How much to tip dive masters and boat crew in Cozumel?

[judydivescoz]

I'm told that many NYC waiters expect 30% tips. I'd be happier with street vendors.

You must not eat out in NYC much! Waitstaff is happy with the usual 15-20%. This past weekend I had lunch at a Danny Meyer restaurant(Marta) that is non tipping. There are a handfull of successful restaurants that have a no tip policy. Sorry to get off track, needed to defend one of my favorite cities.

 

[DandyDon]

You must not eat out in NYC much!

Nope.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I don't like the idea of anyone receiving "tips" as we know it, but I wouldn't mind at all if a resort, dive op, restaurant, or whatever simply added a service charge to every bill, provided it benefited all who contributed to providing me the service. The total is all that matters--that's the price charged. As I see it, in the end, it should be up to the employer to adequately compensate their employees. I'm happy to give the employer a fixed "resort fee" to give to (all) their employees if that's how they want to couch it. However, if they charge a resort fee to help compensate only the "behind-the-scenes" employees, I'm not going to tip their "front of the house" employees, as that is unnecessary complexity. A single, coherent system is all I ask for. I know I will never see it.

When it comes right down to it if I am considering staying at a resort it might seem like a good deal especially if diving is included in the price but once I figure in the tips I just might decide that I can't afford it right now and either rent a VRBO instead or skip the trip until I have a few more bucks to blow. They may or may not miss my business but it ends up being a lot of restaurants that I won't be going to and trinkets that I won't buy etc, all because I didn't feel like I could afford the extra $200-$300 in tips for that week. As far as the whole tipping culture goes (particularly in Mexico), I believe that the dive ops I use are probably paying a decent wage (or they probably wouldn't have so many exceptional employees) but considering that the minimum wage in Mexico is around $4/day by giving someone an extra $5-$10 bucks it could make a difference in their lives and I probably won't miss it when I get back home in the USA and start planning my next trip (assuming I included the tips in my overall trip costs). The first time I went to MEGA I asked the cashier what the money was for at the end of the counter and she told me it was tips for the person bagging my groceries. Later someone told me those people only work for tips so whether it's a fact or not I always tip the bagging person, and generally according to how many bags of groceries I'm getting. I could go on and on (oh wait, I already am) but there are a lot of people who depend upon tips and that is the way the system is set up. I just have to decide if I can afford it before I get on the plane. Sure, it might be simpler if the resort said something like "$800 for five nights and four days of diving, tips included" instead of $550, however, by leaving out the tips that gives us with the option of tipping more or less according to our degree of satisfaction.

 

[jonhall]

the dives were overall the most bland I've had in Cozumel. I felt cheated, so felt no desire to leave a tip.

Interesting. I dove with them 4 ½ years ago and being right there in the national marine park, they went to sites I'd been to before which, being in the marine park, are pretty nice IMO.

Did you not tip because the dive sites were not great or because the DM/staff didn't do their job (which may have been to take you to better sites)?

 

[Hatul]

Interesting. I dove with them 4 ½ years ago and being right there in the national marine park, they went to sites I'd been to before which, being in the marine park, are pretty nice IMO.

Did you not tip because the dive sites were not great or because the DM/staff didn't do their job (which may have been to take you to better sites)?

The dive staff were fine with their work on the boat. It all had to do with the dive sites and the depth limit. For example we went to the Santa Rosa Wall but were not allowed to go down the wall but had to stay at the top. I brought this up with the staff and they said it was a safety issue. From their point of view, they dive every day and it's better to do safer shallow dives and not have to deal with the extra risk. It's a perspective from their point of view not what the divers want.
Another issue is the timing of the morning dive, we had to be at the dock at 7:30. Breakfast opens at 7 so it's a rush to get there at 7:30. The time was convenient for them not for us.

In restrospect we should have arranged our dives with one of the other operators: Blue Angel, Dive with Martin, or Aldora, all give a better dive experience.

 

[jonhall]

but then I have to consider that their cost of living is higher and that, from what I have heard anyway, is that in some places DMs work for tips only.

Why does one have to consider anything about dive staff at all. Several posters in this thread have indicated they tip more possibly because of the welfare of the dive staff as well as (or as opposed to) service. When I research ahead of time about dive ops I may want to use, farthest from my mind is personal information about the welfare of any of the dive staff. All I need to know is that the op will get me to dive sites, give me a their plan, and get me back safely. My tip is based on that service. What others may think they know or what they may actually know about a group/dive staff member is okay for them, but nothing I really need to know for my diving experience.

Wanted to actually comment on what I heard on the morning news today and thought I'd put it in the most recent tipping thread.

In a study (I haven't verified it and don't remember who they said did it), about millennials restaurant tipping, I assume in the U.S. One in 3 tip less than 15% and 10% don't tip at all. If given an electronic screen with recommended tip amounts, most pick the lowest amount. Most would rather pay more for a meal than tip. In another service area, it was found that 18% don't tip for Uber.

As I think back over the last several years, it is usually the younger age group (younger than me anyway) that doesn't tip. Makes me wonder if it was by design or ignorance of the practice. Do you think this will become a trend for that age group of travelers to other countries and continue to trickle down to younger generations?

 

[Brules]

I tip $20 a day as the op I use (Blue XT Sea) has some of the best crews on the island and service is ALWAYS top notch and exceeds expectations. They work HARD to make sure my dives are fantastic every time and I show my appreciation.

 

[oly5050user]

I'm proud to say I gave 0 at the end of diving with Pro-Dive (Occidental) , because after spending thousands of dollars and taking time off work the dives were overall the most bland I've had in Cozumel. I felt cheated, so felt no desire to leave a tip.

Really rude on your part. I am sure The crew has nothing to do about your expectations about the dive site visited. What realistic expectations did you have? Did they not do their jobs? Loaded tanks,weights,refreshments on boat? Did they not transport you safely to sites? Assist you into the water and back on the boat? They may have imposed a depth limit for safey of all on board, what was the depth limit ? time they depart dock is not their fault but managements due to stay on a schedule. I do not see where you were cheated. The crew that gave you service was cheated by you.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . In another service area, it was found that 18% don't tip for Uber. . . .

I don't tip Uber drivers. One of the attractions of Uber to me over taxis is that Uber--or so it has been my understanding--fares represent the total cost of the trip, including the driver's total compensation, and there is no tacit understanding that customers must add a tip on top of that to adequately compensate the driver. You rate the driver, too, so one would think that good drivers ARE rewarded in a way. When Uber was first introduced, there wasn't even a provision for tipping electronically, and no one I knew pulled out cash and tipped the driver. Then, Uber added a tipping feature to the app. Hmmph.

All of this confusion could be avoided if prices charged for services, whether transportation, dining, or dive services, would simply represent the total cost to the customer, including the service provider's total compensation for the services rendered.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Why does one have to consider anything about dive staff at all. Several posters in this thread have indicated they tip more possibly because of the welfare of the dive staff as well as (or as opposed to) service.

From my point of view it's because they are human and I am human. The first time I went diving in Mexico I asked the DM if he'd ever been to Hawai'i. In his mind there was no way he could ever possibly hop on a plane and take such a trip. Ever. This was a guy who had a good job and was a hard worker and good at what he did. I have trouble just grasping the differences in our economies. While it may be true that I worked much more than 8 hours per day and second and third jobs etc to get to the point I wanted to get to, someone in Mexico (or other country with a similar economy) still would not be able to easily afford the lifestyle that I have, and I'm currently living way below the poverty level in California. How is it possible that I can take 3-5 dive trips per year? Beats the hell out of me but I'm also looking at getting a new wet suit and maybe one of those new Kraken regulators and eyeballing other new gear that I don't really need, but want. So I figure these guys are there for me and maybe it won't help much if I give them an extra 100 pesos but if lots of people do it, it just might make a difference in their lives. To me it all seems very unbalanced and one-sided: we are the rich gringos but in reality I am anything but rich (at least at this particular point in my life) but much of my limited income is disposable. So, if I am rich then where does that leave them? I have walked around San Miguel quite a bit and there is a lot of repairs and rennovation going on which I think might not be happening if we were all not there eating that their restaurants, staying at their hotels and AirBnBs, and diving from their boats. We tip a little more and the entire local economy improves. At least that how it all looks to me. As for including the tips in all the services, that's fine too but I'm still going to tip extra for extra-good service. Sometimes the guy at the restaurant that includes a 10% "propina" looks shocked as he realizes that I tipped somewhere over 15% instead, but that's probably because he can't afford to tip extra, which is my point.