What would you do? AITA?

[Catito]

Bad day on the water, but everyone made it back. I would expect the dive operator would comp you in some way for the "lost" dive. But I would not go looking for it. If they didn't comp you, well, you now know how this operator works. We never do, but that is a question you should ask before putting your money down. Caveat emptor.

Funny story, local dive operation in South Florida, my buddy and I went out on an afternoon dive, it was a sh*t show from the very beginning and ended with them losing a diver for a bit, due to the captain's ignorance. It so poorly run and dangerous that my buddy and I sat out the second dive, knowing something "bad" would happen. There was a new diver on the boat and we told him to sit out the 2nd dive also, he thanked us when we got off the boat. We made our feelings/opinions clear and polite with the captain. As we were loading our gear at the dock the shop manager came out and apologized and said our next trip would be free......we thanked her but said, no thanks, we wouldn't be coming back.

I had a similar experience with a Deerfield boat. You? We sat out the second dive. I complained to the owner about the very unsafe sh!@# show. He said to give them another try (after firing the Cpt). I said, no thanks. No compensation was offered.

 

[jadairiii]

You?

Pompano Beach

 

[danzn16]

I think we need to know about this "difficulty breathing". That can mean a lot of things. It could be a tense diver that has never been in seas that that are rough, or a diver that is seasick and just not functional, or a diver that is hung over, or a diver that legitimately has a new (to them) medical issue. For the first three a full refund is definitely called for. The shop vets the divers and puts them on the boat together. If they put an unfit/unskilled/unready diver on the boat, that is on them. If no medical care was called for, it is very hard to call this anything like a medical emergency.

Diver was ultimately diagnosed with immersion pulmonary edema and got a trip in the chamber. Full recovery

 

[Still Kicking]

Tough call. I was on a ttwo day trip once where a passenger - a doctor - had a heart condition and he "didn't like the numbers" he saw on a self-administered heart test. It was the first day out.

Captain called for a CG helicopter evacuation but they declined because it was deemed precautionary. They advised the captain to return to port (8 hours). What could he do?

As it turned out, the CG deployed a fast boat and met us half way, saving some of the second day's diving.

In a situation like that I think one passenger's welfare outweighs the monetary loss incurred by the other passengers even though I think it was pretty inconsiderate of the doctor to go offshore in his condition.

 

[Blackcrusader]

This discussion is timely because over the weekend, I had a big ole bust with a dive boat. I was considering posting here to get some feedback.

Here's the situation:

I paid for a two-tank dive. The weather was calm. We went to the first site (a wreck). The DM anchored the boat into the wreck and relayed the current was very strong and visibility was extremely low. The captain was going to allow the group to dive, but after the first diver to giant stride in quickly shot backwards down the trailing safety line, they called off the dive. We headed to the second dive spot. A different DM jumped in and anchored us. He returned to the boat and reported the viz was so bad he couldn't see his gauges. The captain decided we wouldn't be diving that day and returned to the dock. I am not second guessing the captain's decision to cancel the dives. In fact, I appreciate that the captain cared more about safety than guest satisfaction. The following day, we received a 50% refund through their online booking platform.

We paid for two dives and did zero dives, but they did drive us to both dive sites. Perhaps what I'm paying for is the boat ride -- which I received. After all, the conditions are not within their control. Still, I'm a bit dissatisfied with the resolution. I'd have been happier if I were offered the choice if a 50% cash refund or a 100% credit for a future trip. I'm not peeved enough to complain though. Is this standard?

Sounds like you got a good deal.

 

[Centrals]

I signed up a wreck dive(Dona Marilyn) in Malapascua Philippines but even with the help of GPS the wreck could not be hooked so we went to dive Gato Island. When we returned to the shop I told the operator that I would not pay the dive and walked off. Some others did the same. The operator accepted it without any fuss.
I signed up for the same wreck dive with another operator a day later. The captain did not have GPS and took a few look on the surrounding distant areas and then ordered the hook to be dropped. Bingo.

 

[fullytek]

I can't beleave people want to put pressure on the operators to provide the service at all cost or provide a full refund.

You are engaging in a high risk activity sometimes things go wrong. If you don't want to be inconvenienced by other divers then you can book and pay for the full boat.

If a diver has any symptoms of illness or distress, the boat is headed to Dutch whare that diver can be evaluated by real medical professionals. The liability of delaying that care is far more than the value of a few selfish coustomers.

If we had an issue on our boat whare we had to run for shore for the well being of any of or passengers and some ******* asked for a refund after that.. they would get that refund but with that refund would also come a lifetime ban from setting foot on our vessels again.


Let's look at it this way.

If we get you to the dive site and back than we provided the service.

Nothing on the or in the water is guaranteed.

 

[fullytek]

If you had an issue on your boat and were an **** and didn't refund me I'd dispute the charge AND I'd ban your boat for the rest of my life.

That's fine cus my boats are already full with real diver's

 

[fullytek]

That's fine cus I only go on boats with real captain's

Nice to see your putting your money ahead of the safety of others

 

[SouthernSharktoothDiver]

To try and weigh in on some of the contentions here, here's my policy: If I'm the one calling off the dive, then the cost is on me. This covers say, my flight being moved and me not making my appointment on time, me deciding I don't like the weather that day and canceling of my own free will, or me saying I feel a little unwell and don't wanna dive. All three of those cases, it's my decision, and I'm on the hook for the full cost of the trip.

But if the dive operator cancels the trip without allowing me to choose, they should refund me my money. That includes them deciding to turn around due to weather, them having equipment problems, and any health emergencies that are not involving me. I didn't pay for a site-seeing tour. I paid for a dive charter. If I didn't get the dives I paid for, I want my money back.

Now, I'm a reasonable person. If an operator were to cancel a two tank dive after one dive and say "we can't afford to give everyone their money back, but here's a voucher for 50% off your next trip," I would be willing to accept that in the spirit it was given. They're making a legitimate effort to restore the value I have lost. Bonus points if that voucher is transferable, so I can opt to sell it to some else to recoup cash if I prefer. Same if they canceled the entire outing, but rescheduled it to another day at my convenience. Not optimal, but I'll accept it.

A lot of people raise points about safety, but here's my thing. This is a dangerous hobby, and if an operator (ie, the professionals who are supposed to be, well, professional) can't be trusted to take a loss in the name of keeping their customers safe (which they have a duty to do), why on earth would I, the customer, be expected to take a loss in the name of the same? If they don't have the financial margins to be safe in their operations, they should raise prices or stop operating altogether, rather than screwing customers to make up the difference.

Imagine if the situation were inverted. A customer decided not to dive because he felt unwell, and then demanded a refund for not receiving what he paid for. Would you support that customer? Of course not. He had a personal problem, he made a decision, and he pays for what he chose to do. The dive operator had no say, wasn't the cause of his problem, and so owes him nothing. This is the same thing, just reversed.