Tipping
 

What is the standard for tipping while flying the line? Hotel maids? Van drivers? What about while staying at the hotel during training?

Not sure what the standard is, but if we're being dropped off as a crew, we each tip a buck to the van driver. If it's just me, I tip a couple of bucks. The maid, I will tip if I'm there for more than a day (e.g. TDY reserve trip).

Some cheap bastards don't tip at all, but that's just bad karma. Not to mention it just makes you a cheap bastard!

Yeah, talking to cab drivers & shuttle drivers they say "pilots are cheap" & "pilots never tip".

I hope you don't fall for that guilt trip.
When I was at the commuters most of the van drivers made about double what I made and they were working part time.

Well, they're most likely still driving the van, and you're now driving a 747. Besides, you are just completely out of touch if you think a hotel van driver is pulling down $50k/yr part time.

I used to fly corporate and was reimbursed for all of my tips. Then I came to the regionals and obviously don't get reimbursed. But rather than feel sorry for myself (wah! they make more than me!!), I tip a guy or girl that's probably busting their butt to make ends meet, usually with a 2nd or 3rd job. Ever talk to those drivers? For most of them, the driving isn't their full time gig.

More importantly, I like to distance myself from the pathetic cheap ass airline pilot stereotype. Throwing a dollar or two somebody's way isn't going to break me, and allows me to retain some self respect.

I was one of those van drivers. Pilots tipped a $1, FAs tipped $.50 each - for a total of $3.50 per crew. The whole van drivers make more than me line is just a way tomake themselves feel good that they don't tip. Van drivers are no different than waitresses or hairdressers. They work for tips too. I'm sure if that person who doesn't tip van drivers/bell hops went out to dinner with a group of *normal* people and stiffed the waiter for example they wouldn't be thinking nice thoughts, but if they are surrounded by like minded pilots in this case then they justify it. By the way - those amounts were over 20 years ago and they don't seem to have gone up much from other threads on this board.:(

USMCFLYR

I do agree that most people think we make more than we actually make. I still think a tip of some sort is in order for certain services. A van driver making $50k a year? Not sure about that one. At least not at your average hotel.

Depending on who you're flying the 747 for, the van driver may STILL be making more that you are! :D:eek::mad:

I seriously doubt a van driver makes more than any 74 driver off first year pay. Will a buck or two really kill you? At my freight dog outfit we got the tip money in the old contract, not the new one, but the pay and work rules improved greatly. Some jobs are more or less designed for tips to supplement the low pay scale. Flying an airplane is not one of them. Don't be a cheap bastard and give people a break if they deserve it.

A few points of order:

1) I was being facetious.
2) I tip the van drivers.
3) No one said anything about first year pay or not.
4) Even at that, a quick look at the pay scales here on APC reveals several 747 operators whose year 1-3 pay scales might indeed come in below a van drivers net - particularly when I'm guessing the van drivers probably don't report those tips on their taxes.
5) A van driver in Ottumwa, Iowa - maybe not so much. A van driver in a major metropolitan area near a major airport, maybe so.
6) Yes, I know the cost of living is higher in the major metro area - but that's also true for any crews that live in similar areas, so throw that out as a wash.
7) Note the smiley's.
8) Lighten up Francis.

Van Drivers, a buck or two. Bellhops, well, I have never been to a place that had one. Maids I dont use on long stays, I just dont want someone I dont know in my room. I have had stuff stolen from my room in the past on days that the maid cleaned the room. Ever since then I keep the do not disturb card up until I check out. I can tidy up the room myself during my stay and not worry about having anything go missing.

A dollar for the driver (at least, as an FO). Maids? Never stayed at a hotel long enough to require fresh towels and such. And even during training, you should tip the driver if they take you somewhere.

I was actually thinking about the total cost of tips over the course of a year and it adds up like this:

$6.00/trip (1+2+2+1)[Day 1+2+3+4]
$30.00/month (5 trips a month x $6.00)
$360.00/year (12 months in the year)

Kind of expensive if you're on first year FO pay at a Regional. But it keeps the van drivers happy and it's probably not going to break the bank. Plus, I would think you could deduct it from taxes at the end of the year.

This will be my first year itemizing, but can you deduct without receipts?

Not sure. I haven't done it yet either. Planning to use PilotTax, there should be some guidance there.

There is the per diem if you don't want to keep receipts.:)
As far as tipping is concerned to each his own .

$2 Bills. Makes them feel special, but you're still only leaving them $2.

Just ask the teller at the bank.

I prefer to tip in Schrute Bucks.

Here is the rule that I use.
If the driver at least makes the attempt to load my bag I tip $1 per bag.
If no attempt they get nothing.
If the driver uses the shuttle to take me somewhere other than the airport I usually tip $1+ each way.
If they try to guilt trip me into tipping, then nothing. Admittedly I haven't come across this in quite sometime.

Nope not out of touch.
Back in my commuter days I was scraping to make ends meet and that $2 per day could actually mean the difference between eating dinner or not. Of course this was in the early to mid 90s and I could get a McDs meal for $3.

I never said that I though they were pulling down $50k a year.
I had a conversation with one driver and he made about $16-$20k a year working part time, plus tips. Well, that part time job paid more than I made full time (not including tips).


I do believe this whole tipping culture thing has gotten out of hand.
A couple of years back I had a NYC cabbie get ****y that I didn't give him a tip. Might have been the fact that I had to give him direction to a well known intersection that he should have known, was on the phone for most of the trip, cab smelled and of course he did even get out of the cab to attempt to load my bag.

If you're taking a per diem deduction based on the difference between government per diem rates and your employer's per diem rates, then no, you cannot deduct tips individually(receipts or not). Tips are part if the M&I (meals and incidentals) figured into the per diem rates.

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. :D

Here in the Middle East, very few of us tip. Those of us who do get very good service. It is funny to watch the ramp guys pushing and shoving to see who is the guy who gets my pax and crew bags.

Hey, you want service, you got to give up the change.

I dine and ride vans regularly in Australia and Japan where there is no tipping, and the service is just fine--what gives?

You even get "white glove" taxi service in Japan!

Van drivers get paid full salary (not a reduced pay salary like a waiter), and basically force themselves to carry your bags on the van, leaving you no choice but to let them put your bags on the van.

I usually don't tip them unless I'm asking for a special run to town.

Social differences.

USMCFLYR

After a good floatplane tour in Alaska, we gave the pilot a substantial tip. It just seemed like the right thing to do. :)

I don't tip in Japan as it is not expected.

I don't tip jackass drivers who make me sick with their idiotic driving.....

Most other times a buck or two.

Some of you are much to concerned with what other people do with their money...

I have no problem tipping when its appropriate. I do have a problem with tips jars being placed everywhere and no its expected.

I wonder how that was started ?:rolleyes:
BTW nice avatar.
Ally

True, but then again, EVERYTHING is expensive on first year pay.

Seems like the guys (and girls) that don't tip have got the $1000 headset, latest smart phone, latest tablet, and have ZERO problem going out on the overnights and chronically outspend their perdiem. To include tipping the bartender the usual amout for every beer.

Yet they ***** about how broke they are and say they don't have the money to tip the van driver.

Come to think of it, it's not just year one pilots.

As mentioned by Atlas, it's that person's money and they can do as they wish. I just can't stand to be around the coworkers that cry/complain about how broke they are as the reason they don't tip but their obvious spending habits dictate otherwise.

I'm a dollar each way kinda guy. Holidays I usually step it up to 5-10, just because I've worked service before. And many times then, just like now it wasn't by choice to be working the holiday. Like others have mentioned, the majority of van drivers AREN'T making anywhere near what 2nd year and higher pilot is making contrary to popular urban legend.

Amen. A tip jar at Subway in the airport? Uh...yeah. Thanks for making my $8 sandwich, since that's your job. Here's a couple more, just to say thanks.:rolleyes:

$1 each way if I'm with the whole crew.
$2 if it's just the other guy and me.
Nothing for the maid - not sure why I would :confused: