Liveaboard Tipping

[yogen]

There are numerous threads on the forum why there is no money in Diving. Dive shops / Ship Owners - how are they justified in under payment to there employees. Instead of addressing the core issue that pay should be adjusted for the diving staff there seems to be an onus on customers to bridge this gap with tips. If pay is adjusted then this will be reflected automatically in the diving costs either in charges per dive or in terms of a service charge. Affordability or willingness to pay is a choice the customer makes before taking the dive.

For the crew atleast it means that there is a guaranteed paycheck for all their efforts instead of depending on the benevolence of a guest coming from a different culture. Good service would probably result in repeat business and boats being full.

Tips need to be on top to show your appreciation if you wish...

 

[Wookie]

Was I suppose to tip the captain of a cruiseship for getting is to and from the ports safely? Again, where do we draw the line, rewarding people for simply doing their job?

The welder is here, on the Spree on a Saturday after getting on the ferry at 6 AM and riding down from where he lives. He will go home tonight (if he finishes) and arrive about 10:30 PM. I will pay his hourly wage for 16 hours for 6 hours worth of welding. I will pay his ferry bill. I will buy his lunch and dinner. I will tip him handsomely, because I was in a bind, and he gave up his day off with his GF to help me out.

He's just doing his job.

Yesterday, a boat came in the yard. He had bent a wheel and was afraid he had cracked his shaft. I happen to have a NDT tester, so I magnafluxed his shaft in the boat for him. No crack. Although it was not my job, I happened to have time (while waiting on the welder) and the tool for the job. He was effusive in his thanks, and I got a bunch of lobster tails for it.

Tipping shows appreciation for making your experience special, or going above and beyond the call of duty. Yes, you can say that liveaboard staff live the dream, or they knew what they were getting in to when they signed up, but in reality, they are making your experience from just going diving into a special occasion. Take the lousy pay out of the equation and look at the situation another way. It's a way to say a heartfelt thank you. There are other ways to accomplish the same purpose, a really nice review of an operation on a big chatboard or to Undercurrent is one such way. Leaving behind some treats that are hard to find in whatever rat-infested country your boat happens to dock in is another. Those methods of showing appreciation are just as good and sometimes better because they come from the heart, but a lot of North Americans don't know how to speak from the heart, nor will they make the time to write a thank you card except to Grandma for putting on a Christmas feast.

When we get a great review in a public place (Undercurrent, ScubaBoard, TripAdvisor) we all gather round to read it, and pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. That actually means more than a cash tip. Most won't do it because it takes effort, thought, and a little of yourself to do it.

I think it was Chug who reviewed the Spree after a one day trip to the Vandenberg in '99. That meant more to the crew than any amount of money in the tip jar ever could have.

 

[beautybelow]

I would recommend tipping at the end of each day, to ensure that the tip gets to the people who provided the service. Tips are usually split at the end of that day and boat crew often changes from day to day. There's really no way for a lump-sum tip given at the end of the week to be equitably distributed if there were crew changes. Even if there weren't crew changes planned (some resorts you get assigned to a boat/crew) I would still suggest settling out daily in case of unplanned switch. Lastly, since boat crew often work solely for tips
there could well be situations where a crew member might need that money that day/night to buy food, pay the rent, etc. I can't think of any good reason not to settle-out at the end of each day. If you were going to eat in the same restaurant for breakfast everyday for your week long trip... you wouldn't wait until the last day and leave one lump-sum tip.

What live aboard were you on that that crew changed from day to day?

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

How about anonymous tipping versus paying the tips direct? I've been on some where there is an envelope that does not have your room number or name on it and you stuff money in it, versus some where you put a dollar amount on your bill and pay it when you settle the bill. I am sure if all one does is hand over the envelope where they put it together with other envelopes, some people might think they could get away with putting $50 in it. In fact, on my last trip, somebody put all the money in the guide's tip envelope and nothing in the crew's. Half the guests were also from europe, although for some of them, they seemed to have gone all out on the vacation, turning it into a 3 week 'all the have to visit places in this part of the continent'. Not sure if after spending all that money for the vac, do they revert to the 0% tips back home.

At the end of the day where the bill is settled, we got some cold shoulder from the bartender. My wife was kind of incensed with the anonymous tipping since she thinks she got bad service on the last day from other people's bad tipping.

 

[theduckguru]

2 senior ladys on a fixed income and 4 diabled vets scrapped together the money to do a liveaboard adventure of their lifetimes. Which one of you is going to be the guy to tell them they should have stayed home if they can't afford at least a $500 tip?

I ask this because I dove with the senior ladys and I know the vets were on their way the following week, so it happens. I'm sure their tips were substandard to what some expect - who cares.

Why Americans demand cheap goods manufacured by people making $8 a month (minimum wage China) when they are home and tip so the workers make a US level wage when they are abroad baffles me.

 

[beautybelow]

2 senior ladys on a fixed income and 4 diabled vets scrapped together the money to do a liveaboard adventure of their lifetimes. Which one of you is going to be the guy to tell them they should have stayed home if they can't afford at least a $500 tip?

I ask this because I dove with the senior ladys and I know the vets were on their way the following week, so it happens. I'm sure their tips were substandard to what some expect - who cares.

Why Americans demand cheap goods manufacured by people making $8 a month (minimum wage China) when they are home and tip so the workers make a US level wage when they are abroad baffles me.

You would want the people in charge of and handeling something like a live aboard dive operation you are on to be on the same level of education and training as a factory worker in China?

 

[theduckguru]

You would want the people in charge of and handeling something like a live aboard dive operation you are on to be on the same level of education and training as a factory worker in China?

No, but I don't expect to tip someone in Honduras the same as someone in New York. If you do, that's ok. In case you don't know, people with the indentical educations are paid quite differently around the world.

 

[vladimir]

Truth be told, the work load is probably not "lighter enough" to offset the missing tip for the passenger who isn't onboard because you prevented the other bunk in your cabin from being sold. Not saying you should "overtip" to make up for it, just pointing that out.

I agree. I do not feel any responsibility to offset the missing tip. At the most fundamental level, I tip because it is expected of me. It's an implicit understanding, an unspoken contract. The crew provides exemplary service in return for extra compensation. I feel a responsibility to honor my end of the deal, but I feel no responsibility for the crew's finances.

Why Americans demand cheap goods manufacured by people making $8 a month (minimum wage China) when they are home and tip so the workers make a US level wage when they are abroad baffles me.

FROM CBC (CANADA) :

The minimum wage in China ranges from the equivalent of $200 a month in cities like Shanghai and Beijing to the equivalent of $100 a month in the country's poorest provinces.

THE LOWEST PAY AT FOXCONN (manufacturer for Apple, HP, Dell, etc.) is $290 per month.

You make a good point, duckguru, but you used a bad example. It's not just Americans that demand those cheap goods, the whole world does. But the labor component of their cost is measly, and it is the corporations' effort to maximize profits that leads to their manufacture at Foxconn. Many Americans would happily pay an extra $10 for an iPhone made in the United States. Indeed, some Chinese customers are happy to pay a 50% premium to get their iPhones a month before their neighbors do. It's Apple that balks at the extra cost.

 

[beautybelow]

No, but I don't expect to tip someone in Honduras the same as someone in New York. If you do, that's ok. In case you don't know, people with the indentical educations are paid quite differently around the world.

Does the meal you eat in Honduras cost the same as the one you eat in NYC?

I am one of those people with an education that would get a different wage in other parts of the world, so I can relate.

I see your point, but I don't agree.

We can leave it at that...

 

[RJP]

What live aboard were you on that that crew changed from day to day?

Was replying to the person who was talking about tipping land-based operators at the end of the week.