Sky Cap How Much Do You Tip?

[mweiss]

What? To cheap to offer "gratitude"?

No, the rules are too complex and unwritten. And in Europe, they just pay their workers more as a base value.

Do you tip your car dealer? When you ride the bus, do you tip the driver? Should we be tipping the pilots for good landings? How much should you tip the staff at a cafeteria?

So why is it compulsory for some professions and not for others? Why should it ever be compulsory in the first place? Shouldn't "average" performance be tipless, and "exemplary" performance be tipped?

Frankly, the whole thing just seems silly to me. Pay the workers what they're worth in the first place, just like they do in Europe.

 

[PITbull]

Mike,


Unfortunately, some employers just won't offer decent wages for unskilled work. But courtesy goes a long way and has its own "value" which is determined by the receipiant.

 

[mweiss]

Yes it does. You should talk to the FAs who I have had the pleasure to meet on flights.

 

[Winglet]

If I were an airline manager reading this thread, I'd be thinkin' . . . . "yea, we get the stews to work for tips, like waitresses. We could pay 'em salary of say $3 an hour and the rest would be tips. Good incentive to provide good service . . . . . and of course, waitresses don't get benefits . . . . . yea, we're gonna have to look into that." Of course, they'd have to provide their own on-board tip jar.

 

[ktflyhome]

Actually, Winglet, there are several Restaurant chains that offer benefits after a period of time. Outback and Olive Garden are two that come to mind.

 

[ClueByFour]

The problem is that in the US, tips have gone beyond the original purpose (that is to say, To Insure Prompt Service). IMHO, tips should be an incentive for a job done well, not a necessary part of one's compensation (in the case of waitstaff, cabbies, etc).

I've been kind of sour on skycaps since I had to bust one out at DCA who would not tag and take a 22" roller for a $2 tip, not moving the bag until I forked over at least $5. Had a bit of a discussion with the station manager over that little incident.

I tip a buck a bag for skycaps, courtesy bus drivers, and bellmen. In the case of the latter two, to be frank, I'd rather carry my own bags (I think the bus drivers grab your bags and load them seeking tips, and I can't find another reason for bellmen--but I'm not a "big" packer). Time for me is money--waiting for somebody to schlep my bag for me is worth the tip--but only if it would save me time--which it usually fails to do (with the obvious exception of the skycaps, of course).

 

[delldude]

SKY CAPS? wow....i was under the impression they were pilots on an externship...

 

[PITbull]

If I were an airline manager reading this thread, I'd be thinkin' . . . . "yea, we get the stews to work for tips, like waitresses. We could pay 'em salary of say $3 an hour and the rest would be tips. Good incentive to provide good service . . . . . and of course, waitresses don't get benefits . . . . . yea, we're gonna have to look into that." Of course, they'd have to provide their own on-board tip jar.

Winglet,

Where do you get that we f/as are waitresses????????????????

Cause we offer food on some segments as do nurses in a hospital doesn't make us waitresses!!!!!!!!! :angry:

 

[thepoohbear]

:wacko: Boy have we gotten off the thread.Skycaps only get $2.02 per hr.After an 8 hr day that does'nt even cover the cost of their transportation to work.And i've seen days where a cap went home with $5.00 for the whole day.

 

[PITbull]

Skycaps live on their tips. That is why they have to hustle and work quickly. They don't get a wage that is even near min. wage.

So folks, please "tip" the skycap and compensate him for lugging your umpteen bags and making your journey more smooth.

 

[Phoenix]

mweiss,



What? Too cheap to offer "gratitude"? ...

Easy there.

In Europe it is not the custom to tip.

In Japan it is a grave insult to an individual that you would even think about tipping them.

Its a different culture.

Now in Mexico... There was this one restruant I would frequent and the waiters would fight to have me sit at their table cause I would tip good.

I liked the way you handled the kid that was honest. It is good to reward good behavior!

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

"Ah", a subject that I can personally "attest to"

In the summer of 98' I swapped a lot of shifts, so I could sky cap in MHT for huntleigh. (Base pay was approx. $2 per hour)

Answer:

At LEAST $1 per bag.


99% of todays sky caps DO NOT work for the airlines.

The ABSOLUTE WORST passengers, that we encountered when I was doing it was SOUTHWEST's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (they had just opened up in MHT).

2 reasons WHY.

1. These folks use to take greyhound.

2. WN use to advertise via res. , on line, and on printed itineraries, to their passengers, to check their baggage in at the curb. That IMHO gave people the impession that the sky caps worked for WN.

Many was the sincere WN passenger who would say, "I did'nt realize that you guy's were not WN employees, they(WN) told us to come to you guy's, and we just assumed............................ ".

If we got caught using the word "TIPS", we'd get "bounced"

(Enter) the word "GRATUITY" !!!!!!!!! Boy did we use that word (semi) aloud, a lot.

NH/BB's

 

[KCFlyer]

"Ah", a subject that I can personally "attest to"

In the summer of 98' I swapped a lot of shifts, so I could sky cap in MHT for huntleigh. (Base pay was approx. $2 per hour)

Answer:

At LEAST $1 per bag.


99% of todays sky caps DO NOT work for the airlines.

The ABSOLUTE WORST passengers, that we encountered when I was doing it was SOUTHWEST's !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (they had just opened up in MHT).

2 reasons WHY.

1. These folks use to take greyhound.

2. WN use to advertise via res. , on line, and on printed itineraries, to their passengers, to check their baggage in at the curb. That IMHO gave people the impession that the sky caps worked for WN.

Many was the sincere WN passenger who would say, "I did'nt realize that you guy's were not WN employees, they(WN) told us to come to you guy's, and we just assumed............................ ".

If we got caught using the word "TIPS", we'd get "bounced"

(Enter) the word "GRATUITY" !!!!!!!!! Boy did we use that word (semi) aloud, a lot.

NH/BB's

Bear...this Southwest flyer routinely tips one dollar per bag. I tipped the van driver that took my family to catch a cruise ship (5 families - 18 of us) $10 for my family. The rest of the group tipped $10 per family. And the drivers tip was included in the fare. Just because many of us prefer Southwest does NOT mean that we are cheapskates the rest of the time.

 

[ktflyhome]

BOTTOM LINE: Tipping is a good thing, no matter what.Many people survive on tips alone. The tip is a personal thing, it should be between the person offering the service and the person accepting the service. I call it a mutual, intimate benifit on both parties.