Ignorant taxi drivers are affecting tourism
Ok, now this really should light a fire under the Merchants Group, the BID and even the map and brochure committee.
Tourists visiting the Grove told a local business that they were on South Beach and they asked a taxi driver to take them to the Grove. The taxi driver looked at them like they were crazy and said, "Coconut Grove? Are you sure? Why do you want to go there, there is nothing there. It's over . . . dead!"
Supposedly this is the third time in a week that this has happened.
I have been told by tour bus operators that concierges at hotels on South Beach pay them to go to certain places because certain businesses along the routes pay them to stop certain places.
Could someone be paying the taxi drivers to avoid the Grove? Or could it be the cab drivers we chased off of Virginia Street? Maybe we should have left well enough alone.
Makes you wanna go hmmmmm.
Tourists visiting the Grove told a local business that they were on South Beach and they asked a taxi driver to take them to the Grove. The taxi driver looked at them like they were crazy and said, "Coconut Grove? Are you sure? Why do you want to go there, there is nothing there. It's over . . . dead!"
Supposedly this is the third time in a week that this has happened.
I have been told by tour bus operators that concierges at hotels on South Beach pay them to go to certain places because certain businesses along the routes pay them to stop certain places.
Could someone be paying the taxi drivers to avoid the Grove? Or could it be the cab drivers we chased off of Virginia Street? Maybe we should have left well enough alone.
Makes you wanna go hmmmmm.
posted by Tom Falco at 2:30 PM
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13 Comments:
this sounds like in vegas where the cabbies get kickbacks from the door guys to bring you certain places.
it coconut grove being home to miami city hall, you'd think they (the guys in charge) would take major offense to something like this in their neighborhood.
The taxi drivers in Miami are the rudest I've encountered anywhere. I have had numerous complaints about about them and their terrible attitudes. This does not surprise me.
Take another look, they are still on Virginia St.
Two are permitted near the Mayfair, hopefully they are not lining 7 to 8 cabs up and down the street like in the past.
So the Anti-Grove cab driver is probably related to the woman on the street in front of 24 Hour Fitness that was yelling at tourists to go get out of the Grove because there was nothing here.
By the way, not all cab drivers are rude. If you ever need a ride to the Airport (or anywhere) call Tony Hernandez at Diamond Cab.
The man takes pride in his business: Spacious mini van with current (that's right, current!) top quality magazines and brochures, in the back seat sleeve, pleasant music, and, only if you want, pleasant conversation. He comes to my building all the time. He is so good he deserves a plug: 305 298 4736.
I think it might be a case where the cabbies want turnover. Driving someone from the beach to the grove means most likely that they are driving back to the beach without a fare. They would rather keep those people on the beach so they can go back and get more fares.
Exactly, Gabriel. I highly doubt its a conspiracy against the Grove. Shorter fares produce a higher frequency of passengers and the tips that come with them.
I had some friends with a layover in Miami. They jumped in a cab and asked to be taken for a drive through a nice part of Miami. Where did he take them? Coral Gable? Coconut Grove? Miami Beach? No. They got a tour of Little Havana. Needless to say, they have no reason to return and spend their money in Miami.
How about someone throw a little party (free food and drink) for cabbies and encourage them to promote Coconut Grove? There are lots of people with layovers at the airport and the Grove is an easy, convenient place for them to come.
At the airport in San Paulo, Brazil there was a small book titled Miami, Florida and it read on the first page not to go to Coconut Grove, Florida because nothing was happening. The taxi drivers just might be telling the truth about the Grove. Think for one moment, just think-----if you were a tourist, why would you want to come to the Grove? To see or do what? Look at a bay, some boats, find a restaurant, look at some art that is a common a fleas on a dog? You can do this anywhere on planet earth. Where is the heart and soul of this community, where is something worth paying your hard earned dollars on? The environment has changed and what caused people to want to come to the Grove has been absolutely destroyed, the artist and the real characters would not step foot down town Grove as it is a dead zone full of greedy, heartless souls and everyone knows this and that is why the business district has to pay out big bucks to entice a quality of person into the Grove just to have one good weekend and then it's dead again. The people who run the Grove are Zombies and the business owners suffer, no brochures in the Grove are by design. Noise rules are by design from the top down and this Grapevine by default or by design panders to the puritans and is the enemy of business in the Grove.
Jobie there is such a thing as cultural tourism. Went by your house today. It is charming colorful and gives a feeling of well being, happiness definitely worth a drive by. Dave Collins pays the musicians on the weekends to be on the street, why not pay a couple of artists to do the same. In this economy why not have each restaurant support an artist. Give them lunch on weekends for the entertainment factor.
He's got a point. Sarnoff and many others in power want to make the grove a sleepy, tranquil community. In just the last 7 years, I've seen a huge decline in business, visitors from outside the grove, and general enthusiasm about the area.
Gone are many of the characters. Gone is the scene of a place where you can let your hair down, let loose and party your ass off. Gone is that vibe that the grove used to put off that it was the place to be in Miami.
There used to be lines to the end of the block in front of Moes, Sandbar, Barracuda and even Flavour every single thursday night of the year. Now, you get that for only a rare special occasion. Halloween is even considerably slower than it used to be, and that was a grove staple.
So, what do we want to be: a sleepy village, or place where you can have the most fun, without being pretentious, snobbish, etc.?
Every person, including Sarnoff, a puritan, an elitist and every homeless person or old Grovite has a say and that say translates into whether or not people/tourist come into the Grove to support our businesses or the Grove community is transformed into a community where the taxpayers pay for the services and ambiance. This is a very friendly war and those with the greatest heart, soul and power shall prevail. Thank you for this democrcy!
yea the real estate agents butchered the grove retail district, they made it impossible for anyone but the wealthiest business owners to be able to open shop in the grove and even they have a hard time paying the rent it seems. hopefully the market crash will make it possible for some creative individuals to fill the storefronts and vacant restaurants in the coming years.
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