Tipping a guide ?

[Chipnalong]

If your go out with a guide and you feel he did a good job /tried , how much would you tip? What’s high and low ? Thanks

 

[Rich M]

Some real long posts about this on here. Did you search yet?

 

[MuleyFever]

How much to tip

Understand most folks here are self guided but I’m headed on a CO guided elk hunt and have no idea what I should tip the guide? Do you tip by % of the hunt cost? Seems to me that 20% which seems to be the standard for a dinner would be a little outrageous no matter how good of a job they did...

www.rokslide.com

 

[Chipnalong]

Thanks

 

[def90]

20% for a good job, A good job doesn't always mean whether or not you tagged out.

 

[jeffpg]

As both a hunter and guide I can relate to both sides of the fence. To me it is not much different than any other situation such as eating out, etc. it is definitely a personal decision in my opinion and should be based on not only performance but also attitude and enthusiasm with a will to make a positive impact.

You can’t really expect everyone to view tipping the same way. As a hunter I have ranged from no tip when guided by the outfits owner to $1000 plus gifts when treated well in Africa. I look at each experience individually.

 

[bozeman]

Honest question, just thought about this: feedback on receiving gift cards as a tip? Something like $500 WalMart gift card, $250 Amazon gift card; $250 Visa gift card? etc.....

L.B.

 

[tdhanses]

Just remember you’re tipping the guide for how hard they worked for you and the experience they give you, not if you make the shot. I would say based on their effort 10-20% of cost of the hunt.

 

[Sherman]

Honest question, just thought about this: feedback on receiving gift cards as a tip? Something like $500 WalMart gift card, $250 Amazon gift card; $250 Visa gift card? etc.....

L.B.

Unless you are re-gifting a gift card or got the gift card for free, why not just give cash? If there was a choice, I’m sure cash would be the way to go, but I don’t see them complaining about a gift card.

 

[Augie]

Personally believe 10%-20% of the hunt cost is standard. If the guide did everything they could, worked their butt off for you, and you had a great experience then closer to 20% is what I'd tip. Yes at times that 20% can seem like a daunting amount, but that's the cost of doing business. Guiding is a part of these peoples livelihoods and commonly lead to a significantly higher success rate in the field for you. If you have a bad experience with a guide, make your complaints known to the outfitter immediately and ask for a new guide if possible. Then that way if the experience continues to spiral downhill it's not a surprise when your tip isn't as much as they expected. Guides aren't very hard to find, but great guides are as good as gold!

 

[def90]

Honest question, just thought about this: feedback on receiving gift cards as a tip? Something like $500 WalMart gift card, $250 Amazon gift card; $250 Visa gift card? etc.....

L.B.

Be aware that a guide living on a mountain in the middle of nowhere might not have the ability to use an Amazon card nor be anywhere near a Walmart.. just give them cash.

 

[Brooks]

Cash is King !!

 

[Augie]

Honest question, just thought about this: feedback on receiving gift cards as a tip? Something like $500 WalMart gift card, $250 Amazon gift card; $250 Visa gift card? etc.....

L.B.

I guess my question is why would you prefer to give gift cards instead of cash? Hard to pay bills with a gift card.

 

[2five7]

Somewhere in between "tip your hat as you walk on by, or give him your pickup truck"

 

[Weldor]

I try to tip 10-15% or whatever extra I have for a great job. Cash is King. I am not a rich man either, work hard to save money for a guided hunt,so good service is always appreciated. Try to tip the best I can.

 

[bozeman]

Just an honest question, if you get incentives/awards in gift cards............its quickly apparent, its all about the $$$.

 

[Augie]

Just an honest question, if you get incentives/awards in gift cards............its quickly apparent, its all about the $$$.

Perhaps I'm just not following your logic here, but you don't tip until after the trip has concluded. Therefor it's not as if a guide is only going to work extra hard for you if he knows he's being tipped in cash. But if the guides are counting on some sort of tip as being part of their yearly income then cash is preferable to pay for expenses whatever they might be. How would you like it if your employer or customers (if you are self employed) paid you in gift cards instead of money every week?

 

[bozeman]

Did you read my post? Incentives/awards come in the form of gift cards......its actually quite nice. Walmart, Amazon, Visa cards (as good as cash), Shell gas cards.......

 

[TN2shot07]

Did you read my post? Incentives/awards come in the form of gift cards......its actually quite nice. Walmart, Amazon, Visa cards (as good as cash), Shell gas cards.......

Don’t worry about incentives/rewards. If the guy earned a tip he isn’t going to appreciate anything more than a handful of benjamins

 

[Augie]

Don’t worry about incentives/rewards. If the guy earned a tip he isn’t going to appreciate anything more than a handful of benjamins

I need the bank to start accepting gift cards on my truck payment since it's as good as cash lol