Tipping OW instructor for checkout dives in Caribbean

[rjdiver]

did elearning PADI OW. Getting certified on boat in cayman. How much should I tip the instructor?

 

[hilljo88]

There are a number of threads on SB about tippping, and opinions vary. First, it sounds like you are doing your 4 required open water dives, not just a "checkout" or "refresher" dive. Typical tips for a boat dive with 4-12 divers is $5-10 per person per tank. But you may be the only student with this instructor, so you could justify a bigger tip. As always, voluntary tips reflect your satisfaction with the service. Somewhere in the $50-100 range would be reasonable, IMO.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Is it customary to tip instructors these days? I certified initially as a poor college student and the concept of tipping didn't occur to me. (But way back then we also didn't tip the clerk at a fast food joint, either.) I was surprised in a Rescue class (I helped out as part of Divemaster training) when a student gave me a gift certificate to Amazon as a tip. On the other hand, I routinely tip divemasters and crew on boat dives when I'm a tourist. If it is customary for OW only, or also for higher levels of certification?

I'm not so concerned about doing what's "right" here, but rather not being the doofus/cheapskate that doesn't do something.

 

[Dogbowl]

I’ve noticed that locally people don’t tip instructors but at a tourist location they do. I’ve had a tip refused locally by an instructor but not ever at a tourist destination.

 

[shurite7]

Tipping an instructor, in the Caymans, isn't unheard of. The pay isn't all that great and many depend on tips to get by. I used to live on GCM and teaching usually meant less pay because students didn't know about tipping, where as crewing a boat leading certified divers was much more lucrative. Here in the states it seems tipping the instructor is much rarer. Now that I am stateside I don't except tips because I get paid for teaching. If students try to tip me I decline and tell them to tip the DM who has been helping.

How much to tip is very subjective. When I was given a tip, while living in the tropics, it averaged $100 per student. Remember, the instructor needs to earn it. Your course should be safe, enjoyable, and a great learning experience.

Have fun.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I wouldn't ordinarily tip an instructor for the service of instructing, as you are already paying the instructor for that, aren't you? Your dilemma may be avoided if the boat has a tip jar to be divided equally among the crew/staff. On a boat, your instructor is not the only one contributing to the service you are being provided. Although I wouldn't ordinarily tip an instructor, if part of what the instructor is doing is the same thing he would do if he were simply acting as a divemaster or other crew member, then it seems reasonable he should share in the tip jar.

 

[oly5050user]

I wouldn't ordinarily tip an instructor for the service of instructing, as you are already paying the instructor for that, aren't you? Your dilemma may be avoided if the boat has a tip jar to be divided equally among the crew/staff. On a boat, your instructor is not the only one contributing to the service you are being provided. Although I wouldn't ordinarily tip an instructor, if part of what the instructor is doing is the same thing he would do if he were simply acting as a divemaster or other crew member, then it seems reasonable he should share in the tip jar.

If in a class you should tip instructor. You most likely paid the facility for the class, not the instructor. If the instructor did a good job, helped you with gear, ran course in timely efficient manner, tip. Little additional things that really are not part of what you paid for like instructor may have done such as providing defogger for your mask, maybe even scrubbing your new mask to ensure defogger works, providing water or coffee or bagel/ donuts in the morning for academic sessions. That instructor really made your experience better and worked for and deserves a reward in the form of a tip. If in a private class a tip of $50 to $100 is not unusual. In a group class $20 to $40 is the norm. Training dives again if done in a attentive service assisting manner deserves a tip.

 

[Marie13]

If in a class you should tip instructor. You most likely paid the facility for the class, not the instructor. If the instructor did a good job, helped you with gear, ran course in timely efficient manner, tip. Little additional things that really are not part of what you paid for like instructor may have done such as providing defogger for your mask, maybe even scrubbing your new mask to ensure defogger works, providing water or coffee or bagel/ donuts in the morning for academic sessions. That instructor really made your experience better and worked for and deserves a reward in the form of a tip. If in a private class a tip of $50 to $100 is not unusual. In a group class $20 to $40 is the norm. Training dives again if done in a attentive service assisting manner deserves a tip.

Really? Guess it maybe depends on if instructor is full time or has a job elsewhere. I’ve witnessed my instructors refusing a tip from another student at the quarry. But then, they teach for the love of it and have good full time jobs elsewhere.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If in a class you should tip instructor. You most likely paid the facility for the class, not the instructor.

Did you tip your teachers in school? Did you tip your after-school piano teacher? Tipping teachers/instructors just strikes me as odd.

 

[Damselfish]

I've heard (and experienced in Cayman and other places) that a gift of something that's expensive or hard to get locally can be a good addition or alternative to monetary tipping sometimes.