Back when I was younger I used to be a valet and made the vast majority of my income in tips. Waiters, bartenders, cab drivers, and all the others that make their money on tips often know the struggle that comes about when your patrons don’t tip you well enough, typically because their hourly wages are often low. I can recall that the best tip that I ever got was from the owner of a Jaguar XK who gave me $20 dollars. While you only receive a few bucks, so that tip was pretty great. However it doesn’t come close to a tip that Elvis Presley once gave his limo driver back in the day.
We all know Elvis as “The King”, and he was one of the most iconic American musicians who ever lived. Being as popular as he was, Elvis managed to secure quite the fortune during his career as he was one of the hottest musical acts of all time. Well according to a Larry King special dedicated to Elvis Presley, Larry recalled a story about how one time Elvis tipped his limo driver with the limo that he was driving.
Apparently Elvis flew into Miami Beach back in the day where he was picked up by a limo driver to head to a show some 10 blocks away at the Miami Beach Convention Center. His driver waited outside during the event and then eventually he would take Elvis back to his helicopter to depart after the show ended. When they got there, so the story goes, Elvis said to the driver “Do you own this limo or do you work for the company”. His driver replied that he worked for the company an that it was not his. Elvis quickly responded saying “you now own it”, and apparently gave the limo driver the limousine as his tip. Not a bad tip indeed, considering how he could have just given him a few bucks. Moral of the story: make sure you tip your drivers, waiters, and bartenders. Although it doesn’t have to be a car.
Photo from VH1
