Why don’t you treat a taxi driver to breakfast?

Did you know that the average cost of a meal in Karwa taxi drivers’ accommodation is QAR 7?

Me neither. Well not until I got chatting to Douglas. I had, much to my embarrassment, managed to give him QAR 10 less than I thought I had. He picked me up later that day, which gave me the opportunity to pay him the QAR 10 I owed, and we also got chatting and on to the subject of tips (I asked… he wasn’t fishing).

I also asked about the important topic of food: Could they make their own, or were they reliant on buying food from outside? It turns Karwa taxi drivers have access to am employee canteen, which he had no complaints about. He said the food was relatively inexpensive – QAR 7 for a meal, QAR 10 for a large meal. This means a few riyal tips here and there could buy at least one meal a day – and Karwa taxi drivers like Douglas, don’t have to dip into their meager salary, which by no means is enough to deal with the roads of Doha.

I am a tipper – not much – I generally round it up in the hope that everyone else does the same. But I’m going to commit to buying a driver breakfast at least once a week. That’s just QAR 7 for me to spend to enjoy a little oxytocin, the chemical released when you do something good for others, which actually helps you to boost your mood.

This week, a driver thanked me for buying breakfast (unprompted and there was no mention from me about breakfast) and another looked extremely happy that he had enough to treat himself to a good coffee. That’s definitely a feel-good moment. So, is this something you’ll think about in the future?