. I didn’t know that the shops at the Crafts Village were closed as I don’t work on Sundays. You asked for the bus stop and told you were it was.
I am going to apologise for the so called bad experience in Gozo (not that I should ) but I do only apologise that I didn’t know that the shops were closed. I was focusing on driving because if I saw that the shops were closed I would have called you and tken you back to Victoria to where I was heading and it wouldn’t have been a big deal to take you there.
Have a nice evening
Paul you need to have some ownership of your decisions. You chose to take a taxi to the craft village. Had you taken a taxi to a restaurant and it was fully booked or closed would that that have been the taxi drivers fault? We may be used to 24/7 in UK but we must be sensitive that not all countries are the same. I say this as somebody who spends 80% of their time overseas and calls home UK (Reading) and Gozo (a very special place) but spends very little time in either.
I will not hear a bad word spoken about Gozo or it’s people. Take some responsibility and enjoy the hospitality and sunshine ??
Same here! It is very infantile of you for your complaint. Ms. Formosa you do not have to apologize. When I saw the photo which accompanied this opinion I said to myself: At last, there is someone bold enough to write about the invasion a couple of Taxi drivers do by storming on the incoming locals and tourists alike. There is a monopoly or understanding between the Taxis and the powerful because there is a door that opens straight to the buses but this is always locked so all passengers are forced to get out of the door onto the Taxi Stands. Most of the drivers are polite and can take a ‘No’ for an answer but there are a couple who never budge.
This is the experience I thought you were going to write about not that you created a scapegoat for your negligence in preparing your visit to the Craft Visit.
I live in the East Midlands (UK) and used a taxi to go to a pub I used to frequent.. not only was it closed but the building wasn’t there either!!!!!???? I did not expect the taxi driver to know this!! Look; when we are on holiday we all have a fairytale image in our minds that everything will go swimmingly well and when it doesn’t for some people there world comes crashing down!! Different countries equals different everything and that includes markets/craft fairs/restaurants etc. local holidays and religious festivals can all be affected so cut them some slack, work with the locals and support them as best you can and stop bawling.