Jeff Melchior and his wife Julia did what seemed so common among frustrated, dissatisfied customers: air their grievances over social media.
In Melchior's case, his wife took to the Olds Buy and Sell Facebook group to complain about A-Cabs' fares and customer service.
But he never thought that doing so would leave the couple on the side of the road.
Melchior, who works as a graphic designer for Mountain View Publishing, is accusing A-Cabs, the only taxi service in Olds, of blacklisting his family until they issue a public apology for their postings.
The couple depends on the company for transportation because Julia has a bad knee and cannot walk from her home on 50 Street near the First Baptist Church to her job at Wal-Mart. Currently, the pair cannot afford to repair their van, Melchior said.
The spat started the night of Feb. 28. Melchior and his wife wanted to grab a meal at Wendy's. They called the restaurant ahead of time to pre-order their meal, to minimize the cab driver's idle time, Melchior said.
The taxi picked them up from home, waited as they grabbed their orders and took them home.
Melchior said the trip could have taken 10 minutes on foot, but they opted to call A-Cabs because of the weather. The temperature was below -20 C for most of the day, according to data on the Environment Canada website.
A-Cabs charges a flat rate of $8 for a one-way trip. The Melchiors were charged $16 for a round trip.
Julia called A-Cabs to complain about the fare, Melchior said. The employee on the other end of the line was allegedly defensive towards the criticism.
ìThey won't submit to a reasonable, mature discussion. You express any kind of grievance, however politely and they'll just start getting defensive and won't let you put in a counter-argument,î he said.
Semia Himour is the manager of A-Cabs. She said that the price was reasonable given the size of the Olds market.
ìWe explained to him that a round trip is $16. We study Airdrie, we study Calgary, we study Red Deer and we came up the town is too small for us to put meters. We establish from point-A to point-B, it's $8,î Himour said. ìPoint-A to point-B, waited for him at Wendy's, we waited for him at Tim Horton's, brought him back home. It's a round trip, $16. I explained to him that what the driver did was right.î
Unsatisfied with A-Cabs' answer, the Melchiors wrote posts critical of the company's pricing and customer service on the Olds Buy and Sell Facebook group.
ìThere was no character assassination or anything like that,î Melchior said. ìYou're just expressing dissatisfaction, I should say, with customer service and stuff like that and I think we have a right to do that.î
Himour claims that Julia libelled the company on Facebook by claiming that the driver was abusive toward her.
ìShe put it on the Facebook that the driver was abusive to her. What did they do to her? We don't abuse anybody. By far, a taxi driver gets abuse from everybody else. It's the other way around,î she said.
Group administrators on the Olds Buy and Sell page have since removed the discussion thread.
Melchior said that no business should be immune from customer criticism and believed what they wrote was innocent.
ìI don't know why anybody should see themselves as an exemption. That's just the way it is. That's the way our free market works. But we didn't think it would lead to what happened on Sunday morning,î he said.
On March 2, Julia had an 8 a.m. shift at Wal-Mart. Melchior said she called A-Cabs a half-hour beforehand.
Nearly an hour passed without a taxi showing up. Melchior said he called A-Cabs and was referred to the company's second dispatch line.
After calling that number, Melchior claims Himour said A-Cabs would not be serving them until they made a public apology on social media.
Julia missed two hours of work before they found out they wouldn't be getting a ride, Melchior said. That's when he lost his temper, he admits.
ìI kind of lost my temper. And I would like to make a public apology about this to the lady. I kind of used a couple of choice words,î he said. ìAnd she basically said, you will never be able to use our service ever again.î
Himour confirms that A-Cabs is refusing the Melchiors service. And she stands behind her decision.
ìIf you go into Wendy's and you are not desirable, they'll kick you out, right? They don't have to serve you. The same with me. I run the service business, I don't have to serve him,î she said.
When asked if A-Cabs deliberately delayed telling Melchior that Julia wouldn't be picked up, Himour denied it. However, she was unsympathetic about Julia's two lost work hours.
ìI provide a service and I don't care if she loses her job because I run the service business. I won't be slandered the way she slandered us,î she continued.
Himour insists that despite this episode with the Melchiors, her company is receptive to customer feedback.
ìI am receptive to customer feedback, yes,î she said. ìThis is not a dissatisfied customer. This is somebody who swore at me over the phone.î
She also said that no apology from Melchior would restore service to his family.
ìHe did not apologize and I will never accept an apology,î Himour said.
Without transportation, Melchior said the couple will try to fix their van but added he will not retract his opinion.
ìThey say that we owe them an apology but in reality, I feel like they owe us an apology. I apologized for losing the temper. That was certainly not called for,î he said. ìBut as far as being denied service, I am not going to apologize for my right to free speech.î
