The Ranting Thread

[Captain Seafort]

I preferred to call them "Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber." For ten minutes they were grilling a cabbie about the route he would take, haggling over fares (even though fares are set by the Taxi and Limousine Commission,) and asking general information as if he were a tour guide.

Sounds like they were treating the cabbie like a cabbie.

When he finally got sick of them, I got in the cab and found out from the driver that even though they had all those questions, they had no idea about what route would be best, what they wanted to see, etc.

They wouldn't have had that problem had he been driving a hackney cab (or have had much choice in the matter).

[Mikey]

Sounds like they were treating the cabbie like a cabbie.

Except for the haggling over fares part, which as I mentioned isn't either negotiable or in the hands of the drivers.

However, my point is that they were moot questions. They had no idea about the geography of Manhattan, so why question the route? They had no idea of what they wanted to do as tourists, so why ask about tourist spots from a man who a) doesn't know you, and b) is ill-equipped to answer such a question?

They wouldn't have had that problem had he been driving a hackney cab (or have had much choice in the matter).

A hackney? AFAIK, the only horse-drawn carriages in NYC restrict themselves to circuits of Central Park... and in any event, they use four-wheeled carriages.

[thelordharry]

Don't get Mikey started on the Briddish and tipping etiquette

[Captain Seafort]

Nonetheless, given that you work in Vauxhall IIRC - would one of your cabbies have let a couple of tourists have either a) any say in the route they took b) what sights they went to see or c) a word in edgeways?

[thelordharry]

It's the immigrants fault you know....

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... fABlackCab

Very true Seafort

[Mikey]

given that you work in Vauxhall IIRC

Now I don't know if you mean a location, or if you're using "Vauxhall" to refer to GM vehicles. Either way, it's no longer the case.

would one of your cabbies

Most of whom are unintelligible to English-speaking passengers, BTW.

any say in the route they took

Moot. The point I was making was that the folks who were questioning the route had absolutely no basis at all on which to discuss it. They didn't have the knowledge to approve or replace any route the cabbie wanted to take, so why would they waste the time on it? I would have no problem telling a cabbie to take 1st instead of 3rd, depending on the time of day, but why would someone argue the route if they had no idea of the geography?

what sights they went to see

Again, they had no idea what sights they wanted to see. Cabbies over here may have a fair bit of local knowledge over and above the geography, but they aren't trained in tourism and aren't generally expected to be able to set up a sight-seeing program (sorry, that's "programme" to you.) I wouldn't expect a cabbie to know much more about sight-seeing than any international visitor would know - Statue of Liberty, the MoMA, Empire State Building, etc.

a word in edgeways?

Unfortunately, they had ten minutes' worth of words in while they were plenty of people waiting for a cab who knew where they wanted to go.

Don't get Mikey started on the Briddish and tipping etiquette

Tipping? Why, don't you guys tip? I generally tip wait staff 18-20% of the bill, $5-$20 for service providers, and a few bucks for bellmen, doormen, etc.

[thelordharry]

thelordharry wrote:
Don't get Mikey started on the Briddish and tipping etiquette


Tipping? Why, don't you guys tip? I generally tip wait staff 18-20% of the bill, $5-$20 for service providers, and a few bucks for bellmen, doormen, etc.

Oh, we tip. Speaking for myself, I tip all the usual suspects....in a restaurant, pizza delivery person, cab driver.....but not to the extreme that you do in America. Here, if you buy a drink at a bar, you pay for it and get your change, that's that. In all the places I have been to in the US (East and West coast) you leave a tip every time you buy a drink

[Nickswitz]

Well, at the local ice cream shop we usually do that, but otherwise it's customary to tip 15-20% based on how well the service was. Like in a resturaunt if the waiter/waitress was extremely nice, quick, responsive to our needs, she will get 20-25% tip. It's just how we do it in our family, IDK about anyone else.

[Sionnach Glic]

Service charge is often included in the bill in most parts of Europe, AFAIK, so most tipping over here is just "well the bill is for €45.50, so here's €50 and you can keep the change".

[Mikey]

Service charge is often included in the bill in most parts of Europe, AFAIK, so most tipping over here is just "well the bill is for €45.50, so here's €50 and you can keep the change".

Often, a restaurant over here will add a gratuity of 18% to the bill for parties of 8 diners or more. In the Northeast, I've noticed we tend to be a bit more extravagant than in other parts of the nation, but tipping less than 15% anywhere is considered very bad form unless the service was awful in legendary proportions. I'm not sure how it works over there, but over here wait staff is salaried well under minimum wage - a couple of U.S. dollars per hour - and is expected to make the vast majority of their earnings from gratuities. I will also rarely leave a hotel without leaving a $20 for the maid, won't get out of a taxi without tipping the driver, etc.

Here, if you buy a drink at a bar, you pay for it and get your change, that's that. In all the places I have been to in the US (East and West coast) you leave a tip every time you buy a drink

The custom in some places is just to put some cash on the bar, incorporating both the cost and the tip. It's often seen as a n00b move to be fumbling for your wallet after every round. However it breaks down, so be it. I have been known to tip 50% - 100% on the first round or two, if it is a casual place or neighborhood bar - it seems like a lot, but doing that for one or two rounds will often get you rounds number 3, 4, and maybe more, on the house.

[Reliant121]

Of the pubs I have been in, on the house is a concept that simply doesnt exist. Its something we just...dont do I guess. If we left huge tips, the round would STILL cost the same next time cause...thats just how its always worked.

[Mikey]

Of the pubs I have been in, on the house is a concept that simply doesnt exist. Its something we just...dont do I guess. If we left huge tips, the round would STILL cost the same next time cause...thats just how its always worked.

Wow. I can't imagine not being treated like a "regular" or being taken care of by a bartender if you've lined his or her pockets pretty well, at least once in a while.

[Reliant121]

Of the pubs I have been in, on the house is a concept that simply doesnt exist. Its something we just...dont do I guess. If we left huge tips, the round would STILL cost the same next time cause...thats just how its always worked.

Wow. I can't imagine not being treated like a "regular" or being taken care of by a bartender if you've lined his or her pockets pretty well, at least once in a while.

To be fair, my experience is limited because my parents...no, my mother, is really really REALLY not a person for going out to the pub.

[Sionnach Glic]

I'm not sure how it works over there, but over here wait staff is salaried well under minimum wage - a couple of U.S. dollars per hour - and is expected to make the vast majority of their earnings from gratuities.

How can you pay someone less than the minimum wage? Unless American-English is a lot more different than I thought, the word "minimum" suggests that someone can't legally be paid undeer that amount.

To be honest I'm not sure how it works over here, as I've never been employed in that area. But I'm pretty damn sure that they get paid at least the minimum wage.

[Sionnach Glic]

After looking it up, tips do not count towards or as part of your salary if you're a waiter/waitress/whatever in Ireland.