Did I do something wrong?
 

Ok, got this new boat and it has no trailer (yet!) but it came with a prepaid rack in a heated storage marina. I spent the whole weekend out there and it was nice and the people in the yard were very helpful and nice. However when I was leaving and the boat was put away I thought I saw another guy give the lift operator a tip!? It never even dawned on me to do this! I am by no means a cheap skate and consider myself a good tipper when I do so, I just didn't even think about it! Do these guys now hate me because of this? I have always had trailers with my boats and am new to this rack storage thing. Let me know if I messed up royally or what. :rolleyes:

good question. i have always been a bit confused as to when it is expected to tip and when it is not.

I feels its kinda like this....Do you tip the guy that valets your car at the restaurant? It's that thought that maybe if you take care of them...they inturn take care of your baby.

Give him a $100,- early in the season and he will remember you and take good care of your boat. A lot cheaper than small amounts every time, and he will remember..

The thing is, over the three days, I saw three different guys. I don't think I need to give out $300 on top of the $3k+ that it cost to keep the boat there.

I put a case of Bud in thier refrigerator a couple times each season, tip them 20-100 bucks - depending on the complexity - every time they help me with a project, and give all four guys 50 bucks at the end of the year.

They run and get my boat when they see me pulling into the marina, and my boat often comes out first when there's a big line up, so I must be doing something right. :D

You need to ask the lift operator if they all split the tips up. You can't tip everyone. There are at least 5 marina employees helping at any given time. I usually give the lift guys a $20 every second or third time at the marina. We have 4 or five different operators.If one of the guys (dockhands) go out of their way to help, clean my boat cover off due to leakage from the boats above, or help me or my wife with docking under bad conditions, rain-wind etc. I will give the guys a few extra bucks. They good thing is they all take excellent care of us and our boat and we are the first ones they pull during crowded times, bad weather, and make sure we get a wash rack, even when they are all full up. It pays to toss a few bucks around to get the best service, just find out who is the best guys to give the tip to.

After you left, I saw them putting sugar in your gas tank, and then they drained the fluid out of your drives. After that they took turns keying the hull. ALWAYS tip your hi-lo operator...:D Just Kidding, they didn't key it.........:grinser010:

This I can handle. I didn't mean that I don't want to tip them, just didn't think about it. There is one guy who runs the yard that is real nice and knowledgable. I'll make sure to give him something this weekend.

It will pay off eventually. Most of those guys get a small hourly salary and make up the difference in tips.

We tip the guys at Christmas. I've never noticed anyone tipping on a daily basis.

I use to rack store a boat about 5 years ago. I would give the guys 20 dollars everyday that I used their services. I think that is alot, but they will definately make sure your boat gets the attention and care it deserves. Just my .02

Remember grease makes the wheels turn smother

The proper way to tip at the marina...
 

In my experience, first and formost the person or persons charged with the most responsibility get the tip. If between them they wish to split it up then so be it. Namely the forklift operator(s) and their immediate associate(s). Typically on a busy Friday, Saturday & Sunday the F/L driver won't get to take a lunch and certainly won't be able to render assistance on the fuel dock where most tips are made. Those tips need not be made every time as the F/L operator always knows who he can count on and when. Just be regular about it, every 2nd or 3rd time will keep them happy. Definitely never, never, never, give an operator just a dollar or two. They know how much you've got in your boat, if you can't front them a decent tip don't expect to pull rank when you bring your harem down to the marina for a boat ride, you will wait, and wait, and wait, and wait... Get the picture?

A good rule of thumb for tipping these service personnel is to mutiply the length of your boat by 50% (that's .5 not .05) or roughly half of your boats length, that is your approximate tip amount. Let them decide how it gets divided, remember that in general the F/L operators don't get to the gas docks to make tip money from those folks, so what you hand them is what they usually see. But they also make a higher wage than the dockhands.

They definitely show a preference for generous boat owners and have always gone out of their way for me and my Jon boat.

Good Post! This is how we have been doing it and the lift operaters and dock hands take excellent care of us and our boat.:D

Don't tip 'em too well - or else they will want to park your car for you, too....

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good thread, but to late to help me, we no longer rack. But I guess it explains why we always felt the hi low drivers did not care for us:p We never even thought of tipping them, and I don't recall ever seeing them get tipped.

Tipping is sort of odd, some times it is so clear cut and yet at other times it would never dawn on me.

The advice we got was word of mouth from other boat owners. There was no clear cut signs that said tipping was allowed. I never saw anyone tip the guys. A buddy of mine that has his boat at the same marina as us saw us waiting one day and kind of nonchalantly told us about the practice. Best advice we got. After getting to know the lift operators, good advice to be friends and treat these guys nicely, we found out that they make an OK salary, but depend on the tips to make ends meet.

I always tip......years ago I started out working at a yard and trust me it' s hard work.

At the Marina I deal with I have established a friendship with these guys as most customers there have. They go out of there way to make sure they fit me in their schedule....I have called on them several times with no warning and they have always gone out of their way to haul me out and put me back in.

Naturally they refuse the tip but I give it to them anyway.

I'm sure by not giving them a tip you did no harm. These guys understand that not everyone walks around with wads of money......me included so they always refuse knowing I am working class.

But I think of it like this. My boat is one of the most important things to me. I appreciate their proffessionalism and courtesy and I now that they often deal with people that don't appreciate them so it's another way of saying thanks.

And on that note heres to the crew at Sunset Marina in Ocean City Maryland Thanks Dave, Tim,Barbara, JR and Brian always a pleasure!! :Score-101010:

Enforcer - they just take good care of you because you boat is so badazz... :cool: :D :D

:ernaehrung004: Thanks blackjack I apprecitate it. Hopefully I'll get it done this summer.