marina etiquette question

[DannyboyUpstate]

Originally Posted by bljones

I would never degrade good customer service by NOT tipping.

This.

I'm surprised so many people are against tipping. Spread it around. It's good for the economy.

[CalebD]

Lap dances? Really?
That is the best you can come up with Gallagher?

I'll give you all a tip: don't crap in my head because you will not be the one to have to clean it out!

[RobGallagher]

Originally Posted by CalebD

Lap dances? Really?
That is the best you can come up with Gallagher?

I'll give you all a tip: don't crap in my head because you will not be the one to have to clean it out!

Really. That is the best I could come up with. I hope that when I die, the last thing that meanders through my Alzheimer's riddled brain when I hit that cold Atlantic water in the first snow of a late December afternoon is one hell of a lap dance, possibly involving two girls in a jacuzzi, followed up by an outstanding tip.

Really.

[PaulinVictoria]

The only pump-out round here charges you $10 and you still have to pump your own sh*t. Frankly, if they want a tip as well they can go flux themself.

[Patient]

I think it depends where you are, but I don't think tipping just exists in North America and generally it makes friends that will go out of their way to help you the next time around.

For instance, in the BVI I was surprised to see a lot of open hands after refueling, grabbing some fresh water or even ice. I was actually ignored by a guy I didnt tip in sopers hole the day after I bought some ice and didnt tip. While standing there watching other people being served after me by this guy that refused to acknowledge my existence, I noticed a tip box and realized why I was made to wait ahead everyone else. Something about tipping a guy leaning against a fence staring at me while I took ice bags out of the freezer after paying for them didnt sit well with me at the time I guess. Yet, the guy that ran to my bow to grab my dock line and handed me the hose for fresh water, I of course not only tipped but bought a beer at the pussers bar that evening.

In Europe I always got strange looks when trying to tip. The service industry there is MUCH different because of that I think. For instance, I once stayed at a brand new hotel in Oslo and just about everything was broken in our room. The glass door to the shower fell off when I opened it, the windows were stuck open (it was December), there were no sheets on the mattress and of course the phone didnt work. "Ok" I said, new construction hotel with some issues, I'll just go down to the lobby and politely ask to be moved to another room. Uh yeah, that didnt turn out as expected, I was told that if I didnt like my room I could simply leave, so I went back up to my room with my head held low. When people don't get paid tips, its best to ignore your glass with lipstick on it.

[weinie]

"It's not tipping I believe in, it's overtipping!"

Seriously though, when I tip a dock boy $20 after helping me pull into my slip on a very gusty day when I'm solo, I know he will be waiting for me the next time I radio in for a hand.

Some of you will cringe at that amount, but when you pay a marina thousands of bucks a year, another twenty to a hard working kid doesn't killa ya.

ETA: I don't tip well because it is nice. I tip well because I am hoping to get exceptional service next time around. I even tip my marinas manager at xmas time. I know he will move boats around if he has to to make sure I am first in the water in the spring.

[MysticGringo]

Tipping in the service industry in the U.S. is how people get paid. The minimum wage for servers and bartenders is really low, and they survive on tips. When I served/bartended if I was tipped poorly, or not at all, it definitely affected the level of service I gave then next time.

I don't tip marina employees where I'm at, because there's really only 2 people working at the place, and they are both management level. The pump out is DIY, and there is no fuel dock.

[sailtobike]

We always tip a couple of dollars. Typically we find the marina to be staffed by teenagers, who really appreciate it. There was a really cute kid at Mears Yacht Haven at Oxford on Labor Day weekend. She seemed new to the game and was grateful when I tipped her. We want to encourage these kids to work...so they can become sailors like us someday!

[Minnewaska]

Like it or not, America is neither communism, where to each according to their need, nor Socialism, which is basically the same but has governors deciding who among them gets rich.

It is capitalism, where you get what you pay for and more effort and higher skill are paid more.

I've settled on this practice. I make sure each dock kid is tipped eventually. I always tip $20, but I don't tip each and every time. If they go above and beyond, they get the 20. If its a passing minor service without effort, nothing. Always tip at the fuel or pump out dock. When they see me getting ready to cast off, they are inclined to come over and ask whether I will need fuel or a pump out. I don't have to track them down to get help landing the fuel dock or getting service. I don't always need help with lines at my slip, but if I do, they walk around the marina to get to me to help. They have zero obligation to do so. That's what I pay between 100 and 200 extra per season for. Compared to my slip fee, that's peanuts.

And another very important point. I am just nice to them. Never scold and always thank them for their help.

Im hapoy to give them a few extra bucks, they are good kids and need the money for school. I'm happy when I see kids working hard. I learned the value of being reliable and working hard when I had my own paper route at 11 years old. 7 days per week, rain or shine. It's a real shame these opportunities don't exist for kids much any more. If I didn't get the job done, I didn't get paid. If I didn't do it well (timely, clean papers, left where they wanted it), I didn't get a tip.

[tspooner]

I don't know if all pump out facilities are the same or different as I've only visited my local one once in the year that I've had my boat. I secured the boat myself then searched out the dock attendant who handed me a nozzle which I inserted into the waste hole on the deck then he flicked a switch. When the pumping was finished he flicked the switch off and handed me a garden hose which I inserted into the hole and he turned on a tap. We repeated the first step over again now that I knew what my function was and then we were done. I paid him the standard $10.00 and neither one of us got a tip! When I was a kid I worked at a gas station and pumped the fuel, cleaned the customers windows (without asking) and checked the underhood liquid levels (after asking). The customers never got out of their cars and I never ever got a tip. It didn't occur to me that marina/boat service would be any different.