Tipping on a charter boat? wtn

[WAHOONBOX]

Ok.... I originally started this thread to see what one should expect to pay as a tip and I have gotten answers that went from 10%-30%. Some have said it depends on the amount of fish, some have said the amount of service no matter what you catch, and now some are saying it depends on what a mate thinks hes worth. It looks like the fishing industry needs to do away with tipping and consider adding the mates pay into their charter price if thats the way it should be. Then there would be no question as to what one will get.

SHOULD THE FISHING INDUSTRY SET THE RULES FOR THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY?

OK MARTY.......INTERFERE.........TELL ME SOMETHING. JUST HOW DID I PRY INTO YOUR FINANCILAL PRIVACY BY ASKING WHAT A MATE SHOULD BE TIPPED? STRUCK A NERVE WITH THE QUESTION ABOUT HOW MANY MATES REPORTED THEIR TIPS AS INCOME I GUESS. JUDGING FROM YOUR OUTBURST, I GUESS THE TRUTH HURTS.

I DID EDIT MY POST OUT OF RESPECT WHEN I REALIZED THAT I BROUGHT IT UP IN ANGER MORE SO THAN INQUIRY.
SOME POST WERE MADE IMPLYING MY FRIENDS AS CHEAP ASSES AND THE DIRECTION WAS GIVEN TO FIND THEM ANOTHER BOAT BECAUSE WE DONT NEED THEM AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF OTHERS WAITING TO TAKE THEIR SPOT. OK....THAT'LL WORK, BUT MY QUESTION STILL HAS NOT BEEN ANSWERED. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT WITH THE ASS CHEWING i RECEIVED FROM THE EL BOXO I WOULD HAVE AT LEAST GOTTEN AN OPINION ON WHAT MY ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF THIS THREAD WAS. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH, LETS TURN THE TABLES AND MUDDY THE WATER A BIT THERE BOZO SMILING HERE DONT GET PISSY....I MEAN BOXO, WHAT IN THE HELL DOES ALL THIS RAMP AND RAVING HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT I ORIGINALLY ASKED OF THIS FORUM. NOTHING, SO THE WATERS CONTINUE TO BE CLOUDY ON THE SUBJECT. I GUESS WE CAN ALL FALL BACK ON WHAT EACH INDIVIDUAL THINKS THEY ARE WORTH?
AND CLOWNNBOX................YOU ARE SO FUNNY!!! I'LL BE SURE TO START A THREAD ON REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND WHAT OTHERS THINK THEY ARE WORTH. MAYBE ADMIN WILL GIVE ME MY OWN FORUM,THEN I COULD LIVE IN YOUR WORLD. ACE1STWORLD

NO ACE...DON'T NEED YOU TO LIVE IN MY WORLD...YOU HAVE SLEPT IN MY HOME BEFORE WITH MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS....AND THAT WAS A PLENTY ENOUGH OF YOUR WORLD AFTER I READ HERE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT MINE

YOU DON'T GET IT DO YA? IT IS YOU DOING ALL THE RANTING AND RAVING BRO....I JUST CLICKED HERE TO SEE WHO WAS PISSED AT SOME MATE IN THIS THREAD.......I FOR ONE JUST GOT TIRED OF HEARING YOU RUN DOWN THE TRADE OF MANY MEMBERS HERE


SO I RESPONDED...THAT IS WHAT YOU ASKED FOR RIGHT? RESPONSE FROM THE MASSES?

AND YOU DID MAKE SMART ASS COMMENTS ABOUT TAXES, SALARIES AND TIPS OF CHARTER MATES AND HAD THEM DELETED AFTER THE FACT....

NOW ACE...YOU GO FROM YOUR MATES TIP ATTACK AND TO NOW ATTACKING CLOWNBOX..... ....THE WORLD READ YOUR THREADS BRO...DELETING WHAT YOU DID IS STILL HERE....I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID......I WAITED FOR THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE REPLYING ...SENT YOU A PM WITH MY THOUGHTS...YOU PM'D ME BACK WITH SOME RIDICULOUS THING ABOUT ME KILLING DEER DOGS....SO I POSTED UP MY REPLY.....

REFERENCEING YOUR PM....I HAVE NEVER KILLED A DOG IN MY LIFE.....I HAVE SLEPT WITH A COUPLE COYOTES BEFORE BUT NEVER KILLED A DOG...

GROW UP ACE....YOU STARTED YOUR SMACK MOUTH HERE...YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR REAL ESTATE AND I WILL TAKE CARE OF MY COCKPIT.

CLOWNBOX OUT........

[nautiduck]

Since no one answered Ill ask again Im not prying but like Capt John said Joe Customer doesnt know about the expected tip. If mates only get paid by the tip then by all means please tell who ever books your trip to put it out there up front. I dont mean to offend anybody by this but if you make an average of $400 a day in tips and average 200 days a year thats 80k a year, thats not too bad. Especially if thats on top of a salary or hourly rate. I understand you work your asses off so do the rest of us. If you are getting paid plus tipped to me to complain about an extra $200 tip for the day instead of $400 is kinda arrogant. Im college educated average 60 hours a week plus all kinds of extras that I dont get paid extra for trips overnight out of town for days on end and making sure the job is done even if I have to go do it myself, Which I just did on third shift because we had subs walk out because of the security restrictions plus put in my full day time hours. You know what I dont get tipped I dont make $80k a year I might get an atta boy for doing my damn job. If your lively hood is paid strictly by tips then by all means have the owner broker booking agent tell them that up front so you get paid. If the tips are extra so you can live large, well you knew what the pay was up front quit your whining and deal with it or do what the rest of the world does when they dont make enough money find another job. You have a job in one of the greatest workplaces in the world hell other people pay dearly just to get an occasional taste of it. If I offended people Im sorry if you dont understand why then to frickin bad.

[cape_fisherman]

So...can anyone confirm if the boats up around HI, OI, VB, or Jersey pay their mates a salary + tips? Or are they just working for tips? I know quite a few around Morhead City/Atlantic Beach pay the mates a salary that can range from $100-$200 per trip plus the party tips. Is it like that everywhere?

Jay

[reel fool]

Good question. and that's what these forums are supposed to be for, right?
My $.02
I work on a boat for a living. If you have never been a crewman for a year, then you don't know what we do to make $$ in that year--long days, work on "days off", no paid vacation, pay my own health benefits, blah, blah, blah. But, I have never been a real estate agent, plumber, stock broker, etc....(not singling ANYONE out here), so I don't know what you do with your time in a year. fair enough.

The tip is a tip. It's a tip. A tip. get it. a gratuity. gratuitous. the fishing charter business has been operating this way from the beginning. Americans don't need a guideline for tipping. the unwritten 10-20% is out there...it's been said about every occupation that gets tips. no new rules here. That said, tip according to your experience. With escalating fuel prices, I don't expect my tips to escalate with it. I do expect them to go up though. As inflation hits, salaries will eventually rise too, so mine should go with it. I do agree with the "If you can't afford a nice tip for a good experience, stay on the dock" way of thinking. Come on. Do you go to more expensive restaurants and then tip 6% because it would have been 20% at Denny's?

I don't care if its inshore, offshore or overnight. I would tip based on the time I spent on the boat (more of the crews time should mean more $$---you expect more $$ for more hours worked in your profession), the experience on the boat, crew's attitude, friendliness, etc...all those things you already know before this question was posed.

For my fellow crewmen, I feel your pain over getting anything less than $300 in tips for a days trip I know you get reamed on some great days--great personal & friendly service, "that's o.k. you lost 3 of my handmade seawitches today & asked me 47 questions before 6 a.m. I live for that" but you get $400 tips for getting back to the dock at 10 a.m. with a limit of 35 lbs tunas some days too. it's a tip. work for it & most of the time, you will get it.

back to the original ?
was the $200 tip o.k. for that day? who knows! your friends know what the crew was like. did the deckhand involve the clients--show them how to use the tackle, explain the method of fishing, answer their questions patiently (we hear the same ones everyday--get good at answering them thouroughly--your tips will improve).

All the ballyhoo of "How much does a crewman make from the boat, in a year, etc...." NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. But I'm not proud, so I'll share anyways. I have not made more than $60K in a year since I jumped into this full time....the first 2 years, I made about $35/year. I average less than $200 (way less) for every 12 hours I put into the boat---fishing, dry dock, usual boat work, etc.... I left a successfull sales career to pursue this, knowing that I would make less $$, (lots less ), but then, I would not have the memories & friends I have.

last thought---if a crewman on here gets a little steamed under the keyboard for you asking or insisting on knowing if they get paid by the boat, how much, what do you make in a year.....you could avoid that by providing your financials up front. afterall, you are asking very personal info there amigo. think about.

[nautiduck]

I wasnt trying to be specific about salary my main question was do you get a salary or is your compensation made up entirely of tips. Thank you for your answer is was concise and made the point. I dont think that all the time that a crew spend cleaning an readying the boat should have any thing to do with the tip nor should the amount of fish caught. I tip based solelyon the attitude of the crew. You may think that asking wether or not mates get paid or work for tips and an aproximate amount most get paid will believe it or not help loosen purse strings. Besides most careers average pay is pretty much common knowledge I wasnt asking for your personal tax returns to look over just a well in this part of the eastern seaboard Mates average so much a trip in that part its this much or they get paid tips only. You need to remeber most of your clients at least new ones didnt grow up on the coast they dont know the rules and customs. They see million dollar boats thousand dollar reels 50 to 100 dollar lures and teasers and figure hell if the boat costs this much your probably getting paid pretty well too. Also take into consideration you get a bunch of blue collar guys they might make 15 to 20 bucks an hour a little more if they're union, a 50 dollar tip per person is a good bit to these guys. Most arent stingy but they expect you to earn it. For those that stick to the if you cant afford the tip stay on the dock mentality you should watch what you wish for you might get it. Once again Im not saying people shouldnt tip but remember its a tip a bonus alot of people work just as hard or harder for that base $200 (if that)a day without ever seeing a tip for bustin their ass for people. Be grateful you have a job sport fishing if fuel keeps going up you might not.....

[shipmate bill]

After i posted i've read a couple people are getting hung up on my comment of if you can't afford the tip you can't afford the boat but maybe my boat isn't for you. I work on a high end, charter boat. We do a lot of striped bass fishing. Every trip in the spring we start out by having the mate cast net 150 live baits to make sure our clients have the freshest and best bait we can get. We could easily go buy 50 lbs of frozen, that'll work alright but this is one of the multitude of differences between the boats I'm on and a lot of the rest of the fleet. If you're a blue collar guy, you might not be able to afford my boat. (not everyone drives a Lamborghini but some do) Don't get me wrong i fish with a ton of blue collar guys, but they see the value in spending a little more on a trip that will give them the best opportunity for the greatest success. Part of that includes giving the mate a good amount of money. All the charter guys i know have posted everywhere 20% tip for the mate (on the brochure, website, in the cabin and talk about it when the trip is being booked) so i find "i didn't know how much" just another excuse for "really that much?" If you're going on high end boats for trips of a lifetime, realize that you should be tipping at the suggested rate even if it seems high. If you're trying to go fishing on a bargain, go off the beach or on a boat in your price range. If you have champagne tastes and you're on a beer budget your living beyond your means and need to be fishing on a cheaper boat where the appropriate suggested tip doesn't seem too high for you.

[tunatamer4]

I have been out of fishing "professionally" for a couple of years and don't have a problem with ya'll knowing why.

I can't speak for the rest of the world, or for the state for that matter, but I can tell you a GOOD mate doesn't get paid what they deserve.

Let me give a little background of my fishing career.

I worked as a second mate on a charter boat in NJ for three seasons before moving to NC. My first year here I worked the docks in the local marina almost daily to get hired but NOBODY wanted to give this YANKEE a job because he didn't know the CAROLINA WAY of fishing. Well after drinking in the local watering hole with some of the captains an opening on a boat presented itself and I jumped onboard.

As a starting pay at that time, I took the job for $8.00/hr + tips. After a couple of months of working my ass off to keep the job, I was awarded an increase to the AVERAGE salary of $10.00/hr.(That was only for the time the boat was AWAY FROM THE DOCK) Within three years I was the highest paid mate in the marina coming in at a whopping $12.50/hr. Like I said, that was just in this area.

I left the business for a few reasons.
1- As stated by some others, there were stretches when we ran as many as 80 days straight with one or two lay days due to weather or mechanical problems. This schedule takes a toll.
2- Dealing with six drunk, know-it-all offshore fishermen from six hours west of the coast, throwing up and crapping all over the head or a boatload of rug rats who won't listen to the parents destroying the salon and grinding goldfish crackers and gummy bears into the carpet.
And 3- The lack of a "LIFE" Being a mate involves more people than just yourself. There is the family to think about.

I invite EVERYONE who charters a boat and is wondering what a mate deserves to actually spend some time around a charter boat, I mean some REAL TIME. Go to the boat 1-1/2hrs prior to departure and just SIT ON THE DOCK. Don't speak, just watch what goes on. Then at the end of the trip, spend another three+ hours observing what is done by the mate above and beyond what he is being paid for.

At a minimum, for a five hour trip a mate will put in 8+ hours icing the boat, checking fluid levels,FISHING, cleaning fish and then cleaning the boat. Then rigging for the next day. On a 12-14hr trip their days are 18-20hrs depending on the amount fish they have to clean and the conditon of the boat.

I guess what I'm trying to say is when you find a crew that works their asses off while you are there, you can rest assured that they are doing MUCH MORE than the pay covers.

So, stick with a crew that is good to you and be GOOD to THEM!

[Persistence]

Jeff,

That's one of the best posts ever. I like your style...

Continue to live the dream...

Glenn

[Miles Offshore]

Also take into consideration you get a bunch of blue collar guys they might make 15 to 20 bucks an hour a little more if they're union, a 50 dollar tip per person is a good bit to these guys. Most arent stingy but they expect you to earn it. For those that stick to the if you cant afford the tip stay on the dock mentality you should watch what you wish for you might get it. Once again Im not saying people shouldnt tip but remember its a tip a bonus alot of people work just as hard or harder for that base $200 (if that)a day without ever seeing a tip for bustin their ass for people. Be grateful you have a job sport fishing if fuel keeps going up you might not.....

exactly my point- if some of y'all have only high end customers then good on you,(rockfishing? ) but there are an awful lot of boats to spread the dime around, and if you ask a few boat owners/captains, i would imagine the "blue collar guys" ( dont most of you mates relate)would help fill in the gaps in the calender that i think are widening. rock on

[reel fool]

Why is this even a debate? A tip is a tip. If you don't want to tip, then don't. You know its expected, you know the range that's expected. If you have to ask, then you probably have been living in a cave & have a rotary dial phone. (that's a telephone, a device used for communicating to someone not in the same proximity as you).
Come on. It's none of your business, & should not influence your decision, whether the crew gets boat pay, health benefits, etc...
I want to make as much $$ as I can everyday I go to work. Don't you? Or do you wake some days & say, "F*ck it. I want to sweat my a$$ off today & forfeit my pay. Just give me enough for cab fare, slap me across the cheek & tell me to be grateful I have a job"
I am not suggesting a tip based on anything other than your experience with the crew. That should be it. Has nothing to do with how many hours they sweat b4 you arrive, after you leave, days off, etc.....I don't tip my food server or cab driver, or anyone else, because they had to sweep the floor b4 I arrived, or they had to wash their cab on their time off. Does not come to mind. Tip based on your experience. The cost of the charter is a good place to BEGIN to base your tip.
I have been stiffed more times than I care to remember---and have had days where I made over $1k. Did I deserve it? Apparently my clients' thought so. they had a great experience.