Tipping Dockside

I will say that in my experience your thoughts for fellow brokers and their well being is somewhat of a rarity.

Thanks, K1W1. And you read my typo where I wrote client instead of another broker. I don't know if the client ever sends the broker a check and if the broker receives it, he probably never knows it was a suggestion from a colleague. But good will = good vibes = happy boaters and happy professionals in the industry.

I had a client who brought his girl friend boat shopping, then made an offer, then sea trialed and surveyed but declined the yacht. He did this 2 additional times, but with a different girlfriend each time. I figured out it's a cheap date for impressing the babe. A guy can impress a gal with a romantic weekend for a few thousand dollars, but for the same money, nothing like the entertainment of boat shopping and sea trials, not to mention writing a contract for a million bucks. Cheap thrills - at my and owners' expense.

Exactly!!!!!!!!

I read through the thread that's ongoing relating to tipping dock hands and have a few questions.
We're hopefully* soon-to-be new owners of a 53' Carver Voyager that will be docked at a public marina for the season (June-October here in N. Michigan). We plan to be in and out on the weekends, exploring the great lakes.
What's the general protocol for tipping dock hands in (1) your home marina and (2) other marinas you visit? (assuming the dock hands provide some help with lines, fueling, etc)
We've chartered quite a few times in the BVI's and on the rare occasion we take a slip instead of mooring, I generally tip the dock hands $10-$20 per guy for helping us into a slip. Do we assume the same practice holds for other parts of the world - specifically the US? For our home marina, do you tip each time they help or give a larger tip/gift at the end of the season?
I don't want to set off a firestorm of whether you tip or don't tip, just wondering what the general consensus is for our particular situation and part of the country.

Thanks!
(*I say hopefully because we're scheduled for survey & sea trial later this week!)

Also see: http://www.yachtforums.com/threads/tipping-dockside.24749/

I would recommend $100-$200 for the season. And the odd $10-$20 if they go above and beyond (taking your trash, or helping carry supplies).

$10-$20 is about what I would generally tip when helped.

Thanks Kevin - I read thru that thread and tried to dissect info from it
Ken - that's what I was looking for. Tipping once at the end of the season makes a lot of sense.
Thanks again - looking forward learning the ins and outs of "big" boating!

Actually that's not exactly what Ken said and the subtle difference is very important. He tips the one larger tip for their service throughout and he tips additional when they do things such as he described.

Now we're a bit non-traditionalist plus our "home marina" is also. We have docks at home but use a marina for storage when we're not home or not using the specific boat. Our crew handles the lines and docking and most of the work. Fueling is by truck. There is typically one dock hand, one maintenance person and a security guard working. There is no marina store or such. So there are two types of things done for us. One is direct assistance. One of the employees may help crew carry things in or out or assist crew in disposal of large containers. They get tipped at that time. The other is indirect. The rest of the time staff there takes care of the docks and grounds, makes sure the laundry rooms are well maintained, clean the gym, empty the trash, and do all those routine things. So, that brings about periodic tips of all employees there, total staff of 2 dock hands, 2 maintenance persons, 4 security guards. It's not end of season as we have no season. So it's twice a year.

So we tip $10-20 for direct and $100 or so periodically for indirect. We also have random acts of consideration. They may be tickets to something local or some steaks or a turkey or gift card. The fact we have multiple boats there influences us to do more.

It's a balance we try to achieve between recognizing specific services provided when they do such and recognizing the overall service we're getting all the time.

Thanks for the clarification!