By Victor Kwame Sampong
The December period was very productive for me, but entering its final week seemed to be an exception as surge periods were no longer constant features for most parts of the day.
Then came the issue of fuel scarcity as well. Drivers struggled to get petrol to operate; and when we did, the prices were usually too high. It kept increasing daily, from N210 per litre to as high as N320 currently.
After struggling to get fuel at such an astronomical price, frustration sets in when the prices on the Bolt app doesn't usually reflect the rides done. So, most drivers were seen on different platforms hustling for offline jobs, so as to meet up.
I was still in bed on Tuesday morning when a colleague called me about a job to Owerri and back. He was given the job, but due to a late change in date from the client, he could no longer make it, but graciously passed it on to me. I wasn't surprised though. James was the one I linked up with an airport pick up two weeks earlier that paid him handsomely. I guess he was trying to return the favour.
We discussed terms and he immediately sent the client's number to me. I reached out to her to get her pick up point for the trip. I got there and (un)surprisingly waited for close to two hours before she and her girls (three) stepped out. They had an assignment in Owerri to make up a bride and her bridal train on Tuesday (Bridal Shower) and Wednesday (wedding).
The journey to Owerri was smooth and we arrived safely and on time too. They quickly got into gear, tending to the beauty needs of their own clients. I just sat there, admiring the ten pretty ladies around me. Trust me, they were pretty and came in different shapes and sizes. I was the only male in the midst of almost twenty females. They did their hair, after which we moved to a hotel for their facials.
Madam Faith and her girls really made those girls very pretty. They took pictures and all the razzmatazz associated with all that. I was there each step of the way, playing, laughing, teasing, taunting and generally, having a good time with all of them. We finished late in the night and headed to the hotel reserved for us by the bride. Na here wahala been wan start. {This was where the problem would have started}
Madam Faith said the person who linked me up with her usually sleeps in the car when he takes her for jobs outside Port Harcourt. I told her I won't reduce myself to that level. As for me, it's either the client gets a suitable accommodation for me himself, or pays for it or we sleep together wherever he or she sleeps. I told her point blank that we're all sharing the hotel room...four ladies and me. I no send anybody. {It was none of my business} After much argument, she agreed.
I told her I'll give her and the girls one hour to go in freshen up and dress up,.then I'll come in and do same. They ladies went up and did as expected, while I remained in the hotel bar to drink a few bottles. It was around 2:30am or thereabouts that I walked upstairs to the room. I knocked and one of the girls opened it. I made my way to the bathroom, took my bath and got dressed in my night wear, took out my wrapper to spread on the floor, used some clothes as pillow and crashed shortly after. The ladies were surprised at my sheer audacity to spend the night with them in the same room, but they could do nothing to prevent it too.
We finished up the next day and returned to Port Harcourt later in the evening.
The second part of the week turned out to be sour for me; no thanks to my mechanic.
My front shocks were on their last legs and I had wanted to change them for a while now, so, I hit Joe up to carry out the works the next day as soon as I returned from Owerri.
Instead of Joe to change the shocks like I paid for, he went to Ikoku to try to fix them. Believing they were okay, he fixed them back for me. I picked up my car and hadn't even gone out of the gate, before I noticed the same irritating noise. It was already late, so I told him I'll return it to him first thing the next morning.
The next day, I insisted we both go to Ikoku together. We got there and luckily, the person who did the work is someone I've known for a long time. It was Azunda that revealed the elaborate plan Joe brought to him, despite his professional advise that the shocks might be truly bad, so he should 'pieces' it to check the true nature of the fault before 'working' it. Joe refused and forced his hand to do the hachet job.
I had to pay extra to get the new ones I had already paid for, gave them to Joe to go fix it, while I stay back for a few minutes to get a few bottles from Azunda...the ones he promised me when his wife gave birth a year earlier.
I went back to Joe's shop to pick up my car and noticed it was on. I asked why the car was on and he said he was just steaming it. I didn't think it through; something I would later come to regret that night.
The car was moving perfectly now and i resumed work that night. It was around 10pm Joe called me that the battery in the car wasn't mine. He gave mine out to another guy and wanted me to charge the person's own while driving around. I was so furious and screamed at him to retrieve my battery before I drop my client at Ogbogoro.
The client urged me to go get my battery immediately. Something I bought for Forty Thousand Naira barely two weeks earlier. Immediately I dropped him off, I made my way to Market Junction on Ikwerre Road and made sure I waited for Joe to bring back my battery. I made it clear to him, that it was the last time he'll set hands on my car for any reason. What audacity!
The December period was very productive for me, but entering its final week seemed to be an exception as surge periods were no longer constant features for most parts of the day.
Then came the issue of fuel scarcity as well. Drivers struggled to get petrol to operate; and when we did, the prices were usually too high. It kept increasing daily, from N210 per litre to as high as N320 currently.
After struggling to get fuel at such an astronomical price, frustration sets in when the prices on the Bolt app doesn't usually reflect the rides done. So, most drivers were seen on different platforms hustling for offline jobs, so as to meet up.
I was still in bed on Tuesday morning when a colleague called me about a job to Owerri and back. He was given the job, but due to a late change in date from the client, he could no longer make it, but graciously passed it on to me. I wasn't surprised though. James was the one I linked up with an airport pick up two weeks earlier that paid him handsomely. I guess he was trying to return the favour.
We discussed terms and he immediately sent the client's number to me. I reached out to her to get her pick up point for the trip. I got there and (un)surprisingly waited for close to two hours before she and her girls (three) stepped out. They had an assignment in Owerri to make up a bride and her bridal train on Tuesday (Bridal Shower) and Wednesday (wedding).
The journey to Owerri was smooth and we arrived safely and on time too. They quickly got into gear, tending to the beauty needs of their own clients. I just sat there, admiring the ten pretty ladies around me. Trust me, they were pretty and came in different shapes and sizes. I was the only male in the midst of almost twenty females. They did their hair, after which we moved to a hotel for their facials.
Madam Faith and her girls really made those girls very pretty. They took pictures and all the razzmatazz associated with all that. I was there each step of the way, playing, laughing, teasing, taunting and generally, having a good time with all of them. We finished late in the night and headed to the hotel reserved for us by the bride. Na here wahala been wan start. {This was where the problem would have started}
Madam Faith said the person who linked me up with her usually sleeps in the car when he takes her for jobs outside Port Harcourt. I told her I won't reduce myself to that level. As for me, it's either the client gets a suitable accommodation for me himself, or pays for it or we sleep together wherever he or she sleeps. I told her point blank that we're all sharing the hotel room...four ladies and me. I no send anybody. {It was none of my business} After much argument, she agreed.
I told her I'll give her and the girls one hour to go in freshen up and dress up,.then I'll come in and do same. They ladies went up and did as expected, while I remained in the hotel bar to drink a few bottles. It was around 2:30am or thereabouts that I walked upstairs to the room. I knocked and one of the girls opened it. I made my way to the bathroom, took my bath and got dressed in my night wear, took out my wrapper to spread on the floor, used some clothes as pillow and crashed shortly after. The ladies were surprised at my sheer audacity to spend the night with them in the same room, but they could do nothing to prevent it too.
We finished up the next day and returned to Port Harcourt later in the evening.
The second part of the week turned out to be sour for me; no thanks to my mechanic.
My front shocks were on their last legs and I had wanted to change them for a while now, so, I hit Joe up to carry out the works the next day as soon as I returned from Owerri.
Instead of Joe to change the shocks like I paid for, he went to Ikoku to try to fix them. Believing they were okay, he fixed them back for me. I picked up my car and hadn't even gone out of the gate, before I noticed the same irritating noise. It was already late, so I told him I'll return it to him first thing the next morning.
The next day, I insisted we both go to Ikoku together. We got there and luckily, the person who did the work is someone I've known for a long time. It was Azunda that revealed the elaborate plan Joe brought to him, despite his professional advise that the shocks might be truly bad, so he should 'pieces' it to check the true nature of the fault before 'working' it. Joe refused and forced his hand to do the hachet job.
I had to pay extra to get the new ones I had already paid for, gave them to Joe to go fix it, while I stay back for a few minutes to get a few bottles from Azunda...the ones he promised me when his wife gave birth a year earlier.
I went back to Joe's shop to pick up my car and noticed it was on. I asked why the car was on and he said he was just steaming it. I didn't think it through; something I would later come to regret that night.
The car was moving perfectly now and i resumed work that night. It was around 10pm Joe called me that the battery in the car wasn't mine. He gave mine out to another guy and wanted me to charge the person's own while driving around. I was so furious and screamed at him to retrieve my battery before I drop my client at Ogbogoro.
The client urged me to go get my battery immediately. Something I bought for Forty Thousand Naira barely two weeks earlier. Immediately I dropped him off, I made my way to Market Junction on Ikwerre Road and made sure I waited for Joe to bring back my battery. I made it clear to him, that it was the last time he'll set hands on my car for any reason. What audacity!
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