Airline Pilot Central Forums - Do you tip hotel van drivers?

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- - Do you tip hotel van drivers? (https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/regional/38873-do-you-tip-hotel-van-drivers.html)

I hate how this whole tipping culture has become an obligation of society. I agree with those who say we don't have an option for a hotel shuttle vs. eating out.

I don't eat out often because I realize I have to pay premium plus tip on top of that. Therefore, it is MY CHOICE to not eat out for those reasons. However, I HAVE NO CHOICE in taking the hotel shuttle to the airport. It is provided by the company, therefore, I shouldn't worry about it.

HOWEVER, extra efforts made by the shuttle drivers to take me to a restaurant or make an extra stop along the way from the airport WILL get a nice tip from me.

The hotel drivers get a very honest and huge "thank you very much" from me as I'm extremely appreciative of them loading up the bags.

To be honest, they signed up for the job knowing what people will expect of them and that some people will not tip them. They cannot expect every single person to tip them and should not get angry at someone for not tipping them. As long as the person shows appreciation for what they've done, they shouldn't react to not receiving a tip. The only job I expect of them is to get me on time from point A to point B, just as we are expected to do our jobs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigep_nm (Post 592839)

0.0105236317589473684210526315
If you are wondering what those numbers are above, that is the percentage of a "poor FO's" salary would be spent on tips in a year assuming 10-13 overnights a month. "I cant afford to tip" for the most part is a face saving cover for "I suck at life, and dont want to tip"

Your reasoning is completely wrong and I'm sorry to call you out for it.

.01%??

If you mean 1%, that's a different story, and it is STILL significant money.

Factor in 1% of 18K. That's $180.
Factor in 1% of 100K. That's a nice $1000. Don't look at percentages.

Question, "Do you tip hotel van drivers?".

Answer, "YES".........done

I only tip if I happen to have a dollar on me, that's the regional FO way. And even then it depends on the situation, like does the driver really need MY extra dollar when he's transporting about 40 people per hour on a busy hotel route.

I don't tip if tipping is advertised in the van or if a wad of cash is stashed in a cupholder. I can't stand this practice of guilting me into tipping. Typically I find the the driver who practices this policy is rude anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigep_nm (Post 592839)

What are you kidding? That's like 30 cup o noodles, you'd be set for a month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sigep_nm (Post 592839)

.0105 percent would be about 3 dollars a year to a 30,000 a year pilot. I tip way better than that.

But if you mean 1.05 percent, that would be similar to Union dues, or half of an average company's 401k matching. Tell a pilot his dues will double or tell him the company will stop matching 401k contributions and watch him blow a gasket. But pilots that don't tip that much just suck at life? It must be nice to have it all figured out.

I guess I was too nice to the flight crews

You guys are too funny. I used to drive a hotel van as a part time job for some extra money. First you have to figure I wasn't making much above minimum wage. It was also a second job and the flights were always delayed as it was the last flight in for the day. Normally I would have been out the door at 11pm, but I would make the call to find out whether the flight was in range or if they had left IAD yet. I knew how long it too for the flight to get in. If they were close, I would get in the van and drive to the airport. The next day I would catch hell from the hotel but I knew all the cabs would be gone from the airport because cabbies didn't think there were anymore fares for them. I would be waiting standing outside the van no matter the weather or temp. I would take the bags after I opened the doors for the flight crew to get in, load the bags and be on our way. I would ask if the crew had eaten, inform them the resturant in the hotel had closed for the night and stop for fast food for the crew if they wished. Upon arriving, the crew didn't care one bit. I actually can't remember whether I ever got a tip. Typically it was just attitude from the time they walked out of the airport. Guess I shouldn't have been so nice and gone home instead letting the flight crew wait, call the hotel, have the hotel call for a cab for them, let them wait longer. I could tell you the names of the 2 regionals but I did give a few clues. Am I bitter, no. Just realize being nice doesn't always pay off.

I guess what I didn't understand was the attitude. Did I expect a tip? No. Did I deserve one? Who knows since I was actually being paid while driving the van. As someone posted above, a nice thank you would have been more than enough. I honestly didn't need a couple of extra dollars. But don't be mad at me because your airline uses the maintainance shop just before your last leg to do scheduled work which you know is the reason the flight was delayed and your turn around was so short.

hahaha at the UPS guys preaching in the regional forum that we should all tip.

Since when did tipping become an obligation? Half of the responses here are people ripping on others for not tipping. What buisness of anybodies is it whether they tip or not? And why the hell are there people trying to force their own habits on others? I personally can care less whether the crew I am with tips them or not. Maybe when I make enough money to be able to take the fast way home, instead of going around to avoid the tolls, I will take a different stance on this topic.

Tipping is over the top these days. Everybody expects a tip. It is the hotel shuttle drivers job to pick you up and drop you off at the airport. He makes a normal wage, probably similar to the cleaning people at the hotel, but you don't leave them a tip for cleaning up after you? Restaurants and haircuts is another thing, so are rides to restaurants etc.

Sometimes I tip, sometimes I don't. Depends what mood I am in for the most part. As far as how much, 1$ per bag? If only the rampies had 1$ per bag they load onto the plane..

Quote:

Originally Posted by VideoGuy (Post 592946)

Here, Here Videoguy! :D Former van drivers UNITE! We need to stick together and stand-up for our non-unionized brothers. Oh wait...there was no union and I wasn't making minimum wage because they expected that tips would be apart of my pay.

USMCFLYR
Btw - I did all the same things as you above