We are signed up for the Mears Express and just realized the verbiage on the website says nothing about including gratuity. We typically tipped $5 on DME, should the tip on the express service be more since it is $$$? Anybody with experience?
Iâve seen varying opinions on how much to tipâŚthe one that seems most consistent is to tip $2 for the first bag, and $1 for each additional. I would say that is the âminimumâ starting point. If you want to tip more, you can. But that is an amount that seems reasonable.
I tipped $2 per bag my last trip.
For express, since itâs a private service I would tip a percentage of the cost like you do with other services. With DME you were just tipping for the baggage handling, not the service if that makes sense.
Interesting take. I wouldnât tip at all if I didnât have bags. I am paying for the service, but baggage handing is additional work that deserves a tip.
I would agree if it was Mears Connect.
Oh. Okay. Didnât notice that bit!
1 Like
I keep seeing people say this, and its actually not accurate. According to the Mears Connect website,
" EXPRESS
Limited wait time, direct shared service, not considered private service." (Emphasis mine.)
Anyone booking this thinking its a private service is in for a rude awakening.
1 Like
Wait, I was confusing them! I was thinking of the bus service that replaced DME. Not the semi-private
1 Like
Itâs insane to have two products named so nearly identically to one another
2 Likes
Well thatâs confusing and misleading. Especially at the price point.
1 Like
Like Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane?
3 Likes
Oh i think its quite intentionally misleading. Especially since if you book a private towncar service with them, its almost the same money!
1 Like
Exactly like that
3 Likes
Yeah⌠no way would I pay that to not have a private immediate ride to my destination.
2 Likes
I couldâve sworn that when I booked it, it was âall inclusiveâ of taxes tolls and gratuity, but I knew it wasnât guaranteed private. I guess if it ends up being just my family in a van Iâll tip like a verrry expensive Uber, and if we end up sharing a van/bus Iâll tip based on luggage. Lesson learned.
So the really âickyâ thing is this:
If you do the non-private transfer (coach bus) but it ends up not busy, you may well end up in a private transfer at a coach bus price.
2 Likes
Yeesh. When I did the math in my head it seemed like a nominal upcharge for a family of 4, and IMO going straight to our resort instead of making multiple stops was worth the difference (I booked when it was âonlyâ $200r/t). I was also concerned that if the Mears Connect didnât get the volume of MDE there could be a lot of time waiting at MCO for a bus to fill up.
Subbing in a different vehicle based on numbers is nothing new if you reserved the shared service but you are the only one for a while at that time.
One time I had booked Super Shuttle from a midtown Manhattan hotel to LGA at like 2:30am (my flight was at 5 or 5:30 - and this was when the area around LGA was ridiculous with construction so I was taking no chances). Apparently I was the only one so rather than have me in the van, they sent an SUV (which if booked outright would have been ridiculously more expensive). I actually called them - even though the plate matched what they sent me - just to make sure the vehicle sent was right.
1 Like
As a follow up to my post - our Mears Express service from MCO was a private van, and we were at our resort within 40 minutes of checking in at the podium. On our return, we were the last stop for a full size bus full of regular Mears Connect customers, and also picking up regular Mears connect families at our resort. In addition to being disappointed, we were very stressed because the bus (what we thought was going to be a van just for us) was late, and according to the ride tracker, had been sitting at OKW for 20 minutes prior to our scheduled pick up time (I was worried the driver had the pickup location wrong). I donât think weâd splurge for this again, unless we were guaranteed direct private van service both ways.