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30Apr2008 |
| Manners, Professionalism, and Tips |
| a hectic trip already |
So this will be somewhat of a "part two" to my last blog on airline weight limits.
The two things I plan to touch on here are regarding Manners (most people don't have them anymore) and Professionalism (in regard to tips, and if you'll get one from me).
First: Manners.
I was raised is a fairly strict household in regard to manners. Sit up straight, elbows off the table, please/thank you, be kind to others, consider if you were in their position, etc.
Well, on this particular trip, after keeping my cool with the gate lady (again, be polite!) I sat down on the plane and watched everyone else board. We have business tickets, meaning I'm the first one on the plane after the disabled/old people. Now, when I sit down first, I take the second row, put my backpack in the overhead, and my camera bag under the seat.
I think it's EXTREMELY rude when certain, well, assholes, don't want to carry/drag their luggage to the rear of the plane and instead they place their bag in the overhead compartment at the front, then walk back to the exit rows and so forth.
So, because they're being lazy they just screwed someone who's going to sit toward the front and have nowhere to put their luggage. Good job douchebag, now some poor soul is going to have to wait for everyone else - including your lazy ass - to de-board so they can walk back to the rear of the plane to get their luggage from your overhead.... all the while you exit with everyone and pull your bag from the first compartment.
Dick.
The next topic - and this is something that realllllly pissed me off on my way into Vegas. Vegas cabs... there is only one company in this town that takes credit card, and that company is Desert Cab, so remember that if you're picking up a cab from your hotel, because leaving the airport you don't have a choice.
Anyway, I already know this and don't like it because it immediately eats $15 or $16 from my cash/food money for the trip.
Well, I waited in line, was assigned my pole-stand-by-and-wait-for-a-cab and proceeded to wait. Well, the first cab stopped, then pulled forward, effectively leaving me cabless til the next wave of cabs.
Cabby number two pulls up, some Eastern European guy of some kind, picks me up and asks where I want to go. I tell him, "This time I'm at the Luxor", which, quickly continues to a conversation about how I'm here for work, and I'm here a LOT for work.
So, what does this guy do... he takes the HIGHWAY... For those of you who aren't Vegas regulars, which, is pretty much all of you, there are two way to get to the strip - The highway, and Tropicana Blvd.
Make sure your cabby takes Tropicana. Why? Because it's shorter, and you can hit ANY of the main hotels on the strip, including all the way to the Las Vegas Convention Center, for about $15 or less.. throw in $2 for tip (I don't tip much more than that because I load my own bags in to the car, I don't trust them with my computers and cameras).
As our conversation continues he asks how many times I've been to Vegas, all the hotels I've stayed at, why I'm here, what do I do... you know, small talk bullshit that I chat about with most people.
In the back of my mind I'm getting annoyed and watching as he's going the roundabout way to the strip... Oh, and the Luxor, is one of the closest hotels to the strip save for Hooters - where I stayed one week last year, haha. So this guy, by going the long way AROUND the airport and taking highways, turned a 3.2mi trip into approximately an 8mi trip.
Not only did this guy take the long route, but he also took the second exit past the Luxor... adding about a half mile and another dollar to the fare.
What pissed me off more on top of this whole situation, was that he was trying to distract me or some crap by giving me little factoids about the hotels and Vegas... I'm thinking "Dude, did you not hear what I said when I got in the cab? I'm here up to seven times a year.. I was just here two months ago, I'M NOT NEW TO VEGAS". So the fact that he's trying to keep me from noticing that he's going everywhere BUT the Luxor wasn't working on me.
He pulls up, finally, the my hotel.
As he parks the meter reads $18.90.
You schiesty bastard.
"Ok... ::he points:: total is, $20" he says (there is a $1.20 airport pickup fee that I already knew about). Oh, how sweet, he's knockin the extra dime off the whole fare. No way in hell I'm tipping him after that little stunt.
Like I said in my last blog, I'm a nice person, but don't try and rip me off by thinking I'm a pushover. Because honestly, right now I'm pissed that you just stole $4 out of my pocket, and I'm not exactly Mr. Moneybags I'm sorry to say.
I get out of the van, and pull $20 out of my wallet and put in my pocket, and walk around to the back. He's opens the hatch so I pull out my backpack, and tell him I'll need a receipt, as he goes around to get it I put my camera bag around my shoulder and pull out my main bag. He comes back around with the receipt.
"Great, thanks." I say, and then hand him the $20, "Here you go."
He takes the bill and holds it with just his thumb and index (which is a really rude thing in my opinion, it's like saying you don't want to hold it) and points with his other hand.
"Uh.." he says.
"Twenty bucks, right." I reply
"My frrrriend, the fare, is $20."
"Yeah, well, you took the long way."
"What long way?"
(Don't even try is what I'm thinking at this point) "You went the long way around" I say, "You took the highway. You could have taken Tropicana."
He just looked at me. I think he was shocked I saw through it.
"That's all I have" I said, and walked away.
"Ok my friend... Tropicana... long way... " and some other bullshit he started to mumble as I turned and walked away.
So yeah, you can say I stiffed him on a tip. But honestly, he didn't deserve one. I'm one person, going to one of the closest hotels, and he didn't carry my bags, I did. It should have been a $13 or $14 fare and he would have received $2 or so tip.
Instead he screwed me, made the trip over twice as long, went to the farther exit on an already long route, and then tried to tell me he deserved a tip.
No. You do not.
Tipping is a very American thing. I loved living in Europe because their system is not built around tips. You tip when you felt the person went above and beyond their job to make your time better, you do not derserve a tip for simply doing your job - especially not for doing it badly.
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