Dive Boat Etiquette on SoCal Boats

[Ann Marie]

Hehe! :rofl: Thanks Ken but, I meant tell him about how FUN boats are! :10:

 

[shark.byte.usa]

The eitire tipping culture has been designed and deployed to motivate personal and attentive service. Its not designed as employee compensation

You are completely wrong! Outside of CA and I think NY, tips are employee compensation and a big part of it. My wife was a server (waitress) in CA, making minimum wage + tips, we took this for granted, after moving to Hell, I mean Arizona. Low and behold, we were now under the FED. minimum wage laws which pay only $2.13/hr. for positions subject to tips (service industry), they also in most cases require you to report at least 15% of your sales as tip income, regardless of whether you made that much in tips that day or not, because the establishment has to pay benefits (ss & medicare) on that percentage as well as the employee. Imagine our suprise when instead of getting a $300 paycheck, she was getting checks for $0 (and I do mean 0, for a full workweek), after taxes. So basically 100% of her take home income was from tips. She quickly decided management was the way to go, whereas in CA. it's not, you make more on the floor.

Kinda off topic, I know, but the perception is, that tips are not mandatory, while it's not the law, in my opinion it should be, especially in all states that use the Fed. min. wage standard ($2.13) for service employees. Doesn't relate to dive boats I know, but still.....

Hint: A good rule of thumb is to tip double the sales tax in most places, this is usually around 15-20%.

Sidenote: Wish I would have know this before we moved, may have been able to talk her out of it and still be living in CA. Oh well live and learn

 

[Mo2vation]

You are completely wrong! Outside of CA Blah Blah Blah (Ken stops listening....)

There is life outside of SoCal? Dang. Who knew....

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Ken

 

[Dive California]

my 0.02...

Tipping should never be expected...it's a way to say thank you for a job well done...I have paid you for service...received the service from you...and...you have gone above your duty in servicing me...thank you...here is 15-20%

People will insist on leaving a 15-20% tip for any service...and this is wrong...it sometimes encourgages bad service...if somebody is giving you bad service...do not tip...than perhaps that person will learn to return good service...or they can get a different job.

With that said...

If you have gear (camera, spear gun, etc) handed to you in the water...you have assistance with something special by the crew...tip!

Most of my experiences with local boat crew, is the service is done with a smile and they go well belone what is expected...tip...15-20%

My wife had some special assistance once from a dive master/instructor...we tipped that person directly...and said "thank you"

 

[scottfiji]

There is life outside of SoCal? Dang. Who knew....

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Ken

minimal, but I have heard that it exists... I think there's a little in New York City...

 

[Mo2vation]

minimal, but I have heard that it exists... I think there's a little in New York City...

The friggen newyawkahs that haven't, you know, transplanted to SoCal.

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Ken


I apologize in advance to IceX2 for the above off topic contribution to this thread.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

minimal, but I have heard that it exists... I think there's a little in New York City...

It won't matter. Once the big one hits, everything east of California will sink into the Atlantic.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

There is life outside of SoCal? Dang. Who knew....

---
Ken

Very very little, it's unfortunate I ever had to find out.

I do completely agree on the tipping guidelines most use, I don't tip for poor/no service, it wasn't earned, and It's been a long time since I've had to count on tip income to pay the billz, so what do I care.

I've blurted enough off topic on the tipping subject, my apologies but after being married to a waitress/bartender for 10 yrs, and hearing the constant babblings and rants, it kinda just flew out...

 

[Shasta_man]

I found some whining I don't want to hear either.

* Arrive early - if you're skidding into the parking lot on 2 wheels 10 minutes before we're supposed to leave, you should get left at the dock. We hate waiting for you. Go shore diving you slacker.

* LEARN THE NAMES OF THE CREW - they were all introduced to you at the first dive briefing. Pay attention, learn their names, and call them by their names throughout the trip. Respect these people. Learn the name of the cook, and call him/her by their names. I can tell you the names of most of the crew and about all the cooks for the SoCal dive boat fleet. This is important stuff - to them and to those of us who like these people. If you're going to blow off this first small, simple courtesy, go shore diving you slacker.

* DO NOT put on your fins at the bench and Donald Duck to the gate. If you haven't gotten spring straps yet, or if you can't do a quick, effortless figure four while standing at the gate because you have plastic fins with some wacky space age buckle system, go shore diving you slacker.

* Ask the DM, and be perfectly clear WHEN WE ARE MOVING TO THE NEXT SITE... I am usually the first one in and the last one out, as I dive the water heater. However, what's most important to me to know when we're moving so I can be back on time. I don't care about anything else (gate open, gate close, blah blah blah...) it doesn't matter - I won't make a boat wait for me. I'm the guy, on the last dive of the trip, who crawls up the swim step to see everyone else's bags packed and the rest of the divers in the galley. I'm OK with packing my stuff on the way home as I'm the last on - I dive to the boat schedule, not to the other diver's schedules. If I ask, and the DM doesn't provide a time for me to be back, I'm not late - get over it. If you can't manage your dive to be back on time so we're not late to the sites, go shore diving you slacker.

* Get into the flow - this is related to the point above. When you get back on deck, get your first stage off, and get filled - the biggest reason people are late getting back, is because they were late getting in. They're late getting in because they were late getting filled. Usually they're late getting filled because they weren't paying attention... its YOUR responsibility to be sure you get a timely fill. You alone are responsible for your fill - if the crew isn't snappy, it cuz they know you're in the galley hitting on the hotties and not paying attention to getting your cylinder filled. If they know you're on top of it, and treating them with respect (see learning the crew member's names, above) you will get fast, fat fills. You'll be diving while Casanova is wondering why he is still at 900# and everyone else is in the water.

* Wetsuit divers - mop up after yourselves in the galley. Just like the gym (where I don't want to get on slimy equipment), don't leave your slime on the vinyl benches at the tables. Some of us dive dry, and are averse to sitting in a puddle of your yuck water. Bring a little towel, stash it someplace accessible and dry, and after you're done eating, mop your wet butt print off the seat. If you can't master that simple courtesy, go shore diving you rude slacker.

* TIP THE CREW - I can't believe I'll go on a day boat, and see people drop in $5. Three dives, two meals, snacks, a couple of fills... please. I get the whole "dive boats are expensive thing" - but if you're dropping $90 - $120 for a dive trip, stay home if your not going to budget $15 - $20 for a tip.

* PAY ATTENTION TO THE DIVE BRIEFING - don't talk over it, or sleep through it, then hit the water and meander around and make us launch the skiff to bring you back cuz the current on the port side is ripping and you just thought there was no kelp. If you're going to blow off the briefing, go shore diving you slacker.

* Say hi to Ann Marie. She won't say hi to you first.

* If you shower, after you towel off (UUSHNUU), please dry off the rest of the head. On most boats, the head IS the shower... I hate walking into the head after one of you wetsuit divers have showered (errrr "warmed up"), and everything is wet - sink, toilet seat, toilet paper, paper towels, walls, ceiling, floor, etc. Get a grip. If you're going to shower in a head that doesn't have a dedicated shower area (like my beloved Pac Star does) grab your little towel (see mopping up the galley seat, above) and dry off the place for the rest of us. These little white terry towels are like $7 for 24 of them at Home Depot. Here's an idea - leave a $15 tip on your next trip, hold the fiver and plow through the ashtray or sofa for another couple of bucks and go buy a bag. Keep a couple in your dive bag in a zip lock. The rest of us will thank you.

* You gotta be kidding me with the rinsing of gear on the boat... please. Your gear will not rot in the time it takes you to drive home and rinse it that night or the next morning. There is no sand grinding your stuff. Like Jenaza said, if you're going to hog freshwater to rinse gear, go shore diving you slacker (ok, so I paraphrased for emphasis...)

* Put in an Adam Sandler DVD and you will get tossed over the side.

* If you clog the head, FESS UP so it can get fixed right away. Don't roll out, pretending it was clogged when you went in (or worse, come out and wait for someone else to discover it...) Its OK if you clogged it. Get the info to the crew, they'll unclog it, and we won't have to clip you to the anchor.

* Control your kids. If you gotta bring you're non-diving kid(s) along, I'm fine with that, so long as they're mellow, quiet, not under-foot and Rug Rats isn't playing in the galley TV (Rug Rats or yet another Sandler movie... crimany, that IS a tough call...) This is a dive boat. Have a plan for your kids, bring a sitter or leave them at home and go shore diving.

* BRING A COMPLETE DRY BOX - I am not your o-ring supplier. I am not your hose supplier. I am not your mask strap supplier. I am not your tool box, your HP Port plug supplier, your zip tie supplier or your battery guy (hint to Vytec divers... if you don't have the tool to change the battery, you may now RENT mine for $10 a shot...) The key to boat diving (especially on the 2 or 3 day trips) is to be self sufficient. If your idea of a dry box is the Trident "Save A Dive" kit, go shore diving you slacker. (PS: any real drybox has a $20 in it... so if you haven't budgeted for a reasonable tip, raid the dry box, and replace it when you get home, Rockefeller)

* Bring cash for Poker. We don't play for chips (see Dry Box $20, above)

* No whining. Ever. If you don't plan, if you're not in shape, if you get sea sick, if you think the food doesn't meet your lofty standards, if the bunk room smells funky, if you aren't prepared for equipment failure, if the dive site plans change and you're not happy with it, if you want AquaFina instead of tap water, etc, etc... blame yourself. This isn't shore diving you slacker. We roll with things here. We're on the big blue ocean, the mighty Pacific - this isn't Sissymel - stuff changes here and things happen. If you are dissatisfied with the trip and must protest, do so with your wallet and simply don't come back. Don't go pout in the galley. There are several boats in the SoCal fleet I've only been on once, and will never return to. I don't whine about it - I vote with my business.

* Don't bogart the Jicama on the Pac Star - oh wait... that's me :11ztongue


There's more - but everyone else is hitting this pretty hard. Good stuff, people.


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Ken

 

[Mo2vation]

I found some whining I don't want to hear either.

12-2. That's all I got to say. :11ztongue

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Ken