Dive boat etiquette - list

[cbm32]

Sorry Dave, if they stink they shouldn't be doing the job at all. If they stink NO ONE should tip them and then maybe they would shape up or get out and let someone have the job that doesn't stink.

Not sure what islands you are talking about, but I have been diving on Kauai, St. Thomas, and Fiji. Some crews I tipped and some I didn't. I tipped the ones I thought were good and the ones I would try to stay away from in the future got no tip. Guess what? I am still alive and diving. So why had I "better" tip?? The last I was aware, MY money was MY money and I was free to spend it in any way I want or give it to anyone I want....or to NOT give it to someone I felt didn't do an adequate job.

I spent some time in my youth waiting tables. I got a lot of tips, and sometimes I didnt get a tip. Sometimes the lack of tip was because someone was just cheap, sometimes because someone just couldnt afford it, and sometimes because someone else messed up (the cook or someone else that worked there being rude or whatever). Guess what? When I didn't get a tip it didnt phase me one bit, UNLESS I felt that I had indeed messed up in some way and didnt deserve at tip and then it bothered me because I messed up and spoiled someones dining experience and NOT because I didn't get a tip.

I see you say you are a dive shop owner. How about you just pay your people a living wage instead of insisting people should tip so that you can get free labor? While diving in Fiji on an extended stay I ended up helping other divers and was even asked to lead or tail dives. I got NO tips. Should I whine and cry about it? Oh and at least a dozen people offered to buy me a drink because of my actions during dives and I accepted ZERO drinks. I did accept some eggs over easy from a young Chinese diver that I pulled off some coral the current had her pinned on during a night dive, but that was only because she intercepted the waiter and paid for them before I knew what she was up to and that night I bought her a drink to make up for it. Why did I help and refuse anything for it? Well because I could help and so I did. I didnt accept anything for any of it because I actually ENJOY diving and helping other divers when I can.

Any smell you perceive is most likely blow back from YOU. I suspect anyone that takes advantage of others by having them work for so little that they can not exist without tips probably is too cheap to heat water to take a bath or shower regularly.

 

[nimoh]

I agree, tipping is not mandatory.

I have tipped as much as $50/tank (long boat ride, with great service) and as little as 0. It is my money, I decide how to spend it, and has nothing to do with how much I can afford.

 

[PhillyDave]

CBM - I don't know what dive resorts or charter boats you use but I've never had service that was bad enough that I didn't tip. You must have some miserable dive experiences under your belt. Mine were all good. People deserve a few bucks but then again I even tip the mailman. I was just on a liveaboard where we tipped $600 for 8 days between myself and my girlfriend as did most people on the boat. But there were a bunch of cheapskates that didn't put out a dime. They were also the ones who required the most attention in and out of the water. I just put it out there that we shouldn't be afraid to tip the crew for their work (helping you in and out of the water, filleting your catch etc.) But if you need to argue that badly against it then I'd hate to see you on a boat and the way the crew responds to you the second day on the boat when you leave them dry. As far as my staff they are paid for their time. Everyone very good normal jobs and do this for fun. But most people do throw them a few bucks on occasion or give them a 6 pack of beer. I won't accept any gratuity as an owner.

 

[nimoh]

CBM - I don't know what dive resorts or charter boats you use but I've never had service that was bad enough that I didn't tip. You must have some miserable dive experiences under your belt. Mine were all good. People deserve a few bucks but then again I even tip the mailman. I was just on a liveaboard where we tipped $600 for 8 days between myself and my girlfriend as did most people on the boat. But there were a bunch of cheapskates that didn't put out a dime. They were also the ones who required the most attention in and out of the water. I just put it out there that we shouldn't be afraid to tip the crew for their work (helping you in and out of the water, filleting your catch etc.) But if you need to argue that badly against it then I'd hate to see you on a boat and the way the crew responds to you the second day on the boat when you leave them dry. As far as my staff they are paid for their time. Everyone very good normal jobs and do this for fun. But most people do throw them a few bucks on occasion or give them a 6 pack of beer. I won't accept any gratuity as an owner.

that's great that you like to tip everybody, I'm sure they appreciate it, but it doesn't mean that everybody has to. By the way, feel free to pm me if you would like to send me a tip for participating in this conversation

 

[PhillyDave]

Haha! I just wanted to put it out there for people who don't know to tip in certain situations. There are plenty of people who will take services for granted and never think to reach into their wallets. The tipping part in this thread got blown out of proportion.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

So the primary point of discussion in a dive boat etiquitte thread is tipping?



And the answer to where do you put paper is "the wastebasket."

 

[PhillyDave]

No. It got off track with a tipping discussion. I started the thread to see if I missed anything within my list. And I wouldn't put poop paper in a basket.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

I started the thread to see if I missed anything within my list.

How about STFU during the briefings? Some people have real problems with this.

 

[Tigerman]

If tipping was mandatory, it wouldnt be called tipping.
I tip whoever I damn well please and I absolutely HATE people trying to tell me otherwise.
If the money you expect me to pay is part of a mandatory payment, CHARGE FOR IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!

As to making your gear stick in as little space as possible, thats one of my absolute pet peeves in addition to people stepping on my fins.
I REALLY dont like people who think they have the whole boat to themselves..

 

[cbrich]

I agree tipping is mandatory because the crew does a lot that you might not think is worth tipping. Some of you said what if they "suck", but you have not said what makes them "suck." IMO a crew that "sucks" is a crew that tells you what to do and then watches you do it; like load your tanks and gear on the boat, fill up the boat with 1 gallons jugs, get in and out of the water by yourself. If you slip and fall because of rolling action, and their response is to point and laugh at you and then talk about it the rest of the time you are with them, I would say this would be a crew that "sucks." But I don't find that to be the case. I have been on boats where the crew loads your gear and tanks on the boat, helps you on the boat, give you snack and drinks, and talks to everyone. This is all before you leave the harbor. On the ride out to the dive site, the crew is in full conversation mode with the customers, could be answering questions about the boat, dive site, experience of the DMs. At the dive site, the crew helps you in your gear, and if the seas are "rough" they will tell you when to jump. Everything they do is make your trip very enjoyable.

But I get the feeling some of you think, that you should be handed a solid gold spoon to eat your caviar with (all provided by the crew) and every crew member should wait on you hand and foot. If you walk in the boat, a crew member should be tossing rose pedals so you can walk on them. If the ocean is rough, then the captain should be on his phone to GOD, ordering him to make the ocean flat. Again all if this is just for you.

I think $5 /tank is very reasonable for any boat charter. The charters that I have been on, $5 is more like tipping an awesome waitress $1 on a $100 bill. If you don't like to tip, well nobody is twisting your arm to go on the charter, because I am sure the crew would rather have someone else on the boat that is more enjoyable.

I would like to add this;

Say "Thank you"