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06/07/2004 Archived Entry: "Tips on Tipping"

Wow ... two months since I've updated this page. It's a busy time of the year! I've been averaging over 60 hours a week driving the last two months, so I'm behind on some things; plus I had to move the site to a new server last month, as well as quite a few other sites I manage, so this blog suffered some neglect. But I have a couple of days off this week, so I'll do some catching up.

I often use AOL when I'm on the road -- it's one of the least expensive ways when you have to connect from nearly anywhere in the US and don't have a high speed connection available. This week they had a teaser on the sign-on screen for an article about tipping, so I checked it out to see what they had to say about tipping motorcoach drivers, and it was pretty good. The CNN/Money site suggested between $1 and $10 per person per day for extended trips, and 10%-20% of the cost of the tour for one day trips; and Tipping.org suggests the traditional $1-$2 per person per day. Here are links to those sites:

CNN/Money Summer Tipping Guide
The Original Tipping Page (tipping.org)

Many passengers, I've found, assume that because we're usually well dressed (my company requires drivers to wear coat and tie) and we drive nice, clean, expensive vehicles, that we're also well paid. But motorcoach drivers are typically the lowest paid of any bus driver -- even $4 to $8 an hour less than the average school bus driver. Motorcoach drivers rely on tips to supplement their income nearly as much as restaurant waiters and waitresses -- at least those who drive full time for a living. I know that in my case I couldn't afford to continue driving if it weren't for the tips. But some passengers aren't aware of this -- at the end of the trip I get a hearty handshake and "very well done, great trip, excellent driving" as passengers leave the coach, but no tip. Compliments are nice, but don't put food on the table. I never talk about tips with a passenger unless they ask a question about it, but they do ask sometimes, so it's nice to refer them to references such as those above so it doesn't look like you're making it up or asking for money; it can be rather awkward. Fortunately most groups do tip, so it's not a big problem. I know some companies automatically add 15%-20% to the price of a tour for the driver's tip, and that may be nice from the driver's viewpoint (restaurants often do the same thing for groups), but I suspect that may take away some of the incentive for the driver to do a great job for the passengers. Encouraging our companies to continue educating their clients about tipping is probably the best solution, and a win/win/win situation for all -- company, driver, and passenger.