There are certain situations where everybody needs to remember that more than one person is working.
I went down to a well-established hotel to drop off passengers. At that point, I am still responsible for getting those passengers out of my vehicle safely. Once they step out, they become the hotel’s customers again. That handoff should be simple: I pull up, they get out, the hotel handles its end, and everybody keeps moving.
But that only works when people are paying attention.
If everybody else is moving vehicles away from the front entrance, but one person decides to park or hold a vehicle there, that creates a problem. It raises a simple question: why is that vehicle still sitting there?
Is there not enough valet staff?
Are guests demanding that their vehicles be left up front so they can leave faster?
Is the hotel trying to look high class while running the front entrance with low-class management?
Because that is what it looks like when the curb starts backing up, the roadway starts filling in, and people who are supposed to be managing the flow are instead creating more of the problem.
If a hotel has vehicles parked up front, blocking the proper flow of traffic, that is their issue to manage. If they do not have enough people set up to handle valet, luggage, parking, or guest service, that is not the rideshare driver’s problem. I am not there to solve the hotel’s staffing issue. I am there to safely unload passengers.
So when someone starts backing up a vehicle while I am trying to get people out of my car, I am going to honk my horn. That is not me being rude. That is me warning someone that they may not want to keep backing up at that moment.
That is called safety.
And when the response to that is someone getting bitchy, yelling, or acting like I am the problem, then the situation changes. Because now it is not just poor coordination. Now it is poor professionalism.
I clearly advertise as an Uber. I am clearly there doing a job. The passengers are clearly getting out of the vehicle. A horn in that moment means, “Stop for a second. There are people here.” It does not mean, “Let’s start an argument in front of the hotel.”
Now, I will admit this: I can be impatient. I understand that. I can apologize for my impatience.
But I am not going to apologize for expecting common courtesy from someone who should understand that other people are working too.
My customers had been well serviced. I drove them for an hour and forty minutes to get them safely to that hotel. Once they arrived, my job was done. At that point, the hotel’s job started.
And if your front entrance is backed up to the roadway, then maybe the answer is not yelling at the rideshare driver. Maybe the answer is clearing the vehicle, moving the line, and walking back to where you need to be.
Because that is management.
That is service.
That is professionalism.
If you are servicing hotel guests, then act like it. If you are moving vehicles around the front entrance, pay attention. If another driver honks to keep you from backing into a situation where people are exiting a vehicle, maybe do not yell at that person. Maybe take the warning for what it is.
Because yelling at someone does not make them more cooperative. Acting vulgar toward someone who is trying to safely unload passengers does not make the situation better. And if someone decides to instigate that behavior in front of their boss, that only creates more proof of what is actually happening.
At some point, professional courtesy has to go both ways.
Rideshare drivers are not invisible. Delivery drivers are not invisible. Contractors, service workers, and transportation workers are not just obstacles in the way of someone else’s operation. We are part of the flow that keeps customers moving.
And when those customers arrive at your hotel, your business has already started.
Have a safe, fun, and profitable day.
Because if it ain’t safe, it ain’t fun, and it sure as hell is not going to be profitable.