"Richard J." wrote in message
.uk...
mookie89 wrote:
"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 17:48:12 GMT, mookie89 wrote:

The extra money is, to me, worth it rather than spend the
increased time and frustration on the Hoppa.

Out of interest, roughly how much extra are we talking about?

The meter usually reads from £6 to £7 for two of us. If the
driver has a good attitude and drives appropriately (not like
a race car driver), I will tip the driver £3. Once I did £5
for a particularly excellent driver. This for a 8 minute ride.

40 to 80% tip! All the sites for visitors to London recommend 10-15% or
round up to the nearest pound, and that seems reasonable to me. Why do
you tip so much?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

I try to treat the individual as they deserve. If the driver, or the
server, or the porter or the whatever really stinks, then there is no tip.
One of the main reasons wife and I travel to the UK as often as we can is
because the people we encounter treat us so well. I have had cabbies,
London or otherwise, go way out of their way for me whether the meter is
running or not. Have I encountered some stinkers? Yes. However most have
been excellent. I do have a bias as I have been in public school
transportation (USA) for over 30 years and get to see both sides of "public
transport". If a public transport bus driver deserves comment either one
way or the other, I send an e-mail to their management. As a manager
(retired), I sincerely appreciated public input. It was usually 5% for and
95% against, but the "for's" really made everyone's day!

mookie