VO 101: The Mystical Art of Hiring Help

I was recently on vacation and visited Casablanca for a day as a part of a cruise. It wasn’t my first time in Morocco and from my previous experience, I knew that taxi drivers could be aggressive, that negotiating was necessary and that it wouldn’t be as simple as hailing a Lyft as I had been doing at European cruise terminals (gig transport services are not yet available in Morocco).

My sister and I disembarked and were immediately greeted by taxi drivers who offered their touring and transportation services for the day. What we wanted, I explained, was simply a ride into the city centre to rendezvous with a guide that we had previously hired. But I wasn’t offering the big money they were seeking for an all-day tour. Several drivers turned us down or offered what I knew were excessive fees. We were time-constrained in that we had a target meeting time; I felt the stress building.

After a somewhat warm (not quite heated) exchange between my sister and I about what to do next and whether in fact to abort our mission, we ended up walking what must have been a mile out of the cruise terminal. It was cordoned off from the general public and from the red taxis that I had read about and came recommended. Unlike the previous drivers, these red taxis were available for short trips so the negotiating began anew. For some drivers, when I looked into their eyes and before we had even exchanged words, I knew that we would be going nowhere with them. For others with whom the vibe seemed genial, their rates were again, double what I was willing to pay - and to be honest, by Western standards, it wasn’t expensive; I just wasn’t willing to perpetuate a two-tier fee system with one rate for locals and another for foreigners.

Finally, one driver approached us and with a reassuring voice offered what I wanted to pay. I felt my shoulders relax and initiatively felt that I could trust him. We were in the car in seconds. We successfully met up with our guide and were squired all over town to make for a truly memorable day.

The takeaway here is that when hiring help - a voice coach, a social media manager, website master, booth builder - aside from doing your research and getting references, trust your instincts. Watch their eyes - virtual or otherwise - gauge their body language, and listen to your gut. Mine has rarely failed me.