Tag: personal experiences

  • The Dispatch Rider, My Wigs and One Very Long Night 😂

    The Dispatch Rider, My Wigs and One Very Long Night 😂

    Hello, everyone! I appreciate you visiting the site and taking the time to read my blog. It’s always good to see those pretty eyes again. ❤️

    Here we are yet again, another Friday! I hope we all had a great week. Happy new month!!!!!

    And just like that, we’re almost in December, and the year is practically over. We’re approaching that time when people start talking about New Year’s resolutions and all the things they hope to achieve in the coming year.

    But all in all, I think I had a great week, and I’m thankful for how it went.

    Now, I had a crazy encounter this week. You know how we read those stories online about dispatch riders running away with people’s packages or doing something funny? Well, something similar happened to me.

    Sit down, grab some popcorn and a drink. Let me gist you about what happened because this is going to be a long one. 😂

    Part 1: The Dispatch Rider and My Missing Wigs

    So, I gave a friend some of my wigs to revamp a few weeks ago, and they were ready for collection. I also had another wig I wanted her to work on, so I thought it would be easier to have her do that and then collect everything at once.

    When I got home from work, I ordered an inDrive rider and sent the wig over to her.

    While I was showering, she called me. Initially, I thought she was calling to tell me the rider had arrived and that I needed to pay him. She then explained that the rider was already there, but the work I wanted her to do wouldn’t take up to 10 minutes. She had asked the rider who brought the wig to wait so he could simply bring everything back to me afterwards.

    I was like, okay, no problem.

    When I got out of the shower, the rider called to confirm what my friend had told me. I initially ordered the trip for ₦3,300, so considering that he would also be bringing the wigs back, I told him I would give him ₦7,000 altogether.

    This was where I should have started paying attention.

    The man said he didn’t have fuel and wasn’t sure whether his fuel would be enough to bring him back. I was like, okay, should I cancel the trip if he wasn’t going to be able to complete the job?

    Honestly, I thought he was going to name a price that suited him, considering the extra trip and fuel. But he eventually said it was fine and that he would bring the wigs.

    Now, this was around 6:30 p.m. My friend was in Shomolu, and he was coming to Ikoyi. Let’s say he left her place around 7 p.m., so he should have arrived by 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. at the latest.

    I went about my business and didn’t bother too much because, honestly, the man sounded sane, polite and responsible.

    By 8 p.m., I called him, but he didn’t pick up. I called about three times before he eventually called back. He said he had seen my missed calls, that he was on his way and was close by. He asked me to give him another 30 minutes, assuring me that he lived around the area and would definitely come.

    That was the second red flag I should have noticed. 😂

    Anyway, I said okay.

    By almost 9 p.m., I called again and asked if he was still coming that day. I even lied a little just to put pressure on him, telling him I was going out and needed my wigs. Remember, he had three of my wigs with him!

    He said he was just coming down to CMS from the Third Mainland Bridge and that there was traffic, but I would see him shortly.

    Now, unless it’s me that doesn’t know Lagos or the routes, I started wondering what he was doing at CMS. How? From Shomolu, wasn’t he supposed to be coming towards Obalende? What exactly was he doing at CMS?

    Ahn ahn!

    But I waved it off, thinking about all the stories and lies that come with dispatch riders sometimes.

    I was also upset because this was an offline trip, so I couldn’t track him to know his exact location or whether he was just being funny.

    Some minutes later, my friend texted me to ask if I had received the wigs. I told her no, that the rider had said he was close and all that. She immediately said she would call him.

    She called and he wasn’t picking up.

    I waited a few minutes and called him too. Nothing. Now, this was where I started getting scared. I called and called, but there was no answer. My friend was doing the same. At some point, he even started cutting our calls.

    This was when both of us started getting worried because it was already past 10 p.m. I was calling back to back, and so was she. I used both my phone lines to call him, and she did the same. His number would even go off at some point, and eventually, he became completely unreachable.

    At this point, all those social media stories about dispatch riders running away with people’s packages started playing in my head.

    My friend was particularly worried because she was the one who suggested that we let the rider return the wigs instead of ordering another one. I called this rider over 75 times! 😂😭

    My sister just said, “Ah, this guy is crazy!” I explained the entire conversation I had with him, and she also concluded that the man was crazy.

    I was so livid. I even said that if he eventually showed up after making me wait this long, he would beg before I paid him.

    By about 10:30 p.m., I decided to go to bed. So many thoughts were running through my head. Three wigs worth over ₦500k, and I hadn’t even rocked some of them properly. One was brand new, and I had only worn it for about two weeks!

    I started wondering, Shey my enemies that were pained I was buying hair have finally gotten to me? 😂

    I was genuinely worried. I prayed to God to have mercy because I knew I would be so devastated if I lost those wigs.

    Eventually, I started distracting myself on social media and had almost accepted that whatever would be, would be.

    Lo and behold, sometime after 11 p.m., an unknown number called me.

    I picked up, and the person said, “Hello, ma, it’s the rider.”

    I was about to start asking him what exactly he thought he was doing when something clicked in my head. I simply asked, “Wait, where are you?”

    He said he was outside my gate.

    I said, “Perfect. Someone is coming to meet you.”

    I cut the call, went to wake up my maid and instructed her to collect the wigs from him without saying anything. Just collect them and come inside.

    And she did exactly that.

    Before I could even get back into my room, he started calling me. I cut his calls and blocked him on WhatsApp.

    He then started leaving voice notes, explaining that the police had caught him at CMS because his vehicle papers were incomplete. Apparently, he had been slapped, didn’t have money to bail himself out and had to use his phone to secure his release. He also mentioned going to collect the phone from his brother or someone. Honestly, I can’t even remember exactly what he said.

    I just laughed as I listened and thought to myself, You never see anything.

    I lay on my bed, scrolling through my phone, completely at peace and thanking God that my wigs were finally back with me.

    Part 2: My Mum, the Rider and the Unexpected Drama

    Now, here comes the crazy and annoying part.

    My house is covered by CCTV cameras, so my mum can see the gate and whoever comes in or goes out.

    By the time I opened up the house for my maid to collect the wigs, my mum had already come out and started asking what I was doing outside at that time of the night.

    I told her I had gone to collect my wigs.

    Sometime after midnight, she opened my room door and asked me what business I had with the dispatch rider.

    I was like, nothing. He came to deliver my wigs.

    She then asked whether I had paid him.

    I said no, that I had been calling him since 8 p.m. and he wasn’t picking up. Before I could even finish explaining myself, my mother had already changed the entire story and taken his side!

    Apparently, how could I do that to him? Was it because I had a place to lay my head? What if this was the first and only job the man had done that day? Why would I leave him standing outside?

    She went on to say that I always behaved as though I was the only one who could have a bad attitude, that I had a bitchy attitude and that I was comfortably lying on my bed while someone was standing outside.

    There was honestly nothing I didn’t hear that night.

    I was immediately shocked at how my mother had taken the side of a complete stranger without even properly hearing my own side of the story.

    I told her I didn’t know the man was banging on the gate. She responded by asking why he wouldn’t bang when I had collected a package from him and refused to pay him.

    She asked why I picked up his call in the first place, why I collected the wigs, and why I didn’t simply tell him to return them to where he had collected them from.

    At this point, I was silent, but I was filled with anger. Because what exactly was my mum saying?

    She went on to say that she was a private person and that I should take my things and go and live on my own, where she wouldn’t have to see how I lived my life.

    There was nothing I didn’t hear that night. And trust me, it wasn’t a conversation. She was shouting at the top of her voice!

    It eventually ended with her instructing me to transfer the rider’s money immediately.

    And that’s how the silly rider was saved, and I sent him his money. 😂

    But honestly, I was pissed off and irritated. In fact, I was livid!

    What annoyed me most was that my mum didn’t even try to understand my side of the story. She automatically assumed that I was wrong and that the rider was the victim.

    She even said that if she were in my position, she would have left the wigs with him because she was more than that.

    Lol. Me? Leave my hair with a dispatch rider?

    Hair that is practically an investment for me this year? Three wigs worth over ₦500k, and it wasn’t even just one!

    Lol, nah. My mum is funny.

    She carried this anger for two whole days, saying she didn’t sleep that night because of me.

    Part 3: InDrive and Its Wonderful Support System

    Now, let’s talk about InDrive’s support system because, honestly, it is something else.

    Yes, the final trip was an offline arrangement, but the initial trip I ordered through the app was online. I got the rider’s contact details and everything from that trip.

    Till date, I haven’t received a call from them. No message, no follow-up, absolutely nothing.

    So, if the man had actually run away with my wigs, would that have been how they handled the situation? Would they simply say the case deserved compensation and that they would look into it?

    That’s all?

    Shior!

    No more offline trips for me. 😂

    And that’s the end of my story!

    I would genuinely love to hear your opinions and views on this one. Please don’t be shy. Feel free to share your thoughts because I want to know what you would have done if you were in my position.

    And that’s how this entire incident derailed me from what I actually wanted to blog about this week.

    But I see it as a plus. At least, I’ve taken the original topic down in my notes, and hopefully, I’ll share it sometime in the future.

    Now I have something to write about, just in case nothing special happens next week. 😂

    It’s China Not Chinese ❤️🖤💜