Its SOP at both places I've worked to Marshall out aircraft, no matter how small FYI. So it's not tip hunting,nits what were supposed to do. Also most guys helpfulness isn't hunting for tips, it's the fact that's what were supposed to do, make the guest experience better.
Is it customary to tip ramp guys?
- Thread starter SixPapaCharlie
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docmirror
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Cowboy - yeehah!
Nope, plane was already in place. Line guy is now standing in front of the plane. It's like the bellman standing in the room after dropping your luggage with no intent to move until he's got his. Sorry, but this is just not helpful.
Gucci Pilot
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Gucci Pilot
When I was a line guy in college. Some piston guys would tip $1-2 everytime I fueled them up. Some would tip $5 randomly. Some corporate operators would tip me $20 just to bring the rental car around. None of it was ever expected. Local corporate guys I would never expect a tip from. But usually if I was gonna be out there the whole time, it was usually just to shoot the breeze with the pilot because I didn't want to sit inside.
Didn't matter any amount you tipped me. Nothing would go further than learning/remembering my name and saying thank you. When the CEO of Fortune 1000 company calls you by name when he flies in(who also happens to have two forearm crutches). I usually made sure I would park him in the spot closest to the door and tie the plane down so his wife wouldn't have to. Never got a tip for it but the fact he took an effort to learn and remember my name went a long way. And no we didn't have nametags. Above and beyond service from me didn't come from getting tips, it came from not being an ***hole.
We had our share of cheaps too. One guy in particular that would come in and drink the coffee I made every saturday morning, hang out in the FBO. Then fire up the plane to fly to an airport 40 miles away to fill up the tank. The sole reason for flying there being that the gas was $0.20 cheaper. I get saving money, but when you are flying a Baron, guarantee you aren't saving much, if anything on that trip. Come on..support the home team a little.
Didn't matter any amount you tipped me. Nothing would go further than learning/remembering my name and saying thank you. When the CEO of Fortune 1000 company calls you by name when he flies in(who also happens to have two forearm crutches). I usually made sure I would park him in the spot closest to the door and tie the plane down so his wife wouldn't have to. Never got a tip for it but the fact he took an effort to learn and remember my name went a long way. And no we didn't have nametags. Above and beyond service from me didn't come from getting tips, it came from not being an ***hole.
We had our share of cheaps too. One guy in particular that would come in and drink the coffee I made every saturday morning, hang out in the FBO. Then fire up the plane to fly to an airport 40 miles away to fill up the tank. The sole reason for flying there being that the gas was $0.20 cheaper. I get saving money, but when you are flying a Baron, guarantee you aren't saving much, if anything on that trip. Come on..support the home team a little.
marcoseddi
Cleared for Takeoff
Never been anywhere with ramp service or anything like this, damn red carpet and waters he'll yeah tip em
texasag93
Line Up and Wait
Metro Flyers tips at Christmas every year. A couple of hundred if I remember correctly.
When we would invade an airport working a bug run, we always tipped well for good service as we were departing the field.
NJP_MAN
Pattern Altitude
As a pilot that receives tips, I make sure I hit the line guys with a strong percentage of what I get. I'm sure I'm the only pilot that does this around my place of employment but I was a line guy once and I know what it feels like to get a tip from someone you least expect.
If the guys who worked on ramps knew how much the captains of the same owners yachts pay out in tips, they would put a knife to the throat of those jet captains.
When I pull into Atlantis, I pass out a stack of $100 bills.
txflyer
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Fly it like you STOL it ♦
I let the FBO fill my plane full service in my hangar and I figure the premium I'm paying for that service is good enough. I don't tip them. I think it's about fourty cents a gallon more so for 60 or 70 gallons I'm 'tipping' an average of ~$20 bucks for not doing it myself.
Anything above and beyond fuel like help with the plane or bags or a ride or anything other than fuel then the tips start.
I worked hard all my life and figure now that I have a couple of nickels to rub together I'll pay or tip to get out of work. I hate fueling the wagon myself. It's a PITA.
Anything above and beyond fuel like help with the plane or bags or a ride or anything other than fuel then the tips start.
I worked hard all my life and figure now that I have a couple of nickels to rub together I'll pay or tip to get out of work. I hate fueling the wagon myself. It's a PITA.
jesse
Touchdown! Greaser!
Some of the larger places, the guys have no choice, they are required by their management to stand in front of your airplane until you start up and taxi at which point they're required to marshall you (not that you need it). Doing any less isn't doing their job and they will face heat from management.
I agree it's stupid.
I let the FBO fill my plane full service in my hangar and I figure the premium I'm paying for that service is good enough. I don't tip them. I think it's about fourty cents a gallon more so for 60 or 70 gallons I'm 'tipping' an average of ~$20 bucks for not doing it myself.
Anything above and beyond fuel like help with the plane or bags or a ride or anything other than fuel then the tips start.
I worked hard all my life and figure now that I have a couple of nickels to rub together I'll pay or tip to get out of work. I hate fueling the wagon myself. It's a PITA.
Sure, that's normal standard. You support their job buying the fuel. It's the other things that get the tips. On one pipeline run, I would break off a mainline at Graham TX, call Unicom and order lunch as I passed by, flew about 45 minutes on a collection field and land back at Graham to fuel. The dude would meet me with the fuel truck and my lunch and would fuel me while I sat in the plane and ate. I'd tip him $5 for grabbing my lunch, and he was completely happy with that.