NHolic,
We did not find out Sea Splash had cancelled until Sunday morning. Sea Splash may not have found out there was no band until Sunday morning. Not sure anyone could have provided much more information.
As for the "scam" story, I am trying to figure out exactly what happened - your writing has confused me a bit. But from what I can decipher, it sounds like you paid the guy who opened the door of the van. Paying the driver directly for a ride is common practice. What you paid the guy to open the door could be construed as a tip. Not saying that is fair, but paying the guy opening the door and not the driver for a ride would be like paying the doorman at a hotel who opens the door for you for the hotel room and not paying the hotel. Not very common business practice. It is always recommended to pay the driver directly.
Some other simple guidelines for everyone to follow when taking taxis in Negril, the main being ONLY use red licensed plated vehicles. This is important for many legal reasons. Another guideline would be to never allow the driver to take you out of your way, such as stopping for gas. Every driver knows they need gas, this is not something that a serious driver should have to do with passengers in the vehicle. There is never a need for a driver to take you off your path on your dime. You are not obligated to pay for that.
Tips are entirely up to your discretion. A $650j tip for a single short ride is way too high, but a $100j in entirely reasonable.
