Question Re: Tipping DM's

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Giggi:
As for taxis, usually a dollar or two will suffice. After a couple of visits, we've gotten into the habit of making sure we have lots of singles when we visit. They are great for tipping.
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I generally don't tip taxis on Cozumel. They tip themselves every time they take $4 for a 35 peso fare.
 
Missdirected:
One more thing, $20 per person, lets say a group of five, equeates to $500. Four people to share in that money would be $125 each. Pay for 24/7 on a live-aboard for five days $125. .
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If you are tipping $20 from each diver total for 5 days of diving then you are, IMO, undertipping. If you dive 2 tanks/day that's $10 per person PER DAY tip, minimum. 5 days = $50 PER PERSON at the very least. Doesn't matter if you're part of a group. Each diver is still getting the service each day.

I haven't done a live aboard but if I do I would tip 15-20% of the costs at the very least. And if $5/tank came out to more for the number of dives I did then I'd go that way.

If I've misread your post, I do applogize.

As for gifts, well, I have given things to people that we've gotten to know quite well as regular customers, but it has NEVER been in lieu of a tip.

I've had tipping conversations with a few DM's that I've gotten to know well, and there are people who genuinely do not realize that tipping on a dive boat is customary. Seems that if they come from a country where gratuities are customarily included for service (like at restaurants) then they are of the mind set that the price is all-inclusive unless told otherwise. If people come from places where travel is sold as one all-inclusive package (one price covers air, transportation, AI hotel, gratuities at the AI...) then they don't think to tip. The latter, surprisingly, even happens when tipping IS customary for them at home. I really think that dive operators should not be afraid to say "gratuities not included" on their pricing lists.
 
You seriously took my post out of context, but that's ok :), you need to go back a page or two. I was going off of the tip another diver had left, thinking IMHO how awful it was. I wouldn't be diving if I could only give $20. The only other reason I could think of to leave a $20 would be if the DM tried drowning me or something.
 
:blush: Whoops! My bad. Sorry Missdirected, it was Giggi's who posted that their groups kicks in $20pp for FIVE DAYS of diving.
 
scubawife:
I've had tipping conversations with a few DM's that I've gotten to know well, and there are people who genuinely do not realize that tipping on a dive boat is customary. Seems that if they come from a country where gratuities are customarily included for service (like at restaurants) then they are of the mind set that the price is all-inclusive unless told otherwise.
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I think this is the main problem. Tipping protocols are, frankly, bizarre. I am 55 years old, and I am still baffled by who we tip and who we don't tip in my own country. I am always amazed when I see a tip jar next to someone who looks at my tray who takes my money at a coffee shop--why the heck do we tip this person, who did absolutely nothing to assist me, and not others in a thousand other jobs who do so much more? I have talked to Europeans who are thoroughly confused by tipping in America ("Pay me once, then pay me again"), and I am even more confused than they when I go to Europe.

Many countries have no real history of tipping. I have a friend who lives in Australia. He told me that when he lived in Canada, he learned that if he didn't tip the bartender after every drink, he would never be served again. On his first day in Australia, he tipped the bartender. The bartender pushed the money back at him and said, "I don't need your charity" -- and he wasn't nice about it. My friend told me that Australians resent the fact that when tourists tip, as they are used to in their own countries, it begins to become an expectation and changes their way of life.

When I went to Fiji, I was told something similar, and I was told not to tip anyone unless their service was extraordinary. My wife and I had a prepaid, predawn two hour taxi ride from the airport to our hotel. Our driver was fantastic. He made interesting conversation the whole way, giving us all sorts of helpful information. At the hotel, he carried our bags up to our rooms for us. I figured, how much better can it get? I gave him a 10% tip, and he almost fainted. I learned later that taxi drivers there give extraordinary service so that the next time you need a taxi you will ask for them personally and not just request a taxi.

I will confess that when I first started diving, I did not tip the divemaster. It was not cheapness. It was confusion. When you are new to something, it is really hard to know the customs.
 
scubawife:
If you are tipping $20 from each diver total for 5 days of diving then you are, IMO, undertipping. If you dive 2 tanks/day that's $10 per person PER DAY tip, minimum. 5 days = $50 PER PERSON at the very least. Doesn't matter if you're part of a group. Each diver is still getting the service each day.

I haven't done a live aboard but if I do I would tip 15-20% of the costs at the very least. And if $5/tank came out to more for the number of dives I did then I'd go that way.

If I've misread your post, I do applogize.

As for gifts, well, I have given things to people that we've gotten to know quite well as regular customers, but it has NEVER been in lieu of a tip.

I've had tipping conversations with a few DM's that I've gotten to know well, and there are people who genuinely do not realize that tipping on a dive boat is customary. Seems that if they come from a country where gratuities are customarily included for service (like at restaurants) then they are of the mind set that the price is all-inclusive unless told otherwise. If people come from places where travel is sold as one all-inclusive package (one price covers air, transportation, AI hotel, gratuities at the AI...) then they don't think to tip. The latter, surprisingly, even happens when tipping IS customary for them at home. I really think that dive operators should not be afraid to say "gratuities not included" on their pricing lists.
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Just to let you know a 20% tip for a week on a live a board might be $700. I think I'm a very good tipper but I have never tipped that much.
 
Diver Dennis:
Just to let you know a 20% tip for a week on a live a board might be $700. I think I'm a very good tipper but I have never tipped that much.
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Hey, if you do decide to pass out tips like that let me know where you are at. I will be your waitress, DM, your snorkel holder, mask cleaner, I'd even wear my mask uh....NVM :)
 
I've done several liveaboards and I always tip 10% of the charter price...so for example in Thailand, boat was $2240, so I planned in advance to keep $225 separate for grat. I can tell you for sure I was the only one who did that..the others were all Europeans and looked at me like I had 2 heads.
 
SCUBAJENNIFER:
I've done several liveaboards and I always tip 10% of the charter price...so for example in Thailand, boat was $2240, so I planned in advance to keep $225 separate for grat. I can tell you for sure I was the only one who did that..the others were all Europeans and looked at me like I had 2 heads.
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and even then the europeans were not embarassed enough to do the right thing and leave a tip?
 
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