Tipping the DM

[rivers]

I am very curious as to what "a huge proportion of societies on earth" is, since as far as I know, it is not common in South-East Asian countries (ie not in their culture), nor in Africa, and neither is it in most of Europe. I'm not talking about the recent american-british invasion that happened in those places, but really about THEIR culture. Sure they don't mind it, but you might notice it's not the norm between them. At least, that's what I've noticed...

Tipping is not the norm in the UK, so I don't know where you are getting American-British invasion....

 

[Patoux01]

My bad, thought that's how that mentality got here in Oz. So let's remove the Brits from it as well, who's left where tipping is the norm?

 

[rivers]

My bad, thought that's how that mentality got here in Oz. So let's remove the Brits from it as well, who's left where tipping is the norm?

no worries. Tipping is very much an American thing

 

[Storker]

I am very curious as to what "a huge proportion of societies on earth" is

"a huge proportion of societies on earth" is North America. Plus vacation destinations e.g. in the Caribbian that cater mostly to North American tourists.



--
Sent from my Android phone
Typos are a feature, not a bug

 

[vincent54]

200 dollars per 5 days of boat dives. DM's haven't complained yet and they still bring be back to shore. I figure a couple less rounds of golf or a couple dinners out per year, that's all I sacrifice. The DM don't make a lot of cash and they do put up with a lot of stuff.. To be honest I hate coming home with money from a vacation, it means I forgot to do some thing fun!! Cheers

 

[gopbroek]

I am a little curious as to what the 'Average' cost of a 2 tank boat dive is in a civilized area where tipping is not the norm and the DM leads the dive, in the water.

 

[Yarbrough]

My thoughts on tipping,
I will start with a little back story on me, I became an Instructor in college, got a degree, a real job and hated it. In 2004, I moved to the beach and started working as a SCUBA Instructor for a small shop. I made less there than I had in high school clearing fences after class and on the weekends, but I loved what I was doing. To me, it was a foot in the door of an industry that I was enamored with. I was diving 7 days a week, most weeks. To supplement my income teaching, I worked the boats any chance I got.
By 2008, our education department was in full swing, and I no longer had time to work the boats. Had it not been for those generous customers, there would have been a lot of nights where I would have been hard pressed to make bills. I agree that bad service does not deserve a tip, and good service might not warrant a tip, but when in Rome, do as the Romans. If you are in a part of the world where tipping is the societal norm, please take care of your crew... it might be what allows them to eat a good meal that night, or support their family.
Also, the kind words to management help as much as the harsh ones hurt. It is good to take the time to mention when someone goes above and beyond. I have a book of notes from my students and customers that I saved from my days in the water. It softens the blows on the days when the tips aren't so good.

Just my opinion,

 

[rivers]

I am a little curious as to what the 'Average' cost of a 2 tank boat dive is in a civilized area where tipping is not the norm and the DM leads the dive, in the water.

There are no DMs on the boat in the UK, never mind in the water. But I just paid $55 (Australian) for a twinset hire and guided shore dive in Oz, roughly $40 US. I looked on their website and a guided boat dive is $110 ($80 US). I'm paying roughly $55-$60us for some guided dives in Fiji.
I don't normally do guided dives, but well I'm not from this side of the world. My guided dive in Oz was with a fellow GUE diver, so it was pleasant, we knew how each other was going to behave. I'm interested to see what Fiji has in store.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm a little distressed by where this thread ended up...:shocked2:

Don't be. If you do a search for previous SB threads on tipping, you will see the topic comes up again and again and again, and the same arguments are rehashed and rehashed again.

Tipping customs differ all over the world. It's silly to apply American customs to Australia or Europe. My advice is, when in doubt, ask someone, either another diver, the dive op owner, or even the DM or boat captain. They will likely be honest about what is customary there.

Today, here in Cozumel, I overheard another diver ask the dive shop employee what is customary, and the reply was 10%. The same answer is on the dive op's web site. We tipped 10%.

 

[phlegm]

as an Australian, the thought of tipping honestly never even enters my mind. It's just not part of the mentality. You pay for a service, the onus is on the employer to pay their employees fairly. The US system is completely baffling to us.