"Tipping" Time for changes

[FL000]

This is not a tipping business, y'all. Sure, I was glad to get the few tips that I received when I flew charter, but I never expected a dime. Line guys and gals probably get tipped because there are different degrees of performance they can produce, from very bad to outstanding. The tip is used as a carrot so that passenger can get gold star service on the ground both that visit and the next visit.

Pilots have one standard of performance: perfection. You leave on time, you fly fast, and you arrive safely. A tip won't change any of that, and quite frankly I'm embarrassed that there are pilots out there that expect to be tipped. Why don't you just put a pillbox on your head and run around the tarmac while your CP grinds an organ? If you want to get treated like a professional, act like one.

 

[Timebuilder]

If you want to get treated like a professional, act like one.

I have always acted like a professional.

I have yet to be paid like one in aviation.

 

[Midwest]

What I can't believe are the tip jars at places like airport Burger Kings. I do not believe they deserve any kind of tip for their services. Now, if they were paid $2.13/hr like I do, then it would be a different story

It is sad that as a pilot, one cannot make enough to put food on the table. There are servers at my restaurant that I know make around 35K a year, not bad given the demands of the job. Like many have said before, maybe things would change if paying pax knew what their pilots were making ..................... .............. maybe not.

 

[A Squared]

"It's time for those of us flying charter to let the public know that not only is it appreciated to receive a tip, but it should be expected when you provide them with great service."

No, if you're unhappy with your terms of compensation, you need to disuss that with your employer. You should definately not be informing your employer's clients that they should be expected to make up the difference of what you think you should get paid. I can't imagine anything more tacky and less professional. If you "let the public know" that you expect a tip, you have reduced yourself to the crassness of the panhandling snack bar cashiers who put out "Tips Jars" to let you know that they expect you to pay them for handing you a bag of chips and a soda.

Frankly, if I owned a charter business and discovered that my employees were panhandling my customers, I think that I would be sorely tempted to look around for employees who behaved more professionally. We don't have very high expectations of snackbar cashiers, however, I think it's reasonable to expect something a little better from pilots.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Astra Job???


yuk. had more than my fill of poorly made Isreali products for now......

 

[Timebuilder]

Frankly, if I owned a charter business and discovered that my employees were panhandling my customers, I think that I would be sorely tempted to look around for employees who behaved more professionally.

Would you also be motivated to pay them a professioanl wage, so that this was not an economic issue, or is that okay that the captain is making less than an auto mechanic?

 

[A Squared]

Would you also be motivated to pay them a professioanl wage, so that this was not an economic issue, or is that okay that the captain is making less than an auto mechanic?

Completely seperate issue. You knew what the pay was when you accepted the job. At that point, the pay was acceptable to you (I mean *you* in general, not you specifically, Timebuilder). Regardless, it is not a mark of professionalism to expect tips, and it is extraordinarily boorish to inform people that you expect to be tipped.

As for your question, that's difficult. I'd like to say that I'd pay good salaries, but that is easy to say, sitting here knowing that I will likely never actually be in that position. I would hope I would be able to pay my pilots well but I'm not so naive that I don't realize that tough economic realities would test that resolve sorely.

What about you? Would you pay a lear FO $40k/anum while you could fill the seat for $20k and were competing against operators who were?

 

[FL000]

I have always acted like a professional.

I have yet to be paid like one in aviation.

So when you got that Lear job a while back, did you contemplate turning it down since it didn't offer "professional" pay?

I didn't think so.

 

[Astra Guy]

Gulfstream 200,

Well the G200 might be weak but the Astra is the best performing in it's class.

I should have known better by commenting to you about missing the job opportunity. $95K to start, flying 2.5 days/week and ~300 hours/year for a 50 year old privately held company with a growing department operating under the IS-BAO standard would probably not interest many.

Sorry I mentioned it.

 

[justApilot]

fwiw....Just like when you add the tip to your bill in a restaurant, you assume that the waiter/waitress will take care of the bus. Well I think that charter customers add there tips onto the final bill assuming that it will be given to the pilots. You might want to ask your boss where your tips are!