Dive boat etiquette - list

[Magnolia3]

Any other etiquette items I missed on my list?

Yeah.... how about NOT hitting on anything remotely female everytime you see one... It gets old fast. real fast. Not that I am young and comely, mind you... I am just not interested. See that ring on my left hand... its not there by accident... IF I start talking about my "boyfriend", if I barely reply, IF my nose is in a book... how about take the hint. I am NOT out on a dive boat to hook up, if I wanted to do that I have but to make a phone call.. capice? As for the 'girls'.. my dive buddy is married, his wife entrusts him to me, because she knows I am 'safe' and we have been best buds since 5th grade, all three of us. Just because HE talks to you, helps you with your gear doesn't mean he is fair game. He is not interested trust me on that issue. He is just the nicest person in the world and wants to help anyone, its his personality.

About TP/heads - having lived aboard a sailboat a large part of my adult life... it irks me when a dive boat cannot read the words "no discharge zone". I carry a small quart sized plastic baggie for my tp. It is how I did it on my own boat, keeps the funky smells to a minimum and the staff does not have to smell it as they bag it at the end of the day. Not to mention those behind you in the head.

Tipping/costs - The constant comment of "If you have to ask you cannot afford it" elitism that is so common here on this board, and I shall assume in the sport itself, is nauseating. In my particular case I want to know ALL the costs upfront so I can budget. There is nothing wrong with that. I might be, as one person put it, a "trust fund baby"..but my trust is not all that much. Like my Social Security it is fixed..I did not get where I am today by blowing my money. I spent a fair amount of time in my youth, behind the bar or waiting on snarky eaters. It was a life altering experience. It left me with a deep disgust for business owners who extract a profit at the expense of those who they employ.
Getting paid considerably less than minimum wages, and then having to be at the mercy of a customer who may or may not tip, or tip the "going rate" is a nerve wracking experience. Generally speaking its a rule of thumb the person who is the loudest mouth about what they have and are, are usually the worst tippers. Its the guy in the corner who you barely notice that usually leaves the generous tip.

that about does it for me.. thanks for the thread.

In truth, I am more concerned about the quality of the crew than about tipping.. $5/tank is kinda cheap in my world. Last trip I actually went on that was not a private boat.. it was around $20/tank for both of us.. service was great. Ten/tank would be the least.. if I am tipping $5/tank, the service is crappy and I probably won't be back.
YMMV

 

[Shasta_man]

<<Those I fly to and pay my own air fare as well as my own rental car and my own hotel room.>>

You should be commended for your selfless efforts, but you are also crazy to do all that for no compensation.

While I understand helping people and giving to others, where is the responsibility of others to be able to afford those children and the things they want to do? That's a heck of a list of giving you do but it makes it all the more counter-intuitive to give so much to so many people but adamantly refuse to give someone a tip, which you even thought they deserve, simply because the boat captain pointed out you could.

 

[cbm32]

Yup, I may well be crazy as a feakin bed bug. But at 57 years old I have, mostly at least, found what works for me and what doesn't. I LIKE the person I see in the mirror and I have no problem falling asleep at night. I hope all you sane people out there are as fortunate

 

[lsorenson]

Funny how we all have different experiences from daily charters, to live a board’s, to all inclusive…

I have done all 3 and the shore dives as well… Here in NC, at least my experiences have been the following;

Arrive at boat @ 6:30 for a 7:00 departure.

Unload and load my 3 tanks and equipment and setup BC , regs, and store my gear for a 3 hr trip.

Head count, safety briefing, and crew doing last minute chores.

Boat leaves 30-45 minutes if were not blown out…

Arrive at site, crew sets anchor, upon their return they display some fossils they found after setting the hook, a quick brief on vis and current. Not sure if any operation uses guides on dives here in NC, maybe but not for any of the diving I do.

Pools open

Complete the dive and board boat. Crew is usually near but BS’s with a bud or another diver about the dive. Sometimes lending a hand and once or twice even helped guide me to an empty tank slot. Don't get me wrong, I am not usually looking for help but in rough seas, I do like to hand my fins up... That ladder can really get to bucking in 6' seas!

Crew member usually dives during our surface interval and either is spearfishing or hunting fossils.

Rinse and repeat for the next two dives

Crew retrieves hook after looking for a few more goodies or spearing a fish.

Return to port, unload my gear and drop 5 per tank in the jar usually… No hard feelings on my part as this is how it is…

Live a boards, Good crew, good times, good dives, and good tip! Last live aboard (diving by myself) was around 850.00 tip not to include a couple of side tips on a 14 day trip. Was it a good tip? I think so but some may differ!

AI’s; pretty much as the Live a boards with the following exception, tip Boat Captain, tip DM, tip house keeper as I see fit, and a lump some for all the others e.g. cooks, management, dish washers, ground crew or however the “house” sees fit.

As I see it; tipping is not "one size fits all"

Full disclosure; I do tip and for the most part I tip well but I am one of those who would rather see the tip included in the price of the service... If the argument is; you get better service with tipping then I would argue; "Fire those who do not provide top notch service!" After all, its your business and your reputation... But that's just me!!!

lee

PS Starbucks has their tip jar out in plain site... So, how much do we tip for McDonald's service...?

Don't mean to ruffle any feathers if you took the time to read this but just my opinion and nothing more...!

 

[SC_Hoaty]

PS Starbucks has their tip jar out in plain site... So, how much do we tip for McDonald's service...?

The baristas think they are artists. I guess paying $5 for a cup of coffee means you can afford a tip, too.

I want to see the tip jar next to the vending machine - I'm sure some fool would be guilted into leaving somethng in it!

 

[cbm32]

The baristas think they are artists. I guess paying $5 for a cup of coffee means you can afford a tip, too.

I want to see the tip jar next to the vending machine - I'm sure some fool would be guilted into leaving somethng in it!

HEY HEY HEY!!!!! The poor schmuck filling that vending machine works hard and makes soooo little....its almost criminal! Why doesnt he/she deserve a tip? If you can afford to buy from the machine you should be able to afford a tip, if not go someplace else and make your own!!!

Joking of course

 

[DennisS]

Before you say "that's between the boat and the crew, the boat should pay the crew, why should I have to make up the difference?" Here's some more reality for you. For typical day charters, if the crew was paid the equivalent of "$10 a tank" your trip would probably end up costing you $20 a tank more. Why? Because the boat would have to bear the overhead of processing payroll, pay payroll tax, etc, etc, etc. An increase in operating cost is going to be passed on to the customer in the form of a increase in charter cost.

Maybe I could get my boss to go for that, don't take any taxes or deductions out of my pay, and I'll just take cash without any record.

 

[RJP]

Maybe I could get my boss to go for that, don't take any taxes or deductions out of my pay, and I'll just take cash without any record.

Your boss will certainly go for the first part of the dive boat compensation model: Salary = $0

 

[QLittlestar]

What about shore diving? I am going to dive with the DM of the shop to do a few shore dives. What kind of tip should I expect to pay? What about the water taxi man who is going to shuttle us around to snorkel? Thanks.

 

[cbm32]

Don't forget to tip the cop that gives you a speeding ticket. Oh and please tip the person at the check out register at the grocery store. Mcdonald's employees are paid crap for wages...you really need to tip at least 25% every time you get a Big Mac and fries. Teachers are REALLY underpaid too. Every time I go to open house at the school I take along a bunch of fives to tip the teachers and if my kid got an A I tip that teacher a ten spot. Got a good deal off from craigslist last week. Such a good deal the dude couldn't have been making much so I tipped him as well.

Not sure what happened to the good old days when no one really worried who or what anyone else was tipping. IF a person felt that service was outstanding they tipped what the spirit moved them to tip and didnt worry about being politically correct. For service as expected or less than what is expected the person providing the service was actually getting paid....novel concept, I know.