The exit from the airport was not as privileged as the other end and we queued up along with everyone else.
It took quite a while. Having everyone go through a finger printing and photo session, albeit both of them being digital, adds time.
Once out we caught a shuttle bus to the Century Centre to drop off our bags.
***
SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS ABOUT TIPPING IN AMERICA
Please understand that we have just got off the plane and we have paid for the shuttle tickets by card.
The bus driver takes us to the Century Centre, where we need to go, and as I get out of the bus I thank him for his services and mention that as we do not have any cash we cannot tip him, which from what we can tell should be $2.
His smile turns to a frown and his demeanour is one of agitation.
I'm not feeling good about this but I'm also thinking "Dude, it's $2! How bad are things for you that you need to behave like this for $2?"
My point is that this country, the USA, have put men on the moon, despite the fact they still measure things in feet and inches, and yet they go out of their way to pay people under minimum wage so that the onus of being "fair" falls on the paying public.
Before going to Hawaii we tried to educate ourselves on this weird tipping "thing" and attempted to find out what the rules or expectations were.
There are lots of sites with advice but below is generally what you will get.
Read it and weep.
There is no definitive answer, but I'll share with you my own personal tipping guidelines. If you think I've missed someone in my list, which is totally possible, just share your opinion in the section labeled Readers Respond at the end of this feature and we'll consider adding to the list.
At the Airport
Arrival - Most folks who arrive in the islands proceed directly to the luggage claim area and pick up their own bags. They then proceed to the rental car area, hotel shuttle, limo or taxi. If, however, you use the services of a luggage handler, you should tip $1-$2 per bag. If you take a shuttle bus to the car rental area, you should tip the shuttle driver $1 a bag minimum, especially if he or she helps you load and unload your bags from the shuttle.
Departure - If you take a shuttle bus from the car rental area, you should tip the shuttle driver $1 a bag minimum, especially if he or she helps you load and unload your bags from the shuttle. If you utilize curbside check-in or use the services of a luggage handler, you should tip $1-$2 per bag.
Taxis, Limos and Hotel Shuttles
For taxi and limo drivers you should tip 15% of the cost of the trip at minimum. If you use a courtesy hotel or resort shuttle, $1-$2 per bag is appropriate or $5 if you have only carry-on luggage.
At Your Hotel or Resort
Bellmen - If you utilize a bellman to take your bags to your room on arrival or from your room on checkout, you should tip at least $2 per bag. Generally I tip $5 for 2 bags and $10 for anything more. Keep in mind that the bell staff have great memories and the more you tip, the more they'll do the little things for you during your stay.
Front Desk - No tip is required for the staff member who checks you in.
Concierge - Generally no tip is required, but if a special service or special reservation is secured, a tip is always welcome.
Parking Attendant/Valet - If you valet park, you should tip $2-$3 each time you retrieve your car. No tip is required when you leave your car when you return to the hotel or resort. If the attendant gets you a cab, a tip of $2 is appropriate.
Hotel Housekeeping Staff - I generally tip $2 per day and more if housekeeping does a really excellent job. I leave the tip in an envelope on the bureau marked "Housekeeping" or hand the envelope to the housekeeper if he or she is on the floor when I depart.
Room Service - Read your room service menu carefully. Most resorts build in a 15-20% tip in the bill. If not, then add the appropriate tip.
At a Restaurant or Bar
If you are dining at a sit down restaurant or drinking at a bar, a tip of 15-20% is appropriate, just like on the mainland. I generally tip 20% for good service and more for superb service. If, by some chance you check a coat, a dollar or two is appropriate when you pick up your coat.
If you are eating at a lunch stand, shrimp truck or any similar take-out location, they will generally have a tip jar where a couple of dollars per person is appropriate. There is no need to tip at one of the nationally owned take-out restaurants, i.e. McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC etc. For more information check out The Basics of Restaurant Tipping by About.com Guide, Lorri Mealey.
Activity Providers/Tours
This, quite frankly, is the one area where most visitors fall short. They either don't tip their tour guide or leave a totally inadequate tip. It's also the hardest area to state definitively how much to tip since tour costs vary widely and the 15-20% rule simply doesn't apply in most cases. Here are some general guidelines:
1-2 Hour Guided Group Tours - A tip of $5 per person minimum is generally appropriate.
2-4 Hour Group Tours - A tip of $10 per person minimum is generally appropriate.
4 Hour to Full Day Group Tours - A tip of $20 per person minimum is generally appropriate.
Helicopter Tours - A tip of $10 per person to the pilot for a one hour flight is generally appropriate. If the pilot is very friendly and especially knowledgeable, I generally tip $20.
Boat/Sailing/Catamaran Tours - Most sailings last 3-4 hours, less for a sunset sail. I generally hand $10 to one of the crew upon departure, more for longer sailings or if the crew has been especially helpful.
Customized/Individual Tours - You will need to decide what you feel is appropriate based on the services rendered. Here the 15-20% rule is generally applicable.
Really? REALLY?!
Frankly, I'd rather learn the imperial measuring system.
Then, to add insult to injury they have taxes and surcharges on some, but not all, bills as well environmental taxes added, and the Lord only knows what other ways of extracting money from you that we yet to discover
Most of these are hidden taxes that are not mentioned and are only discovered after you have paid you bill.
Honestly America, get your act together!
Pay your people fairly and skip all these bullsh!t taxes and the way you hide all the surcharges.
Rant over.
***
We then headed into Waikiki on foot.We hadn't gone that far and Greg got that pale "Oh dear, I'm really not well" look on his face.
Thankfully there was a bus shelter close by so he sat down whilst we waited for a bus or cab.
Finally a bus pulled up but we discovered that they do not give change, and as we only had $20 notes ,at that stage, what should have cost us $6 ($2 x 3) was going to cost us more than a cab. We caught the next cab instead. An $8, 10 minute drive with entertaining Korean cabby later we were out the front of Duke's.
We arrived at around midday, and Tiz's prior knowledge once again helped us get to where we were going with a minimum of fuss.
As we stepped inside one of the young waitresses said "You can sit anywhere there is a free table."
We picked one right on the rail. This is what we looked out to whilst we sat there enjoying our first few hours in Hawaii.
Now that we were seated and comfortable the next order of business was - DRINKS!
First up, three Duke's Mai Tai's.
I knew we were on holidays because our drinks had umbrellas in them,
but I had no idea what the water on the table was for.
Predictably, we all ordered burgers.
Very nice burgers they were too.
Who would have guessed they would come with a pickle and chips?!
"Bloody kids! Always mucking around with the bloody phone.
Put the bloody phone down and drink your Mai Tai!!"
As a joke we asked if there was a dessert menu.
The waitress said "We only have one dessert." with a big grin.
A place that has only one dessert is likely to have one really great dessert, I think.
We caved in and ordered it.
What you see above is a slice of chocolate covered coconut ice-cream with enough whipped cream on the side to start a porn franchise ..... or so I'm told.
I was delicious and our first experience of "way over the top sized servings"
we had heard so much about .
The aftermath.
None of us were going to do a George Calombaris, but we could have.
Some context on the pic above for the OS readers and non-Masterchef tragics.
The guy above is one of judges on MC and has many restaurants in Melbourne and Greece.
We have eaten at two of his places and they are both spectacular.
He is entertaining and a great chef.
Nonetheless, his table manners, as seen by viewers, are atrocious .... unlike we three,
who have impeccable manners in all situations, regardless of whether we are in front of a camera or not.
We finished our lunch, paid our bill, including 20% because our waitress was "on the ball" and deserved it, regardless of the "rules".
We caught a cab to pick up our bags and I noticed that the driver was an elderly Vietnamese man.
Being the conversationalist that I am I said "You're Vietnamese?"
"Yes" he said, with a smile.
"My daughter lives in Hanoi." I responded, thinking that it would entice some further conversation.
His bluntly delivered reply was "I am from Saigon."
D'oh!
It was one of those "Don't mention the war." moments.
Later we laughed about it.
We finally got the apartment and it was as expected.
Spacious, clean, well appointed and central.
A great base for us to do what we wanted.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around the main street of Waikiki - Kalakaua Avenue.
It's a condensed version of how I remember Surfers Paradise, but with more, much more, money.
Loads of all flavours of tourists. From what I could hear they were mainly American mainlanders, Australians and Japanese.
We were all three wearing thin by around 8pm and we decided to find somewhere cheap and cheerful and close to eat, that wasn't a fast fried food franchise.
It turned out to be not so easy. The entire area was bustling, with people everywhere, and every place that we wanted to go into was full.
We eventually found a divey little bar just around the corner from the apartment that served food.
It sat about 30 people and had a floor show MC'd by a truly awful Elvis impersonator.
The table full of Texan women next to us loved it.
They come a place that has given us Johnny and Edgar Winter, ZZ Top, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kinky Friedman so what were they doing going wide on this Elvis wannabe?
There's no accounting for taste but these girls were chugging down mai tais and having a wow of a time, and good on them.
We ate quickly and split. We needed to get horizontal as it and been way too long since we had truly rested.
We were in bed by 10pm local time, which was ~34 hours after we had got out of bed on the Saturday.
Aloha auinapo
(Good evening)
The rant on tipping. I salute you! Just pay them a decent wage FFS!
ReplyDeleteI lol'd with "I knew we were on holidays because our drinks had umbrellas in them"