Kar wha..?!
Dropped my car at industrial area for some repairs and caught a Karwa taxi back home. The friendly Indian taxi driver had no clue how to get to where I wanted to get to - Ramada intxn, Doha. I pulled out my portable Garmin car GPS to guide us back. He wanted to know where he could buy the cheapest available model (with his own money!)
He's been here for 2 weeks, and it's Day 6 on the job. He has recieved zero training on Doha's streets. Is this an exception? No. None of the drivers get any formal training on navigating the streets of the city. Do they have a GPS in the car? Hell no! They don't even get a printed street map for help.
Way to go Karwa!
Reminds me of Melbourne taxis with students working as part time drivers, fumbling through the pages of MelWay maps at 4am.
Next time, before you blame some helpless expat for poor service, stop for a second and think - Is he/ she fit for the job? Has that person recieved adequate training to do the job? Be it a taxi driver, a waitress, the receptionist or an engineering manager with a multinational company. Chances are, the answer would be NO.
@ gtrman,perhaps you should explain that to our friend nite_rider here!...he said & i quote "i don't think back home is any much better" & "please compare India & Qatar before barking about Qatar"...!!! so my view as an Indian may be termed biased,so perhaps you should explain to him, the COMPARISON between public transport here & in India!...have a good one! :)
i really miss those orange cabs of old....they were the best....kar-wha with their pathetic style and aping the modern cars of near by gulf states forgeting tht it takes more than jus manpower to fill up those car driver seats, and i have been to india and i must say its no comparison seriously..despite the dificulties of governing a large country such as india......(p.s. i m not indian!) p.s. love those autos!!
funny enuf public transport where the people tht it is intended for do not use at all..... and alas after years and years of denying there is shortage of their cabs........ kar-wha woke up from their monoploy dream and adopt a more competitive approach abt them saying tht they wud open up for contracting companies....
lol @ "Kar wha"
Generally new drivers are given a familiarization trip of the streets of Doha.
Couldn't agree more on "Kar-wah?" Seriously these guys,the drivers, can be quite exasperating though clearly not always there fault.However, maybe I've just been lucky,Alhamdullilah, but I've noticed an improvement in their services since the past year or so though obviously they still have a lot of improvising to do before they can be termed a reliable public transportation company. Of course there cars and services do beat public transport back in Sri Lanka, not to mention are by far more safer, but they really need to pay heed to consumer needs.Perhaps the solution would be to bring in more competition so that the company will have to better themselves, cos as it appears they are quite careless due to the knowledge that people have hardly a choice in this matter.I mean all we do is rant about them but have no option but to keep using their services again and again *sighs*
Gadarene, stop feeding the TROLLS mate, this one is clearly a TROLL!!
they taught me a lot thats why you wont find me making sound in here ? and i dont understand you have so many problems here what makes you stop here
there is a word that comes before respect...it's the word mutual...did your parents teach you that?...:)
and you have a wrong prediction that you have got brains "Empty vessels make a lot noise " you proved your self many a times in ql so keep making sound
well my parents taught me a word called " Respect " unfortunately yours did not so i dont blame you
@ nite_rider,perhaps you ought to first pick up a dictionary & look up the word "compare"...now you want to COMPARE,here & India,fine,what is the public transport network like in India as COMPARED to here?...or rather let's COMPARE more specifically, public transport network in Maharashtra state as compared to here?...and how much money do these guys have at their disposal for public transport with 300,000 Qataris to worry about & how much money does Maharashtra state govt. have at it's disposal for public transport with 11,23,72,972(2011 census & that's just official,which means it's actually much more.) state residents to worry about?...& YET,i can take a regular bus,an A/c bus,a Volvo,a regular cab,an A/C cab,a luxury cab,a train or a flight to get from one point to another in Maharashtra state,can you do that here???...i presume i have made myself clear to you...it's truly shameful that as an Indian you have the audacity to compare India & here???...we may not have as much money but we have FAR more brains & we use it...& ALL this DESPITE the corruption...so please,don't COMPARE apples & oranges...
yall just go & get a grip!!!
have seen you always crying on the site about qatar dude they are not holding us if we dont like we have many other options and please compare india and qatar before barking about qatar whole nation is fcked by corruption
i dont think back home is any much better or you want me to remind you
Azamat,don't get me wrong bud,there is no excuse for inefficiency & i'm not making any...travelled in the orange cabs loads of times,been in a karwa cab twice & yes,those orange bearded pathans knew the roads in this town like no one else...when i said long way to go,i meant for karwa as a public transport service be it their cabs or buses...@ nite_rider,we come here to earn money,please explain what that has go to do with the pathetic state of public transport here? or are you saying that since we're here to earn,we should put up with all the crap that's dished out?...maybe for you,definitely not for me bud,the public transport system for a country that claims to be the richest on the planet is PATHETIC...& that's being kind...
and why do we come here
on the richest country on planet
I don't believe in "long way to go" nonsense. 7 years ago, before Karwa, the orange taxis where cheap, reliable and easily available. No technology, drivers who barely spoke english, but you could get to wherever, whenever without any hassles.PS: And those beat up Toyota Tercels didn't smell like Karwa taxis do.
@ Azamat,this is Doha we're talking about buddy!...thank your lucky stars you actually got a karwa cab!...in the industrial area no less!...MOST people here haven't had the pleasure of that experience in this town!...so the improvement in this situation is that you actually got a cab...getting one with a trained driver?,give it another 5 years or so...if you're lucky!...LONG way to go for this lot bud!...so much for "richest country on the planet"...
I understand you..:(