Greek Taxi Drivers Receive Generous Tips from Australian Clients

A Herald Sun article describes the well-being and content of the Greek taxi drivers who recently migrated to Australia. NOVICE taxi driver Zisiss Kontsiotsis explains to the well-known newspaper that he often receives generous tips, therefore he’s much happier to work in Melbourne. Back in Greece that was inconceivable…

“He knew he was back in Melbourne when a passenger tipped him $10 for good service,” begins the article.

The newly arrived Greek taxi-driver realized this wouldn’t happen in his crisis-ravaged homeland. “Mr Kontsiotsis, 63, left behind a struggling hardware business in Salonika for the chance to have a new life driving a cab in Melbourne”. He now enjoys better working conditions and, most importantly, it seems that he will have a better income too.

According to Herald Sun, he is the first “of what will eventually be an army of 400 specially recruited and trained Greek cabbies.”

Mr. Kontsiotsis, who returned to the land of his birth in 1982 after 22 years in Australia, said the city had changed a lot but he still had no trouble finding his way around.

“There’s a few new buildings around, like Southbank, that weren’t there before,” he said. A few changes won’t stand in his way, as he seems determined to improve his quality of life.

Mr. Kontsiotsis answered the recruitment call of TaxiLink owner Harry Katsiabanis for volunteers to help fill the city’s cabbie shortage.

Mr. Katsiabanis said an average of 10 Greek drivers would hit the road in Melbourne every fortnight. He said interest had been so strong he had set up a permanent office in Athens and would hold the first of a series of recruiting seminars on June 14. “They are coming from an environment that is quite harsh and they really want to make a go of it and contribute to society,” Mr. Katsiabanis said.
(Source, photo: heraldsun)