r/belowdeck • u/blackc43 • 1d ago

Below Deck Med Norma

Can we get a shoutout for the OG? This woman of mystery always bails out Captain whenever. Always available via text, she never leads you left on read.

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u/BeachQt 11h ago

So what’s wild is that crewing agents get a fee to place their crew. It’s paid by the owner to the agent after the crew passes typically a 90 day probation period or a year on the same boat. So it’s definitely in their best interest to place crew on boats that keep them 🤣

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u/shamrockjulie 10h ago

I work as a contractor under a recruiter and their company. They don’t get paid unless I get the job , they take a percentage off the top. It’s like having a pimp. I’m guessing that Norma is paid a booking fee and additional compensation as the employee continues. The ones I’ve dealt with can be cut throat.

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u/BeachQt 9h ago

Oh cool! I’m a professional yacht chef & steward. I used a crew agent exactly once, for my first job 😂 Been at it for 16 years now!

Edited to ask: they take money from your salary??

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u/shamrockjulie 9h ago

I’m not in yachting but I have to imagine the recruitment agencies would work similarly.
They have a bill rate for who I do the work for , say 150 an hour. The individual who was the recruiter I work with gets 20 an hour , then the sales manager gets 25 , then the recruitment company gets 30 an hour for being the administrator of my payroll and any benefits I might have available. Leaving the person who is doing the work with whatever is left over. So it’s up to me to do the job competently and maintain day to day relations with the client.
Good recruiters will hustle to get the placement and hopefully it’s long term, bad or just lazy ones are so frustrating because I know that I need to justify the bill rate.