San Francisco Taxi Medallions

Outside of drug dealers sweeping into town from Richmond or Oakland, taxi drivers are the next rudest class of drivers in San Francisco.

Part of this is the fault of the city, and its medallion policy. From what I understand, possessing a taxi medallion theoretically is proof that one is suitable for operating a cab. However, the way the system works is that medallion holders actually rent their cabs out to other drivers, who may have no qualifications.

Instead of the city making money by charging a larger number of drivers to get qualifications, a limited number of medallions are issued, and the medallion holders make money renting to unqualified drivers. What's wrong with this picture? Well, riders and visitors to the fair city are putting their lives into the hands of questionable characters, and people walking or riding bicycles on the streets are subject to idiot drivers who are either rushing off to find a new fare, assuming their passenger wants to get somewhere in a hurry, swerving around making U-turns in congested areas, or sitting in the bike lane waiting for a fare or dropping one off.

This is an easily fixed problem. Make every driver get qualified and responsible for their actions. Let the city make the money instead of the taxi-lords.

Bed Bath & Beyond

Today in Bed Bath & Beyond, I experienced the major omen of bad management: not one but TWO sales associates who offered to help, but were actually useless in the help they offered. I was looking for a specific type of shower curtain. The first clerk gave me broadly sweeping directions -- oh, there are more around the corner. The second clerk gave me a blatant misdirection, "everything we have *should* be hanging up on display."

After looking through everything hanging on display around the section, I was about ready to give up, then noticed, second time through, that there were other shower curtains on the shelves that WEREN'T part of the display.

I had faith that the shower curtain I was looking for was probably available. That makes TWO sales associates that BB&Beyond is wasting money paying to wander around the store.

Reminds me of something I read this morning about CompUSA -- another company that was rife with sales help running around the store too busy to actually assist customers (it always seemed they were running in some official "pack" on business, or headed off to their break). They deserved to go out of business.