How much to tip dive masters and boat crew in Cozumel?

[Christi]

It's so out of control. A 5 to 10% gratuity for doing more than their job should be a nice gesture, but so many who should be paid a fair wage are counting on excessive tips to make their budgets.

STOP with that old incorrect myth that they aren't paid a living wage, because it's simply not true. Don't buy into that.

Full time DM's on this island are some of the highest paid workers on the island. I joke that Pedro makes more than me - it's actually not too far off. I bet you would be astonished at what my payroll is every 2 weeks. That does NOT mean they don't deserve tips, they DO earn and deserve appropriate tips because they are in a service position where tips are customary, NOT because we (dive shop owners) are low life's and don't pay our staff's living wages. Tips should not be contingent upon what they earn as a salary. Tips should be contingent upon the job they do for you and the service they provide - aside from your cost of diving

But just like going out to eat, if you can't afford to tip, then you really can't afford to be eating out.

Please continue to tip your dive crew when they take care of you - they work hard and being rewarded and appreciated for a job well done is never a bad thing!

 

[DandyDon]

STOP with that old incorrect myth that they aren't paid a living wage, because it's simply not true.

Full time DM's on this island are some of the highest paid workers on the island.

Ok, I stand corrected, and thanks for the information. I was thinking about tipping in general, and the popular argument is that service people need the tips to pay bills - and I hate that. Raise the prices, pay decent wages, and let me tip as deserved. Nice to hear that the DMs are paid reasonably.

I don't see me tipping "$25-$30 pp for a good 2-tank day" in my lifetime, but I'll be fine with $15. For a boat of 6 tourists, that'd be $90 to split with the captain on top of their wages for the morning, which seems reasonable enough to this poor dirt farmer.

But just like going out to eat, if you can't afford to tip, then you really can't afford to be eating out.

I'm told that many NYC waiters expect 30% tips. I'd be happier with street vendors.

 

[ggunn]

The whole tipping question will never be satisfactorily answered. You'll hear all sorts of disagreement with my answer.

It will never be satisfactorily answered because there is no "one size fits all" answer. One person's skimping is another's excessiveness. It's a personal thing; I believe that most people tip the dive crews on Cozumel (I do), but how much everyone else tips is none of my business, and how much I tip is nobody else's.

 

[jonhall]

We believe it’s everyone’s personal preference (unless someone is obviously trying to purposely stiff a perfectly good DM/shop/etc in front of us in which case I’ll put some money down and slightly loudly say “Here’s the tip pile, who hasn’t put in yet?”)

My buddy and I often have different opinions of a dive site/DM/dive op. I may think a DM led a great dive and he may think completely different for whatever reason and he will not tip. If someone started a tip pile, he would likely in louder than "slightly loudly" voice say, "What for?" and start giving reasons he's not tipping. Be glad you haven't been on a boat with someone like him!

It's a personal thing; I believe that most people tip the dive crews on Cozumel (I do), but how much everyone else tips is none of my business, and how much I tip is nobody else's.

Agree 100%.

 

[DandyDon]

My buddy and I often have different opinions of a dive site/DM/dive op. I may think a DM led a great dive and he may think completely different for whatever reason and he will not tip. If someone started a tip pile, he would likely in louder than "slightly loudly" voice say, "What for?" and start giving reasons he's not tipping. Be glad you haven't been on a boat with someone like him!

Bummer. The worst I'd consider doing is ignoring it quietly, but I didn't even on our worst trip.

 

[mstevens]

It will never be satisfactorily answered because there is no "one size fits all" answer. One person's skimping is another's excessiveness. It's a personal thing; I believe that most people tip the dive crews on Cozumel (I do), but how much everyone else tips is none of my business, and how much I tip is nobody else's.

All true. It's further the case that everyone has different reasons for tipping and different expectations and needs that they hope might be met as a result of their tipping. I tip a lot less when the DM and captain aren't my friends*. This is me sharing my resources with them in return for their constant sharing of resources and expertise with me. I know they'd treat me exactly the same if I didn't tip, but I can afford it. We tip what we do because more would probably cause embarrassment. (*I say that, but I don't think I've dived with a DM or captain who hasn't been to my house for a few years now, so that's possibly a bit made-up.)

I don't think anyone is actually required to tip, and my personal belief is that a Cozumel DM and captain will take good care of you even if you don't. They'll probably grumble about you later, but you won't be around to hear it. I do think most people who post here can afford $10-20 per person for a morning's diving, even if they have to scrimp and save in order to do so. Some people just hate doing so and other people want to. My brother, who might be the world's 2nd most-frugal person and is always looking for the best deal, buying used, repairing even hard-to-repair inexpensive things, etc., is a good tipper.

In the US, when restaurants have experimented with paying waitstaff a lot more and prohibiting tipping, it's usually been the customers who get the most upset. I think that tells a lot about some of the less-obvious aspects of US tipping culture. People complain about it, but apparently in general they still prefer to do it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

STOP with that old incorrect myth that they aren't paid a living wage, because it's simply not true. Don't buy into that.

Full time DM's on this island are some of the highest paid workers on the island. I joke that Pedro makes more than me - it's actually not too far off. I bet you would be astonished at what my payroll is every 2 weeks. That does NOT mean they don't deserve tips, they DO earn and deserve appropriate tips because they are in a service position where tips are customary, NOT because we (dive shop owners) are low life's and don't pay our staff's living wages. Tips should not be contingent upon what they earn as a salary. Tips should be contingent upon the job they do for you and the service they provide - aside from your cost of diving

But just like going out to eat, if you can't afford to tip, then you really can't afford to be eating out.

Please continue to tip your dive crew when they take care of you - they work hard and being rewarded and appreciated for a job well done is never a bad thing!

For the record (and flame-avoidance), I tip what most Americans tip. That said, I don't follow your logic. In most places in the world where workers' wages fully compensate them for their work, there is no practice of tipping. In such places, a patron might leave a tip only if the service they provided went above and beyond the job they were paid to do through their wages.

The tipping practice in Cozumel seems to be an odd hybrid of US and other countries'. The US custom of tipping has become prevalent because so many of us visit the island, yet unlike dive staff in the US, Mexican dive staff are apparently fully paid by their employer--if I understood you correctly.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I was staying at a resort (about 1 1/2 years ago) and their suggested tipping for the dives worked out to about $5/tank so that is what I had been going by, but it seems the rates have gone up. One time I tipped a DM for four days out of five because on one day he was giving me a bunch of s**t. Another time I gave a DM an extra $50 US because he went way beyond and that was in addition to the usual tips. For the most part I have been tipping on the last dive day but after reading this thread I'll start tipping daily. The only problem I see with this is I may not bring along enough cash for those extra-special events. I've asked at some dive ops and was told that all of the tips are divided among all the DMs and the crew so if the DM I had for the first three days was not there on the fourth day they would still get their tips but I don't know if that is true everywhere.

 

[Bryan@Vintage Double Hose]

Here is another long and boring Bryan-ism so skip it if you are in a hurry....There is a small plastic bucket on top of our fridge and all year change goes it in cause I hate change in my pocket. Few days before we go on our annual trek to SCC I have my kid roll all the change up and trade it in for cash at the bank. As soon as I hit the island I start tipping and continue to do so till I get back to customs for departure. Almost to a T they know me on sight and by name at the resort. When the staff that has not seen you for a year but still remembers where you want to set on the boat, where you want your gear bag and personal items stashed, what gear to touch and not to touch. Remembers your drink of choice at meals, that you despise cilantro but love a melt your face off hot sauce they make but don't put out cause it's so F'n hot, that you want a carafe of coffee at 6 am not some stupid paper cup, that you would like a gozillion pillows and towels and to not throw away 1/2 smoked cigars etc etc. My Spanish is very limited but I do my best to be polite and convey my thanks as often as possible with a smile, handshake and a few folded bills.In the big picture of life tipping for service is chump change. I spent 18 years in the hospitality industry and my wife is still in it. I know first hand what tips mean to folks. I also know there is a canyon of difference between earning tips and expecting them just cause you showed up for work that day....As someone said above, What you tip or do not tip is none of my business.

 

[mstevens]

When the staff that has not seen you for a year but still remembers where you want to set on the boat, where you want your gear bag and personal items stashed, what gear to touch and not to touch. Remembers your drink of choice at meals, that you despise cilantro but love a melt your face off hot sauce they make but don't put out cause it's so F'n hot, that you want a carafe of coffee at 6 am not some stupid paper cup, that you would like a gozillion pillows and towels and to not throw away 1/2 smoked cigars etc etc.

I have hardly ever had bad service in Cozumel, and in general am constantly impressed with how people manage to put up with me without resorting to homicide. I'm pretty certain, though, that when they know I tip well they go a little farther to make my visit that much nicer.

From your post, I'm guessing that in your case your personality and general approach to service workers probably helps, too. Obviously there are way of making demands that no amount of tipping would compensate for, and ways of making requests that people are happy to satisfy. The whole "I do my best to be polite and convey my thanks as often as possible with a smile" thing matters to everyone, and Mexico is a "please", "thank you", "hello", "goodbye", "have a good meal" culture where they count for more. Those gestures go a long way and cost absolutely nothing.