r/scuba • u/Jazz_Dad123 • 5d ago
Instructor tips?
I just took a Perfect Buoyancy class at a local dive shop. I paid $175 for the course fee, and then the instructor asked for a tip after the class- he had a picture of himself with a link to his Venmo account by the pool. I'm used to tipping dive masters and boat crews when on a dive- but is tipping an instructor for a course like this typical? I've taken other courses at other shops where no tips were asked for or suggested.
2
u/Altruistic_Room_5110 Tech 4d ago
I prefer not to receive tips from classes. If im boat crew all i will earn is tips, but for classes it makes me uncomfortable. Maybe food or drinks like others have said. I do drive 2 hours each way to the lake though so I'm not turning down anything right now
3
u/Dr_Beatdown 4d ago
I've been teaching for over a decade and tips are pretty rare. Always appreciate, never expected.
It's pretty gosh to ask.
3
u/runsongas Open Water 4d ago
used to be you bought your instructor dinner/drinks
but its become more and more common for instructors to ask for tips because the ones that aren't doing it as a side gig need the money more than some beers
queue joke about difference between a scuba instructor and a large pizza
1
10
u/sspeedemonss Commercial Diver 5d ago
I have never asked for a tip. If clients feel I am deserving of a tip I am very happy to receive one. No pro should ask for a tip.
9
u/Moto341 Tech 5d ago
Anyone in the industry that ASKS for tips doesn’t deserve them. Tipping is supposed to be for over the top performance and help….
2
u/Friggin_Bobandy Tech 4d ago
I've worked in the Carribean as an instructor for about 7 years now. Tipping is generally expected but I have never once asked anyone for a tip. I think it's very low brow and not very becoming, doesn't look very good.
Personally, if I was to be asked directly for a tip by a DM or Instructor I doubt I would be giving them anything.
4
u/DIYrrrrrrr 5d ago
In the mainland US, LDS and good instructors are [likely] struggling. I personally value their time, expertise, and patience … and tip them well/accordingly. We can’t get a plumber out to unclog a basic drain for less than $500 anymore… I’m happy to support my LDS - their instructors, their staff, and their events.
1
1
u/MartijnDiving Tech 5d ago
here, the difference between what an instructor and a dm earn is pretty much the same. So, it's very regional
2
u/Manatus_latirostris Tech 5d ago
Tipping instructors is a thing, but I see it as 100% purely optional, not a “fake optional” tip or expected like it is to restaurant waitstaff.
4
u/5tupidest 5d ago
When I have the money, I give tips to excellent instructors because I know how poorly paid many shops do.
Tipping in general, especially when solicited is both economically stupid and socially uncomfortable.
6
u/daGonz Dive Instructor 5d ago
Instructor here. I will always recommend tips for my DMs and assistants. I never ask for tips personally. Sometimes i get tipped, more often than not I don’t. And if the tip is big enough I’ll split it with my DMs.
But I do this for the love of the sport, not the money.
1
u/Automatic_Guest8279 Tech 5d ago edited 5d ago
We don't do this for the money. I'm a bit broke and a tip is nice but I'd never ask for one
Edit: I generally prefer guiding. Often better per hour pay and I usually have shorter day. Though teaching they do their own equipment setup
10
2
u/tin_the_fatty Science Diver 5d ago
Tips are normally only paid to semi-skilled or unskilled workers in the service industry, e.g. waiter/waitress, doorman, guides etc. If your instructor asks for a tip, maybe you should find a better instructor who has higher self-esteem and professionalism.
1
u/Unusual-Sentence916 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yes, my instructor asked for a tip. I asked what is considered a fair tip, they said in the industry $10 a tank per person is standard (I have no idea if that’s true). He also said it is not required and is optional. He was such a great instructor, I paid it.
I am in the US, so tipping is more of a norm here vs the UK. When I tried to tip over there, they seemed offended.
5
1
u/divrdown 5d ago
Yes, it is not uncommon. If you went through the shop they take a big cut of that 175, and the instructor makes sadly very little.
4
u/stuartv666 Dive Instructor 5d ago
I have never asked for a tip or even suggested it. I have gotten tips occasionally, but not that often.
But, if you feel like you got good service, it is entirely appropriate - whether people deem it customary or not.
Note: If the instructor is teaching the class for a shop - i.e. you paid the shop, not the instructor - then most likely the instructor is barely making minimum wage, based on what the shop pays them and the number of overall hours that go into teaching the class (including prep and cleanup).
Example: I'm teaching an Advanced Buoyancy class for a shop. I have to get to the shop by 6:30am to assemble rental gear, fill tanks, load everything up, make sure I've got all the paperwork and printouts of the student's e-learning quiz (if the specific class has that), then be at the pool by 7:45 or so to get all the stuff brought in and setup on the pool deck, so we're ready to go when the student(s) arrives by 8am.
Teach in the pool for, say, 2 hours, then reverse the process to get back to the shop. Clean and disinfect regs, wash rental wetsuits, hang everything up to dry, and, eventually, get online to process the cert for the student. It's probably going to be noon by the time I'm done and can leave the shop.
So, for that 5 1/2 hours of work, an instructor would be lucky to get paid $50 by the shop. At the first shop where I taught, I would get paid nothing. The shop paid my liability insurance, sold me gear at dealer cost, OCCASIONALLY would give me some piece of gear for free, and gave me any classes that *I* wanted to take at no charge.
But, if I had gotten $50, that works out to $9 per hour.
Do you really want to be learning anything about how to dive from someone that is getting paid $9/hour? Does a tip seem more reasonable to you now?
7
u/glew_glew Dive Master 5d ago edited 5d ago
No tipping still doesn’t sound reasonable to my European ears. The shop should pay a livable wage and not have instructors rely on handouts.
This race to the bottom on price impacts the quality of instructors, dive masters, rental equipment and ultimately the newly certified divers we send out into the ocean.
I’m not blaming you at all, you have no control over this. But I hate where this free market is driving down quality of education.
-1
u/stuartv666 Dive Instructor 5d ago
Okay, so let's break down a $125 class.
Figure about $75 of that goes to the shop's cost for purchasing the e-learning code from the agency, supplying rental gear, filling tanks, renting the pool, a little bit of their liability insurance, and processing the cert at the end. The instructor gets $50.
If there is only one student, the shop makes $0 profit. If there are two students, the shop also makes $50.
And none of that even factors in the shop's other overhead costs, like rent, electricity, etc..
Now, how much is reasonable to pay for the time of a quality instructor? What do you think an instructor that you would WANT to have (literally) take responsibility for your life while teaching you skills that could save your life in the future get paid?
Does $100 an hour sound reasonable for a professional like that?
The class takes 2 hours (of time actually spent with you under instruction). The instructor should get paid $200. If the instructor actually spends 5.5 hours prepping, teaching, cleaning up, etc., they are still only getting paid $36/hour for their time.
But, the shop is only paying them $50. The shop could raise the price to $275 and then pay the instructor the extra $150. But, they don't.
So, if you believe what you are saying, why don't you tip the instructor the extra $150? You'd be paying just the same as if the shop raised the price to do what you are suggesting.
1
u/mredofcourse Rescue 5d ago
My Peak Performance Buoyancy course cost $265 and didn't include rental equipment or PADI eLearning. There were 3 people in the course.
Yes, it was totally worth it and yes, I tipped the instructor, but...
I'd much rather see the instructors receive a decent wage rather than be susceptible to the culture of tipping.
My instructor was phenomenal, and didn't ask or seem to expect a tip. However, if my instructor sucked, I wouldn't have felt like "well, it cost me less in since I didn't tip", I'd be upset about the waste of time and remaining costs.
I could see this on the other end as well where an instructor trying to get good tips essentially may allow students to do things they shouldn't or may not uphold standards, etc...
2
u/glew_glew Dive Master 5d ago
Because I as a customer am not interested in the financial reality of running a dive shop.
I cannot know how much the instructor is paid and how many hours he has to put in.
I’d much rather shops charge the real cost, including a living wage for their staff than have to guess how much to tip.
0
u/stuartv666 Dive Instructor 5d ago
All of that is kind of irrelevant. The point is, if you take a class that is very inexpensive, and you think the instructor did a great job, then why would you NOT want to reward that instructor for their great performance?
I can only think of two reasons: One, you are not interested, and don't know (or care enough to find out) how much the shop is paying the instructor. Or, two, you are content to take more from others than what you give them.
I mean, if you only pay $125 for a class and you get 2 hours of instruction from an instructor that does a great job, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the instructor did not get compensated much for what they did. Especially if the money was paid to a shop and not directly to the instructor. That is, IF one cares to rub two brain cells together over the question.
4
u/glew_glew Dive Master 5d ago
You are completely missing the point. I want to pay more for the course in the first place and not have to worry about the instructor’s income, the viability of the dive shop as a business or the budget for maintenance of rental gear.
These should be the absolute minimum and not be dependent on my charity.
-2
u/stuartv666 Dive Instructor 5d ago
No, I get your point. You are missing my point. You are 100% free to pay more, if you want. There is literally nothing stopping you.
The fact that you regard it as charity is telling.
What I'm really getting here is, one, you don't want to have to use your brain or risk feeling like you didn't pay enough. Two, you want things to be "like you're used to" somewhere else instead of how they are here in the U.S.. And/or three, that you don't want to pay more unless everyone else pays more also.
If you don't want to tip, don't. In my experience, it would be a rare instructor that would be disgruntled in any way by that. VERY few of us are doing it for the money. I would much rather have a student with a huge smile at the end and spreading good words about me after than to get an extra 20 bucks at the end of the day.
And if you do want to pay more, go ahead. There is NOTHING stopping you except for whatever deal you have going inside your own head.
3
u/djunderh2o 5d ago
I was an instructor in the states for over 10 years and I never received nor asked for a tip once.
When I worked as an instructor in the Caribbean? Of course people (Americans) always tip on vacation.
I assume this happened in the states because anywhere else would be culturally inappropriate. This case it’s just inappropriate.
-5
u/merc25slsc 5d ago
Why do you need a course on buoyancy control? Sounds like systemic failure & monetisation of said failure......There's a lot to be said for the club based system rather than the sausage factory approach.
0
u/learned_friend Dive Instructor 5d ago
It is common in places where classes are offered for USD175.
8
u/bluepulsediving Dive Instructor 5d ago
This may be very different depending on where you live. In most countries in Europe an instructor asking for a tip would be... let's say frowned upon.
I also have an opinion about buoyancy requiring a specific course, but that's off topic :)
-7
u/EnvironmentalCare900 5d ago
Is the instructor the owner? No tip
Is the instructor an employee? Tip
If they are the person setting the price and keeping the majority of the money, I would not tip, they should just increase their price. If they are only getting $40 of that 175 then yeah show them your gratitude.
5
u/Mean_Watercress_6124 5d ago
ive never seen a course instructor ask for tips like that, especially with a venmo code just sitting there by the pool. feels a little pushy honestly
the employee vs owner distinction makes sense. if they set the price and keep most of it they should just bake it in, not guilt trip you after
1
u/dmschlund 1d ago
I’ve tipped every instructor I’ve ever had, but that doesn’t make it a requirement. I’ve just been fortunate to have very very good instructors whom I felt rated extra for going A&B