Another question about tipping...

[Ralph]

When I go out on Sea Legs or the Lady K, I normally tip the mate $6-$10 as I get off the boat as well as letting him keep some of my catch which they sell for $2/pound. But how much should I tip them if they clean my catch? In addition to the above, I tipped him $6 for cleaning 6 triggerfish today and got the feeling that he was expecting more.

[PhishingPhanatic]

I never have the mates clean my fish, but I would say $2/fish would be about right. BTW, you might not want to advertise that the boats sell customers fish, that is illegal for them to do

[Ralph]

I'm pretty sure the captain has a commercial fishing license. He fishes alongside the passengers and when the boat gets back to the dock, there is a line of people from various Caribbean and Far Eastern nations waiting to buy fish out of his cooler. Whatever isn't claimed goes into his cooler. I don't see anything wrong with it.

[PhishingPhanatic]

This topic has been beaten to death here before, if you want to see more, read page 5 and 6 of the below thread

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=17130

Bottom line is, even if the captain of the boat has a commercial license and SPL endorsement that allows him to sell fish, the only people that can contribute the fish that are sold are listed on the license. So it is technically illegal for them to sell the fish of paying customers on the charter.

[Ralph]

Thanks. I'm not trying to defend anyone. Actually, I just wanted to know how much to tip for cleaning fish. So, is it $1 per fish or $2 per fish?

[PhishingPhanatic]

No worries. There are certainly many worse crimes out there that FWC could be pursuing, I've fished on SeaLegs a bunch of times and have never had a bad experience.

[plunc]

IMO, they should be tipped the same as a waiter, waitress, bartender etc.. 20% of whatever the trip cost you. If you paid 60$ to fish, throw them 12$. If you have them clean your catch, add a few more bucks. this is a bargain, considering the job is considerably more labor intensive, and, potentially hazardous than a typical servers job, with far less benefits of monetary value(i.e. health insurance, 401k, vacation pay, etc). The majority of the mates income is tips, the boat pays very little. As far as the notion that leaving part of your catch is equivalent to leaving a cash tip, this is not true. Even if they are able to sell some of it, its almost not worth the time and effort involved to pursue.(and trust me on this; I don't want to take your catch home with me, after cleaning fish and bait all week, when I get home, I'll have a piece of beef or chicken instead of your fish, in fact, about the last thing I want to see is fish fillets). Having been a mate on party boats in the past, I definitely have a slanted view on what proper etiquette is on this subject. A couple thoughts on what to keep in mind when partyboat fishing;
-The trip might only be 4, 6, 8 hours, but, I can assure you the crews workday is that plus another 3 or 4 hours. An hour or 2 before leaving to prep the boat, the bait, the tackle and numerous other inglorious tasks, plus another 2 or 3 after the trip cleaning up the boat, putting the tackle away, and cleaning fish.
-When you give the mate a 10$ tip, hes not keeping all that 10$. If there's more than 1 mate, it gets split, plus the captain gets a piece as well(most operations don't reveal this little fact, but, its pretty standard). So that 10$ is split into 4$, 4$, and 2$.
-Partyboat fishing is not private charter fishing, hence, the ability to get out fishing for 60$ vs 450$ that a 1/2 day private charter would cost. As a result, you shouldn't expect the same level of service or attention. On a private charter, you have 1 mate servicing a max of 6 anglers, a partyboat mate is servicing as many as 20 anglers. This is part of the reason that a partyboat can take you out fishing for a very reasonable price.
-The mates tip should be about the service and attitude, not the number of fish you caught, or didn't catch. Having a customer say "I didn't catch hardly anything, so here's 2$" is completely asinine. Just because you didn't fill a cooler full of fish, the mate still had to cut bait for you, clean up after you, and attend to your needs. Thats like telling a waiter your steak was over/undercooked, so, Im taking it out of your tip, no matter how hard you tried to serve me.
-The time to hit the ATM is before you leave the dock. If I had a nickel for every time a customer got off the boat, asked me if there was an ATM nearby so he could give me a tip, Id probably be retired.
-If you cant afford to leave a proper tip, then you cant afford the trip in the first place. No shame in it, Ive been there myself more times than I care to admit. To pay for the trip, then skimp on the tip is essentially expecting the mate to work for free. If after paying your fare, your only going to have 3$ left, then don't go. In this scenario, the boat owner gets paid, the captain gets paid, the mate basically is working for you for free. Would you want to work for 2$ an hour? didn't think so.
I think of it like this; If you go out for dinner, rack up a 50$ tab, how do you think that waiter/waitress is going to like getting a 5$ tip?(assuming they did an adequate job). I can guarantee the next time they see that person walk through the door, they're praying that table is not seated in their section. A partyboat mate is not much different. Their income is just as gratuity-dependent as a waiter/waitress. If the mate was attentive, courteous, diligent in attending to your needs, he earned that 20% from the customer. Cant tell you how many times I would make the extra effort, go above and beyond what is necessary for a customer, only to have them hand me a 5$ when they got off the boat and then say" you can keep my 4 yellowtails and 6 grunts".(that more often than not, would just get tossed off the end of the dock, anyway)
Now, if the mates effort or attitude was less than adequate, all of the above is out the window. Have seen and worked with many mates that were less than stellar. Then, by all means, your tip should let them know it. Some mates definitely feel entitled to get paid just for being there, and this is a poor attitude. In these cases, I would definitely scale back from 20%. And, if they were downright rude or useless, a word to the captain, or the booking office is also in order. As a customer on a partyboat, I personally go by these guidelines:
15-20% if the mate was attentive, not a douche bag and put forth reasonable effort, and gave me the same priority as any of the other customers on the boat.
10% if they were less than enthusiastic about my needs.
Only have done it twice, but, if they pissed me off, or were rude or just a douche bag, Ill walk off and not give them squat.
On the other end, if the mate went well above and beyond what is expected on a partyboat, I feel compelled to do something better than 20%. Doesnt happen a lot, but, it happens enough
Now Im through ranting, this topic just hit a personal note with me, and I thought it might be refreshing to get some insight from the other side.
Good luck and good fishing

[PhishingPhanatic]

Great post, thanks.

[crashmister]

Plunc; Excelent post.

[Green Tide]

that was a good look from the other side.
any boat owner has an extra 2-3 hours of work after the trip is done and then more when getting ready to go again.

that was the longest reply on a personal level i have ever read on BF hope you feel better.

[plunc]

that was the longest reply on a personal level i have ever read on BF hope you feel better.

It was very therapeutic for me, thanks, i do feel better. Saved me from having to

[s1smokeone]

I always tip the mate based on service .. If I find myself cutting my own bait in the back it went down. If I hear him complaining about pulling up the anchor well ugh..

If my girl comes with me I always throw the mate 20 bux at least because when im fishing he will be removing grunts from her line lol..

Now on the topic of seeing the view from the mate as in tips are his income and the work here and there and blah blah blah.... I dont mind tipping but trust me when I tell you I feel none of your pain and if being a mate is so hard and not worth the money then look for another job... yes that may sound mean but it is what it is..

Why is there a tip jar when I go to pick up pizza ??? Who the hell knows because you can bet your ass the person at the register and the pizza guy are getting paid their wages unlike a waiter/waitress who actually gets paid below min wage because tips are part of their career.

Also I refuse to order pizza for delivery since the main places charge upwards of 3 dollars for delivery fee which does not go to driver .. that being said many times I ordered the 8 dollar free delivery pizza and always given the driver a 5.

Anyhow sorry to ramble on about tips but I feel the answer to this topic should be based on service provided. Did you bring on a gf or family member who doesn't know poop and the mate helped them alot while you got to fish well pay the man.. Did the mate slide you a couple pieces of kingfish belly when the action was on well poop pay the man!!!!