When/How to Tip

[Cacia]

wow, good point. Tell me if my thinking is strange. If everyone on the boat is a candidate for the "service" and if the idea is you are tipping for "exceptional" service, wouldn't you get better service tipping as you go?...that is, if you view tipping as an "incentive" in the capitalists mindset. I always felt tipping at the end was a not as productive. Where is the opportunity for them to give you better service than ..say the guy that gives zero?

 

[HowardE]

wow, good point. Tell me if my thinking is strange. If everyone on the boat is a candidate for the "service" and if the idea is you are tipping for "exceptional" service, wouldn't you get better service tipping as you go?...that is, if you view tipping as an "incentive" in the capitalists mindset. I always felt tipping at the end was a not as productive. Where is the opportunity for them to give you better service than ..say the guy that gives zero?

Like when you're in Vegas... If you grease the gears... you get more
(and you can feel like a high roller)
I am sure that if you started off tipping a little to whomever... you'd probably get preferred treatment.

 

[Jcsgt]

I'm also a big fan of tipping each day. Along with the reasons previously stated, some dive op's have different boat crews, each day, and I'm a performance-based tipper. Some are simply better than others.

 

[Cacia]

well, I feel kinda bad, pointing that out.....sleezy in fact. I think people think I am kidding when I say I tip the captains on drifts beforehand. (it is better if you don't do it in front of other divers, sort of tacky.) Slip it to them after everone else is in the water and show them your marker inflated so they know which one you are. :14:

agreed, the crew gets switched around.

If, when you hand them the money and thank them for whatever they did that you appreciated the most, they tend to go out of their way to keep doing whatever it was you thanked them for. I am not kidding, often I say "thank-you for keeping such good track of all of us, it can't be easy!" Or just anything that affirms to them that you recognize the challenges they face. I am shameless though. You can be the first pick-up or the last in the morning. If you tip the driver and say "I really appreciate that extra time in the morning" you can easily sleep 30-40 minutes. I know, it's terrible.

 

[HowardE]

well, I feel kinda bad, pointing that out.....sleezy in fact. I think people think I am kidding when I say I tip the captains on drifts beforehand. (it is better if you don't do it in front of other divers, sort of tacky.) Slip it to them after everone else is in the water and show them your marker inflated so they know which one you are. :14:

agreed, the crew gets switched around.

But what if they treat you like crap after that? (unlikely, but possible) Then you paid for something that you didn't get. You can't ask for the tip back?

 

[Jcsgt]

Catherine, I don't think it's sleezy at all--I think it's smart! It's pretty easy to just go up to the captain and tell him/her that you want to give "this" to him/her now, so you don't forget, later, in the rush of getting off the boat. I had never thought of doing that, before, but I certainly might in the future! Thanks!

 

[Cacia]

But what if they treat you like crap after that? (unlikely, but possible) Then you paid for something that you didn't get. You can't ask for the tip back?

Nope. you can't. you have to live dangerously, Howard. Thats part of the fun.

Jcsgt, try it! we started taking the captain or the divemaster breakfast from where we we ate in the morning...and oh my gosh, they were so appreciative.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I like to tip at least a little at the start and I tell them it will be more later. I also carry lots of hockey T-shirts and souvenirs to give away and once they see that one person has one they seem to give better service in hopes of getting one too. I also tip at the end as well.

 

[_Bella_]

Since the original post was referring to a liveaboard, I would just say some liveaboards prefer to receive a lump sum and divide it equally with the crew. One liveaboard I've been on asks specifically not to give gifts or tips individually, but rather to put a note with your tip regarding crewmen that went above and beyond. They do this because the managers don't want divers to give preferential tips to the nice guy that lugs your tank, while the cook that's slaving away in the galley that you never see is doing more than his fair share toward your having a great diving trip. Fair point, I think.
Tipping is also not customary outside north america, and I've gotten a few strange looks in Asia and Australia when I tipped.

 

[Cacia]

I don't think it is fair at all. you know, nothing would put me off worse than an operator or company telling me how to tip. If they want to tip, they can fork up better salaries. If I am tipping, I will do it the way I see fit. otherwise it is just a surcharge.