Tipping

[Olariuas]

Boat dive in the uk £20 so about £30 i bring my own gear my own tank and dive and have a mug of soup on the way back and no tip is expected.

Wh i was in america i way paying twice the peice and then was expected to tip on top. What am i tipping for i recieved less service than in the uk where i had a cup of soup to warm me up. I carried my own gear i brought my own gear i paid to rent a tank and paid for my air fills and i paid for the dive.
What service has the operation provided me to deserve a tip and no talking to me nice is not a reason for a tip.
Turning on my air? Please dont touch my gear i am not doing my ow first dives i am qualified and my gear is life saving equiptment I Dont expect it to be touched without permission.

Striking up conversations? No thanks i dive to spend time with my wife or friends not make meaningless chit chat with someone.

Giving a breifing? I have paid for a dive this should be included.

Offering to carry my gear? I was told if you cant carry your own gear you cant dive and this was enforced from 12 year old kids through to retired adults. I am more than capable of carrying my own gear when someone else touches my gear it means doing prechecks again.

Perfect. I had the same feeling and was told to

"never let anyone touch your gear" and "always analyze your air" and
"deal with your own gear" and
"assume your responsabilities" and
"Ask where is the damm O2 tanks / rescue kit / other safety device"

Now I might understand that you can't bring tanks or weight in a plane travel and even there I am capable to deal with them.

 

[Scuba J7]

Well you have ideology and then you have reality. Different parts of the world are exactly that, different. Some pay living wages, some don’t. Some places cost more and some cost less. If you’re not willing to go with the local customs, I would recommend staying home.

 

[scubadada]

@npole, I disagree as far as tipping in the US. It's different in Europe, where dive staff's wages fully compensate them for their work. In the US, as you may know, there are types of employees who are not paid fully, and the tacit understanding among employee, employer, and customer is that the customer is expected to pay a part of the employee's compensation--it's referred to as a "tip," but in reality it is simply a normal portion of the person's compensation, and has little to do with the historical purpose of a tip, which was to reward good service. So, the answer to your question of "why should it be different in other countries" is that it IS different in the US.

I lived in Switzerland for 2 years. Every employed individual was paid a living wage. The folks that waited on me in a restaurant were paid well. A tip was given, and expected, only for superlative service. Of course it cost nearly $100 for salad, pizza, and a bottle of wine for 2.

 

[Olariuas]

If you’re not willing to go with the local customs, I would recommend staying home.

This is nonesense. I do respect laws.

I can also be a total-noob and never googled "How much should I tip crews" that from my culture I won't think or consider tipping. Will I read those scuba diving about tipping probably, Will I read debate on Scubaboard and Reddit clearly as its more interesting.

Now it depend. I am not against to tip someone / crews but...

Florida / Playa / Tulum will only be for cave diving from my point of view. Will do cavern-intro training in France (thanks for that) and I will do Full cave in Mexico I think. Tipping is solved there. I have no idea how a cave diving tours are but effort should be more intense and more fun.

 

[txgoose]

Now if I notice that I forgot to tip the day before and that today the service is bad or crews reply me like ******** noway byebye.

Sounds like a mutually agreed upon solution.

 

[AdivingBel]

If you’re not willing to go with the local customs, I would recommend staying home.

I completely disagree...the most important thing is that you GO DIVING. Tip if you want, don't if you don't. Will boat crew grumble and call you cheap? Maybe, but WHO CARES. They won't to your face and besides you probably won't understand them anyway. Besides for every no tipper there will be a big hearted gringo that will rain "local currency" like confetti. It all balances out. From the 50,000 ft. view, the dive ops will be happy to have your business and the local economy will benefit from your tourist cash. Go enjoy, have fun, make dive buddies, be happy. Dive and let dive...

 

[Scuba J7]

This is nonesense. I do respect laws.

I can also be a total-noob and never googled "How much should I tip crews" that from my culture I won't think or consider tipping. Will I read those scuba diving about tipping probably, Will I read debate on Scubaboard and Reddit clearly as its more interesting.

Now it depend. I am not against to tip someone / crews but...

Florida / Playa / Tulum will only be for cave diving from my point of view. Will do cavern-intro training in France (thanks for that) and I will do Full cave in Mexico I think. Tipping is solved there. I have no idea how a cave diving tours are but effort should be more intense and more fun.

If you’re unwilling to go with the local customs, you’ll just give the locals a bad taste for your poeple. I don’t really care what you do, but I’ll stick with using the customs for the areas I visit. I definitely don’t want to be “that diver”

 

[Scuba J7]

I completely disagree...the most important thing is that you GO DIVING. Tip if you want, don't if you don't. Will boat crew grumble and call you cheap? Maybe, but WHO CARES. They won't to your face and besides you probably won't understand them anyway. Besides for every no tipper there will be a big hearted gringo that will rain "local currency" like confetti. It all balances out. From the 50,000 ft. view, the dive ops will be happy to have your business and the local economy will benefit from your tourist cash. Go enjoy, have fun, make dive buddies, be happy. Dive and let dive...

Again I really don’t care what you do but you’ll be joe diver and what is joe diver?

 

[Olariuas]

In that case I have right to decide and consider a compromise. I don't think I will scuba diving with boat just because I want to avoid that. but more cave diving. and I won't have issues to tip cause this is what I WANT.

 

[Lorenzoid]

If you’re unwilling to go with the local customs, you’ll just give the locals a bad taste for your poeple. I don’t really care what you do, but I’ll stick with using the customs for the areas I visit. I definitely don’t want to be “that diver”

I was recently in Fiji, where I was told that, per their traditional culture, being offered a tip or reward for good service is actually considered insulting. Instead, resorts will have a box at the front desk labeled "Christmas Fund," and guests are encouraged to leave whatever amount they wish. The proceeds may be divided up among the staff or may be used to aid employees who have suffered a family hardship or something of that sort. I would imagine that American visitors put more money in the box than, say, Australians, but I got the impression that the Fijians do not judge people by how much money they give or do not give. So, my understanding of their culture today is that charity is good, but tipping is not.