Tipping for instructor.

[bl6394]

I'll offer a sketch of a winter open water / drysuit class in the midwest.

I'll take 4 students to the quarry with the plan of doing 5 dives over two days for an open water certification and drysuit certification. I'll leave for the quarry about 5AM Saturday morning, and generally I'll be finished by 2PM on Sunday afternoon and finish driving home by 5PM Sunday. While the shop pays for gas and overnight lodging - my pay is $45/student for the weekend. For these 4 student's I'll make $180 for two full days of work - or about $11.25 an hour.

As the air / water is cold and there is no food / water at the quarry - I'll bring a jetboil to heat water, and ramen, hot chocolate, and hot tea to keep the students warm, hydrated and fed over the training days. Generally I also bring donuts and other snacks to keep them happy and energized. This all comes out of the $11.25 an hour and usually amounts to about $20 spent over the weekend and brings my hourly rate down to $10.00 per hour.

I teach because I enjoy teaching - not because I'm making money off scuba. If someone feels I went above and beyond - and chooses to tip me for that effort - I don't mind it at all. If they choose not to, that's fine as well.

 

[cvchief]

Wouldn't it be safe to say that some instructors are just like DMs in MX, the company collects and they get paid alot less?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I never expect a tip. I charge what I need to in order to keep teaching. As an independent I set my rates and keep all of what I expect to get. Rates are set to cover normal costs of instruction - dues, insurance, etc. I am not the cheapest by any means. My OW class is comparable to others in the area cost wise but two to three times as long with more content as required. After that I am in some cases double what others charge for advanced and specialties. The only one I am less expensive on is Rescue as my feeling is that cost should never be a factor that keeps a diver from taking it.

I have however gotten tips after the class from student ranging from lunch and dinner to some bottles of homemade wine, that my GF said was excellent since I don't drink, to a card with a $100 check in it out of the blue. Largest tip I got though was a student that flew me down to Puerto Rico to do his checkouts.

The absolute best tips are when a student comes back for more training or refers someone to me. That tells me I am doing a good job more than anything monetary.

 

[mstevens]

Wouldn't it be safe to say that some instructors are just like DMs in MX, the company collects and they get paid alot less?

I honestly don't know for certain, but it's been my belief that when I've paid a shop for instruction most of that fee does not necessarily go to the instructor. I've also paid instructors directly (independent doing instruction from shore with gear I supply).

In any event, I personally believe that whether in the US or Mexico, teachers in general are underpaid relative to the value of what they do. Most of the people I know in the Cozumel dive industry are living closer to the edge than most Americans who work similar hours. I'm happy to tip.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I can see giving an instructor a small token of gratitude after the student has completed the course and presumably either been passed or failed, but leaving the kind of tip that one might ordinarily leave for a divemaster who works largely for tips--say, 20% of the cost--seems sort of like handing a 20% tip to your university professor.

 

[scorpiofish]

When I am on dive trips, I always tip the DM or dive guide. In Coz, it's usually $5 per tank per person, but I think I need to increase it as this has been my rule of thumb for a long time. Liveaboards, I do 10% or more of the trip cost.

As an instructor (retired), I never expected a tip and if someone tried to give me one I would either reject the offer or give it to DM. I had a girl give me a $100 tip. I tried to give it back, but she insisted. I actually felt bad, because I'm sure I made a lot more money in my real world job. Now, I made a special trip to quarry for her and her certified husband. She had failed to complete her OW weekend with another instructor. It was a special trip just to do one dive. She sat on the platform for 42 minutes with one hand on her mask before she finally took it off and put it back on again.

I don't think any instructor here in states would expect a tip. If you are doing training abroad, then it might depend on where.

Tipping isn't about the income of the recipient. It is about custom. There are countries where tipping just doesn't happen and there are places where lots of people get tipped that DandyDon wouldn't think to tip, e.g. NYC.

 

[Bratface]

Many of my friends are DM or Instructors. When they have a student on the boat, they do not share in the tips with the other DM's because their time is devoted to that one student. When they have a student on any day, for classwork, pool work or open ocean, they are missing out on tips that they would get if they were on the boat. I say tip your instructor, or give them a gift certificate to a restaurant, either would be greatly appreciated.