Tipping on a LOB in Indonesia

[gypsyjim]

I know paying over 40,000 rupias for a drink sure seemed high.

The Indonesian currency value is even worse than the Lira when I was in Italy in the early 70's. 1,000lira=@$1.50US.

 

[Dan]

Dan_T would know better than I would, but I found IDR 100,000 notes to be convenient units of currency for tipping dive guides, drivers, etc. At current exchange rates, that's about USD 7.50, but it's a lot to someone whose wages might otherwise be, say, 600,000 in a week. Carry a wallet full of 100,000s and you feel like a millionaire. In another thread, in which I inquired about tipping before my (land-based) trip, the consensus seemed to be that IDR 100,000 for a dive guide per day for a diver or diving couple was fairly normal. For a liveaboard, where you are getting a lot more service than just a guided dive, and where will be leaving a relatively big tip all at once, maybe US dollars are preferable for the sake of convenience. Again, my recent trip was land-based, and I have no idea about liveaboard tipping.

About right! I've been diving in Bali about once a year for the last 8 years. I stayed in dive resorts most of the time there & we did what we called diving safari, by hiring a van, DM & driver to drive us around to various dive sites around the island. That's a good rule of thumb for tipping the DM.

Working as a DM is a much better than the average local wages of course. Next year I plan to hire a freelance DM for the cruise I'll be chartering, who knows a lot about Banda Sea dive sites & his fee is about Rp.1 million/day + transportation (flights & taxi) from his home in Manado to Ambon & Sorong back to Manado.

 

[anenomefishman]

3% is fine.

 

[gypsyjim]

Whatever you feel is fair, and fits your culture, is fine. It is a tip.

 

[gypsyjim]

I know folks who do not tip at all, and i have traveled with one fellow who gives a very large tip on day 1, and a medium tip at the end.
He calculates that he has pretty much guaranteed that the crew will pay attention to his needs.
I do not subscribe to either of those extremes, but i must note here that my friend who tips well on day 1, does seem to get a great deal of attention when and if he asks for something.

 

[Bali-Freak]

i have traveled with one fellow who gives a very large tip on day 1, and a medium tip at the end. He calculates that he has pretty much guaranteed that the crew will pay attention to his needs.
I do not subscribe to either of those extremes, but i must note here that my friend who tips well on day 1, does seem to get a great deal of attention when and if he asks for something.

But doesn't he get a tank accidentally dropped on his foot by the second to last day when the crew haven't seen a cent since day one and may have seen through his (sneaky) rouse?

 

[gypsyjim]

At least they know he tips. They also know that many do not tip at all, or leave only relatively tiny tips.
I see his appraoch as too self serving, but he certainly was able to get service whenever he asked.

But doesn't he get a tank accidentally dropped on his foot by the second to last day when the crew haven't seen a cent since day one and may have seen through his (sneaky) rouse?

 

[Cali_diver]

Ultimately, the entire crew works hard for you to have a fantastic dive trip. You know most of the boats I go on in Indonesia and other parts of the world have more Europeans on them than Americans and I have never seen the crew treat one group differently (knowing that they will get more of a tip from one group than the other). I do see them try harder to keep problem guests happy but that is mostly because they (and the fellow guests) don't want to hear them bitch later. But, they don't like them, they don't enjoy them and they certainly don't want them to come back no matter how much they tip.

 

[parrotman]

I was on a LOB a few years ago where my dive buddy and I were the only Americans on board. The rest of the guests were from Italy, Australia, Singapore and Germany. When I went to settle my bill I gave my tip to the purser and she had a surprised look on her face. I asked what was the matter? Was the tip insufficient? It was 10% ( this was a high end LOB) She responded that I was the only guest on the boat to leave a tip. On a more recent trip I was told that they preferred that we did not leave a tip as Americans were getting the reputation of tipping and the staff were giving the Americans all of the attention. I think that most LOB's do expect tipping however. On a trip this year that was land based, I had an outstanding DM and although when in Indonesia I do not normally tip privately, I did give this DM a private tip. He looked at me with a shocked look on his face and said " is this for me?" I said yes and he got tears in his eyes. At any rate, I think that when traveling in Indo the best thing to do with tipping is give what your comfortable with and you will be fine.

 

[WetPup]

I think the expectation of tipping also varies significantly depending on where in Indonesia you are. Wages vary hugely depending on which province you're in. For instance, it's fairly well known that wages in Raja Ampat are high compared to elsewhere in Indo. Which is in part why Raja Ampat is comparatively expensive in the first place.

This is the same reason I rarely ever tip at home in Australia. Minimum wage here is enough to actually live off. Tipping is unnecessary - and something I will only do at home if someone goes above and beyond. I'm not anti-tipping, despite comments I've received over the years. I simply prefer that people pay their staff adequately and set their prices accordingly. I hate the expectation of tipping when I've received mediocre or crappy service.

To each their own. Flame away.