Rough times at United

[cargopod]

Times must be rough at United.. A Cpt. stiffed the van driver this morning in BOS..
Grabbed his bags and ran.. The F/O did the right thing and so did we the under paid cargo crew.. not even good enough for a good morning greeting from the cpt.. we covered him..Ill bet the van wont pick United up first after this..
I bet he even claims tips on his taxes..

 

[HAZ-MAT]

"Lets send it over to Marv Albert for the play by play."

 

[RedTailSwinger]

Tipping is out of control. Obviously I always tip the van drivers and usually tip most servers generously (i.e. 20-30%) but I don't agree with it. All service and taxes should be reflected in the cost of everything. This is how it is in many countries

Why should anyone have to pay a van driver to take them to a hotel. The hotel should pay the van driver a normal wage, and this cost should be reflected in the hotel rates. Why should these costs be passed on to the airline employees. It is a cost of doing business that we should not be paying for.

Part of me admires anyone who refuses to tip. I hate feeling pressure to tip for everything I buy.

 

[Huck]

My previous employer let us expense tips. Van drivers can make or break a cargo operation. Yeah, it sucks, but might as well get mad at the sun for setting too....

 

[Oh-ryan]

Last time I checked most pilots shuffle people to and from hotels as well. Where's our tip jar?

 

[Carl_Spackler]

Why tip the driver if you have to wait on the curb for 20-30 min on an 8hr overnight? Tipping should be for going "above and beyond" your normal duties.
If the van is waiting and the driver puts you bags in the back, they get a tip. If we wait for the driver to show up, or sits in the van while you load your own bags, no tip. If they track your flight on the internet to determine you arrival time, they might get an extra tip for being smart.

 

[Truckdriver]

Why tip the driver if you have to wait on the curb for 20-30 min on an 8hr overnight? Tipping should be for going "above and beyond" your normal duties.
If the van is waiting and the driver puts you bags in the back, they get a tip. If we wait for the driver to show up, or sits in the van while you load your own bags, no tip. If they track your flight on the internet to determine you arrival time, they might get an extra tip for being smart.

Agreed. If I have to wait at all, no tip. If the driver doesn't load my bags, no tip. Now if they are there waiting and jump to load my bags, I'll give em a tip.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Can't speak for the guys who stiffed the van driver, but there may be more to this story. As a UAL pilot I have NEVER seen a crewmember stiff a Van driver on a tip.

I know in LAX the Hacienda Hotel drivers earn about $50-60 bucks an hour, all for loading some bags and driving 7-10 minutes to the airport and back.

Wish I got tips....on a 767 that could add up nice!

 

[1678]

- The company requires me to take a van to the hotel
- they company require me to stay at this hotel
- the company makes the arrangements with the hotels (for the cheapest deals probably)
- the company demands what times I have to rest/sleep
- the company arranges for transportation
- I agreed with my company to my employment terms which do NOT include
tipping the van drivers 8 -10 times pr week (assuming 4-5 overnights).

- the van driver is employed by the hotel or some other transportation service
- the van driver agreed to his employment terms
- like the previous post said. It should not be the flight crew but the company that should make sure the van driver is paid properly and not
put that extra "requirement" on the crew.

Ok - I'm open for attacks now......

 

[svcta]

I agree whole heartedly about tipping being out of control. I mean ewe've got people at coffee shops making better than min. wage who've got the nerve to ask for tips for making your tripple-hockachino. I had this discussion with a friend just last night; if the van driver gets my bags and is generally cool I tip without hesitation. I try to get my own bags, but sometimes tehy beat me to it(hey, I guess that's hustle).

Now, if they take me to and from a restaraunt or some other place after the ride from the airport I'm more inclined to tip, I don't know why that's different in my head.

Bottom line is that people in the retail businesses have gotten way to accustomed to asking for money beyond their wages from the pockets of their customers. And most people are so guilty for having someone serve them a muffin that they'll fall for it. Even though they stood there waiting for it and cleaned it up when they were done. For crying out loud they're making an hourly wage, if they want more money they should get a better job.