Tipping Bareboat Charter Company Staff

[alex_sauvage]

Originally Posted by Snore

Glad I’m not the barber for some of you guys..

Or bartender


Or waiter

Or cab driver

You do realise that there are countries outside of USA and in some of them they are paying waiter and bartender real salary so they dont have to rely on tips to make a living?

[JoeRobertJr]

Originally Posted by alex_sauvage

You do realise that there are countries outside of USA and in some of them they are paying waiter and bartender real salary so they dont have to rely on tips to make a living?

Yup. And it is definitely important to keep in mind and respect the customs of the place one is visiting. And to be patient with those from other places that might not be familiar with your own local practices.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by JoeRobertJr

Yup. And it is definitely important to keep in mind and respect the customs of the place one is visiting. And to be patient with those from other places that might not be familiar with your own local practices.

On this I fully agree. The issue with tipping in the US sphere is it is an expanding plague that can still be resisted. There are some economic areas lost to its effects, but others like charter boat sailing can still be rolled back if we all just said no.

But I fully agree with you; when in Rome… And good on you for trying to understand the lay of the land in this regard.

[Caribbeachbum]

Originally Posted by JoeRobertJr

Snore, I still think your proposed sign is fine. It is not a demand for a tip. It is not bait-n-switch. People who are morally opposed to the whole concept of tipping are not forced to do so.

Sure. Show me the sign, tell me the expectation, before I've agreed to your prices and boarded the boat, and I'll agree with this. Otherwise you've changed the deal after taking my money.

[alex_sauvage]

On a slightly different note: I do understand where tipping of the captain and crew on, lets say Mooring charter, is coming from. I might agree or disagree does not matter here. What I dont understand is when there is a discusion on tipping of owner/operator of a crewed charter. They are obviously free to setup a proper rate to cover expences and make a profit. Why there would be an expectation of a tip , in thousands of $, is beyond me

[Snore]

Originally Posted by alex_sauvage

You do realise that there are countries outside of USA and in some of them they are paying waiter and bartender real salary so they dont have to rely on tips to make a living?

Yes, but we are not talking Europe where it is common to leave (at a minimum) the silver for staff.

[Jim Cate]

One of the many reasons that I have enjoyed Australia so much: tipping is not expected and has been known to be rejected when offered.

Oz is not an inexpensive cruising ground, but it is upfront about costs. They even include GST (similar to sales tax in the USA) in posted prices!

Jim

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by DEAN2140

I am thinking of posting a sign in the cabin: "Gratuities not expected but greatly appreciated". This way, if someone doesn't tip it will be a conscious choice and not based on ignorance. Any thoughts?

I think this is the definition of passive/aggressive.

If you weren't expecting it, you wouldn't have put up the sign.

[Oceanairre]

Originally Posted by Snore

I agree bareboat topping is very much optional, unless they went “above and beyond.”

While I am sure to get flamed- I am posting so people know the other side of the story.

Charter captains (Masters) are notoriously underpaid for the work they do and the responsibility they have. Most arrive an hour before the charter and wrap-up 45 min or more after you are gone. While some will say “they should charge more” the reality is that charter captains do NOT set the rate. The rate you are charged is set by the charter company. Some even take a percentage of what you are billed for the captains services.

So if at the end of your one day, or multi-Day charter the captain did a good job, please tip him. If he did an exemplary job— tip him well.

Just a different viewpoint.

I agree that on a CREWED charter, the captain and crew should indeed receive a gratuity (typically a % of the charter fee). The OP asked about BAREBOAT charters and gratuities for base staff. I would agree with many here that it would not be inappropriate to give something to base staff who have truly gone above and beyond. For these folks we have given a meal voucher or grocery card. We typically leave cleaning staff leftover food items/provisions.

[les22]

Broad brush, only an American would even think of tipping 20% for anything. When I visit the country that invented suggested gratuities on the bill, I tip freely and happily because that's just the way things are, even though it burns my ass to tip more for an expensive bottle of wine than a cheap one. Outside of the USA, tips are less expected but often more appreciated. If you feel a (generous) tip is deserved, give one and be happy about it. If not, don't bother. A kind word and a genuine thank you goes a long way.

[DEAN2140]

This thread has gone way beyond the OP's question about bareboat charters! Now we are talking about the morality of tipping in general and comparing barbers to lawyers (there is a joke here somewhere).

Getting back to bareboat charters, let me point out that most companies charge for seven days while you can only sail the boat for five days. In fact, they charge a full day fee twice on the same boat when one party leaves in the a.m. and the new party gets the same boat in the p.m. To leave a tip in light of this fraud is crazy.

[les22]

Fair comment. I just don't see tipping on a bareboat charter to be any different from tipping for any service. I'm certainly not trying to make a judgement on morality. To give some context, I tipped the young man who helped me park a 47' Sunsail boat at Spanish Harbor, from the pontoon as if he was on the boat himself (parking's not my strong point ). It would never occur to me to tip a company, only individuals.
To your point about 7 day charters providing 5 days sailing: you're sort of right but it's not fraud. You know what you're paying for - 7 nights/6 days use of the boat and half day cleaning and maintenance. Same as hotels.
But now we're really getting away from tipping.

[argonauta1]

Several responses refer to crewed charters, not bareboat charters so are not relevant to the question. Did a 12 day bareboat charter in the BVI last February on a Jeanneau 47. WE left $100 in an envelope at the Customer Service Desk. Our company, Sunsail, saw to its distribution. Incidentally, this is about right for a bareboat charter. One might though compensate a staff member separately for special assistance. Of course all the unused provisioning goes directly to the dock staff.

[BlueSlue]

We did tip the guy who prepped our boat for us on bareboat charter in Greece last spring. We tipped him 80 euros because he really worked his ass off for us and we were a really demanding bunch of ladies. We were always polite about it, but are the types to have high expectations and one of us has OCD-level attention to detail. But this guy really went beyond our expectations, even showing up at 11:30pm the night before departure when I sent him a text saying the 12v socket wasn't working and helping me troubleshoot head problems via text mid-week on his day off.

So, our American selves felt that we really had to tip him even though he refused at first. I had developed a rapport with him by this point an told him to just humor us and take the tip. Later that evening, he bought me a couple of drinks and I let him since I knew he had some extra cash.

We did not tip the office staff or any of the other staff.

[Iaangus]

IF, you know tipping 10% to 20% for good service at a restaurant is normal in USA, (this burns your rear end because you already despise the US and everything about it and you also feel it is the cause of misery in the rest of the world) and if understand the tip is a vital part of the wait staffs income but feel the restaurant owner should pay better wages and then their staff won’t need to beg for tips and if to express your dissatisfaction with this system of tipping (even though you are well aware of it beforehand) you leave no tip for the wait staff you might just be a cheap skate. Unless you are really bad at math, I mean really really bad you can add 10% to any number in your head. Add 10% to the menu prices if they are too high walk out, I have asked to see a menu before I have been seated. Tipping gives the customer the option to pay less for poor service. I have left 0% tip and over 20% tip although I feel 20% is extreme. I’ve noticed in Tortola several times at restaurants the tip was included in the bill and the service was worse than anywhere I’ve been in the world. Service so bad I wouldn’t consider going back ever yet server got her money. I would have left her 0 but didn’t have the option, this occurred at least 3 times in Tortola.