Tipping your outfitter
- Thread starter GOUMFACH
- Start date
I'll tip an outfitter if he's also the guide. Probably shouldn't but still do. Usually somewhere around 100 a day on the high end, adjusted down by how things go. Is he guiding all 3-4 of you? In that case it would be less, he can make it up on volume.
I would only tip if they went above and beyond my expectations. Only for a minimum wage service job like a waitress or pizza delivery driver do I feel the need to always tip (unless something is wrong, at which point its usually not their fault to begin with, so screwing them out of a tip because the kitchen f-ed up isn't really fair in my mind. Especially because the waitress has to contribute to the tip pool that pays the bussers, matre de, kitchen staff, ect, and thats usually based on a % of sales, not on how much tips they got through the night.)
If the cook and whatnot are not getting paid enough money after you spend $6000 for 3-4 people, then there is a problem with how the company runs things, and I think tipping without reason will only propagate the notion that its okay for the company to underpay its staff because they'll just get tips to make up for it.
If the cook and whatnot are not getting paid enough money after you spend $6000 for 3-4 people, then there is a problem with how the company runs things, and I think tipping without reason will only propagate the notion that its okay for the company to underpay its staff because they'll just get tips to make up for it.
as a guide i received from nothing to big money but was not working for the tip i was already well paid.
as a owner of a small fishing outfitting too we received tips and sometimes not but i never requested nor begged for one.
to each his own view but even a owner of outfitting may receive or not it's the client choice and of course depending of the prestations received and the expectations.
i may add that the worst tippers were the hosts of TV shows and most of them dont even pay for the hunt or the fishing .... nothing personal on that last note.
as a owner of a small fishing outfitting too we received tips and sometimes not but i never requested nor begged for one.
to each his own view but even a owner of outfitting may receive or not it's the client choice and of course depending of the prestations received and the expectations.
i may add that the worst tippers were the hosts of TV shows and most of them dont even pay for the hunt or the fishing .... nothing personal on that last note.
I've heard the same. In some ways I get it because the TV crews are there working as well, it's not a holiday for them...it's another day at work and no one is tipping them for each day but it's unfair too because while the outfitter gets all the exposure from the show and all the money from the bookings that come with it, to the guide it's just another hunter.
There is definitely no such thing as a free hunt......
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I would never tip the owner of the guide service
I tip the guides, if I think they deserve it, (getting game has nothing to do with whether they worked hard or not) and low end would be $50 high end I would tip $100 but I am sure not tipping $100/day for a 5 day hunt...
I always get along good with the guides, I have been on many 2x1 guided hunts with my same buddy, and we usually tease the hell out of each other including the guide and if they can take it and dish it back out and we have a fun hunt that means more to me then anything.
The last guide's name was Leroy.......we were calling him "La-roy" which was funny because he was Spanish.
He was calling us "the Plantation owners"....we had a hoot. He got a good tip.
BTW, some guides get good money, others not so much, so we usually try to get a handle on what he gets from the outfitter and that helps us decide how much tip he gets after we are done.
I tip the guides, if I think they deserve it, (getting game has nothing to do with whether they worked hard or not) and low end would be $50 high end I would tip $100 but I am sure not tipping $100/day for a 5 day hunt...
I always get along good with the guides, I have been on many 2x1 guided hunts with my same buddy, and we usually tease the hell out of each other including the guide and if they can take it and dish it back out and we have a fun hunt that means more to me then anything.
The last guide's name was Leroy.......we were calling him "La-roy" which was funny because he was Spanish.
He was calling us "the Plantation owners"....we had a hoot. He got a good tip.
BTW, some guides get good money, others not so much, so we usually try to get a handle on what he gets from the outfitter and that helps us decide how much tip he gets after we are done.
Thanks guys,I wasn't sure what the etiquette concerning this subject was.This is going to be my first fully outfitted and guided hunt.I know that as with anything else, it all depends on the service you get.I was just wondering if some people gave a % of what the package costs or daily amounts as stated above.I can see the numbers you guys have given pretty much line up to what I was thinking.
The guide would be guiding the 4 of us (well 3 for now, waiting for confirmation on the 4th).I am not sure how it works out yet but I assume he takes turns with 2 of us at a time, alternating every other day.I had figured on 50$ a day from each hunter that is being guided as a very reasonable amount.
The guide would be guiding the 4 of us (well 3 for now, waiting for confirmation on the 4th).I am not sure how it works out yet but I assume he takes turns with 2 of us at a time, alternating every other day.I had figured on 50$ a day from each hunter that is being guided as a very reasonable amount.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
It's a touchy subject but if you get good service then a tip is appropriate.
I have guided for the last 14 years and am interested in the responses on here. The average guide is paid between 150 to 225 per day on the hunting side (in MB). If you factor in the hours of work, the tip is the only way to make it reasonable. Guiding is not my main occupation but from those that do, leaving 50 per day would not endear you to them. The average is 15% of the total cost of the hunt and varies based on service. I have received 1000 for a single duck hunt from one guy (not anywhere near typical) and have been stiffed. View it this way.....if you went to a restaurant and racked up a 1 2 3 or 6000 bill, what would you expect to leave? Lastly ask if the tips are pooled or individual. In our case all tips go to the outfitter and we split amongst ourselves, he doesnt take anything,. And lastly tp reiterate, service does not equal killing animals or catching fish.....it means having your expectations exceeded.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
So on a Stone's sheep hunt, the guide should get about $6000 in tips? I've heard it happen, but it's certainly not the norm. Maybe wishful thinking if you're a guide.
Most BC guides get $200-$225/day and they do a lot more work than your average guide in MB, so I think your averages are a bit high. I'd say a max of $150/day in MB would be more than reasonable.
Tips are appreciated but should never be expected, my view anyhow.
$200 a day isn't enough money to make it worthwhile?
Im a fulltime student who delivers pizza and I've never made that much in a days work - and I work 9-10 hour days all the time, without breaks. And I have to cover my gas, pay for car insurance, repairs, ect. And I make more money per hour than most people I know that are not in a career.
Sure guiding might not be something that pays as good as an electrician, mechanic, or Management, but its certainly not BAD money. Add the fact you get to do something you love and get paid for it, I can think of much worse ways of making a buck. Like delivering pizza. lol
thanks for taking the bait and that is interesting because as an host and outdoor writer you certainly dont or didnt pay the price that is written on the documentation or the internet website.
the exposure is not only for the outfitter but too on the shows produced. i know at least 4 shows that didnt pay a dime and didnt left any tips and they received the service as any other clients should receive ....
Of course for an host it s a work but it s not a common work ask the guys that are paying the full price what they think about that ... otherwise dont tell us you are bored at work ....
I think that is more than enough - that's $200/day in tips....plenty IMO
My last guide was getting paid $150 a day PER hunter so $300 to "guide us"
It was a bit of a different set up and we were staying at his "cabin" with him each night and he was also getting $100 a day from each of us for food and lodging so another $200/day or $500 per day total for a 5 day hunt.
He wasn't starving. He had a full time job on the side.
IMO the amount of tip left has been distorted to be unreasonably high. I am already paying a very large amount for a hunt, I shouldn't have to pay another $500-$1500 in tips. I tip, but not crazy amounts. I'm not the CEO of Browning, I'm and average Joe.
My average day is 18 hrs. At my rate (which is generous) still puts me below minimum wage. So yes I think the tip is necessary. As for hearkillr, no a 6000 tip is unreasonable. ..drastically so. But from the moose guides I know in the province, a 6000 hunt normaly yields 1500. Approx 215 tip per day. I will again relate to a restaurant (where I have also worked), tips should be based on service but they have become a standard of practice. Ethically yourguide should work exceptionally hard for you, however knowing that lev3l of service correlates to level of renumeration is an incentive for anyone.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
That may be your experience, but I've been in this business for 25 years+ and I haven't seen the figures you're quoting. You need to remember that a lot of the time guiding in MB is spent sitting around waiting for a hunter or game, so while total time works out to be minimum wage, I don't know too many employers outside of government agencies that pay their employees to sit on their ass. Out of close to 100 moose hunters over the years, one fellow gave a tip of $1300. The rest were all in the $100-$500 range. If they're European, often nothing.
I know for a fact that guides in the US make considerably less, often no more than $50/day, so they rely on tips quite heavily. Same goes for those in the service industry, they are allowed to be paid below minimum wage because of the tips.
