Should You Tip Airport Employees?
Miles P. Flysalot September 30, 2015
Traveling can be a tricky business, one that’s often complicated by unexpected, misery-inducing difficulties — but fear not! Mile High Manners is here to lend a helping hand and guide you through the polite “do’s and don’ts” of flight etiquette, regardless of the class you’re seated in and situations you come up against.
Have you ever faced an in-flight encounter or unexpected situation at the airport which you were unsure of how to handle properly? Send your dilemmas to us at [email protected] and check back every Wednesday as we endeavor make the travel experience more enjoyable for everyone.
Q: First-time writer, long-time reader here. Speaking of firsts, I’m renting a car for the first time next month to go on a road trip with some pals. One of them mentioned something about crazy fees rental companies tack on when you return the car though, and that made me all kinds of paranoid. I’ve debunked/confirmed most of these concerns, but there’s one I’m hung up on: Do I have to clean my rental before I return it? Follow-up question: What if the rental’s dirty when I pick it up? Thanks!
A: Congratulations on your first car rental excursion! There is nothing quite like the free and easy feeling of cruising down the highway in a silver Hyundai Accent with Wisconsin plates.
The good news is that it is not your responsibility to clean the car before returning it. As long as there is no permanent damage to the vehicle, the rental fee provides for a cleaning to be done by someone who is not you. Most companies clean their cars before and after each renter, although I imagine the cleaning protocol is similar to hotels in that if it looks dirty, it will be lightly wiped with a wet rag for a clean appearance.
If the rental is dirty when you pick it up, you can always ask for a different (cleaner) car. Most high-volume companies run a pretty tight ship, so you can expect better cars and service at an airport or in a large city. If you are renting the car from a smaller local outfit with limited inventory well then I’d say that you might be the proud renter of a dirty car. In that case, I would probably be more concerned about what’s going on under the hood than why there is kitty litter on the dash.
There are a few simple steps you can take to avoid any extra additional overcharge fees when it comes time to hand over the keys.
One of the most important things you can do is examine the entire car with the rental agent. Walk around the car and check for any damage on the inside and outside while the agent takes notes about anything unsavory. If you do this before you even get into the car, there will be no question about your role in the dented fender or who made the butt imprint on the hood.
Another good idea is to purchase one of the insurance plans the company offers. It doesn’t have to be the big daddy policy, the bare bones coverage will do. If you are a terrible driver you may want to reassign yourself to the role of navigator/DJ/beverage handler/don’t you dare fall asleep.
A few other tips – don’t smoke in the car. Most companies do not allow it and will use it as a reason to charge you. If you do smoke in the car, be smart about leaving no trace, either visually or olfactorily. Also, fill up the gas tank yourself before returning to save a few bucks.
If they end up trying to stick you for something, just say that you don’t know anything about it because you were really drunk when it happened (do not say or do that).
Q: Have you ever seen those cars that zip around inside the airport? They’re not “cars” really, more like golf carts without roofs. They usually shuttle people who look like they’d have difficulty getting from Point A to Point B on their own. Well, I was probably the only person at the airport a few (very early) mornings ago and one of the drivers of these carts offered me a ride. I was tired and not really thinking straight (full disclosure: I am a grown man with two perfectly capable legs) so I grunted some kind of “yeah, sure” and hopped on.
I’ll admit, it was a lot more fun than I thought it’d be, and it even helped wake me up a bit. My driver was cool, too, and I enjoyed talking with him… at least until we reached my gate and I hopped off. That’s when *cue awkward music* he just stared at me. Not in the let-me-get-your-number way, but the where-is-my-money way. I’m positive he never mentioned anything about having to pay for the ride when he first offered it (if he had, I would’ve just walked instead) so I quickly walked away feeling all kinds of embarrassed. I figured if he expected to be paid for the ride he would’ve said something, but he just drove off. Was he expecting a tip or something? Did I cheat the airport for a free ride? Heeeeelp me.
A: I am happy that you were able to experience the freewheeling pleasure of the airport cart. It is not often that one finds himself as the inspiration for beeps as opposed to the target. Unfortunately, your lack of experience in this area may have rendered you ill-equipped to navigate the slick and shiny roadways of the airport cart.
It’s sweet of you to be concerned about cheating the airport, however you did not, as the driver is paid an hourly wage. What you really did was cheat the driver, who works in the hope of tips from satisfied customers.
*cue awkward music*
Based on your description of the incident, I can understand that early morning brain fuzz may have played a role in your inability to appropriately discern the situation. However, all signs point to TIP THAT MAN!
You mentioned that although you were tired, the ride woke you up. You said that it was fun even though you have two legs, and that the driver was a real conversationalist. You also arrived at your gate much faster and without having to lug your bags. It sounds like you experienced the airport cart ride of a lifetime. I’d say that’s worth a few dollars?
Woven into the fabric of our society are a plethora of workers who offer a service without charging outright. Workers in this industry generally do not mention a tip before or after the service. They merely offer the service and if you accept, you implicitly enter into an informal agreement that ends with both parties getting a little something out of the deal. When a worker does you a favor that makes your life better but does not charge you for it, you are now in the tip zone. This is the American way.
If the driver did not work for tips, he would not have picked you up, woke you up, chatted you up, or sped you up. He would have had a coffee and taken his sweet time, much like a salaried worker with no motivation other than the hope that one day he or she will be rewarded with more work and more responsibilities (the other American way).
Don’t feel too bad. We have all made tipping mistakes at one time or another. What better place to do that than at the airport, where skipping out on the bill involves a thrilling cart ride followed by a daring escape in a plane!
[Photo: iStock]
What's next? Tip the FA's for serving you water and coke? It baffles me that we have unabashed jar's at every counter in America asking for Tips. Starbucks charges 5 times a normal cup of coffee and expects the barista to be tipped. What gives?
What a Bunch of Cheapskates you all are, Disgrace, I tip in Asia too, they don't understand, u are Clueless, I use the showers in the Clubs, I Tip, cart , yes, tip, I heard you should tip Wheelchair helpers 15 or 20 bucks, plus u get thru Customs and Queues, quick, Bunch of Cheap Charlie's , I bet u use Uber too, so u don't have to Tip, Disgrace...
Here are the people you tip at the airport: skycaps, wheelchair pushers, electric cart operators (sometimes all three are employed by the same company), servers in a restaurant with table service, bartenders (in airline lounges and bars), and feel free to drop a dollar or some change in a tip jar if you're at a place that has it. Skycaps, wheelchair pushers, and electric cart drivers get paid crap wages and you not tipping them isn't going to change the system, it just makes you a D-bag. In the Q&A scenario, I don't see anything wrong with an electric cart driver giving an able-bodied person a lift if he's not busy. If you are able-bodied, have a tight connection, and a long walk, electric carts are also there to serve you, provided they're not picking up a passenger who is mobility impaired. Airline employees call electric carts when needed; it's not like they're on the prowl looking for fares like a taxi driver. I should note, that Alaska Airlines has signs in your lounges advising not to tip the bartenders. Basically, airline employees should never be tipped and most have policies against it. I've been in United clubs where the person tending bar is a United employee, as opposed to a contractor, and they accepted tips. I found that odd. If you are earning a decent middle class wage, with flight and health benefits, you don't need a tip. For reference, I worked at an airport, as an airline employee, for 9 years, so I feel like I am coming at this from an informed perspective.
Our present US culture of tipping everywhere primarily serves to allow greedy employers to pay sub-standard wages and pocket higher profits. We have been brainwashed to think that we are cheapskates if we don't tip people for doing their jobs. I suppose I'm on the fence with regard to a sommelier or a waiter in a high-end restaurant where their attention and knowledge enhances the experience I came there for in the first place. Or perhaps the ignorant or inattentive sommelier/waiter should be working in a different job. Outside of that, there is no fence to be on. This is another example of where the US culture continues to get it wrong and then tries to push it onto the ones who got it right. I wonder, sometimes, though, if it's not somewhat rooted in a culture of privileged arrogance ("I have so much more money than you, I can afford to flip you a quarter then use a fiver to light my cigar") that got away from us?
I agree with pdsales on this one; if the cart driver prioritizes people he or she thinks will tip them, over the handicapped and elderly passengers who are the intended users of the service, then the service is not being performed at all. Now, if those handicapped or elderly passengers want to tip him, great, but they should be the ones getting the rides. I don't think the carts are a taxi service either, they're for people that have a hard time physically navigating the airport. This opinion doesn't mean I'm a tightwad. Recently I arranged to have my mother transported through Dulles in a wheelchair because she is elderly with lingering back injuries, and I did tip her chair-pusher $20, because I appreciated her timely and friendly service and I was worried about my mom traveling alone. I didn't have to do it, but I wanted to. It was an arranged "ride" and I was grateful to have someone so helpful and kind with my mom.