Originally Posted by
sailingfun
We seem to have a growing number of pilots joining the flight attendants in future Sherpa training feeling the need to travel with everything they own. The standard bag tip anywhere in the world is a buck a bag not a buck for 3 or 4 bags. It's one of the reasons we get less then optimal service and timeliness from some drivers. If you have to travel with the kitchen sink and your blowup doll tip appropriately.
This could be a dangerous thread....
I agree. The informal "standard" is $1/bag. With that being said, ..
1) The "standard" is also for the van driver to take my bags and place them in the back of the van/car. (This doesn't always happen.) If I have to throw my bags in the back, then the Captain's and F/A bags, I'm not tipping the van driver. (Fact, not fiction.)
2) The "standard" in this great Country (#MAGA) is to leave a tip for someone who has gone above and beyond their normal duties in the line of work. (e.g. You leave a larger tip [20%+] for your server with better customer service.) With that being said, I don't see a minimum requirement to give each van driver a "participation medal" (tip) for doing their job, if the ride felt like an Indy 500 qualification run or I felt like the van ride endangered my life more than my Afghanistan deployment.
And lastly,
3) Sometimes I don't have more than $1 or $2 in my wallet. (Travel with plastic instead of cash.) We all have a choice in life. I don't receive tips from the passengers when I make a nice landing, or avoid a serious line of Thunderstorms. I don't feel bad about missing the $1/bag standard every once in a while either.