Well-known talk show host, author and renown world traveler Dennis Prager has said the reason he always tips airport shuttle drivers is because he knows others will likely follow suit if they weren’t so inclined to do so until observing him.
Boy, did this ever become true, albeit in completely different circumstances. Baggage handling ineptness at Miami airport caused us to nearly miss our connection. The only available overhead bin space was 10 rows behind our seats once we finally boarded. Upon landing, the hubby waited until he could make his way back to that row (not very easy) to get our two bags. I waited at our row, but stood up and was kneeling on the aisle seat facing backward. An exiting passenger said to me “Have a good weekend!” So I responded in kind. The next one said “Thank you” as did a series of successive exiting passengers. It quickly became clear the first passenger assumed I worked for American Airlines so he was polite in his departing comments, and the rest of the passengers followed suit — essentially proving Mr. Prager’s theory.
Here’s the amusing part (for me). This occurred after about 10 hours of travel, with no make-up and wearing a nondescript black t-shirt. In other words, kind of a low bar for a flight attendant’s appearance. Oh, well. People in the immediate area and I had a great laugh when I told them I don’t work for American but appreciated their comments nonetheless! My Snippet from the Road: Be a good example and others could very well follow your lead.
