FPC Chauffeured BMW, tipping in the USA
Dec 28, 2014, 3:20 am
#1
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FPC Chauffeured BMW, tipping in the USA
Hi
I have used the chauffeured BMW service in Canada and the driver has refused an offered tip when I reached my destination. I plan to use the service in Washington and Boston when on vacation in 2015, should I offer a tip?
Thanks
Pjack
I have used the chauffeured BMW service in Canada and the driver has refused an offered tip when I reached my destination. I plan to use the service in Washington and Boston when on vacation in 2015, should I offer a tip?
Thanks
Pjack
Dec 28, 2014, 9:26 am
#2
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I say, always offer. If refused that is ok. If expected and not offered you look like a cheapskate.
JudyJFLA
JudyJFLA
Dec 28, 2014, 4:42 pm
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Dec 30, 2014, 2:47 am
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Dec 30, 2014, 11:13 am
#5
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I always tip. If you don't tip, the hotel car might just be "busy" when you need it (ahem, being used by someone else). The service one gets when tipping is always better. E.g. I have the Fairmont Palliser/Hotel Mac guys picking me up to/from work when I stay there. I now know all of them by name, and they know mine. I guess I sort of stand out tipping them $5 each time? I've had the car reserved for me as well (every morning). I've even been driven to the airport when they weren't busy (cleared by the duty manager). Good for me, good for the drivers, and the most fiscally responsible choice for my employer (who now doesn't have to pay $80-$100 for a limo ride to the airport -yes tips are expensed.)
Dec 30, 2014, 11:35 am
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Dec 30, 2014, 11:38 am
#7
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There is no "expectation" in N. American culture to tip a hotel check in agent. There is a cultural expectation to tip drivers (limo, taxis). Does one have to? No.
There is a cultural expectation to tip in N. american restaurants. If I were a waiter/waitress, I'd feel like I've given you bad service if you don't tip. And you would feel like a bit of a douche for not tipping unless conditions warrant it (aka bad service - although even then I just tip less).
Have I "tipped" a duty manager? Yes - not by way of $, but if they provide great service, i'll write in and praise them. Has that resulted in more upgraded rooms/suites? Yes, although that wasn't the intention.
There is a cultural expectation to tip in N. american restaurants. If I were a waiter/waitress, I'd feel like I've given you bad service if you don't tip. And you would feel like a bit of a douche for not tipping unless conditions warrant it (aka bad service - although even then I just tip less).
Have I "tipped" a duty manager? Yes - not by way of $, but if they provide great service, i'll write in and praise them. Has that resulted in more upgraded rooms/suites? Yes, although that wasn't the intention.
Jan 4, 2015, 2:30 pm
#8
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And a bus ride from the Palliser to YYC is, what, $8?
Jan 4, 2015, 2:33 pm
#9
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Not including tips and tax. Bus? Are you serious? Corporate travelers are seldom known to take the bus, especially with luggage. And I don't take taxis to and from any airport. For work or pleasure.
Jan 4, 2015, 9:32 pm
#10
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There is no "expectation" in N. American culture to tip a hotel check in agent. There is a cultural expectation to tip drivers (limo, taxis). Does one have to? No.
There is a cultural expectation to tip in N. american restaurants. If I were a waiter/waitress, I'd feel like I've given you bad service if you don't tip. And you would feel like a bit of a douche for not tipping unless conditions warrant it (aka bad service - although even then I just tip less).
Have I "tipped" a duty manager? Yes - not by way of $, but if they provide great service, i'll write in and praise them. Has that resulted in more upgraded rooms/suites? Yes, although that wasn't the intention.
There is a cultural expectation to tip in N. american restaurants. If I were a waiter/waitress, I'd feel like I've given you bad service if you don't tip. And you would feel like a bit of a douche for not tipping unless conditions warrant it (aka bad service - although even then I just tip less).
Have I "tipped" a duty manager? Yes - not by way of $, but if they provide great service, i'll write in and praise them. Has that resulted in more upgraded rooms/suites? Yes, although that wasn't the intention.
Firstly, salaries for service employees are very different and they depend on tips. I'm not saying it is good or bad, just different. On the other hand, I know from the UK, offering a cash tip to a bartender is not good form, just like trying to tip a desk agent would be here.
So, the thing to know is what is "right" in each country's culture. Offering a tip in NA for a driver will never be bad form, even if refused. Not offering is a way of saying the service was bad.
Just MHO.
Jan 7, 2015, 12:04 pm
#11
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Thanks for your replies,
I will have a tip on standby if the service is good. I used the service at the QE in Montreal and I think the guy did another job in the hotel and was more than just a driver hence the reason he didn't accept a tip.
Pjack
I will have a tip on standby if the service is good. I used the service at the QE in Montreal and I think the guy did another job in the hotel and was more than just a driver hence the reason he didn't accept a tip.
Pjack
Jan 7, 2015, 2:41 pm
#12
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When in Rome.... Tip as the Romans do. It really is that simple.
It doesn't help to pose hypotheticals which are meaningless. E.g., "here in X, we don't tip Y's, so why do they do it in Z?" Or, "why tip the car service driver when you don't tip the check-in clerk?"
Different cultures do things differently. When someone works largely for tips and you don't tip, you are scr**ing them. When someone's wages cover 99% of what they make, there's nothing to worry about.
It doesn't help to pose hypotheticals which are meaningless. E.g., "here in X, we don't tip Y's, so why do they do it in Z?" Or, "why tip the car service driver when you don't tip the check-in clerk?"
Different cultures do things differently. When someone works largely for tips and you don't tip, you are scr**ing them. When someone's wages cover 99% of what they make, there's nothing to worry about.