InTheBite

A Mate’s Guide to Social Media – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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by Capt. Jen Copeland

In many ways social media is defining the world around us. While skillfully maneuvering the Instagrams and Facebooks of the world can raise the professional profile of your career, posting things inappropriately can ruin your reputation, change the way people look at you, and even get you fired. Captain Jen Copeland provides a thoughtful, insightful breakdown of how sportfishing mates should approach the use of social media. It’s a good read for anyone, if you plan to make your career in sportfishing it is a must read.  – ITB

The Good

Social media provides a unique look inside the world of sportfishing and the many interesting men and women who make up the sportfishing industry. Social media post

s show us what is biting where and allow us to preview new products. Social media—and the information it provides—has dramatically shortened the time necessary to make decisions.

Many participants in the sportfishing industry – top teams, small lure makers, tournaments, and brokerages – capitalize on the “perceived free advertising” Instagram and Facebook provide. Top teams use it for a real-time fishing reports and to track the success of their competitors. What once took captains hours, or even days to hear via the coconut telegraph, now takes only minutes. Most everyone is connected by social media one way or another and it has proven to be a real asset.

“Staying in touch with family and friends while you’re travelling enables more people to be involved in the sport, and everyone gets excited to see fish being caught,” says Captain Jimmy Werling of the Plane Simple. Werling, whose team is a regular on tournament leaderboards, keeps a watchful eye on his competition through social media. “Although I may not be competing with so-and-so this week, I may be the next week. I’m able to track the teams I need to watch out for.”

Of all the professionals surveyed about the subject, not one of them said social media was “bad” for the fishing business itself. In fact, they all agreed it provides a wealth of knowledge and information that is both informative and instantly accessible. But, there must be a down side, right?

Capt. Jimmy Werling

The Bad

While there is no doubt the sportfishing industry has become “instafamous” in the past few years, let’s not forget the possible repercussions from your “professional” posts. What you post can impact your immediate situation and even follow you into the future. Just as social media had made information available at the touch of app, it can also wreak havoc on your career should it not be used responsibly.

Kona Captain Bryan Toney of Marlin Magic says he has only used social media on a professional level for the last year. “I don’t post anything personal, I’ve strayed from that,” Toney says. “It (SM) is a great way to get yourself out there. But if you’re looking to further your career, my advice is to keep it completely professional.” Solid advice from a man who says, “I learned it the hard way.”

Anytime you post, comment or like something, it is a direct reflection on you and your character. Though you may not realize it, this can affect the way people think about you. Six degrees of separation? Possibly. According to Captain Doug Covin of Hatteras team Copper Leader, “I have used several different mates over the last few years, so I’ve used social media many times to do a ’background check’ to see what type of fishing a mate is doing or to see who his friends are.” Covin continues by saying “if a mate posts a lot of pictures of himself at the sandbar, or drinking with his buddies, then that’s very telling.” Very telling, but not in a good, professional way.

Capt. Bryan Toney knows his way around grander blues and social media.

“It’s your resume you’re putting out there,” another captain points out. “Everyday out on the dock is a real-time interview to see how you carry yourself, how your boat looks. With social media, you don’t know who is watching you. It could be your captain, your owner, a future employer – one screw up could ruin your job, or your future – and that’s worth remembering.”

The Ugly

Living in the moment is one thing that makes the charm of sportfishing so alluring. If sportfishing is your chosen career, however, it’s wise to think of your future. In ten years, how do you want to be seen? Impressions do matter and no one is irreplaceable. As Captain Bryan Toney says, “Good mates don’t stay mates, they turn into responsible, respectable captains. And well, good mates with bad habits stay mates – if he’s lucky.”

The Bottom Line: “Could a mate’s indiscretions in social media content affect his career?”

Both Covin and Toney think it could, at least in the short term. Captain Jimmy Werling answered with a definitive, “100% yes.” He explains, “Once it’s out there, it’s always out there. To me, this means when you go to apply for another job, inappropriate posts will come back to haunt you,” he goes on to say. “If your social media profile makes you look like an idiot, then you are an idiot. It can define you, so be aware of what you put out there – it’s there to stay and for all to see.” Werling went on to tell me that his boss’ company has a very strict social media policy for the boat. If he goes to hire a new mate, the company will search the new hire’s social media profile(s) to help determine what type of person they are.

According to another top, competitive tournament captain (who prefers to remain anonymous), “Any future employer has the right to judge you on your social media habits. Most have been usually right when it comes to determining a personality based on your posts. It’s just another network. You must use common sense, and in this business, if you don’t have that, find another career.”

This estimation may sound harsh, but it is a harsh reality. The fact that others may make judgments on your skills or character by what you post on social media should not be a surprise. When it comes to your social media accounts, you put it there, so it’s an open invitation for anyone to “check you out” – private or public.

To  Post or Not to Post?

What is inappropriate? That is a personal decision and one a responsible, mature mate should be able to easily make. Off the high of a stellar fishing day, you may be tempted to post the highlights ASAP. But there are a few factors you may want to consider prior to clicking the share button:

  1. Respect the boss’s wishes and privacy: Having worked for the same family for over 13 years, I can tell you that on more than one occasion the boss has called me to express his annoyance with how my mate had posted our day’s activities. He simply does not want to the general public (i.e. his company employees) knowing his personal business, how he spends his off-time, and more importantly, his toy collection. This is understandable—many private owners want to be private, off the social media grid or incognito. Part of your job is to respect his privacy. Respect himand he will respect you. When in doubt, the man with the gold rules, so it’s best to ask first. Either way you look at it, it’s wise to get your owner’s take on the matter.
  2. Put yourself in your captain’s shoes: It’s hard enough to keep his secrets “secret.” Having his hard work plastered all over your page enlightening your 2,000 followers that all your blue marlin came up on the purple dredge or green squid chain isn’t helping and is hardly acceptable.  While many captains have their own social media agendas, they may prefer to make that decision on their own. Is it your place to make that decision for him? How do you want your mates sharing boat business when it’s time for you to make all the decisions? I thought so.
  3. The future of your career: Choose your posts wisely, with as much common sense as you can muster. Even a private account can easily be shared, so be advised. Posting your Saturday afternoon of dunk-a-roos or pre-tournament rounds of Fireball shots at 6:00am isn’t exactly making you look professional. Broadcasting such activities out there for the world to see certainly isn’t good for your resume. Remember, what happens on the boat, stays on the boat. Anything posted on the interwebs is there forever, and rest assured your next boss is going to have a look at your social media footprint and habits – he’d be a fool not to. Having any individual responsible for his multi-million-dollar operation, not to mention his friends and family, deserves a little past-delving…don’t you agree?

The bottom line is this, and top captains agree: thinking twice always makes you see things differently the second time. If you are committed to this fishing career of yours, regardless whether or not you are part of a private or charter program, it’s always best to err on the side of caution. The days of using social media to make yourself known and speak your mind are over. This “thing” has morphed into a permanent, real life window to your world, so be sure you are ready to have your current, or future employer peering into it.

October Sportfish Sales

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Here are some boats of interest sold this October. Congratulations to both the buyers and sellers.

Note: Final selling prices are not displayed.

SECOND WIND

2006 68’ Viking

Engines: MTU 16V2000

Hours: 2030

List Price: $1,495,000

Sold Date: 10/3/2018

Sold By: Galati Yachts

 

SEAGUAPA

2001 47’ Cabo

Engines: MAN 800 hp

Hours: 1100

List Price: $329,000

Sold Date: 10/10/2018

Sold By: HMY YACHTS

 

MOESY ON

2010 54’ Viking

Engines: MAN V12 1550hp

Hours: 1900

List Price: $1,299,000

Date: 10/16/2018

Sold By: HMY YACHTS

 

REEL RODEO

2008 70’2” Jarrett Bay

Engines: 2400hp MTU

Hours: n/a

List Price: $3,399,000

Date: 10/15/2018

 

WAYNES WORLD

2005 57’ Dean Johnson

Engines: CAT C-18

Hours: 7449/5966

List Price: $1,079,500

Date Sold: 10/15/2018

 

DOS AMIGOS

2004 45’ Viking

Engines: MAN 800hp

Hours: 3600

List Price: $399,000

Sold Date: 10/12/2018

Sold By: Galati Yachts

 

62’ WINTER

2008 62’ WINTER

Engines: CAT C-32 1550 hp

Hours: 2400

List Price: $1.7 mil

Sold Date: 10/11/2018

Sold By: MacGregor yachts

 

KAHUNA

2007 45’ Viking

Engines: MAN 900hp

Hours: 1250

List Price: $599,000

Sold Date: 10/4/2018

Sold By: HMY Yachts

 

ABSOLUT

2015 42’ Viking

Engines: Cummins QSC-600

Hours: 190

List Price: 969,000

Sold Date: 10/18/2018

Sold By: HMY

 

MY CHRISTINE

2008 62’ Titan Yachts

Engines: CAT C-32 1650

Engine Hours: 2800

List Price: $2,150,000

Sold Date: 10/24/2018

Sold By: HMY

 

GRAND DUKE

2015 70’ Viking

Engines: MTU 2600 hp

Hours: 1797

List Price: $5,095,000

Sold Date: 10/26/2018

Sold By: Denison

Tipping: The Dockmaster’s Viewpoint

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From The Archives

by Jan Fogt

We ran a story on “Tipping While Traveling” and interviewed four well traveled captains to provide their insight on tipping. In response to the article we had several dock attendants and dockmasters comment on the subject and think its fitting to follow up with some of their responses on the subject.

Barbara Roderick, American Yacht Harbor Marina, St Thomas USVI

Dockmaster Barbara Roderick has done it all at the famed American Yacht Harbor marina on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, from working the fuel docks to running the store.  One of the busiest marinas in the Caribbean, she was happy to express her own ideas on tips and tipping.

Tom Farlow, Pirate’s Cove Marina Manteo, NC

Tom Farlow oversees one of the most professional marinas in North America – if not the world.  The 195-slip Pirate’s Cove Marina is one of the few marinas with an on site, 24-hour a day dockmaster.  In addition, guests are offered personal business cards with cell numbers from anyone and everyone who takes care of them, from the guy who delivers ice to the attendant helping them fuel.  The marina also offers a concierge service for off site needs and has an offsite marine repair facility to take care of pretty much anything that can befall a boat.  “Our goal is to try and provide anything and everything our guests might need,” says Farlow.

Yvonne Shults, Orange Beach Marina, AL

With 165 slips for boats to 100 or more feet, the Orange Beach (AL) Marina is one of the largest on the Gulf Coast.  Store manager Yvonne Shults however has a way of making boaters and fishermen feel welcome, like they are special guests, which might explain why she too often receives tips.

Q:  Under what circumstances is a tip expected from a captain and or owner? What sorts of tips are customary?

Roderick:  Sometimes I feel like we’re the red-headed stepchild here at Red Hook. I don’t know what it is but for whatever reason, some guys think tipping is not necessary when they come here.  Where do I think it is appropriate?  The fuel dock for sure because those guys are always having to do a lot of running back and forth, delivering carts so the guys can unload their gear, or passing them water and fuel hoses.  In the office, the girls that work really hard for our guests, arranging for rental cars, helping them get reservations, checking on flights and a hundred other tasks and hardly ever get a thank you much less a tip, which would be very nice to see because they always provide good service with a friendly smile.  I’m not saying it has to be a big tip, just something to say we appreciate what you do for us.  As for amounts, for the guys at the fuel dock I’d say something like $5 to $20 is a nice tip for helping with the lines and getting people on and off the boat, or delivering a cart and helping them fuel. It kind of depends how much they do.  And for the guys who deliver heavy batteries and help during oil changes, I don’t think $20 is too much because those are services that are not part of their job description, yet are things they cheerfully do for our guests.

Farlow:  I would estimate the average tip for helping a boat tie up and refuel and to guide them through the paperwork we require – for the first time – is about $20.  Every time an attendant assists a guest it is not usual for them to receive a $5 to $10 tip. For the week, our attendants might receive about $100 in tips. During tournaments, however, the tips would be more because the level of service increases. For instance, it is not unusual for our guys to be delivering ice, newspapers, coffee and biscuit sandwiches at 4 a.m.  And when the boats get in, they are there to wash the boats and tackle and help refuel and do whatever it takes to make sure that boat is on the water fishing the next day.  So normally the tips are bigger, usually in the range of a $100 a day per boat during tournaments.

Shults:  I like to think our guests always tip the dock attendants and employees whenever they go the extra mile like running bags of ice across the marina or staying late to weigh a fish or to fuel a boat.  Those are things we’re always doing.  Even so, tips are not what I would call expected.  It’s always up to the discretion of the customer to do what they think is appropriate.  As to various amounts, I’d say a $1 is a nice gesture if the guys deliver ice.

Q:  Do these circumstances vary between a very large boat of say 70-90 feet and a smaller vessel of 40-55 feet?   Would it be different for someone who had permanent dockage versus a transient?

Roderick:  Not really, although I have to say, we sometimes do get transients in who have no idea how to dock a boat, so the guys end up with hooks and lines maneuvering the boat into the slip because the guy doesn’t know how to.  And while permanent guys usually don’t tip on a day-to-day basis, most of them do try to offer something around Christmas time like a bottle of wine for me, money for the girls in the office or money for the dock guys.

Farlow:  The circumstances don’t vary at our marina between overnight boats and permanent boats, however most of the charter boats at our docks do not routinely tip for services by our staff. I think they probably should, but they don’t as a rule.

Shults:  Size doesn’t really matter. However transients do seem to tip more easily than our permanent guys, I guess because tipping is part of travel.  My experience as store manager is that I don’t really get many tips.  However, sometimes at the end of the year or maybe once or twice a year permanent guests will give a very generous tip for some special service.  For instance, just the other day I stayed late to weigh a 180-pound tuna for one of our fishermen and he gave me a $50 tip for staying an extra hour.  It was a surprise and much appreciated.  Our regulars don’t tip all the time but every now and then they’ll do something totally unexpected like that.

Q:  If a captain or owner fails to offer a tip for extraordinary service, is that something that might come back to haunt them?

Roderick:  Not really. Our guys work really hard and take a lot of pride in offering the people in our marina good service.

Farlow:  Our employees are well trained.  They understand that tips are something that’s a bonus, which is discretionary. They understand service is what is important.  And, that if anyone were to see them acting like they are owed a tip for some service they performed for a customer, they would be disciplined.

Shults:  Not to the extent anyone would ever say anything to a customer.  But I suspect people being human; they might be a little less joyful about providing services you normally would receive a tip for.

Q:  What would you think if someone gave you a T-shirt and hat? 

 Roderick:  T-shirts and hats are a real good one.  Some of our guys even collect them.

Farlow:  T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and sometimes fish are always well received by our staff.

Shults:  The guys absolutely love it when an owner or captain gives them a logo shirt, hat or jacket.

 Q:  Does your staff appreciate fresh fish as a gratuity? 

Roderick:  We do get a lot of fish and appreciate it.  But a lot of us don’t have freezers and it spoils.

Farlow:  Yes and no.  Fish are plentiful here. Most of our dock attendants fish on their own boats, and consequently, catch fish to eat.

Shults:  Fresh fish is nice.

Q:  What is the best advice you can give someone about making a good impression with your staff at your marina in terms of behavior, treatment, etc.?

 Roderick:  We try our darnedest to treat our boaters and fishermen like good friends and valued customers.  So whenever I see my guys going the extra mile, hauling heavy marine batteries, helping captains with maintenance issues or rolling 5-gallon drums of used oil down the dock, I just think they should be compensated with a nice tip without me having to mention it because the captain didn’t think of it first.

Farlow:  We hand out business cards and welcome packets to everyone who ties up at our marina.  In those packets we try to instill one idea—don’t be shy about asking the dock crew questions or telling them what you need.  Basically we are here to serve and to make our customers feel like welcome guests.

Shults:  More than anything, being courteous is important. Of course tipping is gratefully appreciated if the customer feels they have received exceptional service.  At the same time, when the service is bad, as a manager that’s something I appreciate knowing so we can improve.

So, what have we learned from these interviews?  That no matter what the culture is, tipping is always appreciated and it is of course, always a discretionary act.  So if you do not think a tip is necessary for certain services, don’t tip.  But if you feel like people have taken good care of you, it’s okay to be generous.  It might just come back to haunt you – in a very good way.