julie,
that was a perfectly innocent, valid, and appropriate question. trouble seems to be that there are people out there who want to try and sway you and others to do what they do, instead of just offering their opinion and how they came to that opinion. who you deem tip worthy or not, and for how much or how little, is entirely up to you. staying away from the issue of instructor, coach, or lifeguard, or the details of anyones job description, I PERSONALLY, like to offer lunch, couple of beers, or 20 bucks, to someone that helps me to have a really good experience, like a river guide, surf instructor, rock climbing instructor, or waitress. whether or not they went above and beyond their responsibilities is inconsequential to me, all i care about is what i got out of it,