Inappropriate customer

[CT-Rich]

People don't do bad things when they know they are being recorded.f

Have you spent 4 minutes on social media?

 

[PamelaH]

I'm considering re taking English and would suggest you slow down and have a flick through comprehension

Sarcasm really goes over poorly in text. I don't know you and have no real way of interpreting your comment about speaking directly to the offender.

"You could raise this with the nine people that didn't think as investigatively as you, gave the guy a thumbs down". Who gave the thumbs down? You or the 9 people? . What guy - the instructor or the poster? Are you complimenting me with the word 'investgatively' (not a word, BTW) or mocking me? Maybe you could say what you're saying directly instead of being condescending - just a suggestion.

I'm going with you agreeing with me and just being facetious because that suits me, not because it's obvious.

 

[John the Pom]

Yes, yes file complaints. Tell the certifying agency. Complain to the dive shop. Pray that the offender dies a horrible death. But never, ever mention or indicate to him in a direct and timely manner that his actions were unwelcome.

I don’t believe it is her job, as a divemaster, to police the customers. This incident goes to workplace health and safety. Some people will laugh incidents like this off, but they should be taken seriously. It is a horrible thing to feel unsafe at your place of work, and the stress can affect people’s health. A recent report suggested that workplace abuse was costing the Australian economy several billion dollars a year, mainly because of the adverse effects on people’s health.

It should be reported up the line, and the dive shop should have a policy for how to support you. How they actually deal with it is probably a litmus test for what sort of operation you are working for. If it is a decent place, they should have zero tolerance for behaviour like this.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Sticking strictly with the situation. Most people have a job because they need the money. They work as a trainee so that they can get their qualification which will help them get money. This is not greed, it is a need for food and shelter. So - confronted with a situation at work, as a trainee where you don't personally know the senior managers/chain of command, you have to go forward with care and tact. My experience, sadly, is that those up the chain of command can be bigger pervs than the problem. Heaven forbid that the customer is a "personal friend" of the manager and asked for the cute one with the pert butt. Can I say at this point that gender-wise this could be either male or female in all contexts.

There is legislation, but when you are at the bottom of the chain, it may not be that easy. Violence eg Kicking someone in the shins who is the paying customer is an offence against Health and Safety and seems like a sure way to lose the job, any positive references, and a career.

Perhaps the advice for anyone in a new job is to get to know what the management is like, ie people and procedures.

Specifically the case we started with. I hope that the matter is resolved to the benefit to yourself, any other junior staff, colleagues and your managers. Some managers are the good people and need the support of their staff in these matters eg factual accounts in order to support their staff the way they would like.

 

[NothingClever]

I don’t believe it is her job, as a divemaster, to police the customers.

I know quite a few female DMs here in Florida and I'm not sure any of them would agree with your outlook above.

I'm pretty confident they'd say a female DM has to be prepared to immediately counter unwanted attention and that they expect back up support from a male teammate from the crew.

Now, I recognize my experience is limited to the Atlantic coast of Florida and that culture has a lot to do with how a female responds.

I'm not sure how a female DM back in the Middle East would respond to a male customer making unwanted overtures. We just didn't have any female DMs that came on the LOBs and charters I frequented. They mostly DM'd for female-only dive trips.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Did you really say "I'm pretty confident they'd say a female DM has to be prepared to immediately counter unwanted attention and that they expect back up support from a male teammate from the crew."?

Oh dear. I would expect up back from all colleagues, not just a male. Females are often actually more experienced in these situations - think about it. The suggestion that I go boohooing to a male member of staff rather than constructively working out tactics, including with my female colleagues brings down the red mist. Message - guys if you are being subject to inappropriate behaviour from a customer, go to your female colleagues as well as the males.

 

[John the Pom]

Did you really say "I'm pretty confident they'd say a female DM has to be prepared to immediately counter unwanted attention and that they expect back up support from a male teammate from the crew."?

Oh dear. I would expect up back from all colleagues, not just a male. Females are often actually more experienced in these situations - think about it. The suggestion that I go boohooing to a male member of staff rather than constructively working out tactics, including with my female colleagues brings down the red mist. Message - guys if you are being subject to inappropriate behaviour from a customer, go to your female colleagues as well as the males.

I agree. That’s why I like the idea of having a clear policy in place, so that, if something like this happens, the DM knows right away who to talk to about it, and that action will be taken to put a stop to it.

I hate BS like this - it’s what drives a lot of young people away from doing things they love. If it was my boat, the bloke would be swimmin’ home.

 

[Cumulo-Nimbus]

A very interesting thread - that I'd like to join in.
I don't see female DM's in the responsibility to be prepared for any weirdos. The reality shows that freezing is more common than confronting them straightaway. I do agree with NothingClever, however that there may be not an ultimate answer. Discussing experiences and ideas on how to express personal boundaries to rise the awareness for others around us will help in the long run.

back to the topic: A newish DM could have worked in the industry for a bit, before encountering a touchy bloke. Even with being usually a non-Bulls"...*** person sometimes creeps catch us offguard. It depends certainly a bit of the area your'e in, but be it the States or in europe, It may sound easy to work out a counter plan against unwanted attention BUT actually apply these phrases, that sounded smart at first against a customer in real life? Within the blink of an eye? (That person being a business relationship may also bring in some hesitation with the said plan of action) Also with the knowledge that he could get away by claiming the contact being unintentional as described in the first post makes a difficult call.