Tips $$$$

[grantwiscour]

I am reminded of Steve Martin's philosophy in My Blue Heaven...Overtip. At least when possible and when the service dictates. Oftentimes I think about whether or not the five or ten bucks makes much difference to me and then compare whether it makes a difference to the DM/crew...it just might. If the service is good and friendly, I usually tip $10 per tank. I have tipped much more than this and I have also left nothing. Typical for me though is the ten per tank, handshakes and thank you's to the boat crew and then some good words with the folks in the shop.

I almost always find that the crews/DM's/Dive Shop staff do a great job and deserve the money and gratitude. If you show me something underwater that I may never get to see again and wouldn't have seen without you...I put some extra green out for that.

 

[Mark Derail]

I wouldn't be surprised that most DM's barely make minimum wage when spread out throughout the year.

They need their tips! I usually do 15-20% of the total "cost".

However, if I was going to someplace where equipment is costly, like Cozumel in Mexico, I'd ask ahead through the manager, what equipment they need, and do an exchange. Say 800$ worth of equipment in exchange for 800$ worth of dive services.

Then I would not tip the management, since I'm helping them out with gear that I'm bringing with me, and that 800$ of gear is worth perhaps 20% more in Mexico.

They need warm water bcd's and regs usually. The DM's or instructors (Mexico), they need full body wetsuits to keep themselves warm, they have to buy their own.

I was HOT with a full 3mm, he was shivering with a full 7mm. Then again, at 1pm, he had already dove 2 dives that morning.

 

[oly5050user]

Hey everyone, I was recntly asked by a friend what a reasonable tip would be for the guide and crew. I told my friend that if the crew is awesome and the guide did a great job, split a $100. $50 for the tip jar and $50 for the guide. Reasonable? Thoughts and input wanted. Thanks.

You posted that the dives would be in Key West..I am there every year in August for the past 12 years.An acceptable tip would be $5. per tank for a 2 tank dive=$10.Both my wife and myself together tip $20.total this way for a 2 tank dive out of KW. Many times I see the people who need the MOST assistance tip nothing at all and they should be embarassed by their behavior.
IF you are the type of diver who needs unusual assistance,example of needing dm to carry gear, assemble gear for you,needing dm to actually dive with you--everyone on this board knows these people exist,then tip more as appropriate as at least $10. per tank to as much as $60+. if they have to dive with you.

 

[James R]

As many have posted, for me it completely depends on the level of service received. I am usually a generous tipper, unless service is poor or the DM tells me to end my dive at 45min (and there's no emergency or issue that requires it).

As a DM, you just never know about people. I had a guy that showed up in a brand new BMW SUV and "allowed" me to carry all his gear, help him put it together, help him in and out of the water, etc etc...then this dude tried to give me a tip of one dollar. I told him that if my service that day was only worth a dollar to him then he should just keep it in his wallet and not to expect me to be so helpful next time. On the other side of that, some people you really don't have to help much can surprise you up with an unexpectedly large tip.

 

[iluvtheocean]

my brother-n-law and i ended up tipping about $10 each last weekend in the Keys for a 3 tank dive but the boat was mixed divers and snorklers- the DM was there but doing her own thing since none of the divers hired her as a guide.

 

[DiveMonkeyDive]

Thank you everyone for the comments.

 

[mhedman]

OK. I will try to be concise. My day begins at 7 am and for the morning trip ends at 1 pm, just in time to begin the pm trip which in turn ends about 630 pm. I live on an island, yes, but for any of us living on these islands you need to understand how extremely expensive that is. We do this because we love to HELP other people dive, not because we get to dive for free. When we dive during the day it is work, hard work. Your morning trip takes 6 hours of hard work on my part. Where I live, 10/tank is a "standard" tip. 5 bucks is a slap in the face. One of the normal services I am expected to provide are lunch and dinner recommendations. The comparison between what you tip your waiter for dinner and what you would tip your dive crew is the most common one made. So let's use that as a baseline. Every American will quickly quote you that an average tip for your waiter is 15-20%. How much time does he devote to you? Along with his busboy 15-20 minutes of his time? At any time is he responsible for safeguarding your life or for rescuing you? Does he have to pay substantial insurance coverage and professional affiliation fees in order to do his job or to purchase and maintain expensive equipment? You may be in his establishment for an hour not the 3 or 4 you will be on my boat. In that time how many tables has he flipped? We won't even get into the glamour issue but, truly, what is worth more to you, your steak and bourbon or a trained professional making sure you come back healthy and happy from an adventure sport trip that carries substantial risk? I love my job and the people I get to help everyday but I would also like to be able to buy one of those steak dinners every once in a while. Wouldn't you?

 

[Scubagolf]

Unless the service is substandard I tip 20% of the dive cost, so a two tank trip in Coz is usually $15, in Hawaii the two tank tip is currently $25.

 

[Zeldah]

It sounds like the above guidelines for tipping are for boat dives. I am going to Curacao on Sat and using a dive op that provides guided shore dives and I am also doing my advanced open water - what are the expected gratuities?... Should you tip after a course too?

Many thanks

 

[Ricky B]

I am confused about the tipping concept on dive boats.

I understand the concept of tipping in restaurants. At least in part, it's to assure that you get attentive service, which can be important in a restaurant setting since it can get chaotic at times. And I understand that the price of the meal is reduced because the restaurant owner pays the waitstaff less because of tipping.

I tip taxi drivers too. Mostly because it's convention.

Is it really the same with dive boats? With a boat, the only assistance I get is coming up the ladder. I have paid for the trip. If there is dive gear that I use, I paid for that as part of the fee. If the crew serves snacks and drinks, that was advertised as part of the amenties offered by the boat.

I get it that the crew doesn't make much money, but that's true of many, many jobs. A number of my dives have been on boats which were part of a package deal, and there was no tip jar in sight or mentioned. So please enlighten me as to why tipping is appropriate on a dive boat.

And if you can't respond to the issue and need to resort to personal attack, please don't.