Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tip is voluntary. If you are not happy, or cannot afford it, then don't tip

If you cannot afford it you have no business taking the service to begin with.

It is conceivable that people could afford the actual cost of the service. There's no obligation to tip.

this is why i use uber. im so sick of dc cabs with their roundabout ways, inconsistent fares, bad attitudes and terrible driving. like i should be so lucky to be in their hot, stinky cab listening to their random foreign language conversations. f-em!

signed, someone who used to rely on these assholes all day long to get back and forth to the hill

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I've never heard so many people say they withhold tips regularly! I guess I was raised differently, but there are very few situations where I wouldn't leave at least a few dollars tip to a cabbie or waitress. I also tip hotel chambermaids. In my book these people work hard for their money, and giving them a tip isn't for extraordinary service, it is for the service itself. Unless I thought the cabbie was being dishonest or outright rude I'd tip, even without A/C.

Are you back in the future? They haven't been called chambermaids since 1789 (joking of course, but I think they're just called maids now since there are no chamber pots involved).

I think the price of the service is for the service itself. Tip is for doing it well. It's like a bonus for your employees. Not guaranteed.

Um yeah, I'm aware they aren't emptying chamberpots. Sheesh.

Anonymous wrote:Tip is voluntary. If you are not happy, or cannot afford it, then don't tip

If you cannot afford it you have no business taking the service to begin with.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I've never heard so many people say they withhold tips regularly! I guess I was raised differently, but there are very few situations where I wouldn't leave at least a few dollars tip to a cabbie or waitress. I also tip hotel chambermaids. In my book these people work hard for their money, and giving them a tip isn't for extraordinary service, it is for the service itself. Unless I thought the cabbie was being dishonest or outright rude I'd tip, even without A/C.

Are you back in the future? They haven't been called chambermaids since 1789 (joking of course, but I think they're just called maids now since there are no chamber pots involved).

I think the price of the service is for the service itself. Tip is for doing it well. It's like a bonus for your employees. Not guaranteed.

I agree with you OP. I am usually a generous tipper for cabbies and have a pretty low bar for service but there are 3 things that annoy me and for which i will lower or eliminate a tip - talking on the phone that results in driving dangerously, no A/C, and dropping me off a block from my destination because it's more convenient for him. I've also had cabbies get annoyed when I asked them to turn down the blasting radio but that's not in my top 3.

A bit of an aside, but I'm not tipping as much in general right now because the taxi drivers are not implementing the new rates fairly, and it seems as though they have been given incorrect instructions. The new, higher rates should be charged without the additional fuel charge, but taxis are still charging the fee because the notice of the fee (which predated the change in rates) stated that the fee will be added through June. I have argued this enough to realize that I don't think that the cabbies know that they are doing anything wrong, but I am paying so that the entire amount paid equals what I would pay if it was implemented correctly + tip, not what I am currently being charged + tip. Once they start implementing the rule correctly, I will continue my normal tipping policy (which will equal the same amount that I am paying now).

Wow, I've never heard so many people say they withhold tips regularly! I guess I was raised differently, but there are very few situations where I wouldn't leave at least a few dollars tip to a cabbie or waitress. I also tip hotel chambermaids. In my book these people work hard for their money, and giving them a tip isn't for extraordinary service, it is for the service itself. Unless I thought the cabbie was being dishonest or outright rude I'd tip, even without A/C.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would probably still tip in that situation, like I tipped the cabbie yesterday even though he said he could take credit cards when I got in the cab at BWI and then his card reader was mysteriously broken by the time that he dropped me off.

The only time I can remember just not tipping was a cabbie who ignored my specific directions and ran up the meter to $15 on a $10 fare (which I knew was $10 because I was going back and forth every day to visit my baby at the hospital). He got a lecture about being a cheater, and I should have reported him but I was such a wreck that I couldn't be bothered. Having lived in a number of American cities, I have to say that I've had more bad experiences here than anywhere else.

Then why the hell would you tip. It's not like he isn't getting paid. He charged a fare. A tip is for exceptional service which he did not provide!

Honest question here, why is it ok to withhold tip for cabbie, but not a rude or incompetent waiter? I've heard you must tip wait staff no matter what.

because waitstaff are paid $3/hour.

Absolutely not an excuse. If you want a tip, provide the requisite service. If you can not make your way to the table to refill my water glass, get my order correct, or have an attitude that I am bothering you, you receive no tip. I think people who tip because it is an unwritten code has allowed many in the service industry to provide poor service.

Anonymous wrote:I got in a cab at about noon and it was sweltering inside, like it had been sitting in the sun with the windows rolled up. I asked the driver to turn on the A/C and gave him my destination, and he told me the a/c was on. After a minute or two it was clear the a/c was not working, and I'm sitting in this oven with the windows rolled up, sweating. So when it came time to pay, I rounded up to the nearest dollar. He asked if I wanted the 25 cents change, which I thought was pretty clever. I told him that I wasn't paying extra to sit in an oven.

Was I right or was I a jerk?

You were right.

Anonymous wrote:PP, I know they have to turn on the a/c, which is why I asked the second I stepped into the cab. He claimed it was on, and air was blowing, but it was 15 degrees hotter inside the cab than out.

Thanks for all the responses.

I bet he was just running the blower on medium, not turned down to cool, to save on gas.

PP, I know they have to turn on the a/c, which is why I asked the second I stepped into the cab. He claimed it was on, and air was blowing, but it was 15 degrees hotter inside the cab than out.

Thanks for all the responses.

OP, cabs in DC are required to turn on A/C upon request.

If this didn't happen for one reason or another, you really should report the driver. (I need to get into the habit of doing this more often, myself, to help basic regulation along. There used to be a phone number for complaints, but now the city website says complaints need to be in writing. That's messed up-- anyone know what's going on with that?)

I've had a driver who claimed his A/C was broken offer to let me off so I could get another cab, which I thought was fair, but they are indeed *supposed* to be fully functional cabs when they're picking up fares and we need to hold them to it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would probably still tip in that situation, like I tipped the cabbie yesterday even though he said he could take credit cards when I got in the cab at BWI and then his card reader was mysteriously broken by the time that he dropped me off.

The only time I can remember just not tipping was a cabbie who ignored my specific directions and ran up the meter to $15 on a $10 fare (which I knew was $10 because I was going back and forth every day to visit my baby at the hospital). He got a lecture about being a cheater, and I should have reported him but I was such a wreck that I couldn't be bothered. Having lived in a number of American cities, I have to say that I've had more bad experiences here than anywhere else.

Then why the hell would you tip. It's not like he isn't getting paid. He charged a fare. A tip is for exceptional service which he did not provide!

Honest question here, why is it ok to withhold tip for cabbie, but not a rude or incompetent waiter? I've heard you must tip wait staff no matter what.

because waitstaff are paid $3/hour.

If I see that the weight staff is super busy and just can't get to me I'll absolutely tip. It's not their fault they're short staffed that night. If I see them cutting up in the corner while I wait for my drink, I'll tip minimally. If they are rude (and I've only done this once or twice) they don't get a tip. In any other industry you have to pay your employees a decent wage. I don't understand why they expect the customers to pick up the tab in the restaurant industry.

Tip is voluntary. If you are not happy, or cannot afford it, then don't tip