A hotel shuttle van is a service that my company requires them to provide (by contract) otherwise, they would find another hotel or get a company car at that location.

On that note, I do not tip the van drivers. Regardless of their pay, it's a job and it has a paycheck, just like my job. We both are "at will" employees and can leave the job at any time. I agree that the tipping culture accepted in our society these days has gone a little too far.

Now, on that note, I am NOT like Mr. Pink from "Reservoir Dogs". I don't choose not to tip because I don't believe in the merit of monetary gains for good work. If a tip is earned (doing things that are above and beyond the required), I will gladly pay it. If the hotel is SWAMPED, it is a blizzard outside, the guy gives up his lunch break to give me a ride to somewhere other than the airport, they have sure as crap earned a good tip and I will gladly tip him. However, even $2 a day on a monthly / trip basis will result in another detraction from my paycheck if I do it for EVERY driver and, since my company does not reimburse van driver tipping, I do not tip them unless it is darn well earned.

 

While I don't necessarily disagree with you, I am just curious if you tip a restaurant server, or a bartender?

 

How many of you know what "TIPs" stands for? Googling it is cheating.

It is sad that it has been turned into an expectation.

 

I tip a dollar to the van driver for good service. If I load my own bags, they are late, or I just generally do not get good service then they do not get a tip.

It is a pretty basic job so my idea of "good" service is pretty loose.

I do not tip hotel maids.

 

T.I.P.S as in "To Insure Prompt Service" is a common misconception. I can't remember where I read it but it actually doesn't stand for anything, if I remember correctly. I always used to used to use "To Insure Prompt Service" when discussing tips though lol.

As for restaurants, yes I tip when a tip is deserved, which is almost always. If the drink stays full, if the food comes before it is cold, if the person is nice, and if a server has made an effort, yes I reward the extra effort. Having been a server, I know how challenging the job is and I know exactly where the "extra effort" comes into play. I have stiffed servers in the past. I have also tipped servers nearly 50% of my check value too. It all depends on the "extra effort." I do have to agree with Mr. Pink though, I do not usually feel any societal pressure to tip. If it is earned, I feel a MORAL pressure to reward extra effort.

As for bartenders, if the drinks need to be made and are good and quick, I tip greatly. If the drinks come from a bottle / can (beer), then I usually do not. If I get a large number of tap-filled beers, as long as the head stays minimal, I'll tip but not nearly as well as if I were getting quality mixed drinks or something like that. If it is hugely crowded and the bartender is busy as all heck and he passes over two good looking ladies and three obviously rich people to get me my bottle / can beverage, absolutely!!

I do not tip hotel house keeping. The only time I would is if I was just getting there and they just started cleaning the room and they FLEW through the cleanup. That is the only opportunity I can imagine where I would feel a duty to tip the maid staff.

 

The Flt Attns. and pilots all tip drivers $1 each way at my airline. I also tip $1 for the maid. I just figure it's good karma. You never know when you need a happy maid because you left something in your room.

 

This issue is like beating a dead horse. People who don't want to tip will have 100 reasons not to tip even if like the poster quoted above doesn't realize that the company IS reimbursing him for tipping through the per diem (also known as M&IE). I'm sorry if you find it inadequate per diem.
Also FBK, at least when I was a van driver I made much less than minimum wage, and like a waitress, I depended on my good service and on time performance to EARN those tips. Taking a patron out to eat was against the rules btw, but I fudged them especially for the airline crews who stayed at our hotel.

FBK - I see in a later post that you tip servers and bartenders, and having been one yourself you say, you sometimes tip 50%!!! Can you explain the difference in attitude you have between servers and van drivers, or does it make a difference if you are eating or drinking at the hotel's restaurant and bar?

Tipping is out of control, I agree, but at least we ought to be correct in our motives if you decide against it.

USMCFLYR

 

Not inadequate per diem, just repurposed, if you will. At our company, we go out in the morning, stay all day at a hotel, then fly back home at night (typical "feeder" schedule). We are home every night therefore, our company does not pay per diem. In this situation, there would be no reimbursement for tipping a hotel van driver.

In instances where we do have a full day long affair (and do get per diem), if we were to stay at a company rented crew apartment, our per diem would be the same as if we stayed at a hotel. So, with regards to the van driver tip, our company does NOT reimburse us specifically for gratuities of any kind.

On the note of servers, I suppose I should have been more specific. ONE TIME in my life, I have left a 50% tip (a friend who served me gave me a HUGE discount, so I tipped him the price difference between the checks, which was about 50% of the lower check's value). I do not routinely tip like that. I don't think I could ever afford to go out to dinner if I did lol. On the other side of the coin, I HAVE a FEW times in my life, totally stiffed the server. This is not the norm because most of these people sincerely EARN their tip. That's all I tip upon, when the tip is earned.

Anyways, having been a server, I know the BARE MINIMUM amount of "just enough to not get fired" effort that a server could do. Anything more than that, I tip accordingly. The fact of the matter is most servers are PHENOMENAL and get tipped accordingly. A restaurant requires the server to smile, take orders, run the orders, and bring the check. An example of required vs above required is keeping a drink full. A server is REQUIRED to refill my drink when it is empty. The restaurant doesn't require a server to keep my drink filled by watching my table from a distance so that they know exactly when to bring out a new drink, that way, as I am finishing my drink, a new one has just arrived. Things like those are what good servers do and those are the things that EARN a tip. It is not a question of salary at all. What minimum wage is and how much below it they get paid is irrelevant. If Bill Gates loaded and unloaded my 10 huge pieces of luggage and offered to walk them up to my room for me after giving me one of the quickest van rides to the hotel in history, I would tip him, and probably pretty darn well. My reasoning behind this type of attitude is simple: I tip for things that people do for me that are NOT required. Things a person does SOLELY in the interest of ensuring my experience is pleasant. If I get a ride to a hotel in a van... and that's it... then, I don't tip. That is what their job requires therefore, they didn't earn a tip.

Mainly what I do NOT buy into is the idea of tipping "by default." I don't give tips because it is customary or because that is what the socially accepted practice is. Not at all. How much that particular employee is paid is not of my concern, as well as what that person's particular line of work is. If their salary is too low and they wish to not EARN their tips, I guess the should find another line of work. It is solely based on the effort and service I receive.

 

I made a mental note which reads: when I'm at a real airline I will tip.

 

A tip is a suggestion or good advice.