Dive masters work for TIPS!

[Fish_Whisperer]

Really, I can take care of myself, set up my own gear, and get myself off and back on the boat without help. I do appreciate that they are around though, should I have need of their services, and giving a tip at the end, just really makes ME feel good.

 

[mwhities]

Really, I can take care of myself, set up my own gear, and get myself off and back on the boat without help. I do appreciate that they are around though, should I have need of their services, and giving a tip at the end, just really makes ME feel good.

Well, if they want, they can tip ME!

Michael

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

LOL! Okay, Michael, here's a tip: Don't play with matches.

 

[mulefeathers]

The only boat I have dove off of was my own. That being said I am not at all familiar with how a dive operation is setup. If you received crappy service would you be willing to with hold the tip knowing that everyone on board works for tips?

Tips are just that extra pay for services given. I disagree with the idea that it is acceptable behavior for any business to get out of paying wages and forcing someone to work for tips. If they do nothing else they bring their knowledge to the table and should be paid for it. That being said if I had a good time and I know up front that is how they are compensated I would tip. I may not agree with it but I would not deny someone a fair wage. However there are a lot of people like me that had no idea these people work only for tips. The operation that books your trip should ( they may again never used one) tell you up front these guys work for tips so if you choose use their service that is what they work for.

 

[Orlando Eric]

Ditto to what Walter said.

PS- I learned to finally get over the DM's who reach up and fiddle with my tank valve as I am jumping to the abyss. I really hate that, but on the Tourist boats I am sure MANY forget to turn on the gas.

As to tipping.

I live about 1 to 1.5 hours from the boats. When you say dives for free.. often it is THAT dive for free. If you are a Full time DM on that boat (still do not know how they do that $$) they will give you free dives when you are not working but show up for a "Funzie" and find out you are actually going to be working due to some factor.

So as a part time DM you drive to the boat and burn the fuel in your POV. Then there is a balance of the joy of getting to help an anxious new diver relax and get that wide eyed I'm hooked for life dive, OR grief of the grouchy I hate everything, I always dive with my ______ , _____. So I handle this by being very picky and only "Going Pro" where I am needed and can be useful. If it won't be fun I don't do it.. I deal with ButtHeads during my other job.

My hats off to the five days a week DM's and I give them some of my Very Hard earned cash.

PS- $5.00 a tank is normal. $60.00 a trip would seem excessive but you may have those kinds of wads to blow.

When I was a mate on the Yachts (150' +) It was normal to get the $100.00 handshake A FEW times on a good trip, but to THOSE People it was like a $1.00 tip.

If you are scraping by and diving Air on that last tank because you are on a budget I can get back to the house on a 1/4 tank of gas in the truck, and I understand.. boy do I...

To mirror what others said, if they did a good job, tip em. If they suck, tell them they suck and tip the deck hand.

 

[grazie42]

You know, grazie42, it certainly sounds like things are significantly different in Sweden than they are here in Deep Dixie. You *completely* failed to understand what the thread was talking about.

The boat crew (call them dive masters or whatever) on the boats around here work exclusively for tips. They set the anchor (or tie off to the wreck) and provide other services, and it is customary to tip.

I always tip decently, even though the only "service" of theirs that I usually use is mooring. If I'm feeding the fish with vim and vigor and they're kind enough to get some water to me, all the better, and if I've pulled up an anchor (or two, as I did last time) and they help me haul them onboard, I'll gladly thank them with a larger tip. In this area of the world, it's just common courtesy.

I understand that things are *quite* varied throughout the world. (If you leave a tip in a restaurant in Japan, they're likely to chase you down to return the money you forgot and left behind.) In Deep Dixie, tips are part and parcel to acceptable behavior.

You are right It is obvious that I don´t understand.

Things ARE different here. Just like at the supermarket you are expected to pay for the goods or services that you want. Some diveshops or ops have boat trips with DMs AND charge accordingly so that people who value that service can choose to pay for it and those who don´t, dont.

If I, as a DM, offer my services for free then that is what I expect to get payed. If I do decide to do so I wouldn´t want someone else to "solicit" tips for me. It would quite frankly be embarrasing and I´d feel that it "cheapens" the gift of my free time. IMO it´s like giving away a present and then asking to be reimbursed for it´s cost...

I know things are different in different parts of the world and I add that into my "budget" when I travel to such places (Mexico or the US) but I don´t like it. I especially don´t like the fact that people who want their pineapples sliced and their valves fondled aren´t prepared to pay for that service but have NO problem asking others to do so...

Once again, ymmv

 

[jviehe]

The only boat I have dove off of was my own. That being said I am not at all familiar with how a dive operation is setup. If you received crappy service would you be willing to with hold the tip knowing that everyone on board works for tips?

Tips are just that extra pay for services given. I disagree with the idea that it is acceptable behavior for any business to get out of paying wages and forcing someone to work for tips. If they do nothing else they bring their knowledge to the table and should be paid for it. That being said if I had a good time and I know up front that is how they are compensated I would tip. I may not agree with it but I would not deny someone a fair wage. However there are a lot of people like me that had no idea these people work only for tips. The operation that books your trip should ( they may again never used one) tell you up front these guys work for tips so if you choose use their service that is what they work for.

As a DM, I concur. Tips are supposed to be optional, not required. Id much prefer my employer pay me for a service, and that the customers get that service included as part of their boat fee. If they then think Ive gone above and beyond, they are welcome to tip. But, I will never feel bad if they dont. Problem is, tips in all industries have become expected regardless of effort put forth.

 

[chickdiver]

As a DM, I concur. Tips are supposed to be optional, not required. Id much prefer my employer pay me for a service, and that the customers get that service included as part of their boat fee. If they then think Ive gone above and beyond, they are welcome to tip. But, I will never feel bad if they dont. Problem is, tips in all industries have become expected regardless of effort put forth.

I agree. This is another area where the diving "industry" falls far short of the mark. Additionally, there is a LOT of grey area. For example- I have gone out on plenty of boats where there was no DM/deckhand (and really, unless the person in question gets in the water and guides you, they are a deckhand). Often as the instructor on the boat (whether it was a class trip or not) I was expected to deckhand, up to and including pulling the anchor. Thankfully that happens less these days, but 10 years ago it was the norm in NW Florida. As an instructor working with students, I am also "working" on the boat. While I appreciate the DM's help (I know lots of them well, and like them), I am perfectly happy to deal with my own gear so that they can focus on the other "customers" on board. I am also more than happy to jump in and help divers re-board the boat, stow gear, and generally lend a helping hand without being asked to.

 

[Matt_NJ]

This is a wierd topic for me since I do not think that I am miserly or stingy when it comes to tipping. I do not think that anybody should ever feel "Obligated" to tip. A tip should be earned and not obligatory, just like any other form of bonus. If you pay $100 for a dive trip which includes lunch, and full service on board the boat assistance with gear etc, then you should not be forced to tip if you get exactly what you paid for. Now if the DM on that boat sit's down with you and shows you different ways to rig up your gear, and maybe leads you around on the bottom showing you things you may not have seen without his/her assistance than that is something deserving of a tip.

In the very few dives that I have wracked up I have never had an experience where the DM did not go above and beyond so I have always tipped them, however if all I get is the service that I payed for, and only the service that I payed for then I do not feel tipping is necessary as I payed for that service already.

 

[mwhities]

LOL! Okay, Michael, here's a tip: Don't play with matches.

Funny thing, I can't! Only one-arm, how am I supposed to strike it?



Michael