December 11-17, 2003

city beat

Hack Job

Five for me, boss: Doormen at city hotels (not necessarily this one) have their hands out to take tips from cabbies in exchange for steering them toward lucrative fares. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

City helpless to stop doormen from bilking cabbies.

by Deborah Bolling

Most Philadelphians give a knowing nod when they hear the expression, "pay for play." But that familiar phrase, often associated with some unsavory form of bribery, isn’t reserved for politicians or businessmen. Since 1994, the flat rate for a taxi from Center City to the airport has been $20, but for as long as most can remember, cabbies have shelled out part of that fare to enterprising hotel doormen who steer them toward those big jobs -- presumably to express their gratitude.

"It's common practice. We look at it as a courtesy," says a Center City hotel doorman who asked for anonymity. He says the custom of taking a few bucks off the top, particularly on a ride to the airport or beyond city limits, has gone on for ages. "It's usually never more than a dollar or two. If they want preferential treatment, they might give as much as $5 or $6, but we never force them."

Cabbies, who can drive 14 straight hours for a measly $100 bucks a day, say it's part of the cost of doing business in this city.

"If you refuse, you'll get the job that's five blocks away, the $3 job," says a driver who's observed the shenanigans since he's been hacking. "The guy sitting on line behind you who agreed to pay the $5 gets the $20 ride. Cabbies do rely on doormen, so you don't want to antagonize them. Frankly, though, you start out short on your ride."

All over the city, the story is pretty much the same: Cab drivers say they've got to dig deep if they want to go long, and doormen say that getting their palms greased in exchange for a substantial fare is a driver's personal decision.

"Let's say [a Center City hotel] has a customer going to the airport," explains a disgruntled 15-year cabbie. "The clerk calls the cab company. "I need a cab to the airport,' he says. The dispatcher will get us on the radio and say, "Give a Code 4 to the desk clerk.' Code 4 means you gotta give the clerk $4. Code 5 means $5. Anytime the word "code' is mentioned, it means we're giving money to these clowns -- and it's illegal."

"No, no. We never, ever, do that. First off, we never call a dispatcher. We have a line of taxis, right over there," says a doorman at a swanky Penn’s Landing hotel, gesturing grandly to a motley array of two-toned vehicles. "It’s not in our character. All I’ll say is, "It’s an airport run.’ If he wants to give me something, hey, that’s fine. But I never force them. Never. That would be illegal."

Actually, it’s not illegal. In Philadelphia, there are no laws or guidelines governing tipping etiquette for doormen.

"We are aware that this goes on, but there’s nothing we can do about it," says Bill Kilrain, a supervisor at the Public Utilities Commission, the agency that oversees taxicabs. "If a driver makes a complaint, we try to get hold of the desk manager or the supervisor at the hotel and talk to them about it. But we can’t tell them not to do it, because I don’t think it’s illegal. There’s a very good chance that it goes on at most hotels in the city. We do tell them it’s not a good thing to be stealing from these drivers. But it’s really a gray area."

Kilrain says that the worst offenders that he’s aware of are the Marriott Downtown and the Doubletree (Calls to the Marriott went unreturned but Doubletree general manager Bill Fitzgerald says, "It’s an unacceptable practice, it won’t be tolerated ... and it’s not condoned at all."). Kilrain also points out that many cab company dispatchers have "special" arrangements with the hotels, thereby setting tipping-rate precedents.

"This is between the hotels and drivers," he says. "The taxi drivers are not making a lot of money and this eats into the little bit they are making. But the doormen think they should be getting a little something extra. Usually, it works out -- except when the employees get greedy and try to hit the drivers up for more than the going rate, which I think is about a dollar or two. It’s a really tough problem for the cab drivers. They’re really getting worked over."

Around town, big rides come with strings.

"Everybody has to do it," says a driver. "A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a package from [a Center City apartment building] that needed to be taken to FedEx. The desk guy handed me my $23 and said, "Give me my $4’ -- and I did. Then this fool wanted to chitchat with me. Can you imagine that? Chitchatting. He’s the last person I want to talk to. He’s ripping me off. It’s a rotten thing to do."