Originally Posted by
freezingflyboy
As someone who made their living for many years on tips, yes I DO get a little peeved when some boob of a captain making double what I make can't pry his wallet open to the tune of $6 a week. Six DOLLARS. That's a value meal at Wendy's. That's 2 lousy beers at happy hour. If things are that tight at home that $6 is the difference between sleeping in your car and making the mortgage payment then I think some close scrutiny of your life decisions is in order. Its cliche but its true: you get what you pay for. And I'm getting tired of getting what some of you cheap bastards are paying for.
PS
The guys that tend to not tip are usually the same guys who would rather rot in their room making trips back and forth to the ice machine, only punctuating that excitement with thoughts about how to use the coffee pot to make that perfect omelet. You can count me out of THAT good time.
I'm not in this situation, but you can't judge others so quickly. Yes, that particular $6 might not make or break the bank, but you have to realize that financial responsibility, especially when you're stretched thin, depends on being responsible consistently. $30 a month saved from tips, $30 from hotel food, $30 from hotel drinks, $30 from airport coffee, $30 from airport food, it all adds up, and those are just a few examples. You have no right to judge other people for their financial decisions.
And frankly I don't see why we should reward a van driver being on time, lifting your bags, and getting you to and from the hotel without violating any major traffic laws. That's his/her JOB. A good van driver for me is one that goes out of their way to explain points of interest around the hotel, is willing to take me to one of those said points of interest, and does things above and beyond like reattaching all my bags, offering me water, or things like that.
I don't reward the driver with a piece of candy simply because he didn't say anything obtusely racist on the van ride over. That's being civil and a descent human being, you don't deserve a tip for that. I don't tip you simply because you arrived on time. That's your job. I don't tip you for picking up my bags (which I have to do multiple times a day, even without obnoxious aircraft swaps), not running red lights, and not waiting half an hour to pick up another crew. Those things are all your job.
Now here's an idea though: why don't we start tipping the station crews for when they call the van prior to our arrival, knowing that its a 20 minute van ride, so that we can get picked up right when we walk outside? That truly is going above and beyond, something that I would gladly hand out a couple bucks for.