At least here in NJ, boat crew are pretty much "friends of the owner who help out" rather than "employees" per se.
Tipping Divemasters
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At least here in NJ, boat crew are pretty much "friends of the owner who help out" rather than "employees" per se.
seeker242
Contributor
Normally 20%, which ends up being about $5 per tank. I have my own tanks. If they put a DM/guide in the water, that would warrant a higher tip IMO.
i really need to stop reading these "tipping" threads. haha
i know i am part of a very small minority of people that just does not believe that i "owe" anybody anything. but at least i am willing to admit it.
as far as my "real" job......i chose my career. i get paid to do my job. i show up on time. i do the best job i can. i go home when the day is done. nobody gives me anything extra. and if i am not happy with what i am paid then i am free to look elsewhere.
as far as my scuba job......i also chose this as well. nobody put a gun to my head and forced me to do it. i "interned" with my shop for aprox 2 years with no pay whatsoever (thats a whole other story) and in all that time received one $20 tip from a pair of divers doing a "try scuba". they wouldn't take no for an answer.
since becoming a pro level diver about a year ago i am actually paid for my services by the shop (go figure) and in that year i received one tip from a birthday party group of about 12 people for $10. and that was very much appreciated. and to be quite honest, i felt guilty about taking it as well.
if someone in our industry makes the choice to get on a dive boat or help with classes at the pool etc knowing full well they are not being paid then that is their choice. i cannot wrap my head around the idea that the customer is somehow obligated to subsidize their wages. i for one certainly do not expect it.
a couple of people have stated that a tip is offering someone something for going above and beyond your normal duties. and i agree 100%. while some others have said that basically if you don't tip me then i am not going to do my job as well as i should. that is ridiculous.
whatever arrangement you have with your employer is your business, not mine. i expect you to do your job properly just like my customers expect me to do mine. don't hold your hand out like you are entitled to be given something extra simply for doing what is expected of you. if you are not happy with your circumstances with your employer then change them.
until then.....if you want a little something extra then how about try to actually earn it. END OF RANT
to answer the op's question......you tip whatever you are comfortable with and only if some employee or some group of employees deserves it. some people can afford to drop $250 for tips and think nothing of it. others can barely afford to pay for the trip itself let alone adding 30 or 40% more in tips. if you ever receive less than adequate service from a dive operator because you are not a big tipper, dive with someone else.
let the flogging begin.......
i know i am part of a very small minority of people that just does not believe that i "owe" anybody anything. but at least i am willing to admit it.
as far as my "real" job......i chose my career. i get paid to do my job. i show up on time. i do the best job i can. i go home when the day is done. nobody gives me anything extra. and if i am not happy with what i am paid then i am free to look elsewhere.
as far as my scuba job......i also chose this as well. nobody put a gun to my head and forced me to do it. i "interned" with my shop for aprox 2 years with no pay whatsoever (thats a whole other story) and in all that time received one $20 tip from a pair of divers doing a "try scuba". they wouldn't take no for an answer.
since becoming a pro level diver about a year ago i am actually paid for my services by the shop (go figure) and in that year i received one tip from a birthday party group of about 12 people for $10. and that was very much appreciated. and to be quite honest, i felt guilty about taking it as well.
if someone in our industry makes the choice to get on a dive boat or help with classes at the pool etc knowing full well they are not being paid then that is their choice. i cannot wrap my head around the idea that the customer is somehow obligated to subsidize their wages. i for one certainly do not expect it.
a couple of people have stated that a tip is offering someone something for going above and beyond your normal duties. and i agree 100%. while some others have said that basically if you don't tip me then i am not going to do my job as well as i should. that is ridiculous.
whatever arrangement you have with your employer is your business, not mine. i expect you to do your job properly just like my customers expect me to do mine. don't hold your hand out like you are entitled to be given something extra simply for doing what is expected of you. if you are not happy with your circumstances with your employer then change them.
until then.....if you want a little something extra then how about try to actually earn it. END OF RANT
to answer the op's question......you tip whatever you are comfortable with and only if some employee or some group of employees deserves it. some people can afford to drop $250 for tips and think nothing of it. others can barely afford to pay for the trip itself let alone adding 30 or 40% more in tips. if you ever receive less than adequate service from a dive operator because you are not a big tipper, dive with someone else.
let the flogging begin.......
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rick, Well I agree with all you say. Also that I too must stop reading "tip" threads... But of course jobs do differ a lot as to what is "expected" as a tip. Waitresses get a salary that you can't live on because it is assumed they get tips (and assumed I believe by the IRS, etc. that they get them, so they report an amount that won't raise eyebrows). Doctors don't get tipped. My total tips in 4 years assisting with classes was one beer. I don't think tipping a boat DM is as expected in Canada as in the US--but I've only been on charter trips in my area. The whole unsalaried working DMs is a different (and puzzling to me) issue that also has been beaten to death. Yes, everyone should get paid a decent wage by their employer without counting on tips. Somebody goes way beyond normal good service certainly deserves a little something extra. But, the world doesn't agree with us.
Caveeagle
Contributor
I find the last two posts very interesting. I find the whole discussion unnerving mostely because I don't know who to tip nowadays and how much. I don't want to be a cheapskate, but also very much agree with the two prev posters. I worked as a grocery bagger on army base commissary (~1985) which was a tips only job, but it was well known and signs were posted.
Somebody posted that DMs in South Fla worked for tips only. ?? Can anyone verify this as typical?
So after I read this post/thread.. I asked my wife , who worked for a Dive Shop in the Keys in the mid to late 80s and often served as a DM on the boat. She was a paid employee, and said she only remembered getting tips a couple time, and at least once was from creeper who was just....... well 'nuf said on that.
Like I said, I will be going down the the W.Palm area for two days of boat diving and since I am paying for me and two daughters, I really need to be prepared for this. I will probably just ask the outfit over the phone as we prepare for the trip. But based on the popular opinion here, I should be prepared to pony up an extra $150 for the 5 dives we have scheduled.
Somebody posted that DMs in South Fla worked for tips only. ?? Can anyone verify this as typical?
So after I read this post/thread.. I asked my wife , who worked for a Dive Shop in the Keys in the mid to late 80s and often served as a DM on the boat. She was a paid employee, and said she only remembered getting tips a couple time, and at least once was from creeper who was just....... well 'nuf said on that.
Like I said, I will be going down the the W.Palm area for two days of boat diving and since I am paying for me and two daughters, I really need to be prepared for this. I will probably just ask the outfit over the phone as we prepare for the trip. But based on the popular opinion here, I should be prepared to pony up an extra $150 for the 5 dives we have scheduled.
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In the poll I out a while back about 75% of DMs said they received no straight salary. I THINK it's usually a tips only gig in FL. I would think it would be understandable if you tipped less than $150--The question of tipping for 3 people I don't think has come up, but you'd think there should be a family "discount"...
this is a good point. i think a lot of it comes down to the type of job experience the customer themselves have had. in other words if a diver had a job at one point in their life that they relied on tips then i think they would be more inclined to want to tip well as they can identify more with the staff.
on the other hand, for people like me, and my past job experience, it is a completely foreign concept that actually makes me uncomfortable accepting money for something i don't believe is necessary.
it is also a good point that perhaps dive operators need to make it clear to potential customers before taking their money, whether or not they have staff that rely on tips to make a living. this step alone might take some of the guess work out of whether or not to tip for some people. but the amount of the tip seems to still be very much individualized.
i can give one example that i thought was rather inappropriate. i went on an organised dive trip while i was still an intern. we were quoted a price for all our diving. then at the end of the week our shop owner went to each customer (myself included) and told them (as opposed to asking) they needed to pay another $50 each for the tip pool. more than one customer was unhappy about this to say the least. but no one wanted to be the one to say no for fear of being labelled a trouble maker or a cheapskate. now if they had known up front that it was expected to be payed and it was simply added to the cost of the trip, then i think it may have been accepted a lot better.
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