Do you tip divers?

[rickmcdonald]

hey good man for tipping them, I'm a dive master and aqualung tech. work part time in a dive shop in central OR. been doing mostly recovery work for @ 15 yrs. all local diving is in lakes reservoirs and farmers irrigation ponds, found everything from wedding rings, cameras, fishing poles, to boat motors, to raising a couple 20ft. sailboats, another thing thats well appreciated is food ! good ol cheese burger and fries, something about diving really works up an appetite, if you ever want to get in the water with a mask snorkel and fins and about 8pds of wieght theres a gardening tool called a Hula hoe does a great job for scraping the critters off the the bottom

[LLizzard]

A couple of bucks does not hurt, but it is entirely up to you. Offer some food or cold drinks and they'd be appreciative of the gesture, whether they accept or not.
When I had a boat, my diver was great. He was the business owner, did not mark up zincs from the Port Supply price he bought them for, and would come on 2 days notice before a fishing trip to save me fuel. Plus he was the cheapest guy around. He took good care of me, so I did likewise, sometimes cash, or I'd leave some fish in the fridge for him if I caught some, holiday season bottle of wine, etc.
Just do whatever feels right to YOU. No biggie. To the guys that have the attitude to let them look for another job, I'm glad I don't know you!

[sailcrazy]

I thought a tip was for extra-special, extra-good service??? Employees work for a wage. they accepted the job, and know the wage when they show up. If they go the extra mile, then sure-tip as you see fit. But this culture that says every non-owner has to be tipped....just for doing their job...is crap!

[achil]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

I thought a tip was for extra-special, extra-good service??? Employees work for a wage. they accepted the job, and know the wage when they show up. If they go the extra mile, then sure-tip as you see fit. But this culture that says every non-owner has to be tipped....just for doing their job...is crap!

Agree wholeheartedly. Every time I turn around there is another group of people expecting to be tipped.

[sailnow2011]

No, divers are expensive. I know, I was one. When I charge someone $150 to clean a boat, I dont expect another 20 in a tip. If they did something extra then yes.

[sailnow2011]

Originally Posted by rickmcdonald

hey good man for tipping them, I'm a dive master and aqualung tech. work part time in a dive shop in central OR. been doing mostly recovery work for @ 15 yrs. all local diving is in lakes reservoirs and farmers irrigation ponds, found everything from wedding rings, cameras, fishing poles, to boat motors, to raising a couple 20ft. sailboats, another thing thats well appreciated is food ! good ol cheese burger and fries, something about diving really works up an appetite, if you ever want to get in the water with a mask snorkel and fins and about 8pds of wieght theres a gardening tool called a Hula hoe does a great job for scraping the critters off the the bottom

Good points, the first thing I want is water when done. A nice cold water would mean more to me then a $20.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by sailnow2011

Good points, the first thing I want is water when done. A nice cold water would mean more to me then a $20.

Must be an individual thing! The one time I hired a diver to clean the bottom (because the water was too cold for my old bones), he was shivering when he came up. I gave him a coffee with a shot of rum in it. He soon stopped shivering!

Jim

[CoolBeans]

Um. . .no? Why would I tip them? If they were making $4 an hour and took my order and brought my food and kept my water glass full, sure I'll tip them

Why would I tip the diver who cleans the bottom of my boat? And when the water is cold, they charge more. I keep using them because they do a good job at a good price and can usually get the job done last minute.

I assume he does a good job because word travels and I'll find someone else if he doesn't. It's not because he is expecting an extra couple bucks. . .and this is assuming I'm even here when the boat gets dove on.

Why would you think you should tip a diver? Or anyone making a regular wage doing contract work? I don't get it. . .then again, if I was a charity I'd be tax exempt

[Fore and Aft]

Twice this year I have been given a carton of a beer for a surveying a yacht under difficult conditions. Both times it was 35 degrees Celsius and very humid. Not the best conditions to be crawling about a yachts interior.
I must say it was very appreciated. But both owners had never owned a yacht before so they had not heard the saying that sailors like everything for the price of the wind.....free.
Cheers

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Twice this year I have been given a carton of a beer for a surveying a yacht under difficult conditions. Both times it was 35 degrees Celsius and very humid. Not the best conditions to be crawling about a yachts interior.
I must say it was very appreciated. But both owners had never owned a yacht before so they had not heard the saying that sailors like everything for the price of the wind.....free.
Cheers

Are you saying that you did those surveys for" the price of the wind -- free"?

If so, I hope that it was very good beer indeed. If not, what is your point?

Jim

[Fore and Aft]

Most sailors are well known for being frugal, so my point is I bet those divers did not expect a tip.
Tipping certainly does not happen much here in Australia and that's why I really appreciated the beer.
Cheers

[CoolBeans]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

But both owners had never owned a yacht before so they had not heard the saying that sailors like everything for the price of the wind.....free.
Cheers

Not to hijack the thread but I've had several people exclaim to me, after finding out I bought a powerboat and am selling my sailboat, something along the lines of "free wind vs expensive fuel". . .to which I respond "hmmm, have you ever properly refit a sailboat?"

So far, no. . .nobody has ever refit nor even replaced anything on their boats

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by ThreadenSails

Thanks guys- I did decide to go ahead and tip them. No idea if they did a good job- really no way for me to tell! But I sure could hear them scrubbing away down there. And it was a nasty day for it too- .

Wow! I would have thought it would be the same under water whatever the weather. I mean if it was raining cats and dogs, did they get wet? LOL.

I took the guy for a beer after he finished, and that too was much appreciated. Also, it allowed me to get to befriend him.

[Seas the Day]

Suggestion: Perhaps buy one of this 'take in the water' cameras my kids have and get them to use it before and after to show how good a job they've done. Now I'm going to bug my kids to lend me their camera!!!! Luv it.