My visit to Geneva

Interesting city, Geneva!

i never cease to be amazed at how well the Swiss have done, in getting international institutions into their country, and hence ensuring they are able to have a say in doing many of the things that happen all around the world.

That said though, i have a gripe-Taxis in Geneva.

Why is it that for such an international city, not a single Taxi driver in Geneva accepts credit cards as a mode of payment? let me modify that, some of them will, if you have specifically asked for a taxi that accepts credit cards, however, they will add a 10% commission, or say minimum 20 francs or say machine broken (i refuse to believe that so many machines are broken)- i had the occasion to taxi around, and my consistent message was - we dont like your card, but we like your business.

i asked a couple of them why this was... only a couple, because, by the time i got around to getting to a shared understanding of what i was asking (the french, they are!), i gave up on a decent conversation. Anyway, one turned out to be particularly articulate, and mentioned that- 85% of the taxis are run by immigrants, and basically, no one cares.

thats ok, but for the businessman, the first point of contact with the city is the taxi, and it doesnt pay for a city to have surly, uncommunicative and uncooperative taxidrivers being the first brand touchpoint...