Will work for NADA

[RS]

Hello my Dive Instructor Friends.

I recently had an excellent re-introduction to scuba courtesy of three great people, and am wondering if anyone in training ever offers gratitude w/ a tip?

Basically, I was one of three ow students doing check dives with two instructors and a DM, on a great day in Monterey. They were sure we knew that is was customary to tip the boat crew ~$5 per tank if you felt like it. No prob; common courtesy.

This got me thinking about my instructors; does anyone ever tip them? I don't want to name names, so I'll call the instructors Eric and Greg and the DM Ron. Eric had two students in his class scheduled for the ow checkouts. He hired his friend Ron to be DM and I'm sure paid his way. Hotel, food, gas, drinks, whatever. Greg had one student. All they got to do was hang out with newbies to be sure we don't freak out on our 40 fsw dives. They also took us on a bonus shore dive just for fun.

To make a long story short, I gave a tip as a token of my gratitude to all three of my new dive instructor friends. It seemed to me that these guys didn't get paid enough because they only had a few students. If they'd had 6 or 8, it might have worked out. But with only three, they were paying to dive. And we had a great time because we had less students to mess things up!

Doesn't this seem like the thing to do? Are folks really so broke they can't offer up a few bucks when having a good time??

Am I just a fool who is now parted with his money, albeit for a good cause.

R

 

[do it easy]

Instructors get to set prices, so I wouldn't tip them. If they wanted more, they could just put it in the price. If you want to give them something back, then refer your friends if you had a good experience.

Divemasters, on the other hand, are usually working for dive time, so I think it would be fine to tip them, although, as with any tip, it is discretionary.

As a divemaster, I could find more money in my couch then I have ever been given in tips.

 

[brdr882]

generally I would say that tipping instructors and DMs if part of a course is not standard. This is from the point of a DiveCon, when I go on open water dives i tend to be carrying a flag, running back out of the water to get weights/fin straps/etc. I don't get paid for this but I do it because I enjoy diving and am looking for experience with students as I hope to be an instructor at some point. On the other hand if you weren't in a class and were out on a dive with a dive master I believe tipping the DM, as well as the boat crew, etc is proper. But if you feel as though the instructor went above and beyond the call of duty and you're so inclined, tipping is a generous show of gratitude but pretty rare

 

[RS]

I think most people are just tightwads. I'm in for adventure with good people. Maybe cash is a bad symbol of my gratitude, but it's more practical than nice smiles.

How do you get that color that makes the text barely detectible on the screen? The wine is kicking in and I'm feeling ornery....

Come dive with me, my brother, and we will explore God's creation as equals, and you will not have to work for free!!

 

[justleesa]

Instructors get to set prices, so I wouldn't tip them. If they wanted more, they could just put it in the price. If you want to give them something back, then refer your friends if you had a good experience.

Sadly, not everywhere. I know some instructors/IA's/DM's that work for a low hourly/daily rate. It doesn't matter if they had 6 students or 1-10 customers...they get the same. Some ops offer a daily rate and $10 extra if you had students that day. Not all instructors are independent and can't set the prices.

 

[knotical]

Bravo for recognizing your dive staff.

Many (most?) instructors are underpaid, DiveMasters worse. Tipping, especially to DMs can be a nice way of showing appreciation. Options include cash, a meal or drinks, or a letter to the employer or agency of the DM/Instructor. One student baked me a delicious carrot cake. But a tip is certainly not required.

 

[neil]

I think most people are just tightwads. I'm in for adventure with good people. Maybe cash is a bad symbol of my gratitude, but it's more practical than nice smiles.

I agree. I enjoy getting tips, and I enjoy giving them. Even small tips are appreciated by most people.

 

[ivyleaguediver]

In our local area around Boston, the dive staff involved with classes rarely get tips. I think this is because we are not a resort area and people are more inclined to tip when on vacation. On the rare occasion when a student has offered me a tip I have felt a little embarrassed. I usually tell them if they had a good time to let the shop owner know.

 

[RS]

Hmmm,

I guess you should follow your instinct and do what you feel is right for the occasion. I definitely feel like I did the right thing, and should have offered more.

And it's a small price to pay for having really good dive buds.

 

[Vercingetorix]

During my OW class and checkout dives, the Instructor was paid, the DM was not. On the days of the checlout dives, the DM went so far as to cook breakfast for us one day and a fajita lunch the second day. All ingredients paid for by him. He does this for all classes for which he is a DM. I tipped him for his services on the dives (47 degree water) and contributed to the food expenses. He was also an excellent, patient DM (he's in training to be an Instructor).