Tipping car service drivers properly

psbklyn

I have a friend who drives for a local Bklyn car service (one of the less expensive ones), and I was appalled to hear how poorly some people tip -- or worse, that some don't tip at all! He took one woman to Manhattan Friday night and she gave him a 10% tip. The same night, he drove someone's child home (after 10 pm) to Brooklyn Heights and when he dropped him off, the mother told him she didn't have any extra money for a tip. She had no complaints and thanked him. I'm sorry -- you live in Brooklyn Heights and can't find a way to thank the driver who got your son home safely with a 20% gratuity?

Surely people must be aware how hard these drivers have been hit by the recession and that it is a very challenging way to make a living, especially the ones who work for car services that are basically undercharging. Anyone who uses car services knows which ones I'm talking about (hint: they don't take your phone number). Trust me when I tell you these guys pay dearly for the privilege to be a car service driver, from what they fork over to the car service owners every week to car insurance. I hope readers who recognize themselves in these examples will take what I've said into consideration and do the right thing in the future.

briggs

I live in Carroll Gardens, use car services all the time, and we always tip 20%. That being said, we always used the same car service (Arecibo) and started to notice that different drivers charged different rates for driving the same route. Some drivers charged $8-$10 for what the other drivers always charged $6 for. I'm happy to pay for their services, but when most drivers were charging one rate and others were charging more (seemingly arbitrarily), we began to not trust them anymore. So we switched to Eastern on a friend's recommendation, and they have been much more consistent (at least in our experience).

I'm sure there are people out there who are just bad tippers, but since so many people in Brooklyn use cars to go to the same places all the time (thus knowing what the rates are) I wonder if some people tip based on the fact that they think they are being overcharged.

anthony umbria

BRIGGS

THE E-ZEST THING TO DO IS ASK NOW MUCH THE TRIP IS
WHEN YOU CALL

bcodsnpkslope

i generally tip according to the ride and the condition of the car.... a poor driver in a rattle trap car gets a small amount where i go as high as 25% for a courteous driver in a clean car.