Tipping

[Hawkwood]

... But my favorite tips were when the student saw fit to write a complimentary note about me to the store owner. Were any/all of the staff exceptional?...
A verbal expression of your appreciation would be nice, too.

I ask the students that if they were really happy with how the class went, etc. please tell the owner. It's nice for me to hear that, but also for the owner of the shop as well.

Tell the owner what they did not like also. Goes both ways sometimes.

 

[oly5050user]

Did you tip your college professors 15-20% of your tuition?

we are not college professors..AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, this is actually a SERVICE INDUSTRY. Any instructor who seriously considers themselves as a actual equal to a college professor with perhaps A PHD has a serious self inflated ego problem.Most instructors get paid minimum wage, if they are lucky..some students require more effort and time than others and many instructors are mindful enough to go out of their way to see that the student succeeds. Why not give them a tip to show appreciation and thankyou..Don't be the diver who needs addiitional help with gear assembly, help during the additional dive ,help getting in and out of the water, don't be the diver who forgot to bring their mask and an instructor/divemaster loans you theirs, and then turn around and stiff them..You want to be cheap thats fine, just tell the dm's/instructor that you do not reward/tip for excellent care and see where that gets you. You will still get taken care of , but in a standard way. Do not expect favors of additional time if you are running behind in class or have problems with setting up your gear.Many cases instructors/dm's extend themselves and are not rewarded for the additional efforts. Right now as i write this I have an instructor who took a problem student of mine on her own into the pool while the rest of class is on a lunch break. Does she not deserve a tip as a token of appreciation?

 

[Tigerman]

we are not college professors..AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, this is actually a SERVICE INDUSTRY. Any instructor who seriously considers themselves as a actual equal to a college professor with perhaps A PHD has a serious self inflated ego problem.Most instructors get paid minimum wage, if they are lucky..some students require more effort and time than others and many instructors are mindful enough to go out of their way to see that the student succeeds. Why not give them a tip to show appreciation and thankyou..Don't be the diver who needs addiitional help with gear assembly, help during the additional dive ,help getting in and out of the water, don't be the diver who forgot to bring their mask and an instructor/divemaster loans you theirs, and then turn around and stiff them..You want to be cheap thats fine, just tell the dm's/instructor that you do not reward/tip for excellent care and see where that gets you. You will still get taken care of , but in a standard way. Do not expect favors of additional time if you are running behind in class or have problems with setting up your gear.Many cases instructors/dm's extend themselves and are not rewarded for the additional efforts. Right now as i write this I have an instructor who took a problem student of mine on her own into the pool while the rest of class is on a lunch break. Does she not deserve a tip as a token of appreciation?

Bullcrap. The american "tip is expected" bull is what make sure you get treated in a "standard way". If tips where still something that where EARNED giving them might actually give you something more..

 

[g1138]

Personally I think if you view yourself as on par with a Ski Instructor or Tennis instructor, you should be paid more than minimum wage, and you will naturally act like one.

If a student forgets a piece of equipment, you gripe them out gently. Then you loan them your mask. If they repeat, you call their pool or their dive and they have to make it up.
If you have a problem student, you find a way to deal with it like any professional. Solve the problem and prevent it. That was part of our ITC was it not?
My trainers were surely far from the model A student.


The industry and dive shops went into a bidding war and started this Bucket check-off/Scuba Instructors aren't paid professionals.

We are professionals and if we act like them, we will get paid like them. Rather than cattle herding the Bucket List divers, if you focus on smaller numbers of students, keeping them in the industry, discounting for continuing loyal customers as they move up the classes, you will make better profit.
Turn them out as great divers and keep them happy and excited for diving. They will come back then.
They won't be the diver trampling the reef and bragging that diving is easy and perpetuating that idea.
They will even recommend you! They will buy gear from you, even if it's priced slightly higher.

If you try to cut and discount to bring in huge numbers, sell gear to divers who will quit and craigslist their gear a month later. Guess what, you're be scrapping for profit and your instructors won't give a flying fish.

 

[diver 85]

Why tip???....He/she will have(should have) charged you what they think their services are worth, after all, isn't that one part of 'being a professional'???........But, if you MUST, give 'em this one---"Don't EVER bet on a 3-legged horse..."........hmmm....

 

[scubastingray]

This conversation really confuses me, because it seems in non us dive operations people are expected to tip. In the US people are saying tipping is rare.

Yet the opposite happens in the food industry. Tipping is often seen as bad form in other service industries overseas, and many foreigners struggle in the US to understand the tipping atmosphere.

Why aren't those two aligned? Maybe the countries that struggle to tip aren't the same ones people are using as dive destinations?

Or maybe the type of people who go to dive destinations tend to be wealthier and often more western, and as such an atmosphere of tipping was established?


What are your thoughts guys.

 

[enduser]

If nothing else make sure and write up a nice review of your experience on Google+ or Yelp. True, personal, first hand online reviews are more and more becoming gold for all industries.

 

[Tigerman]

If nothing else make sure and write up a nice review of your experience on Google+ or Yelp. True, personal, first hand online reviews are more and more becoming gold for all industries.

And the ones thats dissatisfied are the ones good at voicing it.. usually without mentioning what was done in order to make their complain right..

 

[g1138]

This conversation really confuses me, because it seems in non us dive operations people are expected to tip. In the US people are saying tipping is rare.

Yet the opposite happens in the food industry. Tipping is often seen as bad form in other service industries overseas, and many foreigners struggle in the US to understand the tipping atmosphere.

Why aren't those two aligned? Maybe the countries that struggle to tip aren't the same ones people are using as dive destinations?

Or maybe the type of people who go to dive destinations tend to be wealthier and often more western, and as such an atmosphere of tipping was established?


What are your thoughts guys.

I think it's because here in the US we don't tip instructors or teachers. Public school forbid teachers from accepting monetary tips, so likewise we follow suit with instructors.
If you look at our Dive Boat US tipping etiquette, quite honestly the majority is yes do tip unless you had a bad dive.

 

[Nasser]

In all the courses I've taken, the instructors where not the owners of the centers so I've always tipped the instructors... and it's VERY much appreciated. Usually 10-15% of the course fee seems about right.