Mike
Contributor
This is probably why you do not see it happening . Some people tip but do not show it.
They may not openly show it, but it's not difficult to tell when somebody is tipping the crew no matter how secretive they want to be about it. Unless they are hiding it in the head and telling the crew where to find it after they leave, there is usually a physical transfer hand to hand of a tip no matter if it's palmed secretly with a wink or not, it's pretty obvious what's happening if you're looking for it. When the tip jar is empty and you watch 10 or 20 divers walk off the boat with gear in both hands and the only touching is the crew steadying them as they go over the gun wail, there ain't no tipping going on.
If you really want to find out, just ask the crew about tipping, if you've created any sort of semi-amicable relationship with them, they will freely explain the realities of the economics of the dive industry with you. Nobody is getting rich in the dive industry.