Tips for bus drivers

I know that Tauck has in the past recommended the equivalent of $4 a day as tips for bus drivers (I'll wait for my green book to see whether that has changed); however, it seems that on this tour, there's not much bus travel. How have people handled this in the past?
«1

Comments

  • Since you do not consistently have the same driver, the tour director handles this.
  • edited September 2018
    I made an earlier post that I deleted because I wanted to double check the facts. So I had about a half hour conversation with ‘Tauck’ about this and another subject. The video on the Tauck website about how Arthur got the company started explains the corporate philosophy very well. The whole idea, the business model, is providing tours where ‘everything’ is included. The one exception being the TD’s tip. Except on river and small boat tours, where the TD’s tip is also included. If you have services provided that are separate from the tour as a group, then those gratuities are your reponsibility. I know that some of the tours in “Before you Go” reference tips for the TD and “local drivers”. If you are traveling as a group, it is not a “local” driver. The TD tips the ‘tour’ drivers. If you have the hotel van/limo take you to dinner, that is a “local” driver. Things like room service, laundry, meals and drinks not provided by Tauck ... tip. If it is provided by Tauck, they do the tipping.
  • I am sorry Sealord, but I think you have made this very confusing. We have given tips to coach drivers in the past because the information specifically says that a tip is not included. Our upcoming US tour, I just opened the green booklet to check again and it specifically says that tips for the tour director and coach driver are not included. It suggests $4 a day per person for the driver.

    Not all Tauck tours include tips for the driver. I think it is possible that most of the type of tours you have taken with Tauck have indeed included all tips apart from the tour director. We have been traveling with Tauck for a long time now and you have to read each tour instructions carefully about tipping, they are not the same.

    MCD, I have taken your upcoming tour but can’t remember about the tips or buses. I suggest you wait for the green booklet before you start worrying about tips. Just to point out that in Australia it is not customary to tip because everyone earns a living wage, unlike in the US where a $7 per hour is quite common, in Australia, when we were there several years ago, the minimum hourly wage was $23 Australian, it’s probably more now. But if tipping was suggested for the driver, then we certainly would have tipped, I just can’t remember the details now.
  • Just completed a bus tour of Canyonlands. Paid both the bus driver and tour director (as noted in the green book)

    HOWEVER, this totally is against the entire philosophy of Arthur Tauck and Jr should be embarrassed and ashamed that he's allowed his team to go this direction. For the small amount that is involved Tauck needs to bring back the class of the original philosophy. This minimal cost degrades the brand from premium to being the class of Carnival Cruises and such where everything is ala carte.

    Yes, it ticks me off and I hope this doesn't offend other loyal Tauck travelers. Please understand that I enjoy Tauck, I recommend Tauck and I have used them and will again. They just need to stop this silly intrusion into my sentiment as it does make me ocassionally consider other companies.
  • edited September 2018
    Unfortunately this is the consequence of tipping in general, it’s like a bribe for doing a job that you should be doing anyway. Having been born in The UK, I have had to learn how powerful tipping is in the US. A long time ago a Tauck tour director told us that coach drivers are so eager to work for Tauck because they get good tips. They are more likely to help you off the bus etc etc because good feedback helps them continue to secure their job.
    I find it funny that so many people appear to lose sleep on how much they should be tipping for a specific service, but I play the game and tip like everyone else, but I don’t lose sleep about it.
    I have even read here that Sealord tips generously at times to curry favor or get better service.
    Yes, it’s a pain in the ass, but if it bribes tour directors to be wonderful, then maybe that is Ok.
    I’ve been thinking about the popularity of the small group tours with Tauck and how that affects the tour directors’ tips. Getting tips from a group of 24 instead of 40 has to be a big drop in potential income.
  • Interesting thread...

    I was on this trip a few years ago. I don't recall for sure if I tipped the driver(s), but probably not, as there was a different driver in every city.

    This brings up an interesting tangent - this tour had the best transportation of any tour I've been on - our own plane. How come they don't suggest tipping the pilot or crew? :-) The flight attendants were great and learned most of our names along the way.

    Similar story on the China trip - primarily flying from city to city with many different bus drivers. No tip for the drivers from me.

    Getting back to the original question - I recently returned from the Scandinavia trip. We had one driver for about 5 days (Denmark/Sweden), a second driver for ~5 days in Norway, and a third driver for 2 days in the middle of Noway, who relieved the "regular" driver for a weekend. Our TD told us she would take care of tipping the 2 day relief driver.

    So what would I do if I had a primarily flying trip? Not tip the bus drivers.
  • I stand by my original reply to MCD. On this trip as in most of the exotics, guests and TD's travel from location to location on planes and have different local guides and drivers in each area (Melbourne, the Outback, Queensland, Aukland, etc.), so the TD takes care of those tips. It would be outrageous to keep track of whom and when to tip. On land tours, however, it is a different story. For the most part, you have the same driver for the entire trip. On our last land tour, England, Scotland, Wales, we had one driver for two days in Edinburgh and then our long-term driver (the fabulous and personable "Joe") came on board to take us the rest of the way.
    Some of us panicked when we saw a new driver and took the TD aside to ask about tipping the first guy for the two days. He assured us that the drivers work that out among themselves and we should go ahead and tip for the number of days we had a driver at the end of the trip. In some countries there are laws requiring drivers to rest after a certain amount of driving time, so when Joe had a day off, and we had a different driver (kept running into Joe around the city...on the sidewalks, that is) we still tipped for the total number of days.
    In response to Nitewowl, I have no trouble tipping the driver and TD for a job well done and providing a seamless, worry-free, safe and enjoyable trip. Didn't Arthur, Sr., have a small number of guests that as the owner he drove around himself?? The world of escorted travel was just beginning, and the landscape has changed. Are there actually companies who do not encourage tipping directors??
    Interestingly, when we took the A/NZ tour twelve years ago, it was our first tour where we flew during the tour. We had only done European land tours prior to that. After about our third in-country flight (not all on private planes), after watching our TD navigate all of us and our luggage through a busy airport, I casually remarked that I hoped her base salary was a lot greater than those land tour TD's as flying presented a whole new set of logistics to conquer! She said that, no, it was the same. Now, maybe that has changed, and we certainly have done many more trips where air travel is part of the itinerary and it has just gotten more and more seamless. But I still maintain that moving 30+ folks easily through an airport has to be among the toughest jobs out there! Why, sometimes my husband and I, a party of two, bumble our ways through!!
  • edited September 2018
    All very interesting. But as I said, I just talked with Tauck for thirty minutes on this subject. The trip is ‘all inclusive’ and they do not expect you to have to tip. That’s the tour director’s job. As British said, I tip generously for personal service. But other than the TD, Tauck promotes their agenda as all inclusivie, and the six trips I have been on with them were just that. If you are paying this kind of money, and adding tips on top of the ‘free of any care’ experience you are over paying. If ‘your’ green book says you need to tip anyone but the TD, I would be on the phone with Tauck. Arthur would not approve. !! Watch the video. Go to “Before your Trip”, and click on what’s included. It is really quite clear.

    “All customary gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff and local guides and drivers are included.”

    The line above was copied directly from the ‘Before you Go’, section on ‘What’s Included” on the Grand Australia and New Zealond page of the Tauck website. I am a native English (American) speaker. What don’t I understand about this sentence?
  • This is what it says on the website for our upcoming tour

    The customary gratuities for the Tauck Director and local drivers are not included. We ask that gratuities be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not as a group.

    I think you are confusing what ‘Services’ are included as opposed to ‘Gratuities’ which appear to be thought of as a separate entity. This is all different from most people on the forum who seem to want to tip all and sundry.
  • P.S. I am a retired airline pilot ... and no one ever gave me a tip ... including Robert Wagner, Stevie Wonder, etc., etc.
  • Yes, same with my job Sealord, oh, we got lots of boxes of chocolates if that counts. I have to admit, when I first arrived In the US I could not believe that waitstaff were probably earning more per hour than I was earning in England for a full day’s work. On the other hand, my husband was earning such a good wage in the US, I didn’t need to work. Tipping is a way of life here.
  • British wrote:
    This is what it says on the website for our upcoming tour

    The customary gratuities for the Tauck Director and local drivers are not included. We ask that gratuities be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not as a group.

    I think you are confusing what ‘Services’ are included as opposed to ‘Gratuities’ which appear to be thought of as a separate entity. This is all different from most people on the forum who seem to want to tip all and sundry.

    We haven't taken near the number of tours that most posting to this thread have, but I have never seen that statement in any Green Book. On every tour where a "local" driver has been involved, tipping of those drivers, just like "local" guides has always been handled by Tauck. What tour? Maybe it is a website error- certainly wouldn't be the first!

    The policy in the Green Book for every tour we have taken suggests a gratuity should be voluntarily given to the TD (except for river cruises, small boat cruises, etc.) and coach drivers that stay with and transport the group for the entire tour (England, Scotland, Wales; Ireland; Ultimate Alps; Romantic Germany; Classic Italy; Hidden Gems of NE, etc.).

    Gratuities for all other drivers- relief drivers (1 - 2 days while main driver takes required break), city drivers, special minibus drivers for a drive along the Amalfi Coast, van drivers from a hotel to restaurant or attraction (Prague Castle, Pudlestein Hut, Stuttgart/Mercedes museum, etc.), local coach drivers during river cruises, from Prague to Regensburg to Vilshofen, excursion from Linz to Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov, city tours of Vienna, Budapest, etc. are all handled by Tauck.

    A final comment that I have posted in the past- Despite all this, a gratuity is still optional, so follow the Green Book or not. If you don't like the idea or policy, don't give a gratuity or don't travel with Tauck. No need to argue or obsess about it.
  • Alan,
    Bingo! You've said it all!!
  • edited September 2018
    Alan and all. We have taken several Tauck tours in the US and three in Canada over the years, all these tours probably were ones that specfically stated that tips for the coach driver was not included. Our upcoming tour that I quoted about above is a US based tour. But even our very first Tauck tour which I believe was to Italy at least an early as 2003, the tip for the driver was not included. After that, we probably did a couple of trips before we read the fine print again and realized that the policy for every tour was not the same.
    Of course you are absolutely correct, tipping is entirely voluntary, but the original poster was specificllay asking about tips, though funnily enough, for a country that is not big on tipping, Australia.
    When the topic has come up before, I have said that I have observed many times that I don't think everyone seems to tip the tour director. I'd love to do a survey on this because it's obvious from reading questions here that not everyone reads the green book, a relatively new thing for Tauck, before that it was a big number of loose papers, even less likely to be read. There has to be a number of people who assume tour directors are not expecting tips.
    Another thing I have observed in general is that my 'richest' number of friends are the most stingy tippers. Maybe that is why they are rich. Just another reason tipping is such an oddi custom.
    Like Sealord said, no one ever gave him a tip for doing his job. Giving tips is even illegal for some jobs. Another cultural difference I have observed in the US that is different to the country of my birth is for example, giving of gifts to teachers, that's a no no in England because it could be seen as bribery. You sometimes see signs in places that say there is a no tipping policy or employees are not allowed to accept gifts.
    Whatever, this has been an interesting topic.
  • Wow! I opened a can of worms. Thanks, everyone, for your comments.
  • Your welcome MCD, it's good to use the brain when you wake early.
  • British, I really think the problem is the term "local driver." What you seem to be describing are normal coach drivers (tip is not included), not "local drivers."

    I really think that the folks who write the Tauck website info have incorrectly used that term at some point over the years and in some places it has not been corrected. As you know Tauck often just copies the previous itinerary and "Before You Go" when they open a new season for a particular tour. It may take months for incorrect/outdated info to be updated/corrected on the website (sometimes it never is), so people can be surprised when they read their Green Book and even then they may never notice a change.

    Compounding the problem, many folks get all their info via a travel agent, and as we and the old regulars from Oz know, that can be hit or miss. Also, as the forum highlights, some people just skim or never read the Before You Go, Green Book, etc.

    How about the "No Options Sold" claim? : ) Just kidding. Actually, that refers to the TD not selling anything. Options like the new Classic Italy $285 pre-tour excursion to Capri and the $239 balloon ride on day 6 of Aus/NZ are handled during booking.
  • I have not yet taken Tauck tours to Australia or New Zealand, but I've found that Tauck's driver gratuity guidelines/recommendations depend on the tour; specifically, on whether the tour has one driver, or multiple drivers.

    In the documents that Tauck provided to us for many tours (such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland), they had a guideline for the Tauck Director gratuity, and a separate guideline for the driver gratuity. The common link is that we had the same driver for most of each tour.

    However, on some of our past tours where the same driver was rarely with us for more than one or two days (such as India or Japan), Tauck documents recommended a gratuity for the Tauck Director, but included no such recommendation for drivers.

    Here is the specific wording contained in the Tauck documents for our Adriatic Treasures tour this year:

    Tauck Director and Driver Gratuities

    Your Tauck Director is looking forward to meeting you!

    One of the highlights of your Tauck journey will be your professional Tauck Director. Our Tauck Directors are passionate about sharing their knowledge of local customs, cultural traditions and contemporary topics with our guests, and they choreograph each day's activities and work tirelessly to ensure that you get the utmost enjoyment from your journey. We have chosen not to include Tauck Director and motorcoach driver gratuities in the price of your tour because we truly believe that gratuities are an important way for your to express your appreciation and to acknowledge their genuine, personal interaction and superior customer service.

    Unlike most other tour guides, Tauck Directors receive no commissions on your shopping purchases, nor do they earn additional income by selling options to you on tour. Instead their sole focus is on serving you, and making sure you have the best possible experience during your travels.

    We ask that you extend gratuities on an individual basis rather than as a group, and we offer the following guidelines to assist you in determining an appropriate amount:
    • USD $10 per traveler, per day for the Tauck Director, or the equivalent amount in local currency.
    • USD $4 per traveler, per day for the driver, or the equivalent amount in local currency .
    Please note: Although gratuities represent the majority of your Tauck Director's compensation, our policy prohibits Tauck Directors from directly soliciting gratuities.

    All other service gratuities, including those for local guides, hotel bellmen and restaurant staff, have been included in the price of your journey.


  • Is anyone familiar with the term “beating a dead horse”?
  • BSP51 wrote:
    Is anyone familiar with the term “beating a dead horse”?

    I personally apologize for boring you. As stated earlier, if you view the video narrated by Ken Burns about his business plan ... a tour where everything is included including the tips the hotel bellmen, then the bus driver tipping policy is not so boring. I just finished our second K&T, and I can assure you that the safari drivers are tipped by the the TD, not by the guests. The tipping of the TD I think is totally appropriate because the TD provides a very personal and all inclusive service to the guests. The Tauck business plan that puts it a step above other travel companies is the ‘all inclusive’ nature of the trip. You will not get that at OAT, or NatGeo, or most others. The Celebrity Xpedition was actually a trip where you could leave your wallet at home. But, these are clearly advertised as all inclusive trips. I tip a lot, but I do not expect to be ‘expected’ to tip for services provided by Tauck ... other than the TD. Their basic business plan says that they take care of everything. Not done ‘beating the dead horse. I have sent the following to Tauck for their consideration ... and a follow up cuz I thought the first reponse was not adequate.

    “We have done six Tauck tours, and I think I have watched all your videos including the Ken Burns narration of how Tauck got started, including Arthurs visit to the Wigwam at the top of the Mohawk Trail. I was there when I was five years old ... now 72. The point presented by Ken Burns was that Arthurs business plan was a trip where everything is included and it is top notch ... even the tips to the bellmen. We have understood the tipping policy for the TD, and understand the reason, but it has come to light that on some tours it is expected that you tip the drivers. Sorry, I tip for personal stuff ... room service, drinks, laundry, special assistance. The drivers are hired by Tauck, and they are an integral part of the ‘all inclusive’ Tauck experience. They should be tipped by the TD not by your guests who are not supposed to be bothered by such details. This has become a subject on the Tauck forum, and a failure on the part of Tauck to provide the all inclusive experience could have a negative affect on your reputation and your business plan. The TD is providing a very personal service to the guests, and tipping therefore is appropriate. The drivers are providing a service to Tauck, and Tauck should be taking care of the tipping.”

    Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. I have forwarded your email to management and your suggestion will be taken into consideration for future tour. The gratuity to the director and driver is done an a voluntary basis but we certainly appreciate your feedback.

    “Thank you Edel,

    I have also read the part about tipping being voluntary ... it always is. But when Tauck supplies a suggested amount like $4.00 per day per person, it becomes clear that it is expected. We always bring lots of tip money for ‘personal’ items. But we do not expect to need to carry additional money for the “all inclusive” experience. The TD is an understandable exception. The bus driver is a travel expense. I’m a retired airline pilot. Did you ever tip your pilot? I don’t think so. If the bus drivers expect tips, it is Tauck that should be doing it.

    Mike”

    Now, that horse should be dead. I’m awaiting their next reponse.
  • Just a quick reply from a flogger. Keep us posted Sealord, good for you!
  • British wrote:
    Just a quick reply from a flogger. Keep us posted Sealord, good for you!

    Neigh!!! : )
  • I get the whole "providing a personal service" rationale for the tipping, but honestly would prefer a confusion free system especially having started with Tauck in river cruising where this isn't an issue - totally all inclusive.

    The confusion for us has come with the drivers. On the England, Scotland Wales tour we had 1 Scottish driver that handled the first 2 days in Scotland, then on the 3rd an English driver took over for the rest on the tour. The TD told us he handled the tips for the Scottish driver. Should we have increased the TD's tip to cover that? Then in Ireland our driver had to take a mandatory 1 day rest and we had a different guy. Was told the drivers worked that out between them.

    The bus drivers have been awesome and I certainly wouldn't want to handle one of those behemoths in the tight spaces the have to navigate. I would just prefer Tauck paid them well upfront.
  • Should we have increased the TD's tip to cover that?
    No. The TD has a fund for trip expenses, including tips. Some of them use it to buy little gifts for the guests along the way, etc. It doesn't come out of the TD's take-home.
  • Well that's a relief.
  • edited September 2018
    Well that's a relief.

    We have experienced instances on various tours on days when the itinerary said a lunch was "on our own," the TD gave each of us cash to buy the meal- I think sometimes that was compensation for some minor issue that we may or may not have even been aware. : ) That cash and money to buy stuff mentioned by BKMD- treats (chocolates, small souvenirs, Gellato in Orvieto, etc.) comes from a fund or allowance Tauck provides to each TD.
  • On our recent K&T on ‘balloon day’ which starts before dawn, we also went to the Mara River to see the gathering for the migration and we did see some animals cross. It was not the massive crossing that we saw four years ago. You can find it on YouTube along with a hundred other videos just like it. But we were ‘on the road’ for over twelve hours, and I know the TD tipped the drivers ‘extra’ for that. They also had a night safari that we and most of the other ‘Mara’ people missed.

    I fail to understand why Tauck tips drivers on some/most of these ‘all inclusive’ trips, but presents the ‘expectation’ that the guests on these ‘all inclusive’ trips will tip the drivers on others. We love Tauck, and presently have an additional three trips booked taking us into 2020. But I find this ‘inconsistancy’ in their business model a bit strange.

    For those who have not seen this or cannot find it, this is the link to the Tauck story and their business model.

    http://www.tauck.com/why-tauck/tauck-story.aspx
  • This movie is supppsed to be shown on every Tauck tour at some point during the tour, I’ve seen it a gazillion times.
  • edited September 2018
    British wrote:
    This movie is supppsed to be shown on every Tauck tour at some point during the tour, I’ve seen it a gazillion times.

    Good. I did not know that as I’ve been on six Tauck trips and I have only seen the video on the website. But since it is widely disseminated except on my trips, it more strongly makes the point. The video clearly states that Aurthur’s business plan was a trip where “everything is included” in the price. If they are showing this video on all of the trips, it would seem to reinforce the idea that the plan has not changed. That being said, I watched the video again, and then started looking at different trips, clicking on, “Before you Go” and looking at whats included, whats not included, and gratuities. I can see at least five different definitions of “everything included”. Sometimes ‘driver’ tips are not included, sometimes they are, and sometimes only ‘local’ driver tips are not included. On the boat trips, even the TD tips are included. You must be something of a sleuth to figure all this out. On the ‘everything included’ scale, in descending order: Boat trips, South Africa Sararis, Safaris to other places, and then bus trips which have the least ‘everything’ included but in fact were Arthur’s original creation. I actually just discovered I should have been ‘volunteerily’ tipping the drivers on my “Canadian Rockies, and Glacier National Park” trip, but I did not because on my previous trips when I read the “Before you Go” section, it said driver tips were included. So there you have it. Even those of us who are native English (American) speakers, really don’t know the definition of “everything”.

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file