Tipping your ski instructor _ advice?

[3dogsKris]

My most recent private lesson was 3 years ago when I first moved to Utah and I wanted to learn some of the best runs at Snowbasin. My instructor was a very young guy and we only made 2 runs the WHOLE afternoon I was a very disappointed so no tip. But I always tipped at the end of my daughters multi-week lessons, 15-20% of the cost depending on how much she learned. Like everything else in life, a tip is for good service`and hard work.

 

[SkiBam]

I think it's sometimes a dilemma for an instructor: a student wants to ski the whole mountain, while the instructor wants the student to work on one or two specific skills that will enable her to better ski the whole mountain. I think if the student wants more of a mountain tour, she should make that clear when booking the lesson. Did you tell your instructor you wanted to go further afield? Very likely a more experienced instructor would give you both: some time on the easy groomers, then some more-challenging runs to put what you've learned into practice. IMO that instructor would deserve the tip.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

As a supervisor of kids' instructors, I know that those tips mean alot to the instructor in a group lesson. Most mountains pay the same hourly rate for a group lesson and for an assigned private; if the instructor is "requested" by the guest, the hourly rate increases significantly and, to some degree, the tip is gravy on an already good train. So, that extra $5 at the end of your kids' 2 hour group lesson is really important to the instructor. FWIW, most instructors pool funds to tip their clinicians at PSIA events.

 

[marge]

I believe that tipping is usually expected as it is for a waiter or waitress. I usually tip $20 or 20% of the lesson, which ever is more. I've never had a bad instructor.

I don't think it should be anything like a waiter or waitress. Don't they have laws that they don't even have to pay them minimum wage? That's slightly different from the hourly rate of a ski instructor? I did some research and they can make into the $20/hr range not including tips. I realize to some of you that's chump change but around here that's a good salary.

Keep in mind, all, JUST HOW LITTLE $ most ski instructors actually make.
You might be surprised and (I hope) dismayed.
There clearly is an elite group of instructors who do well; they, however, are in the minority.

For the majority, it’s a position chosen out of love of the sport - and love of teaching others.

By this regard and those restrictions you should also be tipping teachers, gas station attendants, tow truck drivers, etc. I guess I just don't know how we're supposed to know who to tip and who not to? The guys at Metro airport who handle the baggage earn more than my hubby and I make together, yet we're still "expected" to tip them.

I guess it's all relative. I just find it confusing.

 

[tcarey]

Tell me where they make 20 per hour? I never expect a tip but it is always appreciated.Often at times we are in charge of many children in a big playground.Riding lifts,skiing in sometimes challenging weather,keeping the group having fun while being safe at all times.If I recieved 5 bucks from each parent at the end of a 6.5 hour day that would be awesome!

I have been teaching for 10 years now.Granted I make ok money at it now but not 20 per hour! Most of that money goes to PSIA events,equipment,base layers,gloves. Hand warmers for those kids who don't have them!

T

 

[Lilgeorg]

And, as I understand it from my granddaughter who was a ski instructor, although you are required to be at the ski area you only get your hourly rate if you get a class or a private lesson. So, if you divide the hours you are at work by the hours you actually teach, the hourly rate goes way down. All this to say, the instructors deserve a good tip.

 

[3dogsKris]

Skibam- When I booked my lesson it was specifically to go to the "more advanced runs" to learn the area as the locals knew it. I have a vision issue, so I wanted to go with an experienced guide. I was told this was the best way to do it and this instructor would be "great." He seem to think all I wanted was to see the 2 main runs which are black at the top and green from the middle down. Also,he gave very little instruction. I almost asked for my money back!

 

[SkiBam]

Skibam- When I booked my lesson it was specifically to go to the "more advanced runs" to learn the area as the locals knew it. I have a vision issue, so I wanted to go with an experienced guide. I was told this was the best way to do it and this instructor would be "great." He seem to think all I wanted was to see the 2 main runs which are black at the top and green from the middle down. Also,he gave very little instruction. I almost asked for my money back!

Definitely sounds like you didn't get what you were looking for. I'd agree that no tip was warranted.

 

[marge]

And, as I understand it from my granddaughter who was a ski instructor, although you are required to be at the ski area you only get your hourly rate if you get a class or a private lesson. So, if you divide the hours you are at work by the hours you actually teach, the hourly rate goes way down. All this to say, the instructors deserve a good tip.

IF they do a good job. Again, I don't want to tip someone just because it's "expected" and not because they weren't a wonderful instructor.

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

IF they do a good job. Again, I don't want to tip someone just because it's "expected" and not because they weren't a wonderful instructor.

I really do understand your point, yet at the same time, I feel compelled to tip (with the percentage being dictated by the level of service received) to people whose base pay is based upon the fact that their hourly/daily wage is discounted greatly because they DO receive gratuities. Therefore, I tip waiters, waitresses, valets, bartenders, hairdressers, "for hire" instructors (like ski instructors), etc. a bare minimum (for me about 20% for labor intensive services) if they do a good job. For me (and this is only the way I approach it), I only tip 15% if someone has disappointed me. But, I also make a point of speaking with management in that case. My $.02.

 

[Bumblebee]

My ski instructor friends in the Banff area tell me that the "wages" are shocking - basically unless you're CSIA III/IV who get a "real" wage, you'll just be on a terrible rate for the hours you've worked. Yet I've seen many a "professional" instructor with duct tape on their gloves, so I don't kid myself they make a lot of money.

Luckily I've only had one bad instructor and I did not tip him. I felt bad about this - us europeans just don't "get" tipping of course! But, I did feel a little better knowing that he was renting (on his father's money of course) a 3-bed apartment in Banff and his equipment cost more than my car!

It's funny skibum that you say that so many people just don't think to tip. Being British, I'm so aware when I'm in the US/Canada that I "should" tip that I have only on that one occassion NOT tipped. We're so set up that we MUST tip that I don't think it even occurs to us not to tip - even if the service is not up to scratch.

 

[merrow]

I'm a fan of tipping for a good private lesson -- because there's nothing better than getting a great instructor who keys in on what you can do. And what you can't...until the end of the lesson. (Shout-out to Snowbasin. Best. Experience. Ever.)

On the flip side, I tip pretty lightly on the group clinics -- generally what "my share" would have been if everyone tipped properly. I feel kind of lame about doing it, because not everyone tips. At the same time, with so many clinics I'm put with people who are a few levels below me (because they don't want to give a "private" lesson to me, so they send an instructor home early) -- and I just don't get that much out of it -- I wind up feeling kind of cheated.

 

[Pequenita]

I'm sure I mentioned it in another thread: it never occurred to me until I joined this forum that it is customary to tip ski instructors. For whatever reason, it's more intuitive to me to tip a river guide than a ski instructor. In fact, it's more intuitive to me to tip a backcountry ski guide than a ski instructor, and I think the distinction for me is that one person is basically supposed to show me how and assist me in getting to the destination, provided I have the requisite skills, while the other is teaching me those skills. Crap. Was I supposed to tip my Outward Bound leaders 7 years ago? And my ski instructor trainer person?

So, say you have a kid and you drop her off at day care. Do day care providers at the ski slope get tipped too? I'm not talking about the things with a ski school component. I mean strictly the on-site child care providers.

I guess I'm as confused as marge on this one.

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

I don't think it should be anything like a waiter or waitress. Don't they have laws that they don't even have to pay them minimum wage? That's slightly different from the hourly rate of a ski instructor? I did some research and they can make into the $20/hr range not including tips. I realize to some of you that's chump change but around here that's a good salary.



By this regard and those restrictions you should also be tipping teachers, gas station attendants, tow truck drivers, etc. I guess I just don't know how we're supposed to know who to tip and who not to? The guys at Metro airport who handle the baggage earn more than my hubby and I make together, yet we're still "expected" to tip them.

I guess it's all relative. I just find it confusing.

I live a very low income level area; even professionals are paid very little here compared to their peers in the rest of the country. What we pay to ski is a much higher percentage of our income than for most of you. While I surely could use lots more instruction, I think hard and long about taking a single group lesson and how much I'll get for the cost of it. I seldom eat out(good servers in restaurants hopefully get 15% here-way less or none if service isn't good), never get fast food, don't go to movies, get hair done (I cut my own), bring my own lunch and beverage to the slopes, etc. . I have rotary telephones (no machine), an ancient TV; I used my first pair of skis for thirty years. Every extra cent goes on transportation and lift tickets. No, tipping for group lessons has been rare in the ones I've been in and even then, done by people with obvious bucks to spend. I've only tipped in unusually great situations when everyone is.

 

[belle]

I start tipping only after reading about it on internet

 

[cwmscm]

As far as tipping for day care at the mountain, the answer was "yes" for my two kids. Even at home, the parents all pooled cash for the teachers at xmas and end of year. And the same is true for the teachers at the elementary school. I avoid tipping by not taking part in the service offered.

 

[Pequenita]

I live a very low income level area; even professionals are paid very little here compared to their peers in the rest of the country. What we pay to ski is a much higher percentage of our income than for most of you. While I surely could use lots more instruction, I think hard and long about taking a single group lesson and how much I'll get for the cost of it. I seldom eat out(good servers in restaurants hopefully get 15% here-way less or none if service isn't good), never get fast food, don't go to movies, get hair done (I cut my own), bring my own lunch and beverage to the slopes, etc. . I have rotary telephones (no machine), an ancient TV; I used my first pair of skis for thirty years. Every extra cent goes on transportation and lift tickets. No, tipping for group lessons has been rare in the ones I've been in and even then, done by people with obvious bucks to spend. I've only tipped in unusually great situations when everyone is.

And then you add in the obvious cost of a lift ticket and lessons. You're paying so much, it doesn't seem intuitive that you would tip on top of that. Plus, there's the practical side of things: you're all bundled up, and the wallet may be buried 2 layers down. If there were little envelopes at the ski school counter when you registered for a class (like at the salon), it would be more obvious.

For many of the same reasons that snowski/swimmouse lists, I honestly can't imagine that the majority of people at my local bump here or where I grew up tipped the ski instructors after a 2-hour group lesson. For those of us who don't live or didn't grow up in a ski town where we would have known instructors or their pay structure, a lot of the information in this thread is new.

 

[KatyPerrey]

it never occurred to me until I joined this forum that it is customary to tip ski instructors.

I have taught skiing full time for the last 20 years and if it were "customary" to tip I would be very well off!

As many have said- most instructors don't make very much hourly and only getting paid when teaching so the the tips do make a difference, but we (I) don't expect tips!!! Never have and never will!!

Tell me where they make 20 per hour?

This is not uncommon out here in Colorado for long time/full cert instructors. I am one that makes 20+ an hour at Copper, but as I said earlier I have been at Copper for 20 years and have been a level 3 for 16 of those 20.

Ski schools (Copper) reward their top producers with higher hourly pay, but keep in mind that we ONLY get paid when we are teaching. I can be at work for 8 hours and only get paid for 3! Sometimes I can be at work all day and walk away with 0$$. Yes the skiing can be fun but it sucks to go to a job (when you are expected to be there) and not get paid!!!!


With all this said - I TIP when I go to PSIA clinics and I always tipped my trainers when I was working on my certification (many moons ago). Tipping never was or is "customary" in ski school IMO!! If you want to tip great! If you don't tip you should still get a great lesson! (at least with me you will)

 

[itri]

I have never tipped for daycare on the mountain. I'm sorry, but I can't afford to when I'm already paying $100+ for the day (which is really only 5-6 hours) for daycare. I don't tip at the drop-in daycare I use at home, and I see those as very similar situations.

I do typically try to tip for lessons, though, and I will tip DS's instructor this season. I confess that a couple of times it has completely slipped my mind to have cash (I usually don't take my wallet, just my credit card and ID), but luckily (for my conscience's sake, not my skiing), I've had either mediocre or downright crappy lessons those days that I didn't feel bad about not tipping for.

 

[tcarey]

Thats great Katy that you get paid what you deserve! Same here in the east we are required to be there but may not work hence no pay! I never expect a tip but I am so greatful when I recieve one.I have been teaching for 10 years so my pay is better than some but still it would be difficult to rely on for a living.There is a pay freeze as well at Okemo this year.Looks like I have a busy season ahead of me though so thats is good! I do get to be involved in training as well so those are good hours too! Maybe we can hook up for a ski someday!

T