tip the instructor?

[Texasdivechick]

I signed up for OW classes about two months ago, only to have the class cancelled twice on account of not enough students. Out of desperation (I'm leaving for a dive trip in 3 weeks), I finally agreed to pay for a private class, took it, and was OW certified this weekend. YEA!!! My question is this: Do I tip the instructor for the private lessons? Is there an appropriate way to show my gratitute for putting up with my newbie mistakes? I probably was not an easy student. I had difficulty with the mask removal, BC oral inflation, and mask clearing. I even freaked out a couple of times. Other than that, I had my homework completed on time, arrived on time and prepared, and did everything else without any mishaps. I'm sure it wasn't much fun for the instructor on our OW dives, but he showed a great deal of patience. What would be an appropriate thing to do?

 

[do it easy]

There is this related thread going on right now. http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=183825

Short answer is do what you are comfortable with. You could also give positive feedback to the diveshop owners about your instructor, give a gift, or refer some friends.

Lastly, congratulations and have fun on your trip!

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Congrats on getting Certified. I agree it's totally up to you.

 

[Texasdivechick]

Thanks for responding. I checked out the other thread. It had some good ideas, such as the gift certificate idea. I am going to buy a $50 gift certificate to a local steakhouse since we had a conversation about me being vegetarian and him liking meat. I think that will REALLY show my appreciation, lol! I think I will also write a short thank you note and send a copy to his manager.
Funny, at first I thought my instructor was a total ***. But after I had my kung-foo grip on him during the mask removal at 40' and he was calm about the whole thing, I decided to change my opinion!

 

[cap_bert]

Congratulations on the certification and getting through the difficult parts. I am sure that bonaire will be a great reward for sticking with it! Good luck.

_bert

 

[plot]

Its up to you, but the instructor is already being payed. Tip the divecons/divemasters if there were any, becuase they arn't getting paid (so give them cash).

If it was just you and the instructor, than it's different circumstances. In which case, I'd only tip if I was a particularly large pain in the ---... and it'd be a gift card, not cash.

Congrats on getting certified!


Also, tip all future boat operators/diveleaders you have (cash will work). And do it without exception unless they really sucked and you felt your life was in danger do to their incompetance... they can't control if the dive sucked because of poor vis or something though.

 

[RS]

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT TIPPING ANYONE WHOSE PROFESSION IS REMOTELY RELATED TO SCUBADIVING; ESPECIALLY THE NITWITS WHO HELP YOU SURVIVE YOUR INTRODUCTORY UNDERWATER FREAKOUT SESSION, YOU IDIOT!

Courtesy BlackCoral.

Seriously. You tip the guys who (maybe) help you hook up your rig, and watch to be sure you're OK on the surface. What about the folks that are diving with you and watching you full time, helping you remember the instruction, helping you not freak out. They're showing you how to survive exploring the underwater world.

Do what you feel is right.


BTW, I'm not an instructor or remotely related to any scuba profession in anyway, other than a fun hobby.

Fun and really expensive, what with all the gear purchases and tips...!

 

[Texasdivechick]

Well, my instructor did not help me with any of my gear after the first night, and even then, he never actually helped lift or carry anything. I was expected to lug all of that gear around myself (and rightfully so). That includes walking up and down a 100' staircase to and from the water (the OW lake was at the bottom of a canyon). OUCH! But, I was grateful that he insisted I do all of the proper skills necessary and that when I DID freak out, like shooting straight to the surface in the pool after water got up my nose, he made me do it over and over until I had it down. He did not accept any shortcuts. I really want to thank him for that, even though at the time I was pretty pissed.
So, I will pick up a gift certificate tomorrow before I return all of my cold water gear back to the dive shop. Thanks again to all the responders.

 

[Charlie59]

For private lessons you pay a premium, a gift is probably more appropriate.

If you are compelled to give a tip to an instructor in a regular class, man, pass on the instructors name.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Just because a private class costs more does not mean the instructor was paid more. Some instructors are on salery, some hourly, some daily, some by class, some get one of those plus a bump per student, some get piece rate commissions, all usually not enough. For me currently I would make less total and less per hour teaching a private. Gratuity is greatly appriciated.