tipping

[dewayne405]

I generally tip $20 to the DM per diver, and $10-20 to the Captain (Scuba Mau = no mate) depending on how rough of a ride Victor or Orlando gives on the way out and back... On 2 tank trips...

Night trip was $20 each, and we capped off the 9 days of diving by taking the two crews that we dove with out to eat a special dinner with all of the cervezas that they could drink...They provided the main course ( I won't go into due to unsure about legalities, but that was some great crustaceans that we ate)... Total meal ticket $500 pesos = PRICELESS!!!

Those boys know how to have a great time, and I learned a great lesson... No more eating and drinking on the main drag... 3 blocks back is where I will eat and drink from now on... Better food, colder beer, and 1/5 of the price as the tourist traps...

 

[DandyDon]

$30/trip = 50% of the trip cost. How nice.

 

[blue steal]

Very generous indeed.
3 blocks back, colder beer @ 1/5 the cost, oh yeah. give us some names please

 

[DandyDon]

My home bud would like to use the fact that some don't tip to justify skipping that, but I try to prod him along on that. $15/25% of trip seems reasonable enough to me as a standard, more if indicated.

Many say to never tip the owner of an operation, but I usually do.

 

[ggunn]

My home bud would like to use the fact that some don't tip to justify skipping that, but I try to prod him along on that. $15/25% of trip seems reasonable enough to me as a standard, more if indicated.

Many say to never tip the owner of an operation, but I usually do.

I always tip the DM on the boat, plus on the day I leave I pass on all my new and only slightly used AA, C, and D batteries to the dive shop.

 

[PacoBLUEProject]

Who to tip? The best is to tip one by one. So you will be sure that the money will benefit the right people. The management of the tips are sometimes a little bit "strange" if you give it to the owner... Sad but true...

In our case, Blanca is receiving the tips and she shares it between everyone. If the capitan did a good job (helping, joking, etc), she makes 50/50. If not, she gives less. Off course, if there's a guy in the shop washing the equipments, he has his part of the tip.

 

[DandyDon]

The management of the tips are sometimes a little bit "strange" if you give it to the owner.

Yeah, I really don't like tipping thru a management controlled fun. I have, but rather not.

 

[Christi]

Who to tip? The best is to tip one by one. So you will be sure that the money will benefit the right people. The management of the tips are sometimes a little bit "strange" if you give it to the owner... Sad but true...

In our case, Blanca is receiving the tips and she shares it between everyone. If the capitan did a good job (helping, joking, etc), she makes 50/50. If not, she gives less. Off course, if there's a guy in the shop washing the equipments, he has his part of the tip.

This MAY be the case with some shops, but I can only speak for myself. When customers give the tips at the end of the week - they are split evenly among all crew members they were with, while making no judgment of who deserves more or less - I find this to be "strange" in fact. Perhaps some feel they are entitled to more than the other crew members, but I leave that to the clients to decide if they wish to do so. The only exception for not splitting tips evenly is when a client asks for a specific amount or percentage to be given to specific crew members. I also make sure to include Santos (our shop assistant/behind the scenes guy) every single time.

 

[MMM]

When diving with an op where I get a different boat/captain/DM every day, I tip each day. On my last few trips, since Jeremy has the same crew day in and out (with him alternating with another DM) I tip at the end of the trip to him and rely on him to divide up. It's just more convenient for me. The fact that his crew stays with him year in and out tells me that they feel they are getting their fair share. And yes, I expect that he, as owner/DM should be included in the tip distribution. I tip my hair stylist the same way. For a while she owned the shop then sold it. Still gets tipped the same way.

 

[jayjoans]

Who to tip? The best is to tip one by one. So you will be sure that the money will benefit the right people. The management of the tips are sometimes a little bit "strange" if you give it to the owner... Sad but true...

In our case, Blanca is receiving the tips and she shares it between everyone. If the capitan did a good job (helping, joking, etc), she makes 50/50. If not, she gives less. Off course, if there's a guy in the shop washing the equipments, he has his part of the tip.

Seems to me you just stated that you do what you claim is done by other shops....? I would consider it "strange" for the owner of a company to determine whether or not the captain was helping or joking enough to warrant a fair tip without the divers input. Aren't your captains your employees and know what the shop policy and expectation is about how to treat customers? In your first paragraph you warn us about giving money to the owners, then in the second paragraph you tell us how your owner handles the tips...

Sounds like the people on your boats are liked trained monkeys working for tips, rather than dive professionals that appreciate a tip for excellent service. If your captains are not employees, then I could see how you never know what kind of service you'll be getting and have to make adjustments accordingly.

If I can smell that a service provider is just goofing for tips, I am far more reluctant to tip them than I would be a competent professional sincerely going the extra mile to make my experience more enjoyable. I've been on boats where it felt like the diving safety was secondary to the floating floor show, and I didn't appreciate it at all. This is not "open mike" night on a boat.

I have given tips to the owner of the op I use every time. In every instance, I have been asked how I would like that tip divided among the crew. I find it much more convenient to charge my tips at the end of the week rather than go to the ATM repeatedly to get enough pesos to cover everybody and carry it with me on each dive day.(I usually dive with a group of 4-7, so the tips are a pretty big part of our overall cost)