Airport Transfers Tipping?

[kpfran]

Hi all,

we are traveling out to Port Orleans Riverside next friday with Virgin.I have just recieved the tickets today(BIG sigh of relief)
We are not hiring a car but opted for Virgins transfers from the airport.On recieving my pack i see that the transfers are with Mears Transportation.Could some of you lovely helpful people let me know if this is usually a coach or a taxi type car per family?Also do you usually tip the driver for this transfer and if so what is the usual amount for a family of five.Thankyou for your help.

Kevin

 

[julieannbabe]

Hi all,

we are traveling out to Port Orleans Riverside next friday with Virgin.I have just recieved the tickets today(BIG sigh of relief)
We are not hiring a car but opted for Virgins transfers from the airport.On recieving my pack i see that the transfers are with Mears Transportation.Could some of you lovely helpful people let me know if this is usually a coach or a taxi type car per family?Also do you usually tip the driver for this transfer and if so what is the usual amount for a family of five.Thankyou for your help.

Kevin

they love tipping out there - i usually just put a few dollars in the drivers bucket at the front - maybe put in between five and 10 bucks - i am sure that they will have a bucket.
have a great time and give dopey a HUGE kiss from me!

xjx

 

[maureen4200040]

We came back from our trip at the end of september, travelling with thomas cook airlines. Our transfers to the hotel were with Coach USA, the coach driver announce over the tannoy that the tip was $5.00 per family. There were a lot of first timers on the coach who were quite bemused that he announced how much we all had to pay.

I have to admitted this was the first time i've ever heard a coach driver telling the passengers how much they would have to pay. Not sure if its legal or not.

maureen4200040

 

[Hilary]

Could some of you lovely helpful people let me know if this is usually a coach or a taxi type car per family?

I think it will almost definitely be a coach, dropping off at more than one resort.

Mears run regular shuttles to and from the airport, so I imagine Virgin will give you a voucher for this trip, rather than arranging a separate transfer for your family.

Our transfers to the hotel were with Coach USA, the coach driver announce over the tannoy that the tip was $5.00 per family. There were a lot of first timers on the coach who were quite bemused that he announced how much we all had to pay.

I'm not a first-timer , but there are times when I'd find this really useful information LOL! It would save the angst of coversations like "did we tip enough?" / "are we expected to tip?" / "how much should we tip?" which seem to crop up regularly throughout our trips, even though we've been lots of times before.

 

[CustardTart]

Whenever we've used the Mears transfers arranged by Virgin, it's been in a minibus type vehicle and we've been the sole passengers - even when it was just DD and myself last May! As for tipping, I usually allow $5. HTH

 

[mrshnn]

i think if anyone told me how much i should be tipping them they will get a big fat zero,otherwise probably about $5 a family...

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

Likewise....

Back in 2001 we hired a car for 3 days in the middle of our holiday. Part of the deal was that the hire firm picked me up at the "Movies" resort and took me to the hire car place just off Downtown Disney. The first thing the driver did when I got into the car was to flip down my sun visor and in big black letters it said:

It is customary to tip in the USA.

As a result, he didn't get a tip. He even stood at the side of the car with his hand out! To which I said that if he hadn't insulted me with his "expectations" he would of had a tip. Although I don't speak Spanish I fully understood what he said under his breath when I turned away.

 

[disneyholic family]

Likewise....

Back in 2001 we hired a car for 3 days in the middle of our holiday. Part of the deal was that the hire firm picked me up at the "Movies" resort and took me to the hire car place just off Downtown Disney. The first thing the driver did when I got into the car was to flip down my sun visor and in big black letters it said:

It is customary to tip in the USA.

As a result, he didn't get a tip. He even stood at the side of the car with his hand out! To which I said that if he hadn't insulted me with his "expectations" he would of had a tip. Although I don't speak Spanish I fully understood what he said under his breath when I turned away.

yes it is customary to tip in america and these guys depend on those tips ....
not very nice of you to say the least....i'm sure that sign is there because so many foreigners who visit WDW aren't aware that tipping is customary in the US, unlike many other countries.....

i tend to overtip, since i know how painfully low the wages are...
it makes sense to me now how effusivly thankful many of them are, since they're getting stiffed by other travelers...

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

yes it is customary to tip in america and these guys depend on those tips ....
not very nice of you to say the least....i'm sure that sign is there because so many foreigners who visit WDW aren't aware that tipping is customary in the US, unlike many other countries.....

Oh dear! Oh dear!

I think we're all fully aware that tipping is customary in the US, and yes I do tip where ever I go. However, if you read the thread and understood what people were saying here you would realise that it can sometimes be offensive in the way that tips are expected. In my case, the driver waited until I was seated before he flipped the sun visor down in a purposeful manner (ie "I'm EXPECTING a tip from you). If it were already down it would have been less offensive. Then, when I got out of the car he came round and stood in front of me with his hand out. Not what I call polite or good manners.

I'm afraid in my case politeness and good manners will always be rewarded far better that rudeness.

 

[Laurafoster]

yes it is customary to tip in america and these guys depend on those tips ....
not very nice of you to say the least....i'm sure that sign is there because so many foreigners who visit WDW aren't aware that tipping is customary in the US, unlike many other countries.....

i tend to overtip, since i know how painfully low the wages are...
it makes sense to me now how effusivly thankful many of them are, since they're getting stiffed by other travelers...

I have to agree with this, especially in restaurants when the staff are on as little as $3 an hour! thats less than £2. They are also taxed on tips! They work out the average amount of tips a certain employee should make, ie with a coach driver $1 a person and they get taxed on that even if they dont receive them. Whilst i do agree that it can be insulting for some people that they mention it, on the other hand many people do not know the tipping customs in florida so i just tend to ignore it!

 

[Laurafoster]

Oh dear! Oh dear!

I think we're all fully aware that tipping is customary in the US, and yes I do tip where ever I go. However, if you read the thread and understood what people were saying here you would realise that it can sometimes be offensive in the way that tips are expected. In my case, the driver waited until I was seated before he flipped the sun visor down in a purposeful manner (ie "I'm EXPECTING a tip from you). If it were already down it would have been less offensive. Then, when I got out of the car he came round and stood in front of me with his hand out. Not what I call polite or good manners.

I'm afraid in my case politeness and good manners will always be rewarded far better that rudeness.

I agree with what you are saying about rudeness, and in that situation that is quite right however i disagree with you saying we're all fully aware of tipping in the US. i have been to Orlando about once a year and every year i see several couples/familys/groups etc who do not tip even if the service had been good. The other things is people are not usually aware how much they should tip etc.

 

[Lewisc]

Are you landing at MCO?

Disney is now supplying complimentary transfers from MCO to WDW resorts. It's called Magical Express. Mears is running the service. That's probably what you're getting, transfer is via motor coach. They'll even take care of your luggage for you if you have the special yellow bar coded tags.

The "normal" tip for a courtesy bus driver is about $1/ bag if they help you with your luggage.

 

[Richard Bruvofetc]

I agree with what you are saying about rudeness, and in that situation that is quite right however i disagree with you saying we're all fully aware of tipping in the US. i have been to Orlando about once a year and every year i see several couples/familys/groups etc who do not tip even if the service had been good. The other things is people are not usually aware how much they should tip etc.

You're absolutely right about confusion arising with regards to the US tipping culture. My apologies. I'm afraid I responded to the "not very nice of you to say the least" comment when the replier had obviously not understood my posting.

I always feel uncomfortable when tipping in the US. I always have the fear that I may "under" tip somebody and therefore cause offence. As has been pointed out, a great number of people in the US are paid a pathetic amount and do rely on the income from their tips.

 

[disneyholic family]

You're absolutely right about confusion arising with regards to the US tipping culture. My apologies. I'm afraid I responded to the "not very nice of you to say the least" comment when the replier had obviously not understood my posting.

I always feel uncomfortable when tipping in the US. I always have the fear that I may "under" tip somebody and therefore cause offence. As has been pointed out, a great number of people in the US are paid a pathetic amount and do rely on the income from their tips. .

i understood your post....and i understand how it's disturbing....but i also understand why they would put up an embarrassing sign like that.... it must be the result of them not having received tips in the past due to the fact that many foreigners are unaware that they should tip...
(personally i hate the practice of tipping that rules in the US, but that's how the compensation of service staff is now built and not tipping them would be like underpaying any bill you receive)...
...
on the doubledecker tour buses in new york the guides repeatedly announce during the course of the tours that tipping is welcome, or some such thing...i can't stand it, but i still tip them....
also it's not uncommon to see waitresses write on the bill, "gratuity not included"....
it's not subtle, but when your income is based on the tips you receive i guess that subtlety loses out to survival....