The owner of a popular free English-teaching Facebook page has posted a viral video clip complaining about a taxi driver at the Suvarnabhumi Airport who tried to overcharge him.
The clip posted by Danny Mac on his Easy English Thai site on Tuesday evening had already received 1 million views by noon on Wednesday and it had been shared more than 19,600 times and received over 35,000 reactions. Mac, A fluent English, Thai linguist, recounted that on Tuesday when he returned from Chiang Mai, he took a taxi from the airport and the taxi tried to convince him to pay Bt500 to go to his condominium.
Mac, whose page has over 65,000 followers, said the taxi driver claimed that the meter in his taxi had malfunctioned so Mac said he would find another cab.
He said the driver eventually agreed to turn on the meter but then asked for Bt300 for the expressway charge. Mac said the three gates cost no more than Bt100 and he gave the driver Bt200 but received no change. On arrival the meter read Bt375 so Mac gave a Bt500 note to the driver and the driver told him: “It’s Bt500, OK?” Mac argued that the metre stated Bt375 so the driver said he had to add Bt50 airport fee. Mac reportedly said it would add up to Bt425, so the diver should give him at least Bt40 change. The driver allegedly complained that Mac was tight-fisted. The driver, according to Mac’s account, said a farang should not be too stingy so Mac was a “farang khee nok [guava]” and not a real farang. Mac said he felt it was unacceptable to be criticised by the taxi driver so he demanded all the change of Bt75. He said the taxi driver agreed to give all the change and told him to exit the cab immediately. Mac asked his followers whether it was right for him not to give any tip to the taxi driver as he was dissatisfied with his service. Most of the comments supported Mac, saying he had done the right thing and encouraged him to file a complaint with the Thai authorities. The clip was recounted in Thai and Mac said he communicated in Thai with the driver. Mac recorded the end of the conversation before he got out of the taxi. Pattaya One News – EP
