Tipping DM in Coz?

[George Monnat Jr]

WOW! I guess it's a matter of where you're from. I usually pay around $30/tank for boat dives although in my hometown it's $50/tank. I don't dive at home in part because of this (I live on the gulf side of Florida). I drive across the state to the Atlantic or to the Keys where the diving is better and the boats charge around $30/tank. The only time I've paid the prices you're paying was when I dove the Epcot DiveQuest aquarium.

I dive around Hawaii multiple times a year and other places in the Pacific. I still haven't made it to the Caribbean because of family obligations in Hawaii, but even here in Central Texas all the shops push the standard $10/tank rule of thumb (and Hawaii, Guam, Okinawa, California - but those are mostly American ports with a tradition of tipping well). Besides, the shops should be telling customers a higher amount then leaving it to the customers to reward good service (or not reward poor service). It's a rule of thumb not an iron-clad rule.

 

[flyboy08]

Tipping is not a city in China!

Tipping is acknowledging good to great service from anyone of hundreds of providers....when I tip to a repeating entity/person, that money usually comes back to me in other forms of appreciation. It is seldom I don’t tip, or a service provider must go out of their way to piss me off and that provider will never have a second chance....

 

[kelemvor]

WOW back at ya. When I dive West Palm Beach, it's at least $65/tank, and that's with a group discount. When I've checked prices online, Jupiter is similar (although I've not dived there). Even $50 in Largo sounds cheap, because you have to go so far offshore to get to most dive sites. Where are you diving for $30/tank?!

Maybe we're confusing "per tank" vs "per trip"? I usually dive with narcosis when I go to west palm. They have gone up a little but they're currently charging $80 for a two tank trip or $40/tank. Rainbow Reef in Key Largo has identical pricing. Both offer discounts if you book more than one trip at a time (I usually do, I guess that's part of the discrepancy). I tend to dive on weekends and will usually dive Saturday AM, Saturday PM, Sunday AM. Sometimes I get a third trip for a night dive on Saturdays.

In Largo, prices from 2shea are $100 ($50/tank) for a 2 tank reef dive or $125 ($62.50/tank) for a two tank wreck dive. Our reefs in this area are not that great, so I go for the wrecks if I dive around here. Usually I prefer to drive over to the Atlantic coast for a variety of reasons. That ends up costing more in the end because of gas/food/hotel but I prefer the diving on that coast by a country mile.

In the West Palm area or Key largo, my $10/tank tip is 25%. A little more than I'd tip a waiter, but I believe a DM does a heck of a lot more for me than a waiter... unless the DM sucks, in which case they aren't getting $10/tank from me.

 

[uncfnp]

WOW back at ya. When I dive West Palm Beach, it's at least $65/tank, and that's with a group discount. When I've checked prices online, Jupiter is similar (although I've not dived there). Even $50 in Largo sounds cheap, because you have to go so far offshore to get to most dive sites. Where are you diving for $30/tank?!

Are you sure you mean per tank or per trip. For a two tank trip, no rentals, it has averaged about 65 to 75 dollars out of the WPB area for us. It has gone up this last 2 years but not by much.

 

[DandyDon]

As a Cozumeleño, I'd like to ask a favor. We have a problem with some taxi drivers charging outrageous fares. Could you please tip a little more for the ones that are doing the right thing? Custom (and it is a custom, not a requirement) is about 10% of the fare if the driver is helping you with your bags.

Yeah, I get confused carrying two different currencies around. The fare was 110 pesos, I had a hundred and a twenty handy, and I told him to keep the change. For a fare rate and help with a bag, an extra American buck would be nice. I am resistant to tipping taxis as they have no competition and set their rates, but I did tip the airport van drive a buck.

Never understood the confusion over taxi price/tipping....at the end of the day, as Wet points out above....where talking pennies here! Unless of course you ask the driver to circumnavigate the island twice

Their monopoly does provide nice cars, but they do set their rates without competition - and so many of them will gouge a tourist when they can. I have the rate charts, but can't read the Spanish, so often don't know - and am generally suspicious.

That's a perfectly legit and valid business model. The psychological hurdle is the higher up front costs. Dive shops are small businesses in a very competitive market (and go out of business all the time - there aren't really any 1%ers running dive shops), so if their per tank or class prices are higher than competitors because of their higher wages to non-tipped DMs, then customers will be incentivized to go to the cheaper shops. Now if those cheaper shops treat them poorly, then they'll go back to the more expensive one for better service. However, if the cheaper shop has good service, the customers tip the DMs (incentivizing the DMs to continue treating customers well), and the customers return, then the more expensive shop doesn't have a chance to showcase their better service.

Yeah, price shopping is so common, not knowing who gives more for the buck. I guess that tipping does play in this market.

Tipping is not a city in China!

Tipping is acknowledging good to great service from anyone of hundreds of providers....when I tip to a repeating entity/person, that money usually comes back to me in other forms of appreciation. It is seldom I don’t tip, or a service provider must go out of their way to piss me off and that provider will never have a second chance....

I usually ignore tip jars on order taker counters, unless I ask the Subway to wrap my 12" as two separate 6" with the sauce in separate containers like I often do on camping trips. An extra buck won't hurt. I think those $5 & $10 bills are show money the employees loan to the jars.

 

[ReefHound]

Not sure where people are getting these prices of $150 per 2-tank trip. Certainly not Coz which is what this thread is about. I haven't seen that anywhere in the Caribbean unless a specialty trip like Blue Hole or Chinchorro or other 20+ miles offshore trips.

If shop owners (or other service op) paid a full wage in lieu of tips, we'd still have many Americans leaving tips. Certain positions are ingrained in us as customarily tipped. It would take generations to change. Just go to any AI where is says tipping included and you'll see Americans shoving tips at service staff.

 

[flyboy08]

Just go to any AI where is says tipping included and you'll see Americans shoving tips at service staff.

Guilty!

And the waiter greets me with my Tequila, knows I like my steak medium rare and three, not two, scoops of vanilla for dessert

 

[DandyDon]

Most boat dives I've seen and been on are $150-$250 for 2 or 3 tanks

Is talking about two divers, two tanks for $150? I've never heard of $150 for one diver, two tanks in Cozumel.

 

[npole]

My point is that whatever wage increase goes to employees will be paid by the customers.

I'm not talking about any increase, I'm talking about forward a fair part of your income to your workers, if you aren't doing this, you do not deserve to run a business. This is what happens in the civilized world: have to rely on a unstable income (tips) is not. Tips should be an additional amount at the top of a fair salary.
Don't be greedy and pay your workers adequately, this is my point, and it's not just my point of view it is the only right thing to do.

 

[kelemvor]

Not sure where people are getting these prices of $150 per 2-tank trip. Certainly not Coz which is what this thread is about. I haven't seen that anywhere in the Caribbean unless a specialty trip like Blue Hole or Chinchorro or other 20+ miles offshore trips.

If shop owners (or other service op) paid a full wage in lieu of tips, we'd still have many Americans leaving tips. Certain positions are ingrained in us as customarily tipped. It would take generations to change. Just go to any AI where is says tipping included and you'll see Americans shoving tips at service staff.

It's true. I'd feel like a real jerk if I never tipped for good service.