HarryS,
I am tempted to remove your post as it is fraught with speculation but am leaving it as guide for others. "Assuming" this and "wondering" that when everyone has access to both Lenbert's email address and phone number is unfair. Email or call the man and stop the speculation that is becoming increasingly libelous. Just ask him and allow the man to answer.
To others,
Lenbert's bus is legally licensed and insured under the JTB guidelines. That is not an inexpensive proposition. Maintenance on the bus is a never ending situation, as anyone with a bus knows. When the AC goes out, he has to fix it. When the tires need to be replaced, he replaces them. When the oil pump goes out, he has to put out the money to repair it.
He has provided a free service for his guests for years, bringing thousands of people who didnt even know anything about the West End, showing them bars and restaurants along the cliffs they didnt even know existed. If you want to tip Lenbert, you can - that is your choice, I have seen many people not tip having helped Lenbert get the Pub Crawl started when we had our live webcasts from the bus - but the trip is free. There is no charge for the passengers.
I am aware that some may think that he is "raking in millions" but what about the slower days? Or slow season for that matter? His costs for legal licensing and maintenance do not go down.
Just last week he had a total of 9 on the bus as a large group had cancelled when he arrived to pick them up. There have been cases where groups on the beach got picked up and dropped off at the first place and simply walked off, using him as nothing but a free ride to the West End. He got nothing for that.
Lenbert has a difficult job in choosing which places to stop and trying to be fair to all the West End businesses. While you may not know, he is related to many if not most of the business owners on the West End and can be easily accused of playing favorites by people who dont really know the facts or the dynamics. It is hard if not impossible to keep all the businesses happy. It is the close knit nature of the West End.
The crawl is only so long and he can only visit so many places during any one trip. Not everyone will be agree with his choices. I dont agree with his choices at times, but it is his business that he is trying to run so who am I to tell him otherwise?
But it is a simple fact that Lenbert Williams has brought more business and more money to the small businesses of the West End than all of the people who make the daily sunset trips to Rick's Cafe combined since 1974.
