When diving Caribbean, tips are everything to DMs. When diving in FL, it is the very same amount of tips ($5 a tank, usually), but for DMs who live in much more expensive environment, same amount does not have the same value (vs some 3rd world country). Thus, DMs are more d*ck-ish to customers (my guess at rationalizing it). By far not every DM but some are assholes. Never met a**hole DMs in the Caribbean, those washout quickly, my guess. Though, in FL did meet many DMs and captains with overly inflated sense of their importance, with a sense for customer relations those of an army drill sergeant. I maybe, maybe, can attribute that to some higher expectations of safety in FL, yet, customer service in being more pleasant to a customer is surely lacking vs Caribbean.