Some Musings on Etiquette (Hey what's that) When in Cozumel and Other "Stuff"

[Diver Kat]

Well we make a point of tipping everyday, and totally by accident came up with a way that it's pretty obvious to everyone on the boat that. (I'm with Don on making it obvious to others as I've seen too many people rave about their great dives and walk off without tipping a dime.) Since I'm kind of an over-organized person, I would usually divide our trip money up into separate envelopes for food, diving tips, cabs, etc. For whatever reason, one day - ather than just an envelope - I brought a small card for the tip money. Then we started bringing cards for every day's tip and writing crazy fish or diving jokes in the cards. The DO started reading the jokes to the whole boat. So now it's habit to give her the envelope shortly after the last dive as we head back to the pier. She pulls out the tip money and proceeds to read the joke. It's a silly thing, but we have a lot of fun with it.

 

[cvchief]

Well we make a point of tipping everyday, and totally by accident came up with a way that it's pretty obvious to everyone on the boat that. (I'm with Don on making it obvious to others as I've seen too many people rave about their great dives and walk off without tipping a dime.) Since I'm kind of an over-organized person, I would usually divide our trip money up into separate envelopes for food, diving tips, cabs, etc. For whatever reason, one day - ather than just an envelope - I brought a small card for the tip money. Then we started bringing cards for every day's tip and writing crazy fish or diving jokes in the cards. The DO started reading the jokes to the whole boat. So now it's habit to give her the envelope shortly after the last dive as we head back to the pier. She pulls out the tip money and proceeds to read the joke. It's a silly thing, but we have a lot of fun with it.

And where is her "tip jar"?

 

[Gdog]

Jen, thanks for starting this thread. I know we all have endured the newer coz divers with their huge rolling bags, no room on the boat for anything else; as well as hoping the DM and boat capitan were tipped accordingly daily, as these hard working people have become friends over the years. No one took the time to explain these things to us when we started going, we had to figure it out. Thanks for posting, and I hope every one new to Coz gets to read this.

 

[Diver Kat]

And where is her "tip jar"?

LOL ..... well to make it a bit more obvious (as you well know!) her tips have been known to frequently go down the top!

 

[shake-and-bake]

Someone doing this very thing many years ago alerted me to the tip the boat guys procedure. So remember - new divers or even experienced ones may not be aware that tipping should be done! I do what Don does and have had several people over several trips pull me aside and ask "oh my gosh are we supposed to tip - we had no idea".

Had I not found this board I would not have known about standard tipping procedures or amounts. And since I was the only diver for the first four days of my first boat-diving trip, I may have stiffed the crew each day although I would have gladly tipped had I known. So some of those non-tippers may just be new and unprepared. Or they may be tightwads.

 

[Mike]

I dislike the American idea that waiters, etc. work for tips to the extent that 15% is expected for their cost of living needs. Employers should pay wages and charge accordingly. It is a standard tho so all I can do is drag my feet I guess, while going with the flow grudgingly.

You're talking about dive ops in Cozumel too aren't you?

That statment you made truly displays the irony and the rationalizations of this whole thing better then anything else.

You have issues in regard to USA restaurant tipping but you aren't against tipping DM's or boat crews in Mexico? WTF?

That just shows you how every single person draws their own personal lines in the sand in regard to tipping and how personal tipping is, one person feels this industry should get tips, this one shouldn't, this one should get this amount, this one this percentage.

Seriously folks, I can't roll my eyes fast enough at stuff like this discussion.

Tip what you want, don't tip, tip large, tip small, tip with advice, tip with beads and trinkets, tip with stock certificates, tip with cash, tip with sea shells, tip with a t-shirt, tip with a nice smile and a thank you... or don't tip at all.

There ain't no right or wrong, their ain't no standard tip.

Tip based on your HEART and you won't go wrong.

I'll tip or not tip any thing or any amount I want and I don't give a rats ass about somebody on the boat who approves or disapproves one way or the other as I'm getting off the boat, whether I tipped or didn't, whether I am catching them up at the end of the week or daily or maybe for all you know I slapped a Giesel on the guy on the first day and paid all my tips in advance, and told him, "This is for the great week of diving and service we are going to have with you."

It's none of anybodies business, and most likely whatever assumptions anybody makes about anybody else and their tipping, I'll gurantee you're probably going to be wrong anyways. Just dive and enjoy your self and don't worry about whether somebody tipped to your satisfaction or not, it's none of your business. You're probably way more worried then the DM is in the first place.

 

[cvchief]

I asked on here about tipping on my first dive trip to Coz. Man, that ignited a firestorm. Is it more personal on Coz because some many people come to think of Coz as "their" island and the Dive op as "their" dive op? You have to admit that the place generates that feeling. Does anyone get that involved in discussing how much to tip the staff at their local chain restaurant? (Disclaimer: We are healthy tippers.....)

 

[DandyDon]

It's true, mfinley919 - I do have conflicting feelings.

 

[Diver Kat]

I asked on here about tipping on my first dive trip to Coz. Man, that ignited a firestorm. Is it more personal on Coz because some many people come to think of Coz as "their" island and the Dive op as "their" dive op? You have to admit that the place generates that feeling. Does anyone get that involved in discussing how much to tip the staff at their local chain restaurant? (Disclaimer: We are healthy tippers.....)

I think you hit the nail on the head ... we all come to know people on Coz that become very familiar, even friends after awhile, so we all take it a bit more personal. Although I will say having waited tables in my early years, I do also pay attention to tipping in restaurants and I would get pissed when I'm out with someone that tips extremely poor for good service. I have no complaints about low to no tipping for extremely poor service.

 

[dmoore19]

Tipping is up to the customer. Tipping is a personal decision. There are guide lines for tipping when going to places like Coz. All these things are true.

Now to the heart of the matter. The folks that DM and crew the boat make their living basically on tips. Just like wait staff at hotels and resorts. That is how they make their living. Unless you have made your living working for tips you might not understand this. If you have the money to go to a dive destination another $50 bucks ain't gonna kill ya. If it does then you probably should have stayed home. If you don't think you need to tip, then schlep your tanks yourself, figure out how to get your camera on and off the boat on your own, don't use the rinse tanks, keep track of your own fins, don't expect someone to help you with that first step onto the boat to steady you when it's rocking around, don't expect the DM to help out when you have a pesky mask leak or a broken strap, don't eat that fresh fruit or snacks they bring along and serve you during a surface interval. I have seen these folks do things like loan a mask to somebody that lost one, dive back in to pick up weight pockets that got dropped, help sort out a weighting problem for the newbie, go the extra mile to make sure you understand the dive plan, work hard at finding that seahorse you want to see. These folks do a lot of work to make your vacation and diving experience a fun filled experience. If you don't appreciate their help, do it yourself and don't tip them. These are the same people that will risk their lives to save yours if you get YOURSELF into trouble. An extra $10/day for a 2 tank dive is well worth it.

If someone hired a dive op in Cozumel that didn't do their best to provide these services who among you would b!itch and complain? Personally I get upset when I see somebody who has the resources to go on a trip to a place like that and then turns cheapassed. What difference does a couple of bucks make in your life? What difference will that few bucks make in their lives? I know some of them are trying not only to provide for their immediate family but their extended family. Perhaps you should talk to them a little and find out a little about them, they are really amazing folks. Tip for good service, it is amazing how much the better service you will receive for a couple of bucks.