I started driving flight crews to and from the airport 30 years ago. It was $1 from the pilot(s) and .50 from each flight attendant. You could bank on it. My rent then was $240 per month.



Today I drove 12 crew members and received $3. I am on a break before the last two crews I am scheduled to pick up tonight. Who knows how long I may have to wait for them. I check frequently, and have a near perfect record of being there when a crew walks out the door.



I have called the airport curb the most #@%-forsaken land on Earth. My job is to be there when you walk out the door and safely transport you to your hotel. I am a tour guide, and full of funny and historical knowledge. I like to share that info, but will not interrupt a conversation a crew member is having on the phone or with another.. I only bring this up because when a crew of three to four totally stiffs me, or I get $1 total, it pisses me off. I try not to; but I tend to take it out on the next crew with curt responses, and a general tone of quiet disrespect.



This is so unhealthy for me, I quit three months ago and went on a SOUL SEARCH. Was it me? A bartender who doesn't care when a customer stiffs him once or twice because somebody is going to give me much more than I deserve. I don't remember all the $100 tips I have received in these 30 years as a tour guide, limo driver, or sometimes for a simple airport transfer.



Am I the guy who is only acting like he is service oriented? Who pretends to be of service to others, but inside his behavior is contingent on being EXTRA rewarded.



I got a job at the Capitol Hill Senior Assisted Living Community. I serve breakfast lunch, and sometimes dinner to some of a group of 50 Octogenarians plus. I do so without anticipation of any financial remuneration. I don't mind. I think of these people as having paid their dues.



You guys, many in the prime of your life, do not get the same pass.