Divemaster Tipping

[ONESPEED]

$10 a tank!!?? Are you guys serious. If a DM is not guiding me underwater and the crew is very pleasant then I will throw a $10 bill in the tip jar for the whole crew. But $10/tank to both the DM and Capt. --that is absurd.

If someone wants to tip a bit extra what do you care? DM's ain't getting rich doing what they do and neither are captains, if someone wants to throw a few extra bucks their way I say more power to them. It never ceases to amaze me how many unbelievably cheap divers there are. My 2 cents is $5.00 a tank is a bare minimum, if you don't like it, go shore diving or buy your own boat.

 

[the gooch]

A tip of $10 on a $55 trip is 18%--how is that being a cheap ass? And to tip $10 a tank to both DM and capt. which would be $40 for a $55 trip is retarded. This is assuming just a ride out because I do not want anyone messing with my gear.

 

[djtimmy77]

Another reason why we prefer six-pack boats with no DM. Of course we usually swing a reasonable tip to the captain because he treats us so well.

 

[JohnQPS122]

We had a great discussion about this a few weeks ago. Search box should be able to find it.

 

[ONESPEED]

A tip of $10 on a $55 trip is 18%--how is that being a cheap ass? And to tip $10 a tank to both DM and capt. which would be $40 for a $55 trip is retarded. This is assuming just a ride out because I do not want anyone messing with my gear.

Nobody said you have to tip that much but who gives a crap if someone else wants to give a little extra? And it's not "retarded" to help someone make a living. DM's and captains are on that boat long before you get there and long after you leave, cleaning, doing maintenance and making sure you have a safe and good time, just because they didn't guide your dive doesn't mean they didn't do anything. Your $10.00 tip split between a crew of two or three certainly doesn't go very far. Again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a $5.00 per tank tip but if someone wants to give a little extra, it's their business and nobody elses.

 

[frankc420]

Nobody said you have to tip that much but who gives a crap if someone else wants to give a little extra? And it's not "retarded" to help someone make a living. DM's and captains are on that boat long before you get there and long after you leave, cleaning, doing maintenance and making sure you have a safe and good time, just because they didn't guide your dive doesn't mean they didn't do anything. Your $10.00 tip split between a crew of two or three certainly doesn't go very far. Again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a $5.00 per tank tip but if someone wants to give a little extra, it's their business and nobody elses.

I have to say, the cleanup after a trip can be more difficult than the actual diving. Having to get in the small nooks and crannies to get all the salt off the boat can be a chore, especially if it's a large boat and only 1-2 people doing the cleanup. Then again, we rinse the engine for almost 30 minutes after a 200 mile run too, just to be sure it's nice and clean It takes us more time to clean the boat than we get underwater.

Charters may be different, they may not clean their boats as much, that I can't judge

We prefer to take a charter these days, rather than taking out my friends boat for this reason alone.

 

[letterboy]

If the DM's and CPT have done good I normally give 20 a piece... Those guys work there butts off for several hours getting the boat prepped, the dives and cleaning up after we leave...
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Sh@rkW@tcher]

$10 a tank!!?? Are you guys serious. If a DM is not guiding me underwater and the crew is very pleasant then I will throw a $10 bill in the tip jar for the whole crew. But $10/tank to both the DM and Capt. --that is absurd.

I'm guessing you only dive cattle boats, and probably not the same one twice in the same year. Ever wonder why you get poor service from DMs and crew? I'll bet waitstaff love you too!

 

[the gooch]

I'm guessing you only dive cattle boats, and probably not the same one twice in the same year. Ever wonder why you get poor service from DMs and crew? I'll bet waitstaff love you too!

There are a few charters I have used plenty of times, and I get great service. Waitstaff does love me too!

 

[ONESPEED]

I'm guessing you only dive cattle boats, and probably not the same one twice in the same year. Ever wonder why you get poor service from DMs and crew? I'll bet waitstaff love you too!

Good point, there are a couple of boats I dive regularly that often comp my trips, I doubt seriously that this would happen if I was tipping their staff $3.00 each for the day. They get an even better tip when my trip is comped and I still pay less than others on the boat. I guess you could look at a good tip as an investment.

And that's my tip for the day.