Tipping Guideline For Galapagos Liveaboards?

[CWK]

Perhaps it should be borne in mind that it is not just DMs that work on a LOB, there are a range of professionals that work there. I expect LOBs to have a qualified captain who is properly remunerated. I personally do not expect that an equal share of a tip pool to be in any way appropriate remuneration for a qualified captain.

I would also expect a ship captain's remuneration to be a multiple of the remuneration received by the crew member performing housekeeping functions. To my mind, an equal share of a tip pool cannot be used to satisfactorily remunerate the ship captain and the housekeeper at the same time.

I tend to board a LOB somewhere in the world once a month, and I come across DMs from America, Canada, France, and elsewhere working as expatriates. I suspect that if LOBs did not remunerate staff appropriately, they would be unable to attract expatriate staff.

 

[drrich2]

Although.....tipping is mandatory in much of the service industry in Bermuda, you can only hire locals and in lots of places the service is comically abysmal as a result... so I suppose there is that...

This is a potential advantage of tipping culture. It puts a measure of direct pay control in the hands of the customer, a powerful incentive to staff to please them and thus helps insure good customer service with minimal policing by management.

The assumption seems to be the market will drive a rough overall income from the job, x. In a no tip culture, pay ‘p’ = x. If tips =t, in a tip culture, p+t = x.

The question is whether the leverage tipping gives the customer is worth the uncertainty and aggravation of deciding how much to tip, and feeling obligated to do so.

Reading about topside server service in Europe (minimal tipping) vs the US, I’ve read US service tends to be more vigorous and overtly friendly, at times ‘in your face.’ I wonder if live-aboard crew customer service is similarly impacted?

 

[runsongas]

@CWK

i highly disagree that the cabin stewards or cooks do not deserve an equal share of tips. they work as hard as the rest of the crew. tips aren't wages, so the fact the boat captain would likely make a higher base salary is irrelevant.

 

[runsongas]

around $8k

if you can afford 8k for a one week liveaboard, you can afford to tip

 

[Shasta_man]

If not mentioned before, I believe many (most?) boats split the tip amongst the entire crew, so you're not just tipping the dive guides. Not sure how shares are determined but by the same token that the dive guide gets a tip, you could say the unseen person who makes your bed or prepares your meal (not just the chef) is performing a significant service. It's the same problem with all service jobs: nobody thinks the service job is so important until the service sucks.

There's lots of ways to look at tips and lots of tipping situations. On the surface there is certainly the ability to exploit workers and customers by putting it on the customer to pay them. On the other hand, some people make some darn good money at it like waiters/waitresses in big cities (not suggesting all waiters/waitresses). CWK's comment about expats working would support that they get a decent wage but that might also be because it is so cheap to live in the LOBs country of origin or that they spend most of thier time on the boat and maybe don't pay for as much for living expenses.

Where tipping is problematic for me is tipping as a percentage of a bill, like food. Simply, should someone get more money for doing the same job because their business charges more for the product, and is the service really worth the amount that is X% of the bill? I don't dispute that many people work darn hard for their job but if you are eating at some high end joint was that service worth the % of the meal cost? But there are way more things involved: if you are eating at such place, than it's expected that "you've got the money" or that meal cost is reflective of the cost of living in that area, etc. etc.

 

[CWK]

@CWK

i highly disagree that the cabin stewards or cooks do not deserve an equal share of tips. they work as hard as the rest of the crew. tips aren't wages, so the fact the boat captain would likely make a higher base salary is irrelevant.

You are misinterpreting what I said. I never suggested that a cabin steward does not deserve an equal share of the tip pool.

 

[CWK]

if you can afford 8k for a one week liveaboard, you can afford to tip

On my trip to the Galapagos, one of the guests was a policeman from Brazil who bemoaned a number of times about how expensive the trip was for a Brazilian. He was not the chief of police but was a homicide detective and had previously been in an undercover narcotics function. If he tipped 10% of the LOB cost, he may have tipped at a higher rate than his earning capacity. He is not unique. I meet people from all backgrounds on LOBs.

 

[runsongas]

if the tip was that high compared to his salary, how did he afford the trip in the first place? the numbers don't make sense

he either has other income sources or just is looking for an excuse to complain

 

[CWK]

I don't make it a point to interrogate people on their sources of income. I took what he told me at face value.

Earlier this month I was in French Polynesia and the LOB was blighted by mechanical failure of the windlass. One of the guests was quite upset. She told me that the holiday represented months of graft and sacrifice for both her and her partner. I actually don't think it is too unusual for people to save and sacrifice for a dream holiday, honeymoon, anniversary, or birthday celebration.

 

[runsongas]

tip should be factored in when planning just like port fees