A gift for my instructor.

[TCDiver1]

Originally posted by Go Sharks
Wreckwriter,

You know the best thing about diving is that nobody can see your tears underwater, ya crying baby. If you're going to leave a post that makes absolutely no sense, be ready to defend it.

Get some tissues.........pud (whatever that means)

GO Sharks!!

Your the only one who doesn't understand his post Go Sharks. Due to the angry tone of your posts i can only surmise that you are compensating for lack of other things ...... could it possibly be lack of pud size? Get it?

PS: My guess is that you also stiffed your other classmates when they were nice enough to buy your instructors dinner. That wasn't very nice you know! :baby:

 

[Welshman]

Gedunk

Tariff looks very reasonable. However, I don't agree with the lousy American beer thing. There is just as much lousy beer in the UK as anywhere. The only places I know where the beer is consistently good is Belgium, Germany and Czechoslvakia (whatever it's called these days).

Best wishes

PS i think you're right about Go Sharks. Seems to have lost the plot.

 

[KZMAN]

I myself did my OW, off a Florida dive boat, and as wreckwriter wrote. Fla. boats not only mention it frequently, they expect it. The instuctor's along with the boat crew never fail to mention how little they are paid, and that they have to moonlight to pay their bills. In my case though, everybody involved in my training,went above and beyond, as I had an ear infection, and had many problems equalizing. And even with a huge class, with about 20-30 divers they showed me alot of special attention. So I tipped my instuctor and boat crew, along with buying ALOT of beers. AS far as the DM's were concerned, mine were there for the free dives for the experience with students, as most of them were waiting on resort jobs to start. So, I agree that If you felt that you were trained properly, and enjoyed it, by all means, do something nice! My experience is that they DON'T make much!

I'd like to also mention, that I've booked a trip on a liveaboard, to the Bahama's on the 20th. And every bit of correspondence, phone conversation, web info, etc.... Has mentioned a predetermined gratuity expected. No less than 10 times already, and the trip is still 3 weeks away?....... What's up with that?

 

[TCDiver1]

What's up with the man, man! Just kidding! Welsh, our beer sucks wind over here. But you forgot our neighbor with the good beer ......O Canada ..... your beer is very good. Do you have micro-brewerys' over there? That is American beers' only salvation. Some of them are really good. Problem is there is so many of them you have trouble picking one! Stay well & dive often! PS: Don't be a pud! hehehe

kzman, it's really sad when dive professionals have to resort to begging to make a living. It's even worse that live aboards are telling people tips are expected. I would not use a live aboard that used that tactic, it's totally classless in my opinion. I suppose i am lucky that i have a good job & only teach because i love diving & partially pay for that bad habit via instruction. Although i feel sorry for these dive professionals who are apparently forced to beg for tips to make a living, they do have a choice. My experience in some pretty extensive dive travel over the years is that most of them are younger people sowing some wild oats. Oats that i wish i could have sown, but chose a good paying career first, then got into instruction. Part of their pay is what they are doing & they all know what they are getting into.
Even so, i still try to tip good for good service, and encourage students to do the same. This is really important in most locations other the US as many of these dive pros make little if anything in wage. Have fun in the Bahama's mon & don't forget a good pre-dive safety drill ...... experience talking here!

 

[capnvik]

Gedunk,
I agree that it is sad that divemasters & instructors are begging for tips. We all muse often over how such an expensive sport is unprofitable for nearly everyone involved in it. I do not mind at all when DMs & boat crews remind us about the tip jar; frankly, there are some very wealthy divers who are used to top-quality service from everyone & feel that they have already paid plenty for their diving experience. They simply don't relate to the situation of the hard-working DMs who are not getting a big cut of all that money. They need a reminder.

As an AI, I have been asked by OW students to carry gear (or not asked, just expected), to fetch food, to take their tanks to the refill station. Perhaps they thought I was getting all the money they were paying for the class. Some complained when conditions were other than luxurious. Some younger students (12-19) are spoiled brats that expect to be entertained & rebel against your "authority." Those who say that, if diving leaders don't like the low compensation they should just get another line of work, we DO have other lines of work. Fortunately, the sport itself is enjoyable enough that most leaders just brush off the annoyances, but it sure is nice to get some appreciation.

As for buying gifts for diving instructors, there are many options: chipping in as a class, buying individual gifts, arranging a group dinner or graduation party with the instructor as the guest of honor. Gifts can be Wyland prints ( in a wide range of prices), a piece of silver jewelry of an aquatic theme (www.peterstone.com has a great & very affordable selection), or a piece of equipment that you notice he needs (like Chiara's idea - practical), or the brownies you made. It's just a token of appreciation, and it does not have to be pricey. The greatest gift you can give your OW instructor is saying "hi" on the beach as you continue to share his wonderful sport.

 

[TCDiver1]

It takes all types of people to make the world go round! The pompous ones who talk through clenched teeth are a special treat. The good thing about teaching scuba is you have numerous, harmless, ways to "return the favor". To quote Forest Gump: "that's all i've got to say about that".

Hey i'm with you! Nothing frosts my a$$ more than people who don't tip good service. And those who have done it know the scuba profession can be pretty unglamorous and a lot of hard service oriented work. Humping tanks and filling them into the wee hours of the morning after a long day of herding students/ customers through the water all day is not easy! Most don't take the psychological strain into account either. Yah yah, i hear some of you saying "this guy is baggin about teaching something we all love, give me a break". Well if you have never taught a large class, in low vis. & cold water, you have no idea how much it takes out of you not just physically but mentally.

From my standpoint as an instructor, as i have said before, a heartfelt thanks is what i like the most. Writing an atta-boy to the certifying agency about good instructors is way cool also. I have to admit, when money is offered for a tip, i get embarrassed.
Again, i have the luxury of not needing the tip money to live, so i think the embarrassment comes from the fact that getting paid for something you LOVE to do is foreign to most of us. Tipping with jewelry or something else to remember the class by is another cool idea.

Hey lets face it people like to be thanked for what they do. That's one of the things tipping is all about. People who are pompous enough to determine on their own that the dive pro makes enough money & does not need a tip are .... well ..... usually angry little people with sad pathetic lives

 

[KZMAN]

Originally posted by gedunk
What's up with the man, man! Just kidding! Welsh, our beer sucks wind over here. But you forgot our neighbor with the good beer ......O Canada ..... your beer is very good. Do you have micro-brewerys' over there? That is American beers' only salvation. Some of them are really good. Problem is there is so many of them you have trouble picking one! Stay well & dive often! PS: Don't be a pud! hehehe

kzman, it's really sad when dive professionals have to resort to begging to make a living. It's even worse that live aboards are telling people tips are expected. I would not use a live aboard that used that tactic, it's totally classless in my opinion. I suppose i am lucky that i have a good job & only teach because i love diving & partially pay for that bad habit via instruction. Although i feel sorry for these dive professionals who are apparently forced to beg for tips to make a living, they do have a choice. My experience in some pretty extensive dive travel over the years is that most of them are younger people sowing some wild oats. Oats that i wish i could have sown, but chose a good paying career first, then got into instruction. Part of their pay is what they are doing & they all know what they are getting into.
Even so, i still try to tip good for good service, and encourage students to do the same. This is really important in most locations other the US as many of these dive pros make little if anything in wage. Have fun in the Bahama's mon & don't forget a good pre-dive safety drill ...... experience talking here!

WELL SAID!!

 

[capnvik]

"Classless?" Well, when you consider that, at the end of a trip everyone is busy putting gear in bags & talking about where to stop for dinner, the only way most of us remember amid the hubbub is to hear an announcement. Good tips are what keep good DMs on dive boats. Letting good crew members go hungry because they should have thought about persuing a more lucrative profession earlier in life is what is "classless."

There will inevitably be young "oat-sowers" seeking crew positions for temporary thrills. They have to learn the ropes from someone: The older guy who has been doing this a while. The alternative to tips to retain good coks, DMs, captains, etc. would be a higher live-aboard price to guarantee fair wages...and we'd all better consider more lucrative careers if that happens!

Here's another alternative for gifts for instructors, or any diver that merits a little token of your esteem:

T.T. Enterprises
(805) 584-0144

The nice people there have many low-priced, appealing trinkets (wind chimes, music boxes, light-house bird-feeders, clocks, bookends) for ocean-loving types. Tell them your price range, & they will help you order over the phone with a credit card.

 

[SCUBAKristey]

OK, next time I make it up to Michigan, I'll have to bring ya a few of our own Arizona microbrews. They're SOOOO good! (Again, not all of them, but there are a few that knock your socks off!) I'll also have to bring you up a case of Cave Creek Chili Beer. (So HOT it'll knock your socks off! There's a jalapeno in every bottle. WHEW!)

As for "tipping" an instrcutor....Didn't really read this too much before I got my cert. My instructor doesn't really drink, but as he's from Seattle, I got him a bag of REALLY good coffee. (The man's a coffee nut! Drinks the stuff hot when it's 110 outside!)

Kristey

 

[art.chick]

Kristy, that's a nice gift. I gave my Rescue Instructor some little marine-life ornaments for her x-mas tree because it was x-mas by the time we finished. Got a murano glass fish for the safety diver, a St. Brendan statuette for the dashboard of his boat for the AI, a mobile of fish for the porch of the course coordinator, & a portuguese-language book of Jacque Cousteau in the Amazon that I found at a 2nd-hand store for the poor guy we had to rescue for weeks on end (a job I don't envy).

Everybody was suposed to chip in, but it was the graduation banquet, & it was hard to gather everyone together to collect. So I lost $30. Oh well. It feel great every time I see them to hear how much they enjoy the memories every time they look at the bauble.