Tipping at gas docks

[brk-lnt]

The gas dock attendant does not know, or care, how or why you use your boat. If I am getting a fill up at a gas dock I usually tip ($20, FWIW).


However, I do not tip the driver when I have the fuel truck come to the house (this in FL, BTW). In that scenario, I see it more as a utility service and I am paying for the convenience of home delivery, which is baked into the price and his salary. Also, I am not always at home when he arrives, same for other customers, so I do not think he expects a tip in these cases. I do give a Christmas bonus when he comes in December though.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

The gas dock attendant does not know, or care, how or why you use your boat. If I am getting a fill up at a gas dock I usually tip ($20, FWIW).


However, I do not tip the driver when I have the fuel truck come to the house (this in FL, BTW). In that scenario, I see it more as a utility service and I am paying for the convenience of home delivery, which is baked into the price and his salary. Also, I am not always at home when he arrives, same for other customers, so I do not think he expects a tip in these cases. I do give a Christmas bonus when he comes in December though.

In my opinion, a $20 tip each time you fill up your boat sounds like an attempt to impress people (FWIW, of course). Go ahead and castigate me…..I can take it!

[joey2665]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

In my opinion, a $20 tip each time you fill up your boat sounds like an attempt to impress people (FWIW, of course). Go ahead and castigate me…..I can take it!

Too each his own. I usually tip 10-20 depending if I am empty or closer to 1/2. I always engage the attendants in conversation and most are hard working college students or high school grads starting out in life. I don’t mind giving them a little help starting their life journeys.


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[brk-lnt]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

In my opinion, a $20 tip each time you fill up your boat sounds like an attempt to impress people (FWIW, of course). Go ahead and castigate me…..I can take it!

Keep in mind this is for our cruiser in FL, so when at a gas dock we usually have at least 1 dock hand helping out with tying up, then we take on about 175 gallons on average, and since the house delivery service does not do pump-outs, we'll usually do that a gas dock as well. So it's typically a 30 minute affair, involving 2 or 3 folks at the dock. A $20 seems fair and I'm pretty sure is far from the largest tip they receive.


On Winnipesaukee I would usually tip $10 or so at the gas docks to the summer help kids.


FWIW, I don't think the average gas dock attendant is really impressed by just about any tip. I would imagine over the course of an average season they see everything from bitchy cheapskates to overly generous tippers, a $10 or $20 tip is really just being appreciative.


If I wanted to impress them I would do a magic trick or perform a hand stand.

[dickiej]

Money is like manure…it only works if you spread it around.

[Garcia]

Originally Posted by brk-lnt

The gas dock attendant does not know, or care, how or why you use your boat. If I am getting a fill up at a gas dock I usually tip ($20, FWIW).


However, I do not tip the driver when I have the fuel truck come to the house (this in FL, BTW). In that scenario, I see it more as a utility service and I am paying for the convenience of home delivery, which is baked into the price and his salary. Also, I am not always at home when he arrives, same for other customers, so I do not think he expects a tip in these cases. I do give a Christmas bonus when he comes in December though.

Thanks. When I mention the use of the boat, recreation vs. transportation, I did so to see if there is a difference in the operator's attitude toward tipping.

Your point about the fuel truck coming to the house is a good one - upon reflection, and right or wrong (and many will say wrong) - I see the people pumping gas as providing a necessary service, just like the clerk checking me out at the hardware store. I think it's because of the way I view the use of my boat, similar to the way I use my car, a vessel to get me to my destination (the island) rather than the destination itself.

Again, I appreciate the different viewpoints.

[Descant]

Talking to the girl at Y Landing, she said she had been trying to get the job for three years. I'd have to guess it was for the tips, compared to being a clerk in the store. She was a student at Plymouth State University.

In my youth, I used to fill in for the gas guy when he went to lunch or took a break. None of us got tips as a routine matter. Gas docks more frequently now have female attendants. Does that lead to different tipping?