I am traveling this week and need a 1 way trip from the airport to my home. I just confirmed my reservation online and had to pre-pay with a credit card. As part of the payment process, I was prompted to enter my gratuity - the suggested gratuity was 18%. I was already planning to tip the driver in cash, so I left the field blank.
I definitely did not want to tip in advance since I’ve had some bad experiences with shuttle drivers but I don’t mind tipping for good service (which is what I thought tipping was - to reward good service after the fact, how is one supposed to pre-pay a tip?)
I have 2 light suitcases (left a lot of presents behind) and it’s a 46.00 fare. I was honestly planning on tipping 5.00 and the 18% suggested gratuity surprised me a little. I might have planned to tip a little more if the shuttle driver was coming to pick me up since my neighborhood is a bit of a maze and it can be hard to find my place. Dropping me off should be no big deal.
Am I being too cheap? What would you guys tip the shuttle driver?
Also, since I left the gratuity field blank in the online form, I wonder if my service will be less than stellar (long wait for a shuttle going my direction, last to be dropped off without cause, etc). Should I have just sucked it up and tipped the recommended 18% when I made my booking?