In article , Mike Hughes
writes
Did you give the driver a tip? If not then it's quite possible that the
driver won't give a receipt as this costs him money

A tenth of a penny?

and he *may* have got a little upset at someone using his time without
payment.

Excuse me? He got paid for the journey. The initial lump in the price is
supposed to pay for the start and end of the journeys, and that includes
handling the payment and giving a receipt.

On the subject of tipping, why is it that most Australians *never* give
a tip, even after the driver has gone out of his way to be helpful?

I believe you'll find they have come from a culture that doesn't do
tipping, instead paying people for the job. I've had Kiwi colleagues who
have never tipped either.

Why should someone risk injury handling luggage when they can get
exactly the same fare taking people with no luggage?

Swings and roundabouts. You get the right to take fares, but in exchange
you take them *all*. Someone who took your attitude (not in London;
wouldn't take me because I was paying using his consortium's account
rather than cash) found that my formal complaint was the straw that
broke the licensing office's back - he lost his plate.

--
Clive D.W. Feather | Home:
Tel: +44 20 8495 6138 (work) | Web: http://www.davros.org
Fax: +44 870 051 9937 | Work:
Please reply to the Reply-To address, which is:

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 13:18:09 +0100, "Clive D. W. Feather"
wrote:

I believe you'll find they have come from a culture that doesn't do
tipping, instead paying people for the job. I've had Kiwi colleagues who
have never tipped either.

Not just those from abroad; as I recently posted in
uk.transport.buses, I personally dislike the concept of financial
tipping, and would far rather that a fair, listed price was charged.
If that price is higher than that currently charged, fine - but I
don't see why a tip should be "expected" for normal service - I'd
consider it something I would give for *exceptional* service.

What I mean by that is that if the current level of taxi fares does
not provide a living wage for taxi drivers, they should be increased
so that they do. It should not be necessary for taxi drivers to live
off tips.

(Incidentally, I had a meal in a restaurant this evening with a large
group, and said restaurant had a policy of adding 10% "gratuity" for
such groups. I wasn't the organiser, so I didn't fuss - but had I had
anything to do with it, I would have been tempted to zero it; if it is
expected, it should be included in the listed prices.)

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain

On Sun, 12 Sep 2004, Neil Williams wrote:

On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 13:18:09 +0100, "Clive D. W. Feather"
wrote:

I believe you'll find they have come from a culture that doesn't do
tipping, instead paying people for the job. I've had Kiwi colleagues who
have never tipped either.

(Incidentally, I had a meal in a restaurant this evening with a large
group, and said restaurant had a policy of adding 10% "gratuity" for
such groups. I wasn't the organiser, so I didn't fuss - but had I had
anything to do with it, I would have been tempted to zero it; if it is
expected, it should be included in the listed prices.)

The cunning restaurateur will therefore call it a 'service charge'.

tom

--
Who would you help in a fight, Peter van der Linden or Bill Gates?

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 17:47:18 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:

The cunning restaurateur will therefore call it a 'service charge'.

Perhaps. It's still cheeky, however, and should be included in the
prices - or at the very least made obvious in large print on the menu;
it's normally hidden in 6pt font at the bottom. It's not as if the
restaurant aren't already making a packet on a large group.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain

"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , David FitzGerald
writes
I just got home late from work - got a taxi back. My work will always
refund
me for a taxi receipt - but in this case the driver (Black cab number
86423)
refused to give me a receipt ("I've none left mate") and after me asking
him
to write something on a blank piece of paper, anything - drove off
knocking
my head off his open window (while I was talking to him).

There is no legal requirement for a taxi driver to provide a receipt for
a taxi journey.

Yes there is, a Taxi ride is a Vatable supply and VAT rules require
receipts to be issued.

tim

In message , tim
writes

"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
...
In message , David FitzGerald
writes
I just got home late from work - got a taxi back. My work will always
refund
me for a taxi receipt - but in this case the driver (Black cab number
86423)
refused to give me a receipt ("I've none left mate") and after me asking
him
to write something on a blank piece of paper, anything - drove off
knocking
my head off his open window (while I was talking to him).

There is no legal requirement for a taxi driver to provide a receipt for
a taxi journey.

Yes there is, a Taxi ride is a Vatable supply and VAT rules require
receipts to be issued.

WRONG A taxi ride is not *usually* a VATable ride as most taxi drivers
are self employed and do not take enough to break the VAT threshold.
Therefore a receipt is not legally required.


--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England

On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 13:20:16 +0100, Mike Hughes
wrote:

WRONG A taxi ride is not *usually* a VATable ride as most taxi drivers
are self employed and do not take enough to break the VAT threshold.
Therefore a receipt is not legally required.

Perhaps. However, is is or is it not good service to offer one in all
circumstances, given that many users are on expenses? A piece of
paper costs next to nothing, while the time taken to write a price on
a receipt is minimal. It could easily be done while the passenger is
sorting out their payment.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain

In message , Neil Williams
writes
On Sun, 12 Sep 2004 13:20:16 +0100, Mike Hughes
wrote:

WRONG A taxi ride is not *usually* a VATable ride as most taxi drivers
are self employed and do not take enough to break the VAT threshold.
Therefore a receipt is not legally required.

Perhaps. However, is is or is it not good service to offer one in all
circumstances, given that many users are on expenses?

Most taxi drivers do - I usually do

A piece of
paper costs next to nothing,
Not strictly true, but almost so.
while the time taken to write a price on
a receipt is minimal.

Try writing one out in the middle of the night while you have irate
motorists blasting their horns when you're dropping off in a narrow
road.

It could easily be done while the passenger is
sorting out their payment.

Not if the passenger wants you to give a receipt for the full amount,
including gratuity.

Neil


--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England

In article , Mike Hughes
writes
In message , tim
writes

"Mike Hughes" wrote in message
.. .
In message , David FitzGerald
writes
I just got home late from work - got a taxi back. My work will always
refund
me for a taxi receipt - but in this case the driver (Black cab number
86423)
refused to give me a receipt ("I've none left mate") and after me asking
him
to write something on a blank piece of paper, anything - drove off
knocking
my head off his open window (while I was talking to him).

There is no legal requirement for a taxi driver to provide a receipt for
a taxi journey.

Yes there is, a Taxi ride is a Vatable supply and VAT rules require
receipts to be issued.

WRONG A taxi ride is not *usually* a VATable ride as most taxi drivers
are self employed and do not take enough to break the VAT threshold.
Therefore a receipt is not legally required.


You can only issue a VAT receipt if you have a VAT number. If the driver
(or their employer) isn't VAT registered and issues a *VAT* receipt then
he or she is breaking the law. No requirement to issue a cash receipt
though.
--
Andrew
Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this
communication can not be guaranteed.
Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not
associations or companies I am involved with.

Mike Hughes wrote:

On the subject of tipping, why is it that most Australians *never* give
a tip, even after the driver has gone out of his way to be helpful?

Because it is expected that being helpful is a standard part of the job.
Perhaps the question you should be asking is why the English accept such
poor levels of customer service that they feel obliged to tip when they
receive anything above that.

--
Replace 'tolb1' in the address with 'newcross' otherwise it goes to
the great spam bucket in the sky.