# waiting for a passenger backfired.



## sdrivingman3122 (Nov 18, 2014)

dropped off a customer at walmart and he wanted me to wait. i told him if he's not back by 5 minutes , i'm leaving. 

feeling like a nice guy i waited 7 minutes. he came back just in time. he had the audacity to write this:

from lyft today:

★★★★ and below 2 ratings
“This guy is the absolute worst driver of all time! He told me during a brief stop the waiting rate is too low so if I didn't hurry up he would leave! This is probably my last time using Lyft.”

i won't ever do that again. i drop off and i'm gone.


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## Sherif Elkattawy (May 25, 2015)

The waiting shit with Uber and Lyft needs to have some adjustments as many passengers do this type of shit. I would recommend when he indicated the stop not to mention anything and just wait 5 minutes and if he isn't back than leave.


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## sdrivingman3122 (Nov 18, 2014)

Sherif Elkattawy said:


> The waiting shit with Uber and Lyft needs to have some adjustments as many passengers do this type of shit. I would recommend when he indicated the stop not to mention anything and just wait 5 minutes and if he isn't back than leave.


yea. defintely will do that.


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## Sherif Elkattawy (May 25, 2015)

sdrivingman3122 said:


> yea. defintely will do that.


At that point even if he gives bad feedback you can inform the wait time was over 10 minutes. Happy 4th!


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## GooberX (May 13, 2015)

There should be per minute time, and then per minute WAITING time. 

Like 50 cents/minute


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## ChrisInABQ (Oct 21, 2014)

Maybe he'll switch over to Uber...likely to get the same driver and same response to waiting while shopping!


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## Luberon (Nov 24, 2014)

I tell pax that Lyft is on demand and their policy wants you to log back online so others can get a ride. Blaming some company policy always works


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## Ayad (Jan 1, 2015)

It usually does. Some people think they have a personal chauffeur for twenty cents a minute. Hand the driver a ten or a twenty, then you have a reasonable expectation that he will wait for you while you go shopping.


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## Amsoil Uber Connect (Jan 14, 2015)

You seriously expect someone to be in Walmart for only 5 minutes?


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## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

I tell them to grab another Uber so they can shop at their leisure. 
I also let them know there is an Uber driver less than 5 minutes away in most of San Diego.

Be nice, but jet. Give 'em a 2 star for being brain dead, and not realizing we are doing this for money.


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## Stephanie Davids (Jul 4, 2015)

sdrivingman3122 said:


> dropped off a customer at walmart and he wanted me to wait. i told him if he's not back by 5 minutes , i'm leaving.
> 
> feeling like a nice guy i waited 7 minutes. he came back just in time. he had the audacity to write this:
> 
> ...


I have had that happen to me a few times. For the most part though, when somebody asks me to wait it helps them out a lot and I get a big tip. Thats pretty unfortunate though!


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## UberXTampa (Nov 20, 2014)

Amsoil Uber Connect said:


> You seriously expect someone to be in Walmart for only 5 minutes?


Walmart is the uber of grocery stores. Checkout lines are very long and always, this is by design. They don't care how long the check out takes. Any time, any Walmart has a long check out line. For that reason alone, I drive further to target. They seem to open more registers when they have lines forming up. Same with publix.


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## Taxi Driver in Arizona (Mar 18, 2015)

GooberX said:


> There should be per minute time, and then per minute WAITING time.
> 
> Like 50 cents/minute


That's exactly what the wait time in my cab is. Works out to $30 per hour.

You guys need to stop driving for such low rates.


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## Oh My (Dec 26, 2014)

People in Chicago think you'll believe they're only running into Walgreen's or the Post Office for "just a minute" too. No way. 

I might do an ATM stop or quick stop at a 7-11 but that's it.


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## Oh My (Dec 26, 2014)

Sherif Elkattawy said:


> The waiting shit with Uber and Lyft needs to have some adjustments as many passengers do this type of shit. I would recommend when he indicated the stop not to mention anything and just wait 5 minutes and if he isn't back than leave.


I'd alot them the rest of the unused 5 min wait time. Then take off. They made me wait 3 minutes at the pick-up? They get only 2 minutes at the store.


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## UberHammer (Dec 5, 2014)

"Wait" is a very broad term. If they ask you to wait, then say okay. Wait for a minute and then leave. You waited.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

I see that you ridesharers are learning what we in the cab business already know.

A translation dictionary, if you will, of passenger statements (modified from cab to Uber):

1. "I will be right out"(said when you pull up to the address or are within a block)-I might be out in ten minutes on a good day, but likely it is more like fifteen, unless, of course, it is Rush Hour and you are waiting in a *NO STANDING *in Rush Hour Zone. In that case, I will be a minimum of twenty minutes, more likely thirty, and if not by then well, I'll be out when I'm good and ready, so just sit there and wait for me. The Police are giving you a ticket? So what? Not _my _problem. The Police are running you out of there? I will complain about you to Uber and you know that they will believe me and not you.

2. "I need to run in here for a minute, just wait"-I will be a minimum of fifteen minutes and if it is *NO STANDING* in Rush Hour I will be at least thirty. Worried about a ticket or the Police are chasing you away? One star for you, me Buck-O!

3. "I will only be five minutes"-I will be at least twenty.

4. "I just need to grab some paperwork (my presentation, my laptop)- I will grab that, but then take ten minutes to make sure that everything is there and working (in the case of the laptop). Then, my subordinate will come to me to ask about some piddly little matter, but I really should not be surprised at that since I have her so micromanaged that she is afraid even to adjust her brassiere strap without my say-so. It will take five minutes for her to ask the question, two for me to answer and ten more to tell her what else to do. So yeah, I will grab that stuff, but if you think that I will be out before twenty minutes, well, I hope that you did not forget your web capable telephone or a newspaper.

5. "The drug store told me that my prescription is ready, I just need to go in and pay for it and I will be right out"- I am such a self-absorbed Rocket Scientist that I never consider to allow for the possibility that there might be somebody, even a few people, lined up to pick up their prescriptions at a busy pharmacy. Further, it never occurred to me that I might not be the only one to have questions about my medication. And no, no one has ever had a problem with his insurance other than me.

I can continue, but let that suffice, for now.


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## Like...are you my uber? (Jun 11, 2015)

Wait or don't, but save the spiel about how little they are paying you to wait


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## AintWorthIt (Sep 30, 2014)

Like...are you my uber? said:


> Wait or don't, but save the spiel about how little they are paying you to wait


Why? I tell people all the time I don't wait and ask them if they would wait for .16 a minute. Most laugh .


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## Like...are you my uber? (Jun 11, 2015)

Because they don't give a shit. If they cared about your pay structure they wouldn't be using uber. They laugh because you made them uncomfortable


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Fortunately, you can not "turn off the meter" on UberX or unilaterally adjust the fare, as the useer pays through Uber; he does not pay you.

Cab drivers get requests or even demands all the time to turn off the meter or cut them a break on the meter. I tell them that I can not turn off the meter until they get out of the cab, or I will get a one thousand dollar fine for high-flagging. If they want a break on the meter, I start by asking them if they work. If they say "yes", I ask what time they are due to get off. If they say, for example "five P.M.", I reply, "right. Has your boss ever asked you to stay late? Say until six P.M.?". If they reply in the affirmative, I then ask "...and he does pay you for that hour, correct, or if not, he does give you compensatory time off such as letting you show up one hour late or sneak out one hour early at a later date?" The answer is always in the affirmative. The trap has sprung "If your boss told you to stay late, but added that he would neither pay you nor give you compensatory time off, you would not do it. Why should I allow you to have me work without getting paid? Is that not a textbook definition of slavery? From where I come, that has been effectively illegal since 1781. In addition, we cab drivers are not used to settling for less than what is on the meter; usually we get a little more. We call it a 'tip'."


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## Like...are you my uber? (Jun 11, 2015)

I used to be a cabbie in SF long before uber and people were pretty good about tipping if we waited for them to run an errand. As a customer if you tried to corner me with the boss working late story I would tell you to shove it. We are the working poor, nobody cares!!


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

I try to be reasonable, at first. If they want to get hostile, I am quite capable of returning the favour. You want to break bad, you can get out before we start. You want to break bad during the trip, I can drive you to the Police precinct. Funny thing about that, actually two: you can not be prosecuted for kidnapping or abduction if you are taking someone to the Police and the Police will do something about a farebeat that you bring to them.

So go ahead, tell me to "shove it ", Barney Badass.

Oh, and one more thing, I have been around long enough to have a pretty good idea who will break bad and who will not. If I think that you are going to try, you can put some cash on the front seat before we go anywhere. Don't like it? The same door that got you in gets you out. And you can shove you badass attitude sideways, too.


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## Like...are you my uber? (Jun 11, 2015)

Another Uber Driver said:


> I try to be reasonable, at first. If they want to get hostile, I am quite capable of returning the favour. You want to break bad, you can get out before we start. You want to break bad during the trip, I can drive you to the Police precinct. Funny thing about that, actually two: you can not be prosecuted for kidnapping or abduction if you are taking someone to the Police and the Police will do something about a farebeat that you bring to them.
> 
> So go ahead, tell me to "shove it ", Barney Badass.
> 
> Oh, and one more thing, I have been around long enough to have a pretty good idea who will break bad and who will not. If I think that you are going to try, you can put some cash on the front seat before we go anywhere. Don't like it? The same door that got you in gets you out. And you can shove you badass attitude sideways, too.


Instead of being an adversary try to pretend you are on the same team. It sounds corny but it worked for me. Btw I heard driving a cab in dc sucks monkey balls, so I understand your method.


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## Ziggy (Feb 27, 2015)

GooberX said:


> There should be per minute time, and then per minute WAITING time.
> Like 50 cents/minute


my per minute is 50¢ ... so my waiting time should be $2.50/min


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Like...are you my uber? said:


> As a customer if you tried to corner me with the boss working late story _I would tell you to shove it_. (emphasis mine)


I took the "emphasis mine" as a hostile statement mostly from your use of the first person singular. From your posts that I have read, I had considered us to be "on the same team" and would prefer that it remain that way.

Even hypothetically, you might avoid the first person singular as it can tend to personalise something that you want to express in a more impersonal sense. The spoken English language likes to use the second person as an impersonal, wheras the written language, and, the Latinate languages prefer the third. If there is an impersonal use of the first person in the English language, I am not aware of it.

There is an old Italian saying, _Forse non mi songo spiegato bene_. It translates literally 'perhaps I did not explain myself well." It has more than a few English equivalents: "perhaps I did not get across the point that I meant to", "maybe you misunderstood me", "could it be that you did not understand what I am saying?", or something similar. So I will change it to the second person singular and put it in the interrogative: _Forse non ti sei spiegato bene?_.

Driving a cab here can have its problems. Five years back, we got rid of a Mayor who was the most horrid oppressor that the cab business here has ever had. Last year, his protege was elected Mayor. She has not done anything to harm us, Y-E-T. The former Mayor to whom I referred is in your part of the world, in the City, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto or San Jose, I am not sure which. Supposedly he is doing the widow of some dead tech mogul, but I forget which one. His wife here dumped him. There were stories that he was a wife beater, but nothing ever was proved. Knowing him, it would not surprise me. We are still feeling his effects, here, though. He appointed Kommissars to the People's Taxikab Kommissariat from the Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism trade groups. Those entities have been _on record _for thirty five years that I can remember, as being hostile to cab drivers, cab companies and anyone in the cab business. They cheer UberX and call for it to operate with no rules while they call for and make (in the case of the Kommissars) more restrictive and oppressive rules on the cab drivers and companies.

Funny, though, there is still more money in hacking and Uber Taxi than there is in UberX, at least here. I do not know about Uber Black. The City Council has directed the Taxicab Commission to create a universal face, so that cab drivers can once more drive limousines, as well, but until they do that, I will not be driving Uber limousine.


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## Ziggy (Feb 27, 2015)

Oh My said:


> I might do an ATM stop


yep ... I've done ATM stops so they had cash for a tip. But now that I have electronic tip option at www.driver.tips ... I tell them "No need to stop by the ATM, I accept electronic tips; unless you also need the cash for something else" ... this puts the idea of giving me a tip in their head, even though I didn't specifically ask for a tip. *it's worked a couple of times so far

But other than an ATM, I not stopping for anything; though I did for 1 guy to eat dinner once ... but he had just given me $150 tip to watch his dog while he ate, and the meter was still running, so I made an exception for him


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Ziggy said:


> ... but he had just given me $150 tip to watch his dog while he ate, and the meter was still running, so I made an exception for him


Yup, yup, yup, a hundred and fifty banana tip will buy an exception or two, yup, yup, yup.

This _is_ America, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash.......or American Express where accepted..........


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## Like...are you my uber? (Jun 11, 2015)

Another Uber Driver said:


> I took the "emphasis mine" as a hostile statement mostly from your use of the first person singular. From your posts that I have read, I had considered us to be "on the same team" and would prefer that it remain that way.
> 
> Even hypothetically, you might avoid the first person singular as it can tend to personalise something that you want to express in a more impersonal sense. The spoken English language likes to use the second person as an impersonal, wheras the written language, and, the Latinate languages prefer the third. If there is an impersonal use of the first person in the English language, I am not aware of it.
> 
> ...


Hory ship me don't know engrish so good. First person what? I was speaking in the first person. As a cabbie and as a cab user I would tell you to shove it with the per minute sob story. Learn a more clever means of fare manipulation. Don't be a slave to the meter. I also found that for each asshole that shorted me there was someone else who tipped twice what I expected. I meant adversary to your pax btw


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## Oh My (Dec 26, 2014)

RockinEZ said:


> I tell them to grab another Uber so they can shop at their leisure.
> I also let them know there is an Uber driver less than 5 minutes away in most of San Diego.
> 
> Be nice, but jet. Give 'em a 2 star for being brain dead, and not realizing we are doing this for money.


There are probably 6 Uber drivers idling in the parking lot.


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## AJUber (Jun 23, 2015)

So mid day yesterday i had this couple say ..i need to go to Safeway and grab stuff for dinner be about 12 mins can you handle that. I say yes and they go in, i then drive away going up and down the blocks of downtown, learning the streets and locations but still racking up mileage. The client calls from outside the store and i roll up and take them home. Was a decent fare and they tipped me for waiting, they said others dont wait .


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## ARIV005 (Mar 4, 2015)

GooberX said:


> There should be per minute time, and then per minute WAITING time.
> 
> Like 50 cents/minute


More like $5.00 a minute....


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Like...are you my uber? said:


> As a cabbie and as a cab user I would tell you to shove it with the per minute sob story. Learn a more clever means of fare manipulation. I meant adversary to your pax btw


Let me try this from one more angle before I return to the stance of my first reply.

Perhaps I failed to mention it, but these fare chiselers to whom I was referring will try to take this "I'm a nice guy, so you can cut me a break", "Help me out a little, here", "Here I am with my daughter and I need a little break", you know the type. They try to appeal to your "humanity". They take this good-natured approach. I am sure that it has happened to you. I reserve the "work", or similar reply for those types: those who are trying to be what is in their view, "reasonable". I recognise this fo r the hustle that it is, so I respond accordingly. To be sure, there are the hostile, or other type, fare chiselers who do not get this reply; they would, as you would, tell me to "shove it". No, this one is reserved for the hustlers who try to take the "reasonable", "human" approach: those who will give me their own "sob story". I am guessing that if you were a fare chiseler, you would not be one of those types. In fact, given your attitude and replies, I am guessing that you would be the type against whom I would need to stand my ground and get hostile. I would need more information before I could make a real judgement on that, though.

It is a rare case that I am going to settle for anything less than what is on the meter; why should I? To be sure, there are times when the Law of Diminishing Returns dictates that I take what I can get and run. Take, for example, the case of the little old lady who is a dollar short on her fare. You _ain't gonna'_ win that one, Jack, especially not in the District of Columbia. In that case, you take the six fifty that she has for her seven seventy five fare and move on. I have been out here long enough to know when to cut my losses and run and when to stand my proverbial ground and make a fight of it. It was something that I learned during the Zone Days. You had similar breeds of hustlers and fare chiselers back then, simply a slightly different situation.


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## CaptainJackLA (Dec 4, 2014)

sdrivingman3122 said:


> dropped off a customer at walmart and he wanted me to wait. i told him if he's not back by 5 minutes , i'm leaving.
> 
> feeling like a nice guy i waited 7 minutes. he came back just in time. he had the audacity to write this:
> 
> ...


screw that. once he's inside and out of sight, END TRIP and wave goodbye !!


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## Like...are you my uber? (Jun 11, 2015)

Another Uber Driver said:


> Let me try this from one more angle before I return to the stance of my first reply.
> 
> Perhaps I failed to mention it, but these fare chiselers to whom I was referring will try to take this "I'm a nice guy, so you can cut me a break", "Help me out a little, here", "Here I am with my daughter and I need a little break", you know the type. They try to appeal to your "humanity". They take this good-natured approach. I am sure that it has happened to you. I reserve the "work", or similar reply for those types: those who are trying to be what is in their view, "reasonable". I recognise this fo r the hustle that it is, so I respond accordingly. To be sure, there are the hostile, or other type, fare chiselers who do not get this reply; they would, as you would, tell me to "shove it". No, this one is reserved for the hustlers who try to take the "reasonable", "human" approach: those who will give me their own "sob story". I am guessing that if you were a fare chiseler, you would not be one of those types. In fact, given your attitude and replies, I am guessing that you would be the type against whom I would need to stand my ground and get hostile. I would need more information before I could make a real judgement on that, though.
> 
> It is a rare case that I am going to settle for anything less than what is on the meter; why should I? To be sure, there are times when the Law of Diminishing Returns dictates that I take what I can get and run. Take, for example, the case of the little old lady who is a dollar short on her fare. You _ain't gonna'_ win that one, Jack, especially not in the District of Columbia. In that case, you take the six fifty that she has for her seven seventy five fare and move on. I have been out here long enough to know when to cut my losses and run and when to stand my proverbial ground and make a fight of it. It was something that I learned during the Zone Days. You had similar breeds of hustlers and fare chiselers back then, simply a slightly different situation.


Yeah I heard the zones thing was horrible. How is it now?


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## groovyguru (Mar 9, 2015)

I tell people in a really friendly tone that I'm going to end the trip to save them money and that I'll be close by when they are ready to ping again. Then I go offline and bolt.


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## Another Uber Driver (May 27, 2015)

Like...are you my uber? said:


> Yeah I heard the zones thing was horrible. How is it now?


Actually, there was nothing wrong with the zones. Yes, they had their drawbacks, but so do meters. Most drivers did not want the meters. Now that we have them, it would be difficult to go back, even if Congress would allow it.

Still, it had been getting to the point for some time where clearly, something had to be done. I am not so sure that time and distance meters were the answer, although it was the easy way out, as most other jurisdictions used them. I forget what jurisdictions still use zones, but there are some. Until the early 1990s, the next largest city after Washington that had zones was Lynn, Massachusetts. I do not know if you have ever heard of that place, but not only have I heard of it (I am originally from Essex County, Massachusetts), I once _lived there_. If you are a baseball fan from way back, you would know that the Conigliaro brothers, Tony and Billy, were from Lynn.


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## Oscar Levant (Aug 15, 2014)

when you talk to people put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if somebody told you the same thing?


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## Uzcaliber (Aug 22, 2014)

sdrivingman3122 said:


> dropped off a customer at walmart and he wanted me to wait. i told him if he's not back by 5 minutes , i'm leaving.
> 
> feeling like a nice guy i waited 7 minutes. he came back just in time. he had the audacity to write this:
> 
> ...


Next time, you should drive around the block for 5 minutes, then around the parking lot if he/she hasn't showed up yet, for higher wait time rate (miles + minutes).


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## forkedover (Oct 26, 2014)

I only wait for hot chicks or guys that will blow me with my eyes closed, its cheaper than a relationship and just as effective.


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## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

groovyguru is right on target. LIE! Tell them it's cheaper to order a new ride if they are going to be more than 5 minutes and not to worry, there are plenty of cars in the area. We all know they like a bargain so they will go for it and thank you. Then get out of Dodge!


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## Myxx (Jun 26, 2015)

That's why I don't take rides from Wal-Marts and grocery stores.. I dont' feel like getting slammed for not helping carrying bags to one's residence on a $5.00 fare


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## ARIV005 (Mar 4, 2015)

forkedover said:


> I only wait for hot chicks or guys that will blow me with my eyes closed, its cheaper than a relationship and just as effective.


Dafuq? LOL...


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