Harv and Marv Tipping ?

[Cattravel10]

I am confirmed in June for Harv and Marv's whale watching. It will be for three hours and a cost of $149.00. For those of you that have done this, what have you tipped. I know I will have fantastic time and want to tip accordingly. Thank you for any input.

[Assateague Island Princes]

We went with Harv and Marv's this past first week of June - there were two couples, and if I remember correctly, we tipped $20.00 per person. We were uncertain as you were, but they seemed pleased so I guess it was an okay tip! You will LOVE Harv and Marv's - oh my gosh, it was THE best excursion we've been on in our two cruises to Alaska. They're so knowledgeable and FUN! Enjoy, tell Jay that Lynda and Gary from PA said "Hey!":D

[CC Help Michell]

Okay, this post triggered something for me, and I hesitated, but now I do want to raise the question. Harv and Marv (Jay and Pete) own their business. Here at home, I do business with a lot of people who are also the owners of their businesses, and when I am dealing with the owner (my hairdresser and pest control guy come to mind), I only tip in unusual circumstances (she made room for me when she was otherwise booked, etc).

 

The reason is that the owner of a business sets the fee for the service I receive, and the owner receives all profits from what I pay. Before anyone fires up the flame-thrower, I am a VERY generous tipper. We tip 20% minimum for ordinary service in land restaurants, and 25-30% for great service. We tip $5 per person to a bus driver on a big bus tour, and $10 per person for a narrating tour guide. We've often tipped more than 50% of the excursion cost to tour guides, depending on the excursion, and on one occasion tipped 100%. I figure my base excursion money went to someone I'll never see -- but I sure did enjoy Leimomi's narration, or Joshua's tour, and so on.

 

I'm happy to give those tips, because I like to reward those who do NOT receive the benefit of the typically inflated base tour prices, but who have made my day great. But don't the owners of the business receive those benefits up front?

 

I probably shouldn't have mentioned it -- I see flames ahead -- but "tipping" extra to the owner of a business, who sets and receives the profits from the prices charged by it, is really pretty unusual to me. Any input? Am I missing something here?

 

PS This is more of a philosophical question. We have tipped $100 each on a $100 each excursion because we thought the experience was worth it, so adding an extra $30 to a $150 per person bill isn't a budget breaker. For a great experience, we'd think of it as $180 worth -- but it does seem sort of "unusual" to discuss tipping a business's owners? No?

[jmps]

I understood the owner tipping rule to be the same as the last poster. You don't normally tip the owner. However, when a tour is done well I usually do violate this rule and give a bit more than asked. Usually this amounts to around 5-10% not the usual 15-20% that I would give an employee guide.

 

I will be taking this tour next summer and am very interested in what others think.

[Budget Queen]

I always tip, and I don't care WHO owns the company, which has nothing to do with my enjoyment and safety of a trip. So what, it's the owner????

 

The majority don't tip anyway, so each person need to decide for themselves.

[Cattravel10]

Island Princess - Will say "Hey from Lynda and Gary from PA". Got it written down on my confirmation.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Thanx Cattravel - appreciate it! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this excursion when you get back! I'm gonna be living vicariously thru you all for 2009 - we're planning our third trip back to the great state of Alaska - but not til 2010:confused: - long time to wait, so don't leave anything out when you get back with a review!!!

[muffy6445]

I also don't tip owners. Harv and Marv was an exception. He went above and beyond. We had our kids 7 and 10 with us and he was soo great with them that I just wanted to show our appreciation.

[vbmom87]

Okay, this post triggered something for me, and I hesitated, but now I do want to raise the question. Harv and Marv (Jay and Pete) own their business. Here at home, I do business with a lot of people who are also the owners of their businesses, and when I am dealing with the owner (my hairdresser and pest control guy come to mind), I only tip in unusual circumstances (she made room for me when she was otherwise booked, etc).

 

No flames, just an explanation as I understand it:

 

In the past, this was indeed the philosophy. You did not tip owners. However, over time, this has changed and, in general, this is no longer followed. At least in our area, you do tip hairdressers, even if they own the shop. It seems that anyone who performs a service, is deserving of a tip, IF they did their job well. That said, you will find that many, if not most, vacationers do not tip at all for excursions. They figure they paid enough for the tour and they are not going to pay anything extra. The way I look at it is if I felt the tour guide did a great job, I will definitely tip them, whether they are an owner or not. If they did not do a great job, then I will skip the tip. This topic has been posted many, many times. I think there will never be agreement on the subject of tipping.

[retiredAF]

We did a Harv and Marv tour last June and tipped both Jay and his father-in-law who picked us up at the port and drove us to Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watch. We are tippers in general no matter if it is an owner or not but, appreciate good/great service and Harv and Marv definitely provided a great experience.

[MVPinBoynton]

I can appreciate the thoughts on not tipping the owner. I personally don't differentiate my tip based on who is doing the tour for me. If they do a great job, I will tip them. Just because they own the company doesn't mean they are making any more from the trip than an employee. After all an owner is the one that has all the costs of running the business. All of the base fee is not profit to them. I can imagine that wonderful folks like Jay and Pete, might have been struggling when the fuel prices were crazy high and they had prior year booking prices locked in.

[CC Help Michell]

Thanks for not flaming me. :) I actually was at my hairdresser today and tipped her a good bit more than I normally do when I tip because I was pretty shocked at how empty her shop was on a Saturday morning. This economy is hurting so many people, and since she hasn't gone the independent contractor route the idle hairdressers waiting for business are her employees and she's still paying them to wait around. :(

 

To the poster above me, thanks for the little reminder about fuel prices and such, in this economy. I still think/hope owners make more from excursions than they are paying in overhead (which should include what they pay their employees) to furnish the service (if they don't, they seriously need a new business model -- profits are how the owners build capital AND get paid! :)), but with the economic times being what they are, and Alaska being so seasonal in nature (having to make a year's worth of money in 5 or so months, in some areas) -- I can definitely see tipping in this situation.

 

To the original poster, as I mentioned above, we usually tip a percentage of the excursion cost, based on our (subjective) judgment about the quality of the excursion, and the individual attention/service received. To elaborate, we usually tip 10% - 20% or so for a big bus excursion with no to little personal service; 20% - 30% for a smaller excursion with some personal service; and anywhere from 30% - 100% for a small, very individual, excursion. I'd put Harv and Marv in that last category.

[MacThespian]

In the past, this was indeed the philosophy. You did not tip owners. However, over time, this has changed and, in general, this is no longer followed. At least in our area, you do tip hairdressers, even if they own the shop.

 

Ok, my two cents. I tip the woman who cuts my hair, even though she owns the shop, because I feel that the prices are more than fair (and maybe because my hair tends to be longer than that of most other 60-something men). But in general, I tend not to tip the owners of a service establishment.

 

Same thing goes for counter service at a fast-food, cafeteria, or such like. If I'm getting personal service away from the counter, I tip--but if not, I don't drop money into a tip box that is often there nowadays.

 

But I'm interested in the consensus on tipping folks like Harv and Marv--especially considering my upcoming cruises. Thanks to everyone for their contributions to this thread.

[dhmom99]

it is a personal decision whether they want to tip the owner or not. There is no right or wrong answer. But, do remember always tipping the wage earning emplyees. It is their lifeline.