Tipping....how much do you tip?

[RJP]

Unions: "The folks who brought you the Weekend" and the 8 hr. work day and anti-child labor laws. Just a thought.

They're also the people that brought you collective bargaining, thereby ensuring that the best workers are underpaid and the worst workers are overpaid.

Just a thought.

 

[DennisS]

Tipping tipping tipping, everyone with their hand out, from the guy that takes your bags, to the taxi driver, don't forget the waitress, the bartender, the maid, the divemaster, the tip jar at the coffee shop and fast food joint.

Knowing someone is waiting for me to give them a tip just bothers me, it's kind of "it's owed to me" mentality even though the individual didn't supply any extra service above which I payed for.

I think I'll stay home and dive from my own boat. Geez, that means I have to set the anchor, drive the boat, handle lines and wash it down after the trip. I think I'll tip myself a cold beer when I get home.

 

[Kamchatka]

Tipping tipping tipping, everyone with their hand out, from the guy that takes your bags, to the taxi driver, don't forget the waitress, the bartender, the maid, the divemaster, the tip jar at the coffee shop and fast food joint. I think I'll stay home and dive from my own boat.

Sounds like a good idea. I'd like to go with you and, although I won't tip you, I'll help launch, recover and clean up, kick in $20 or $40 or whatever's appropriate for gas, and buy you a beer afterwards. But, I won't tip you. And if, by chance, I secure one of your tanks with a bungee, or talk diving with you during the SI, or hand you your mask, I won't expect you to hand me a $10 or $20.

 

[RJP]

it's kind of "it's owed to me" mentality even though the individual didn't supply any extra service above which I payed for.

You're ignoring the simple reality of those situations where tips are customary:

You really have NOT "already paid for" the services for which the tip is intended.

Forget for the moment whether the whole idea of tipping makes sense in general. The fact of the matter is, it's a reallity in many situations.

I know this will sound like "semantics" but since you know that the DM on the boat is not getting paid by the boat, you know you haven't paid for the services rendered by the DM.

If you would like those services to be included in the fee that you pay to the boat, I'm certain that you realize that the fee you pay to the boat is going to go up, right? Probably more than what you would have wanted to tip. (A LOT more than you would have wanted to tip, apparently.)

Someone suggested above that the boat should pay the DMs $100-$150 bucks. Let's use that math for the boat I'm on. With three crew members that would be $300-$450 in extra expense the boat would incur. That will be reflected in an increased price of a charter.

We carry an average of 15 divers, so that would come to $20-$30 extra for the price of a charter. Since most people here - tippers and tip-ees - seem to indicate that a $10-$20 tip per charter is "the going rate" it would seem that "including" the tip in the price of the charter could result in a net increase of 200% in terms of what you'd be paying for the same thing.

Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.

 

[ev780]

Does anyone else revel in the delicious irony of "dive professionals" wanting tips? You don't tip professionals. When is the last time you tipped a banker, accountant, paramedic, lawyer, teacher, etc, etc.

Just a thought.

 

[Footslogger]

What about liveaboards ...where the cost of the "charter" is say $1500 to $1700 ??

Still 10 - 15% of the total cost ??????

 

[DennisS]

You're ignoring the simple reality of those situations where tips are customary:

You really have NOT "already paid for" the services for which the tip is intended.

Forget for the moment whether the whole idea of tipping makes sense in general. The fact of the matter is, it's a reallity in many situations.

I know this will sound like "semantics" but since you know that the DM on the boat is not getting paid by the boat, so you know you haven't paid for the services rendered by the DM.

Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.

I paid for a seat on a safe boat to do a dive, I expect the boat to be anchored at the dive site or following the flags on a drift dive. I load my gear and set up my equipment. I dive in South Florida, most of the anchored sites are moorings. I paid for a boatride out to the reef to do two dives. That's all I want. If the divemaster was replaced by a deckhand it wouldn't bother me.

 

[RJP]

Does anyone else revel in the delicious irony of "dive professionals" wanting tips? You don't tip professionals. When is the last time you tipped a banker, accountant, paramedic, lawyer, teacher, etc, etc.

Just a thought.

If you were "thinking" you'd realize you are 180 degrees out of phase.

When was the last time you expected a banker, lawyer, accountant, etc to do work for you without being paid?

Through this thread I think we can all agree on the fact that there are two groups of idiots in the dive community:

1.) Those who expect they will be fairly compensated for humping tanks and cleaning up puke for someone else

2.) Those who expect someone else to hump their tanks and clean up their puke for them without being fairly compensated.


The good news is those two groups comprise the extremes and the other 99.9% of people in the dive community "get it"

 

[RJP]

I paid for a seat on a safe boat to do a dive, I expect the boat to be anchored at the dive site or following the flags on a drift dive. I load my gear and set up my equipment. I dive in South Florida, most of the anchored sites are moorings. I paid for a boatride out to the reef to do two dives. That's all I want.

Then you're diving on the wrong boats. If that's all you want, you need to dive on a boat that only offers that.

Again, I know it sounds like semantics but what you "want" has very little to do with the reallity of the situation.

 

[vladimir]

When was the last time you expected a banker, lawyer, accountant, etc to do work for you without being paid?

If they didn't charge for their services, I wouldn't pay for them. In fact, it is not that unusual for these professionals to provide free services in the context of an ongoing relationship. My accountant just last week answered several inquiries for me without billing me. And I have securities brokers on a daily basis execute trades for me for free.

Through this thread I think we can all agree on the fact that there are two groups of idiots in the dive community:

1.) Those who expect they will be fairly compensated for humping tanks and cleaning up puke for someone else

2.) Those who expect someone else to hump their tanks and clean up their puke without being fairly compensated.

It sounds to me like group 2 has accurately assessed the reality of the situation, and group 1 is hoping to change the reality through entreaties on the SB.