February 9, 2007
A New York cab driver returned a bag with 30 diamond rings in it to his fare–after she tipped him a measly $.30 on a $10.70 fare. (Whole story is here.)
Gotta love that.
And the big-spender, who was a female jeweler from Dallas, actually offered him $100 as a reward for returning probably $100K or more worth of jewels. Woohooo!
After stiffing him on a tip (she apparently gave him a $20 for the $10.70 fare, and asked for $9 back…good grief!), she left her stuff in the cab and he managed to track her down by calling her home number on the luggage tag.
Bravo on the cab driver! Warms my heart, let me tell you.
But it does confirm something I do believe: that most people–the vast majority–are honest. That's why you see people leaving their computers sitting on a table at a Starbuck's or Panera or whatever and it still being there when they get back from the counter/restroom/whatever.
Do you agree?
Oh, and not surprisingly, the woman from Dallas didn't want her name released. I'm sure it's not so much because she left the jewels, but because she doesn't want everyone to know what a cheapskate she is.
The second installment of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles takes Victoria to Venice and Rome.
My novel, 
February 9th, 2007 at 4:24 am
She is a shocking and disgusting cheapskate. If I lived in texas I would avoid all female jewelers just to be sure I didn’t give her my money.
Seriously. I’ve been a waitress and a bartender. People who leave shabby tips are scum.
Heh, do you pick the security words, or does it draw them at random from your site? Because mine is “vis bulla”. Which I so wish I didn’t have floppy-had-two-babies-tummy, because I want one.
February 9th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Good for the cabbie! I think it’s great that there are still a lot of honest people out there. And boo for the cheapskate lady. Maybe she’ll be a little nicer in the future.
February 9th, 2007 at 7:11 am
Oh, that is a lovely story, and a really nice way to start a Friday morning.
I always hate when I’m out with a bad tipper. (It rarely happens.) I always feel compelled to make up for their bad tip. Sigh.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:28 am
I don’t think people are inherently honest.
I’m not very trusting of people. None of my family is. When talking about always keeping doors locked and being extra aware of your belongings..My grandpa used to say, “I’m just trying to keep them honest.”
I’m always happily surprised by stories like this. They’re rare.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Excuse my language, but what a bitch! People like that are so lame.
We had something like that happen when my family lived in Kuala Lumpur. My mum had accidentally left her wallet in the back seat of a cab. Dad said we’d never see it again, and so mum started calling the credit card companies, cancelling her credit cards and debit cards and all. About twenty minutes after she got home we heard honking at the front gate. There waiting was the cabbie! He had seen the wallet while he checking his rear-view mirror and promptly came back to our house. He hadn’t even touched the wallet, just so my mum would know he hadn’t taken anything.
She tried to give him 50 ringgit (at the time, that was about one for one with the CND$), but he wouldn’t take it.
I guess I vacillate between trusting people and not trusting people. I’m from a small town so I leave laptops and such lying around, but when I travel I am constantly checking my wallet, and I NEVER leave anything important out when I’m in a hotel or a hostel. I like to think that I’m just being smart…
February 9th, 2007 at 9:12 am
What cracks me up about this story is that the $100 covered what he lost in cab fair for trying to track her down. Technically, he still got jipped on the tip.
February 9th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I hadn’t heard the whole story, but I did hear about the measly $100 “reward”. What a cheapskate that woman was!!!
February 10th, 2007 at 11:09 am
By and large I agree that most people are honest…of course the law of averages means that the one time you leave something laying around it will inevitably get stolen.