THE $26 DOLLAR TIP

[Team Fountain "Mary Sea"]

Great story!! I too once depended on tips for a living I was slinging drinks and chow no, not fish @ the time, I once gave back a one dollar tip (on a 350$ check), telling the guy he obviously needed it more than I (almost got fired) @ least most people are good, the rest does seem to stem from ignorance!

[Captain Fred Archer]

"Stop the boat (I wanna get off)!" That's a pisser and a half, Box! And what you are saying about being disappointed about not being offshore and fishing instead of sitting there with a nice tip for no "work" speaks volumes for why the good ones do what they do - their love of fishing, the oceans and turning people on to one of the greatest experiences they'll ever have and teaching them to fish - it sure as hell ain't about the money.

I used to love getting ocean newbies down in Cabo and telling them while we had our morning coffee before shoving off, "Now listen. Pay attention to everything that is going on around you today. No sleeping, no card games, no getting wasted, because you are going to see something today that is going to blow your mind and I don't want you to miss it!" "What are we going to see?", someone would always ask. And I'd say, "That's the best part! I don't know! All I know is you are going to have your mind blown, so please, pay attention! Come on, let's go fishin'!"

After that it was all I could do not to slam the hammers right there in the harbor and get them seven hundred horses screaming and pushing my baby out the to "National Geographic, live and in color"! The second we cleared the no wake zone, those hammers got slammed and we started the hunt for the show...and the fish too.

Oh yeah, those awesome, broaching bull humpbacks that stand on their tails before crashing back into the water in a huge explosion, sperm whales right alongside, pacing and looking at us ("folks, these guys are the biggest predatory animals to ever live. Their teeth weigh five pounds apiece. In the past some of the herd bulls rammed and sank whaling ships and ate the crews while defending their families...biggest predators ever, and they're still here! That's right, Moby Dick was one of these). Sperms that we once came upon feeding on giant squid on the surface - unfugginbelievable! A massive blue or big finback ("the two biggest whales...up to one hundred feet long!"), Orcas that played alongside, or were actually feeding on porpoise, or more than once attacking a momma grey whale and her calf, the many species of porpoise themselves, including those amazing spinners and the beautiful speckled bellies, one local pod led by an old female whose dorsal fin had been cut off by a damned purse seiner that had struck up an amazing close relationship with my Labby, Shadow Girl. I named her Sweet Lily and she would bring her pod to us and jump and squeak and do tricks a couple of feet off our side while she and Shadow Girl "talked", and that was just the mammals!

Toss in free jumper striped marlin making insane jumps, one after another, schools of monster dorados racing each other for the bars and ballies in an incredible, airborne, incoming light show, a big school of 200# plus yellowfin bursting out of the water, chasing freaked-out flying fish with those awesome big stunt pilots, the Men 'O War with nine foot wingspans diving on the same baits and screaming and pecking at the tunas until they got back into the water if the fish beat them to the meal, a massive she ***** of a blue one exploding on a short bait and proceeding to tear off over a quarter mile of line in seconds, all lit up and jumping the whole way.

Wwwhat's that? The money? What money? Oh, yeah, that money. Funny, I wasn't even thinking about that!

I was just thinking how thankful I am to the good Lord for giving me those days with the creatures that I love so much and those happy people and one likewise happy captain showing them the times of their lives - and his.

Yeah, Box, this scarred up old Sea Bear who has had his oceans ripped away from him understands exactly how you feel...and is proud of you.

I see that I don't have to remind you how lucky you are.

Drawings from the novel, "Grim Ripper".

[FASTWATER]

I have fished with some of what I consider the best but am humbled that I won't get the chance to fish with you Captain Archer, but Box some day we will hook up I believe and you are both right if you live it life is good!!!PEACE

[WildLines]

Tipping has always been a sore subject for me. If the charter boat, or any service for that matter, needs an additional $150 or 200 for the mate, then put it in the price and charge it and state your prices as tip included. Why charge less than what you need to operate a successful business, and then expect someone to pay you more or what you really wanted all along. Charge what you need, deliver what you promise, and people will line up.

People will say that you tip because you get 'better' service, but that is BS. The cream rises to the top in every industry. The best captains and the best mates will provide the best experiences to the customer because they are passoniate about the job, not because they 'might' get a big tip at the end of the day. The boats that don't provide the service will be culled by the natural market place that culls companies everyday. Wahoonbox, it is obvious you are a true professional and great fisherman and I bet if I came and chartered your boat and told you when we left that I was not going to tip you at the end of the day you will work just as hard and do just as good as if I promised you a big tip.

For the record, I ALWAYS tip but don't have to like the theory behind it.

I am officially off my soap box.

[Reelin Sportfishing Charters]

Add the price of the TIP into a charter is one way of doing. Unfortunately it is not the norm. For my business, my contract clearly states a 15-20% tip on the price of the trip is normal and required for the mate. In most cases, the tips exceed the 20%.

In fact check out what my web site says under the "What to bring" section.

"http://www.reelinsportfisihing.com"

It states that customers who fail to tip the mate 15-20% without good cause will be asked not to return.

My deck tech's are the reason for my success. They are one of the reasons why we cacth as good as we do and when we don't why the custoomers still have a good time.