That's My Story

TIPPING CORROLARY – Published March ’05 – Western Outdoor News

In all the years that I’ve been writing, I don’t think that I’ve ever gotten so many e-mails, phone calls or high-5’s over those two columns I wrote on tipping. As I mentioned, tipping is the most asked question I seem to receive on a daily basis besides, “When are they opening Hotel Las Arenas?” (But that’s another story for a MUCH longer column!) I had some Baja chartermasters tell me they were going to re-print the columns and make sure their buddies all had it the next time they went to Baja. I had others tell me that the subject put to rest a nag that always bugged ‘em everytime they headed south. Anyway, thanks for all the props, amigos. Good to know it touched a common thread among so many of you.

But…let me tell ya about one other aspect of tipping. It’s how to make your tip work for YOU. Let’s call it “Jonathan’s Corollary on Tips.

I got this from another Baja rat in a Loreto or San Quintin cantina many years ago during one of those marguertia summit talks where you solve all the world’s problems over slammers and limes. He offered a suggestion I’ve used many times over the years with pretty good success. In fact, I tried it the next day and it went like this…

As with many of you anglers who come down to the Baja, inevitably there’s a “jackpot” between all the yahoos. It was like that with the dozen or so of my friends as well. By the time bets were in, there was a good chunk of say..oh…$360 in the pot.

Following my amigo’s suggestion, I told my pangero that next morning to hold out his hand. I put $20 in it and told him that no matter how we did, “Es tu propina.” (This is your tip.) I went on to tell him, that for every fish over 10 pounds that day, I would add another $2. For every fish over 15 pounds, I would add another $3. For every fish over 20 pounds, it would be worth $5 more. I grinned. He grinned. He fired up the motor. All the other pangas went right. We went left. I won the $360. He got a $42 dollar tip.

“Jonathan’s Corollary” has worked 4 out of 5 times I’ve tried it. Aside from the obvious, the point is, tipping AFTER-the-fact is one thing, but tipping-ahead-of-time can sometimes reap benefits and gets your tips working FOR you. Again, put yourself in the place of your skipper, bellman, taxi driver or bartender and human nature kicks in. When I crewed on sportfishers, you can bet, that I kept a special eye out for the guy who slipped a ten spot into my hand as he came aboard. Ever tipped a maitre’d or mechanic BEFORE he did he even did anything? Same thing. We all love being paid-up-front.

With respect to Baja captains, I’ve noticed that tipping ahead of time takes off a lot of the pressure. Everyone knows where they stand. (Of course this could work both ways if you drop a crummy tip right off the bat). It takes off the “edge,” not to mention that you just scored major “cred points” with the captain. Want to release fish? The captain won’t be so concerned about killing fish now that he knows that dead fish won’t equate to more tips. A good captain will be even better. A great captain could just turn in a truly banner day. You’ll get more attention and service, believe me. See if it doesn’t make a difference in how your fish are cleaned or how the personality and demeanor of the captain and crew improve. One other thing. If you’re happy with your service and plan on fishing another day or even next year, put an extra ten dollars into the captain’s hands and tell him it’s “ un poco mas” (a little more) as you shake his hand and thank him. It will pay mega-dividends on your next trip and believe me, they will be talking about the cliente muy amable around the dinner table that night and you won’t be forgotten.

That’s my story.