I value Super Shuttle for their ability to get me to the airport safely and efficiently. And, overall, I think it (and other services like them) is a good value for the service rendered.
However, I do have one issue: the required, minimum 18% gratuity. A gratuity is supposed to be something extra, a bonus for doing the job well or above and beyond the call of duty. Enforcing a mandatory gratuity, and one that high, does not allow me to make that judgment.
A gratuity is defined as "something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service" (Merriam Webster Online dictionary). As it relates to these types of services, it usually implies some sort of extraordinary services performed by the one receiving the gratuity. The fact that Super Shuttle makes this an obligatory amount defeats the purpose and is contrary to the meaning of the word. At that point it is a tax, not a gratuity.
Overall, I have not had an issue with this gratuity and it was close to what I would likely have paid the person in a tip. However, on one Super Shuttle trip that we booked for M from LAX to my place, she had to call me, get directions, and relay them to the driver! He had no clue how to get to my place, even with his navigation system and the notes I had provided. That was a case where an 18% gratuity was not warranted.
I have also had drivers who couldn't find my apartment in the complex. And ones who have thrown my luggage even after I mentioned not to due to fragile contents. In both cases, I should have had the right to mentally downgrade their gratuity to show my displeasure at their job.
If the cost of the services, including the "gratuity," ever becomes what I feel is not valuable for the type of services performed, I will look elsewhere. Until then, it is worth the cost as long as you remember the added gratuity amount.
It seems that many businesses are adding a mandatory gratuity in an effort to keep advertised prices lower and seem more competitive. I agree that a gratuity that is mandatory is actually a tax and feel a class action lawsuit could be in order to stop this practice.
ReplyDeleteImagine if the business suddenly raised its prices 18%, which is what they have, in effect, done.
I don't like the 20% gratuity expected in restaurants and often added to the bill; I don't like the tip jars on the counters of businesses; and I don't like businesses that raise their prices through a mandatory gratuity scheme.
Any way you cut it, it's price gouging and should be illegal!