The first day of this was actually 1/5/2012. I didn’t think there was much money to be made from a convention of this size so I just opted in to work on Saturday to make what I thought would be a little extra money. I did drive by on the first day to see if it was busy or not. There were a lot of cars and one pedicab driver said he was doing pretty good but that still didn’t convince me to show up the next day. I didn’t ask for the days off from my regular job either. I got there on Saturday at the open of the convention at 10am and the parking lot had a lot of cars in it like the last time I saw it for this event. I took the back way in and saw signs already up at North Concourse A for the Surf Expo happening tomorrow (I’ll be there). This was going on at South Concourse B. For both days, I was on property the whole time. No one wanted rides anyplace else other than their cars and to the convention entrance.
The tips were smaller than compared to other conventions and I kinda figured they would be considering the hobby these people partake in. The weather on both days was very pleasant but still on the warm side. This was a tricky convention because there were equal amounts of up and down time. Just when we were getting discouraged, things picked up. When things spiked, they slowed right back down. It was a steady stream of people coming and going since it was free (but parking wasn’t). That meant rides came from the front and the parking lot. This was all about being in the right place at the right time. The major complaint was there being too many pedicab drivers out. For the first day, there were only a few of them and they did good. Every day after that, there were a lot of us out there and the first day drivers probably didn’t come out as green but I still did what I’d consider to be pretty damn good for this event. We do share amongst ourselves what we make. Not to brag but as a tool of encouragement. When someone else is doing good, you feel that you can do good too.
Rides weren’t that long, nothing was too strenuous, chicks weren’t that many and the ones that were there were older and mostly unattractive. Doesn’t mean there weren’t some nice ones in the bunch, just not that many. There were more guys than girls and more older folks than young. I gave a group of hot girls a ride 50 yards away from where I picked them up for fun. They were with a guy who said 2 of them were his girlfriends and the rest were their friends. Not even the most handsome guy either but I assume he’s got a lot of money and is taking care of those girls. He gets his pussy and bragging rights, they get to ride the gravy train. Sometimes that’s what works best for people. Nathan but love and no hatin’ from me. I got a nice tip for those 50 yards too.
Being that the clientele was older and I was on property the entire time, the rides were simple and easy on the body. Nothing much interesting happened on either day. I went inside on day one to grab a couple of pics. The exhibition floor was huge. I wasn’t expecting it to be as big as it was. It’s even bigger than what’s in the pic. Really though, there were people of all ages at this convention. Day 2, I got there just a tad earlier and the results from Day 1 determined if I was gonna show up or not. I did well enough to justify coming out on the 8th. The last day of a convention is usually the slowest and there were half as many cars out which, to us pedicabbers, meant it was mostly empty. There were still what I’d say were too many pedicabs out. It wasn’t independent guys like me. The day before, one of them kept trying to creep onto property to steal rides and kept getting chased off by security. Get a clue, guy. You wanna be on property where the real money is, go legit like I did (if you can).
I was the only independent there on Sunday. Everyone else worked for another company that’s usually out there. Being that that company has high turnover, that means a lot of those guys are inexperienced and get discouraged easily. I try to boost them up but you can’t make someone do what they don’t want to. A lot of them didn’t make much and some even bailed because they didn’t think they could make more. Although this day was shorter, I still averaged per hour exactly what I did on Saturday so I came out green. One guy with the other company, I’d seen him before but he’s still relatively new. He left because he wasn’t doing well. I let him know what to do to make money for his future conventions and events. He pays rent like the other guys and that takes its toll on the bottom line. That’s one reason I went into business for myself. I want it all and now I am.
It shouldn’t be my job to encourage anyone but it’s just how I am as a person. The person who runs that company should be the one telling them how to make money because when the drivers get paid, that person gets paid. Working together, everyone wins. It was brought to my attention that me writing about my experiences while pedicabbing is looked down upon by some people. They think it hurts them due to the possibility of increased competition which they translate into them making less money. Here’s the deal: when you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing and doing it better than anyone else, you ain’t gotta worry about that bullshit. Most of the other drivers had arrived long before I did and I can guarantee I made more money than them because I know what it takes to succeed. I’m the competition. I came later in the day. I’m by myself when they have a team. Hell, I’m black and I still came out green.
I pretty much started my business on my own with very little info. The fact that I am in biz for myself doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. The fact that I share info with others about the biz doesn’t sit well either. But I believe in sharing and always will. As slow as it appeared on Sunday, it was still a good day. There should always be that encouragement, not discouragement, amongst drivers but I understand the benefits of downing on someone to get rid of them. It means potentially more rides for you. Emphasis on potentially because there are no guarantees. The thing is, the ones that ride on the street, if they wanted to go legit, they would have by now. They’re not competition. I had the brains and resources to go legit and I’m unique. I’m definitely considered competition but I shouldn’t be. I should be considered a partner because I could shit on everyone and make a lot of people lose a lot of money and be greedy and try to get rid of other drivers by discouraging them and that puts money in my pocket.
I don’t operate like that because I’m a man of integrity and want prosperity for everyone. It’s never just all about me. Perfect example was when I gave a good tipper a ride to the front entrance. When he was ready to go back, he came to me but I was second in line. Being fair, I let him go with who was first and I know they got something nice for the trip. Another time, a newer driver snaked me in the parking lot but I let it slide and let him have the fare. I ended up taking her back to her car when she was done and I wasn’t in first place. She came to me when I was in third. I don’t believe in karma at all but I do believe that everything always works itself out in the end. Everything happens for a reason.
One thing I did learn on the last day was that when someone asks for a ride, I gotta give it to them when they want it. What happened was a lady in handicapped parking wanted a ride. When she agreed, a guy in a car parked not very far away in the same row flagged me down. I asked her if it was okay to ride with another passenger. She said yes. They were both going to the same place anyway so I thought I could get a double tip. Turns out the guy was slow getting out of his car and then it turns out the son of a bitch didn’t have any money. No free rides here. The chick had already started walking and when I asked if she still wanted a ride, she was already halfway to where she wanted to be and declined. Me trying to be crafty turned into me getting fucked and no tip. I won’t try to consolidate rides like that anymore. If someone else wants a ride to the same destination when I already have a passenger, they gotta get it from someone else or be ready to go when they ask for it. I don’t like losing money.
On the 7th, a guy who declined a ride said although the show ended at 6:30pm, some people stayed behind to bid in the auction. He said sometimes the auctions last until 3 in the morning and exhibitors still had to be back the next day bright and early and that it could be exhausting sometimes. The big news from the show was that one of the original pennies made by the US Mint in 1793 was sold for over a million bucks. I collect toys and comics but I’ll be damned if any of them will ever be worth spending that kind of money on. Another driver told me someone else was selling pennies on eBay for $50 a pop. Nah, I couldn’t do it. Pay that much for a penny, that is, in either case. But I do understand people collect things and those things have value. If you got the dough, go for it.
Sunday was a short but drawn out day. It could be 30 minutes between one ride and the next. One old guy didn’t tip when I dropped him off and when he wanted a return ride, I let someone else take his ass. They didn’t get a tip either. That strategy put me at the front of the queue we were in. Other people gave bigger than expected tips. You never know. A couple even gave me two $1 gold coins as a tip. Nope, I ain’t spending those. I picked the brain of another older guy and he was glad that I was asking questions about numismatists. Of course I was. He said, as a collector, he always feels like he has money. I want that feeling. I aspire for that: To not ever have to worry about money. I got a lot of good info out of him and I appreciate it. This was during the downtime of course. If it was busy, I’d have cut that convo short or not had it at all. That was another complaint amongst the inexperienced drivers: that the people liked to talk a lot. I can verify that they did. I got some people who wouldn’t shut up too but I know how to get back to what’s important without being rude. They let themselves get trapped in conversations that took them away from the reason they were out riding to begin with. Just another thing they’re gonna have to learn in this biz.
I didn’t leave until I got one more ride that put me at my average. When I got that, I went home. I could have left earlier if not for the situation I described above. Some people did say the side entrance/exit was closed during the weekdays. I still don’t know why. That might be a partial explanation as to why the drivers said they did better on those 2 days since people could only leave at the front which is further away and they’d be more prone to take a ride. Either way, I’m very happy with what I made. It exceeded expectation. Us pedicabbers need to stick together, not work against each other. I’ll continue to send positive vibes towards the new drivers because I want everyone to make money and there’s more than plenty of it to go around if you know how to get it. And I’ll continue to share knowledge about the business that wasn’t given to me when I was paying rent. I understand the tactic of keeping people uninformed to prevent them from being a possible competitor but that doesn’t mean I agree with it. I still have some things to learn, no doubt about it. Change is permanent and I keep myself flexible. This was announced as the biggest numismatist convention yet. I saw license plates from all over the country so I guess it really was a big deal. Looking forward to next year.
