Just the tip...

[akmike907]

Well, my long term g/f and I just got back from Costa Rica where we did a lot of dives. I literally grew up diving with a dive master/instructor who was a close family friend and had a bit of a hiatus from diving until recently when we both attended a class together. It was great and so on to Costa Rica.

We primarily went for a vacation to get away from the stress of everyday life, but with the intention of diving as much as possible with even more snorkeling thrown in (we brought our own snorkeling equipment and rented a car for the freedom). After our very first dive there, which was great, we headed in and being the kind of person I am totally helped them bring tanks and boxes of fins/masks/snorkels in. One other guy was doing this as well and then another couple of guys/gals caught on. I had never heard of tipping when you pay to dive, as I've never paid to dive, it's always been with the family friend when I was much, much younger. I did get all the staff's beverage preferences and buy everyone a "round" ranging from beer to ice-cold coke. We did a dive with a husband/wife owned/operated dive shop and the husband took us out. Later he'd mentioned while telling a story (days later, btw) about somebody's tipping habit. I don't think he was hinting at us (we just did the one dive with him, but stopped by often to say hi and bring his young daughter a pretty bracelet we saw). Anyway, now I feel bad...so I assume tipping is the norm and I should never show my face there again?

Thanks for your opinions, mike.

 

[RJP]

Mother Angelica says...

"Go...and sin no more!"

 

[CamG]

Greetings akmike907 and your feelings are probably for a reason. Do you feel though you should have tipped? If so, send some cash and a thank you note. I am sure he would appreciate it very much. I have found that if I feel I should have and do not it haunts me. I hate that feeling so I would send it if it bothers you.
A conscious can be rather hard to live with. Trust me on that! Ha.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[diver 85]

$5 a tank is what they/you missed out on---probably not the end of the world...So now you know, send em a check or maybe the bracelet was worth much more........Enjoy your future in a tipping, diving world.....

 

[akmike907]

So, around 5 bucks a tank or so is the "norm"? Obviously, one would tip 100 bucks if they made you that happy and you weren't living paycheck to paycheck like us...

 

[emoe1973]

Mike, As a DIVE MASTER trainee, i carry all the equipment from each dive for the Instructors, and sometimes the students.
I NEVER get tips, and wouldn't expect them.

What IS nice though, is a letter later on addressed to me saying that they enjoyed their time and diving with me and would certainly come back.

Appreciation when shown in the correct way goes a long way!!

Obviously some places live on the TIP process, but if you simply don't have the money, then don't feel guilty. Some places make GUILT the reason you tip. Diving is a SPORT and also a PAST TIME. The people running the DIVE CENTER and those working in the industry shouldn't EXPECT tips. if they do, then they need to find alternative employment!
In that situation, a note to say how pleased you were with the diving still shows you enjoyed yourselves and they did nothing wrong to make you NOT tip.

Enjoy your diving!

 

[boulderjohn]

Whether you tip or not and how much you tip varies greatly from place to place around the world, causing great confusion for people who travel a lot. In some places the staff is paid with the expectation that there will be tips, so if you don't tip, the staff are underpaid. At the other extreme, there are places where tipping the staff is insulting, so if you tip you create hard feelings.

I hope that clears things up.

 

[RJP]

At the other extreme, there are places where tipping the staff is insulting, so if you tip you create hard feelings.

I have still yet to see any sort of list of what places these are.

I understand that there are places where tipping is not customary, but I know of no place where the offer of a gratuity would be seen as actually "insulting" or "create hard feelings."

If such a place DOES exist, can someone please tell me specifically where that is.

 

[akmike907]

It seems that on a whole, people don't expect tips for anything in Cost Rica. My girlfriend lives in a a tightly controlled (by her) world where things are consistent and we must never vary, so if we tip in the U.S. then we're tipping elsewhere, DAMMMIT! The poor guy at that first cafe didn't know why we paid to much and was trying to give us change, which she wouldn't except and not being able to explain in Spanish gave me some humorous memories for a lifetime.

On a side note, she is a very generous person and gets that side from her father who would be even more comical in the same situation.

 

[boulderjohn]

I have still yet to see any sort of list of what places these are.

I understand that there are places where tipping is not customary, but I know of no place where the offer of a gratuity would be seen as actually "insulting" or "create hard feelings."

If such a place DOES exist, can someone please tell me specifically where that is.

I visited an old friend from college who now lives in Australia, and it was he who told me about it.

The first time he was in Australia, he went to a bar and tipped the bartender after the first drink order. He learned that when he lived in Canada. He said that where he lived, if you don't tip the bartender for each drink, you won't see him for the rest of the night.

When he put the money down, the bartender pushed it back at him and said, "I don't need your charity! I make a good salary here, and I don't need you pushing money at me."

My friend lives in Port Douglas, Australia now, and he said he never tips any more after that experience.