Tipping Divemasters

[BRT]

I guess I don't believe DM's work only for tips. If they did, why would they? I think they do it cause they like being on the boat and diving and get a chance to do it without paying for it. Then there are the DM's that actually make their living that way. They need to talk to their employers. I don't see why it is my problem. I pay my employees. I hate the whole system.

 

[mmmbelows]

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.......

One thing to keep in mind :

Tipping is about the location you are visiting, NOT the location you are coming from.

If tipping is not customary in your home town, state, province, country... that has zero to do with going to another country, state, province, town and tipping is customary. If it's customary and you are there and you are using the services you tip whether you would back home or not. Where you are visiting its the norm of that local situation.

If you go to France and eat diner and the custom is to round up the bill a Euro or two than do so if the situation warrants it, don't leave a $20 euro tip. If you come to America and you eat dinner and the custom is 20% and the situation warrants it then you leave $40.00 on a two hundred dollar tab. Same for diving, no different. If you go to Fiji and the local custom is do not tip the dive master you don't tip him. If you go the the Florida keys and the custom is to tip a communal tip jar do so. If you go to Mexico and the custom is to tip the dive master and the captain, do so. It doesn't make any difference what your local custom is, you aren't home.

 

[Caveeagle]

One thing to keep in mind :

Tipping is about the location you are visiting, NOT the location you are coming from.

If tipping is not customary in your home town, state, province, country... that has zero to do with going to another country, state, province, town and tipping is customary. If it's customary and you are there and you are using the services you tip whether you would back home or not. Where you are visiting its the norm of that local situation.

If you go to France and eat diner and the custom is to round up the bill a Euro or two than do so if the situation warrants it, don't leave a $20 euro tip. If you come to America and you eat dinner and the custom is 20% and the situation warrants it then you leave $40.00 on a two hundred dollar tab. Same for diving, no different. If you go to Fiji and the local custom is do not tip the dive master you don't tip him. If you go the the Florida keys and the custom is to tip a communal tip jar do so. If you go to Mexico and the custom is to tip the dive master and the captain, do so. It doesn't make any difference what your local custom is, you aren't home.

That's fine... but it is not always easy to know what the "local" custom is. I get that 1987 was several year ago,.. but My wife is a pretty reliable resource, and she did not get a lot of tip working a DM at that point. And she was paid a salary from the shop. My last boat diving in FL was in W.Palm/Boca in '92 and I really don't remember any tip activity at all... but I was a broke college student back then, so....

So I get it.. when in Rome etc.. So it would be nice to get a reliable definition of the local "customs".

Slightly off topic... I was sent out to work for 3 weeks in So Cal back in '96. Since I don't golf like my co-workers, I brought my basic dive gear to see if I could sneak in a dive or two while I was there. I booked a dive charter through an outfit called ski chalet (or something close to that). They told me to meet the boat at the dock at 11:00pm (overnight ride to dive site) and cautioned me that "There was NO food on the boat" There was also a sign by the counter with the exact same verbiage. OK... whats up with that, I don't remember food any any of the Florida boats I had been on, so.. no big deal.. I will just bring water, gatorade and some snacks. Well, I was running late driving out to the coast and had to stop at some crappy c-store, spent all but my last $20 on drinks and snacks. When I got to the dock.. they had a big old sign that said "Don't bring any food or drinks on the boat". I had no idea that the boat had a galley and served food on the boat. So there I was in really cr@p situation. In this case, I did happen to know that most would be tipping the DM. So I basically went hungry that day... ended up skipping the last dive because I had a raging headache.

So, now I try not to assume anything. I may ask a lot of questions, but hey..

 

[noj3333]

Do people take the local economy into account when tipping? I think a $40 tip would be a lot more appreciated in the Dominican Republic then in Miami FL.

 

[vincent54]

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 always think of the money. It's not given away for poor service. The Dive Masters I deal with deserve the tips. If I bring along a buddy that is tip cheap, it is an embarrassment, and I will cover their cheapness. Hence the need for extra money in the tip budget.
I'm planning a Palm Beach dive and I'll still tip as usual. Maybe more if I get back alive.

I understand if money is tight, but ALL the tight assed buddies (and there are more than one )I'm speaking of can afford it. And you know you can't stop reading the tip threads:crazyeye:

 

[mmmbelows]

So I get it.. when in Rome etc..

Yes, that's the saying that it all boils down to.

That's fine... but it is not always easy to know what the "local" custom is.

So it would be nice to get a reliable definition of the local "customs"

I've personally never had a hard time figuring them out, guide books have been around forever and the internet has been a simple and reliable source of travel information for at least 15 years. The tripadvisor travel forums are a great place to get reliable information.

---------- Post added January 3rd, 2016 at 08:10 PM ----------

Do people take the local economy into account when tipping? I think a $40 tip would be a lot more appreciated in the Dominican Republic then in Miami FL.

The local economy is all you should be taking into account, nothing else.

 

[rick00001967]

---------- Post added January 3rd, 2016 at 08:10 PM ----------



The local economy is all you should be taking into account, nothing else.

serious question. not trying to be argumentative. so are you saying that for a $30 dive i should tip $10 in the keys or california, but only $5 in the dominican or cuba ? based on the standard of living ?

 

[mmmbelows]

serious question. not trying to be argumentative. so are you saying that for a $30 dive i should tip $10 in the keys or california, but only $5 in the dominican or cuba ? based on the standard of living ?

I don't know if your numbers are correct and specific, however it's not an issue of being specific, it's only a matter of caveeagle so put it, "When in Rome..."

I don't go to a remote island in French Polynesia and cry because there are no wash cloths, if their culture doesn't even know what a wash cloth is. Being a good traveler I believe means being sensitive and knowledgeable to the locale you are traveling in. I'd no more under tip or over tip someone as I'd pass food with my left hand in a Muslim country. As a sensitive and intelligent traveler it's up to me to do the research and try to fit in to where I travel not shoe horn my personal culture into their culture. On the flip side, I've made cultural faux paxs when travelling and was graciously given the benefit of the doubt from my hosts, and as a gracious host we should do the same to those who innocently make mistakes in our country. But I don't give anybody a pass when they travel and ignore the local customs on purpose and cite their own beliefs of why or why not they do what they do, that's just ignorant.

 

[sheeper]

I guess I don't believe DM's work only for tips. If they did, why would they? I think they do it cause they like being on the boat and diving and get a chance to do it without paying for it. Then there are the DM's that actually make their living that way. They need to talk to their employers. I don't see why it is my problem. I pay my employees. I hate the whole system.

Well, believe it. I spent this weekend as a DM on a boat i work with. No...i am NOT paid by the boat in any way...i am not an employee. Here in Florida we DM solely for tips and the love of diving and the enjoyment of sharing it with people. If the operator paid crew, and had to pay taxes, benefits, etc, then you'd pay $100 or more to dive instead of $65. Few of us make a living as DM. And on the boats i work with, DMs are highly experienced divers, many (myself included) are also instructors, and many (again myself included) have advanced training in dive medicine, dive first aid, rescue, etc. Yes I get to dive for free but to help you on the boat and in the water, I need to own and maintain thousands of dollars of equipment. When i dive on my own time, I always tip a minimum of $20.

 

[Patoux01]

then you'd pay $100 or more to dive instead of $65.

And we'd be completely fine with that. The issue lies in the fact that we can't know upfront what the price of our dive will be. Plus the way you say that about the taxes/benefits, I somehow doubt that everything is done "by the book"...