globaltrotter

I will be using the Chauffer Drive service in NY, Dubai, Singapore, and I was wondering if emirates covers all fare including service charge/tips? If not, how much do you tip, since I will not know the total cost of the fare.

thx

sadiqhassan

Yes, Emirates includes tips and you do not have to pay extra. For NY passengers (Americans are known to be crazy tippers) the Chauffeur Drive website says (or used to, at least) explicitly that toll and tip is included.

Cheers,

knit-in

Really?

I tipped the guy ten bucks the last time in New York. I figured if I had called a car service it would have been 75 bucks or so. Here I got slightly generous (by my standards) cause it was free.

Tolls were included. Does it say somewhere that tips are too?

dearbee

it says it's included but who knows if the money ultimately passes to the driver. this is exactly like dubai restaurants' service charge not being passed onto its service staff.

i always, always manage to give the driver a tip.. nothing excessive, but something. i guarantee he/she will appreciate it.

dh01

I generally tip $10 even though theoretically Emirates covers everything, and the drivers are very grateful. I somehow doubt they get much of the "included" service charge from EK....

Gorilaz

Same here always leave a tip but especially if i have a good driver. In a previous thread people have asked if you tip the driver should you tip the pilot? The pilot is well paid and for sure in Dubai & India the drivers are not.
Slightly off topic on the subject of service charges in Dubai. The government has ruled that only restaurants attached to hotels can add a service charge to bills. Had dinner at the Walk last night and got hit with the normal service charge. Asked for it be taken off but when i got the credit card receipt to sign it was still there.

dearbee

i read on GN.com that the govt has given the restaurants until the end of this month to rid of their service charges. so, starting on 1 Feb, they will be illegally assessing this charge.

knit-in

yeah i think $10 is good. after all the service doesnt cost me anything, and the driver is happy. so why not?

yyzlhr

I go by the rule that if the driver doesnt fall asleep at the wheel then he gets a tip, and if I have to give directions to/from Arabian Ranches then they don't get the tip (but still usally give in as I know they are paid quite low), otherwise a nominal amount of 10-20AED usually in Dubai.

In Toronto it is $10 as with LAX, London GBP 5-10 depending.

allenems

I use from gatwick to destination 45 min away, cost of using bus & train would be £15.

So I tip £10 I am Scottish.

sadiqhassan

As a caveat to the above, I usally tip 5-10GBP over at LHR (I don't think I've ever used the service ex JFK before).

Cheers,

Brian_1

I would say that has more to do with you yourself than our shared nationality...

I tip the driver £20/$30 whenever I use the limo service.

B

tezzer

Usually I tip when I use the service in the UK, or at least I did when Tristar had the Manchester service. They always turned up on time, in a Volvo estate, were polite in the extreme, smartly dressed etc. A new company has got the contract now and the difference was amazing.

A non understandable due to accent driver in a leather jacket, and sat in the toyota while I and my wife struggled down the drive with my 70 kilos or so of luggage, who then insisted on driving down the uncleared 3rd lane of the Motorway, who's radio was tuned to some obscure station, but just audible and therefore irritating. His windscreen washers froze up, so we took to driving in the wake of HGVs just to get some spray off the motorway onto the screen so that we could see for a mile or two till it was obscured again. Visibility was SO bad we were off the road (again motorway) twice before we got to Manchester. As I unloaded my luggage, he mentioned for the first time the excess, £21.33 but had no change and no card payment facility, so I had to give him £30. As he had no change the guy managed a tip. I'll give him a tip, "get another job".

It has left more than a sour taste in my mouth, the more I think about it. I sent a report into EK and got the usual reply, that someone had been assigned etc. etc.

Down_the_back

I always tip the drivers in India - especially if they have NOT asked me for a job during the journey.

I would give usually give 5 - 10 GBP at LHR or BHX. However, last month, I was collected from EMA having flown in from France, then driven down to BHX, on arrival into EMA, I received a call:

Me "Hello, Down_the_back speaking"
Unknown caller "Where are you?" (almost sounded like my father when I was growing up and late back)
Me "The Airport"
Caller "Which one"
Me "who is this"
Caller "your driver"
Me "Oh OK, am just clearing immigration, I will be out in a minute"
Driver "What you look like"
Me "I have 2 silver suitcases and 3 LV bags"
Driver "Where will you be"
Me "outside arrivals hall"
Driver "well can you hurry, I am here?"
Me "will be as quick as I can"

He came to me, eventually after me being stood for 15 minutes, I pushed the trolley to the car, while he walked under the shelter of his own umbrella, he commented that luggage would not fit in car, I insisted that we could use the seats, he then informed me the seats were for passengers, "would we be picking up other people on the way" I asked!

Arrived at Merc, he opened drivers door, lifted trunk release from inside and sat in drivers seat. I got the majority of the bags in the trunk, had suit carrier on back seat with me.

Listened to his Hip Hop on the way down to BHX - 40 mins, arrived at BHX where he grunted that I had to give him 6 pounds for the trolley. I glared, got out the car, paid 2 pounds for the trolley took the bags out of the car myself, and walked off!

Needless to say - he received NO tip.

Drivers in Dubai get 20 Dhs per ride unless I have to give them directions! I had one driver who had only been in Dubai 3 weeks and admitted he did not know where anywhere was. This is the fault of Avis - not his fault! However, I did not tip him....

domregchief

Rs 100 - 150 in Hyderabad based on how good the driver is in taking care of loading/unloading etc. Typical Fare in Hyd is around Rs 700 so 100 is a fair amount.

In NY, I always offer them a $10 tip as it costs me $70 to get from Manhattan to JFK if I came on my own.