Cab, limo drivers take pulse of tourists

Over the weekend, I asked cab and limo drivers up and down the Strip: Which Vegas shows do their riders love and hate the most? They say customers' best word-of-mouth goes to "O," "Jersey Boys," Cher, Danny Gans, "Phantom" and Bette Midler. Their worst word-of-mouth: "Criss Angel Believe."

But these 16 drivers say they don't hear many complaints about shows or even show prices. Instead, what bothers tourists are high food and alcohol prices, drivers say. In fact, two businesses benefiting from cab rides are the cheaper eats and drinks of In-N-Out Burger and liquor stores.

"When they come out of the airport, they say, 'Can you take us to In-N-Out?'" says limo driver Javier Gonzalez. Tourists also stop at In-N-Out on their way out of town. "They want to take it back home," Gonzalez says. "They pay $70 on a limo just to go to In-N-Out. That's crazy." Several other drivers back this up.

Limo driver Steve Fragale, when asked if anything in town is recession-proof, says: "You know what's recession-proof? Liquor stores. The more bummed people are, the more they want to forget their problems, and alcohol is their friend."

Cabdriver Jeff Chandler says some new arrivals get him to stop at the grocery store.

"They want to grab munchies and sodas for their rooms, because prices have gone up so high" on the Strip, Chandler says.

Hotels have cut room rates and offer gambling vouchers to keep people coming. That's a welcome relief. It has also tweaked the demographic. Drivers used to talk about how many visitors were cash-flush gamblers looking for good times.

"Now, they're more touristy" visitors, Fragale says. "It's very strange, seeing people walking by craps tables, holding their kids' hands. ... I think (hotels) are trying to adjust."

This could partly explain why some drivers say rides to nightclubs are down. Some say trips to the luxury expense of golf courses are also down.

Meanwhile, a family of five could still pay about $30 per person for a buffet, $150 for one meal. Cab customers object to such food prices, as well as paying $7 for a bottle of beer at a walk-up hotel bar, says cabdriver Les Mraz.

"That's the biggest complaint I get," Mraz says. "The city should reduce dining costs and their liquor" prices.

Cabdriver Isam Arar gets more people asking him to take them downtown, for more reasonably priced food and drinks, and for low-limit gambling. He says some Strip buffets have risen from $20 to $40 over the past few years and haven't tamped prices to accommodate cheaper-room tourists.

Arar stresses that tourists are generally happy, but he frequently hears people object, "They charged me $18 for a cocktail," and "We've come here for so many years, but the prices are getting too high for us."

"Let's face it. If you go to a club, you spend $10 for a bottle of water. It's too much," Arar says.

Some people who can still afford limo rides think hotels, with shrinking staffs, need to recommit themselves to maximized service, says limo driver Joseph Holness (while dressed in an immaculate suit and Fedora).

"If you're gonna service a 5,000-room hotel with four bellmen, it's not gonna work out," Holness says. "It's not about the dollar. It's about how you treat the guests. A guest is my paycheck, and if you don't treat the guest right, they won't come back."

Then again, Fragale (also dressed in a spotlessly pressed suit) says some hotel service has weakened simply because a few workers have lost their zest for presentation and knowledge about Vegas.

"You start (a job) at 100 percent. Then they get comfortable. Sloppy. Some people -- you can just tell they stay professional, or they take things for granted and get lazy," Fragale says.

In all this, Fragale says, one type of attitude hasn't changed:

"I have a lot of girls (as potential riders) who think, 'I'm pretty, I have huge boobs, I should get everything for free.' Well, noooo," Fragale says.

THE SHOWS

It's remarkable how almost every one of these cab and limo drivers talk about good buzz for "O" and "Jersey Boys," and they relate nearly as much positive tourist feedback for "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular," Cher and Midler.

Several drivers use almost the same words in saying, as cabdriver Kevin Kucharas puts it, "I've never heard a bad word about" Danny Gans.

Other shows that earn good word-of-mouth range from a gamut of Cirque du Soleil shows -- "Love," "Ka," "Mystere" and "Zumanity" -- to "Le Reve," "Defending the Caveman" and Lance Burton.

Some typical responses:

•"'Jersey Boys' is real popular," says Herb Kirkland.

•Cabdriver Alex Ascencio says a fare just told him Terry Fator is fun: "She said he's very nice, but she said he's for children."

•And "Blue Man Group" still gets very good notices in cabs, with an exception or two. Driver Duane Irons qualifies that kids "definitely" like it.

I didn't ask any drivers about specific shows. For instance, not once did I ask, "What do people think of Criss Angel's show?" Instead, I asked: What are the shows tourists like the most, and are there any that they hate? (I didn't want to skew answers for or against any shows in particular.)

Some drivers say they pick up an occasional, unsatisfied customer of, say, "Blue Man" or Midler. But a handful of these 16 drivers say a lot of riders claim they get very turned off by Angel's "Believe," and quite a few walk out.

"The Angel deal -- forget it," says Mraz, who hasn't seen the show. "People want their money back. They see him on stage for 20 minutes of the hour-20, and they can see how (his tricks are) done. It's that terrible." (I think Angel is on stage for more than 20 minutes, but I understand the sentiment.)

But one driver -- Irons -- says there are people who like "Believe," "except maybe they want less dancing and more illusions."

THE TAXI BUSINESS

The only solid point of contention between drivers is quite a few say their fares aren't suffering in this economy, while others say business is noticeably worse.

"We're getting the same amount as last year," says a guy who would only give me his first name, Mack.

"I keep close records," says Mark Stirek. "It's far from terrible. Guys complain all the time, but it's not that bad."

Then again, Mraz, who also works in real estate, says his fares have been off by 50 percent at times.

"The problem is there are too many taxis" for the number of tourists, says Branko Vidovic, who spent the weekend shuttling post-Thanksgiving shoppers to The Mirage, Mandalay Bay and Fremont Street Experience, but also to the affordable shopping of Las Vegas Premium Outlets and Boulevard Mall.

Fragale says the biggest frustration in driving is simply the nature of some tippers.

"You hear people telling stories back and forth about the thousands of dollars they've just gambled, and at the end of a $70 ride, they look through their hundreds and fifties for one-dollar bills" to tip out, he says. "They want the great service, but they want to skimp on showing appreciation for it."

Holness explains that if people used to pay up to $500 for a Bellagio stay before, but now get a hotel deal for two nights for $150, "You don't expect to get a $10 tip from that guest."

Not surprisingly, Arar hears the most basic of age-old complaints.

"They're unhappy about the machines" in the casino, Arar says. "They aren't winning. The machines are very tired."

The guy who went only by "Mack" advises hotels do the unthinkable to help the economy.

"They need to let people win," Mack says, "because a lot of people lose here."

TIPS FOR TOURISTS

Stirek says if he were to advise tourists where to expand their horizons, he'd convince them to add Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon to their itinerary. Likewise, Gonzalez and Holness say more people should check out Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.

These drivers aren't solely looking for big-buck rides to the great outdoors. Sure, Stirek picked up $150 driving a cab full of people through the Red Rock loop. But he says tourists don't need him. They can just rent motorcycles to take a Red Rock ride.

"People should see more of that stuff. It's incredible," he says.

Doug Elfman's column appears on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Contact him at 383-0391 or e-mail him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.