How much should you tip a dive operator?

[scottitheduck]

Good solid thread here....

I've always felt that the old, "price of a couple of beers at local prices" to be a good standard. Maybe we should change that to a "couple of gallons of milk" here on Oahu.

Generally speaking, the DM/Instructor is up hours before the diver slinging tanks, packing gear, getting stuck in traffic and trying to find the hotel. I'm always grateful for the work that goes into getting it all together and generally tip 20% of my total bill when off island.

When in doubt, just ask. We are happy to share the Jedi ways of the dive world.

G

 

[kmayer]

First: I would have starved without tips. Quite literally; cash bought my lunches. The meager dollars I got from the shop paid for gas, rent, everything else. Some owners have started to build tips into their pay scale to cut costs (b@$tard$).

Second: There's a distortion effect when foreigners tip too heavily in a 3rd world economy. The money may seem like pocket change to us, but it could be a week's (or month's) pay for the locals. So, I want to show my gratitude for good service (because that's what a gratuity is, after all!), but I want to do it in a way that doesn't adversely impact the local economy.

Here's a metric that I use all around the world: I tip the local cash equivalent of a beer per tank. So here, on Oahu, where beers are dear and $5 will get you a frosty cold one (mostly), I tip $5 per tank (2 tankers and 3 tankers would be multiples of same). If I'm around for more than several days, I tip at the end of the trip. The same goes for instructors, and in about equal measure. An open water course has 9 dives (5 in the pool, 4 in the ocean) -- that's about $45.

It's easy to remember. If you want to socialize, you can just buy the beers, which works great for everyone!

And hey, if the dives were outstanding, the bestest ever, nothing makes a smile like a picture of Ben Franklin in your pocket.

 

[friscuba]

Buying the beers doesn't work for everyone. Sure, alcoholism and scuba go hand in hand, but I know several people in the industry trying to abstain or at least keep their consumption down... if everyone tipped in beer there'd be a lot of DMs that couldn't afford their lunches getting DUIs. Many of the people I know in the industry have to get to thier other jobs, or back to families or other obligations and may not have a whole lot of time for socialization outside of work.

Just kind of a reminder, that if the tipping is going to be done in an alternate matter, do try to get a feel for what is appropriate for the individual involved.

 

[Cacia]

..Why would anybody tip "at the end?"

I like to tip early, you get better service.

...plus sometimes the DM changes day to day

 

[friscuba]

I guess if you are a bad tipper, wait 'til the end... On a more serious note, anytime I'm on a boat whose crew changes day to day I tip day to day to make sure it goes to the right people. On smaller boats, for instance I only have two crew that work for me, it's easy to keep it straight, but once you get much larger than that, the tip may not always get to whom it's intended.

 

[kmayer]

/beer/ => /favorite frosty cold beverge/

 

[Trianii]

..Why would anybody tip "at the end?"

I like to tip early, you get better service.

...plus sometimes the DM changes day to day

Just got back from a trip to Cozumel (I know, this is a Hawai'i thread ), the owner of the company was our DM the whole time. On Day 1, he told us we would be on a different boat on Day 2, and possibly a different DM. With that info, we attempted to tip he and the crew at the end of the first day, and he told us not to worry, we could settle everything at the end of our 4-day trip.....so I guess it just depends... It was a smaller dive op so probably easier for him to track what everyone was doing, but that was nice.

 

[Shaka Doug]

Between 10% and 20%. simple scuba math. if you're happy then make sure your dive instructor is happy. as I've always been told, "Big Tippers go to Heaven!"

 

[aascubagirl]

I'd have to agree w/Gabe...when I'm diving elsewhere, I shoot for 20% of my dive bill as the tip as I know that there are hours of work for the dm/instructor that take place before and after my dive. 10% - 20% seems to be the norm over here in Kauai...

 

[-=>Larry<=-]

With kmayer especially - - - the tips were the difference between stopping for a hot plate in Hanalea on the way home or dredging the refrigerator upon arrival!

My memory of the norm is the 10%-20% region - - - I also make a point of telling my students that near the end of class while obviously tipping my starving divemaster

When I'm traveling - as long as I'm happy - it's a twenty to the divemaster that led me.. so closer to the 20% side - - I've become much more generous once I spent some time on the receiving side.

In classes - - I've only been tipped 3 or 4 times out of a hundred students or so [It was again in the 15% region or so - VERY respectable when compared to what I'm paid!] - - In general -I try to make sure that goes to the DM since they aren't paid at all ~!