The tipping point is collapsing, at least for cabbies
By adamg - 7/17/09 - 12:34 pm
The Hack reports that foreign riders are the worst but that everybody seems to be tipping less these days:
... I recently had one guy who had a $6.25 fare, handed me a $100 bill and then got ticked off that I didn't have the coin on hand so he could leave me a fifty-cent tip. Instead, I got bupkus.
Comments
So a hack got shafted once after a lifetime of shafting fares?
I recently had one guy who had a $6.25 fare, handed me a $100 bill and then got ticked off that I didn't have the coin on hand so he could leave me a fifty-cent tip. Instead, I got bupkus.
Well, that makes up for all the dozens of rides he's had where the fare involved change, and he gave the passenger nothing but paper back. I can't remember the last time I got coins back from a driver without having to demand it (THEN the guy got a tip.)
Giving proper change isn't a "customer service issue", it's THE LAW. So if you can't be bothered to grab a fistful of change from your change jar on the way out the door to your shift, you're goddamn right you don't deserve a tip.
Wow, there's an idiotic
Wow, there's an idiotic statement replete with assumptions.
How about this one: If you can't afford the tip, skinflint, then take the friggin' T.
broader question
During an economic downturn, discretionary things like tips are among the first to go down. It's not just this one cabbie. Recently I had to take a cab back from the airport and the guy was so grateful that I gave him a decent tip -- and believe me, it wasn't as if I was tossing $20s at him.
And I agree -- this doesn't excuse the sleazeballs who are out there ripping off passengers whenever they can.
No excuse...
...not to give a decent tip to a cabbie, unless s/he took the scenic route, got lost, or was an asshole. If someone can afford a cab, they can afford to tip.
You just enveloped 90% of
You just enveloped 90% of Boston cabbies there.
I agree on tipping well for good service, but having to tell a cab driver the faster route and where in the city it even is... Let alone trying to get picked up.
Side note, many cabs already have the Credit Card machines mandated by law installed. Most will tell you they don't work yet. I haven't been in a cab in since then, but I'm told this is a flat out lie and if it's been installed, it works and can be used. If that's true, just another example of whats wrong with cabbies in Boston that you don't see in any other freaking city.
uh, try D.C.
Before Wash DC recently went to a meter system and instead charged by zones, the fares were a free for all for many of the out of town passengers. Just amazing.
And if you've never taken a cab from LaGuardia to Brooklyn, you have no idea what the term "scenic route" means in an urban setting!
So, while I hear you on some of the Boston cabbies, I assure you it's not limited to this fair (fare?) town.
Most countries dont tip
Most countries dont tip cabs. American cabbies should be aware of cultural norms and expect that many who travel will not tip
Reverse that.
Reverse that.
Visitors to America should research cultural norms and expect to tip.
In theory it runs both ways,
In theory it runs both ways, but cab drivers drive around foreigners very often, foreigners ride in American cabs only occasionally. Thus, the cab drivers have more time to learn.
Isn't much of the onus
...on the traveler to learn about the cultural norms of the place he is traveling?
(Of course, I know how this works in real life - anyone who comes here had better learn our way of life, but if you go abroad, everyone should be able to understand English, especially if you say it very loudly and slowly)
No one likes cabbies
Everyone seems to hate cabbies. It's a tough job. I sympathize with them.
Regarding tips - I always tip generously, but there's no compelling reason to do so that I can think of.
In Boston, I believe that most cab drivers pay a flat lease fee to the cab companies. So, when you pay for your trip, all the money goes to the cabbie. Above and beyond what he pays the cab company ($70 per shift?) it all goes to the cabbie.
At least that's the way I understand it. It's not as if the $2.60 per 1/8 of a mile (or w/e) is going to the cab company and the driver is only getting the tip.
Not saying he doesn't deserve a tip, just trying to give more information!
No one except me?
There've been a couple sketchy ones who tried to scam me, but generally they've been OK or even genuinely friendly.
Update: I mostly deal with Cambridge cabbies.
sorry...
mis-bump. my bad.
Short ride
A Boston cab ride for 6.25? That would get you from Boylston and Claredon to Boylston and Arlington.
Credit Cards
The ability to pay with a credit card would eliminate the coin issue entirely. Of course, the only time I ever got in a cab with a card swipe device, the cabbie claimed not to know how to use it.
Figured it out real quick when I showed him my otherwise empty wallet.
-Cosmo
http://cosmocatalano.com
World's Toughest Writer
The truth about Boston Taxi Cab(s)
Yes it is true if a Boston Taxi Cab has a credit card machine installed in it right now it has to work. He is mandated by law to take your plastic. There are 5,000 drivers for 1800 taxis so please go ahead and report all drivers for breaking the rules. It will only help honest drivers like me in the long run.
Cosmo you toughguy you...
Since the mandated installation of credit card swipes in the back of Boston Taxi cabs was 7/15/09 this may explain why the driver had no idea how to use it. Also did you get dropped at 600 black of Massachusetts ave? I remember having a fare around them where the guy ran out of the bus station to the first cab in line (me) and had me take him down there and then make a huge lispy deal that I had no idea how to use the idiotic device installed in my cab for a week. At this point I am so happy to get cash I could care less about a tip.
Every time someone pays with a credit card I lose an automatic 5-6% on the transaction to a processing fee. Also the companies who were authorised by the city of Boston to provide this service to us initially said 24 hours to get paid. In reality the credit cards I do on a Friday night do not pay me until Wednesday morning. In the mean time I have to lay out the cash for the cab and gas and any unforeseen expenses (drunken middle aged women puking down the back of my shirt. You name it, it's happened to me). Some Monday mornings I pay for the cab and have $20.00 bucks to get through until Verifone pays me on Wednesday. I know alot of people in the world live like this but, this is not what I signed up for. Part of the trade off for next customer might kill you for the hell of it was supposed to be money every day.
Someone wrote on here that we rent the cabs and get to keep the tips. This is mostly true but the rent is usually nowhere near $70.00 any more. The hybrids are $95.00 to rent. Plus the owner can ask for a deposit up to $500.00 that he never has to pay you interest on. Some cabs have 4 drivers. Some owners own 400 cabs. Nice cake huh ?
The also charge an insurance collision damage waiver that by law is supposed to be optional for the driver. Usually the actual option is "if you do not pay me the insurance I am not renting you the cab" that is an extra $3.00.
Wether you rent a hybrid or a beat to hell crown Victoria you still pay for gas. This could mean having to gross about $120.00 before you actually start to make money. How many people here can say they produce $120.00 gross for their boss every day before they make money for themselves?
Be honest most days you pick your nose and check your Facebook all day and hope the boss does not walk by the cubicle. Right?
$6.25 would get you from say.. Broadway T station to I and Broadway if all the lights were green. Also could get you from P and Broadway to say.. k and Broadway. in South Boston.
Any more Cab questions are insane assumptions Ill be glad to answer them.
Http://southbostontaxi.com
waaah!
not one forced you to drive a cab for a living.
I was in Mexico recently and
I was in Mexico recently and a 25 minute cab ride (light traffic) cost me less than what the meters in Boston start at! For the entire trip! Gas costs twice as much there than in the US. No tip is expected in Mexico.
The point being, it's hard to blame a foreigner for not tipping when they feel they're getting ripped off already when the "getting in the cab" fare costs more than an entire ride back home.
UNLESS the foreigner is swedish. I've never seen a taxi meter jump so quickly. Crazy stuff.
not just sweden
The scandanavian countries are VERY pricey, not just in cabs. When it comes to cabs in Boston, I just get in, tell them the place I need to go and tell them how I want to go. I know they have to take cards, but they don't want to so I carry cash if I take a cab if I can, its not worth the stress. There are good cabbies and bad cabbies, but you need to be prepared. The LAST thing I would want to do is punish a good one because I assumed he/she was a scumbag.