quote:

Originally posted by Devildawg66:
ozhunter, has hit the nail on the head with his comment about tipping being an ego thing.

LV Eric, you don't live in the same world as I do. I never owned a Lamborghinis, nor have I ever been able to take people on trips and pick up their expenses. With the amount of money you obviously have, or want us to believe you have, hell yes it's easy to throw it around like confetti.

Us plain old common folk who have to save for half a lifetime to go on a $20,000 hunt, consider tipping a serious matter. But you can be sure of one thing, when the common working man leaves a tip, it's from his heart and not some ego trip or plan to obtain favors in the future.

Amen to that brother, glad you had the "balls" to write it!

a tip is a personal thing between you and the person you are tipping. If you have the means and desire for a large tip, then by all means do so. If you don't have the means or desire, then don't. I hear the excuse that a PH is underpaid, well his vocation is his decision, just as is a Dr., Pilot, engineer, or ditch digger. Just because the Dr. has money or the ditch digger has none, does not dictate whether or not he deserves a tip. I've had a PH/owner dictate the tip for me before, and left with a bad tast from it, not because of the amount, but because I believe the workers didn't get any of it. Thus when I tip today it is going to go to the people themselves. Money is great, so are clothes etc. that the workers have a hard time getting (like is zim today). If money is given, I put it into envelopes so as not to cause jealousy. The amountss I give are limited by the performance of the poeple and by my means of giving. There is nothing in the entire gammit to dictate a dollar amount or percentage figure.

DennisHP,

I can only be a "condescending ass-whole" to someone who is looking up from down. Why are you looking up from down? Thats only your choice, not mine.

From my point of view, I'm just having an arguement with a cheap son of a gun who doesn't seem to feel that he needs to treat people appropriately, or is oblivious, or is selfish to the point of being a fourflusher, any one of which offends my sense of fairness and fairplay.

JPK

Another perfect example...

I'm with those who come prepared to tip and consider that expense just as they would airfare, daily fees, etc...

I've tipped heavily (two 80-year-old dog handlers in South Carolina with great stories, attitudes, and the like) and not at all for mediocre service.

Lv Eric,

crap, your loaded! Could you please adopt me???
---or better yet--just send me some cash!

I need patients like Eric, the only tip I've ever recieved was "don't eat yellow snow."

I know I shouldn't post here, but I will anyway.

I agree with those that say tipping should be from the heart as an appreciation for going the extra mile for the client. Some can afford huge tips, some cannot.

However, tipping is part of the safari experience. Whether it is expected and shouldn't be or not, it is part of it. That is just the facts. When the time comes, it can be a very formal affair, my experience was. With the PH and myself sitting at the table, he called each participant in, I stood, shook their hand, looked them in the eye and said how much I appreciated what they did to make my hunt an experience of a lifetime, then handed them their tip.

I could not have looked them in the eye, or shook their hand with a guilty conscience of feeling that I had cheated them. I'm not an excessive tipper (can't afford to be), but I gave what I had. From everyone's performance, I wish I could have given more. I went a little beyond the 10+5% on the daily rate, but then my PH and the staff went well beyond anything I had expected. There were a few glitches from the airlines and the staff went to overdrive to make sure I had everything I needed to be comfortable and perform the best I could.

My sable and plainsgame hunt was not just riding around spotting animals from the cruiser, it was more of a still-hunting, spot and stalk, tracking hunt as I had requested. My PH called it a buffalo or elephant hunt for plainsgame.

I agree with the good Judge, if you haven't saved money for the tip, save until you have before going. Most of these people work very hard to do whatever it is you request to make your hunt as good as it can possibly be. They spend long hours in the field and sometimes entire seasons away from their families to help clients fulfill dreams.

Some have said it is their choice to be a PH or Tracker, etc... Remember, in countries like Zimbabwe, there's not a lot to choose from. Not everyone can be a Doctor or lawyer or industry captain. There isn't enough economy in countries like that to support it.

A few years ago, Don Causey at The Hunting Report, did a tipping survey of the Report's members. I read through that before going to Zim. The survey data ranged from clients that tipped zilch to clients that tipped enormous amounts. I don't think there is any hard standard, internationally. However, most guys that have been on multiple trips to Africa have a better handle this topic than I do, and I would heed their advice. While it may take a little longer to include the tip amounts in the budget for the hunt, it is something that has become expected. I wouldn't tip a rotten PH, or a barren hunt, but if they go beyond what is expected, I do think they deserve appreciation from the client.

I am new to this site but have been on a couple of trips. Having grown up in Africa, some think that I should have some insight. Not at all. I hunted in S.A. for pg and the Selous for buff. The S.A. trip was interesting, but the Selous was Africa as I know it. We had some issues with the outfitter, but the p.h.'s were trully top shelf pro's. The only problem we had was that one of them took sort of offense that I was fluent in swahili!
I wish that the outfitter had been more forthcoming with the tip structure. Hearing the discussions between the camp staff about how one or the other thought he was being short changed made the last day a nightmare. We did not tip at $100/day but gave what we thought was right. The biggest smile came when I presented the tracker that I hunted with a pair of Barska binoculars. He really did stand out as an exemplary tracker and gentleman. The p.h.'s accepted the tips with good grace but were really happy when we left some fishing rods for them.
And that is the impression I got. Money is great, but if you can find a gift that will fill a need for your p.h., no matter how small it will be appreciated and remembered.
Just my thoughts, gentlemen.