Sandy sends out her drivers in the notorious gray and orange cabs.
“Fairfield cab!” You hear these words ringing through your cell phone every weekend. This is the well-known answer of Fairfield Cab Company dispatcher, Sandy Castelluci. Besides being the elusive voice on the other end of your phone, Sandy is much more than a phone operator.
While some students like John Doe ‘12, say, “RUDE”. Sandy, who has been working for Fairfield Cab for four years, says her favorite part about her job is “helping people.”
“Helping them locating cabs and helping them when they’re lost makes me feel good,” said Sandy. If Sandy could have any other job, it would be as a nurse so that she could help people. As a mother of two college-age daughters, Sandy has experience with this age group.
Most Fairfield students call Fairfield Cab after being at a party on Fairfield Beach Road, and ask to get picked up at the Seagrape so they do not have to figure out the address of the house they are at. Sandy said this is a common occurrence, “After 2:00 I know you’re not there. They’re probably walking. My pet peeve with them is they don’t answer their phones. But as soon as that cab comes by, boom, they’re there.” Has Sandy ever been to the grape herself? “I’ve driven by it. I know what it’s like. I’ve never been inside.”
Along with Sandy’s many calls comes a lot of confusion as per people’s locations. “My pet peeve is when I ask for a phone number and they ask 10 people behind them, ‘what’s my phone number?’ It makes me wonder what would happen in an emergency.”
Although it is hard to believe anyone but Fairfield University students are calling the busy line for cabs, adults use their services too. Sandy said, “Sometimes my adults are as difficult as my kids. My pet peeve is when I ask where they are and they say, ‘I don’t know.’”
Sandy works eleven-hour days from 4 p.m. in the afternoon to 3:30 to 4 a.m. in the morning. When asked how she deals with the stress, Sandy joked, “You really don’t wanna know.” Sandy went on to say, “I take each day and each call as it comes. And I don’t answer my phone at home because after 12 hours you get tired of it.” She said she would like to be retired in ten years and living on an island somewhere with no phones.
After sitting down with Sandy in Fairfield Cab’s headquarters at the Fairfield Train Station, I was able to experience firsthand how Sandy deals with the stress of her job and some of the interactions she has with her customers. One man walked by during our interview and said he was offended by her smoking. Sandy brushed this comment off. For a woman that deals with many characters during the day, she must remain tough, and under her tough act, she is a sweet woman who wants to help. She made sure I included that not all students are bad and that some even came back after they graduated to visit her.
Fairfield Cab has been in business for close to 40 years. The business operates 24/7 and services more residents than students, who are here for more time of the year. Sandy is friendly with most of the drivers, as she said, “Everyone has a different personality here, some you can talk to some you can’t. Some take their job too damn seriously.” One might be lucky enough to be driven by Sandy as she has driven cabs herself from time to time. “When they get in the car I ask ‘do you know who I am?’” Now when students get in the car they will know that Sandy is a mother who wants to help other parent’s children find their way, dishing out a bit of attitude back right after she takes it.
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