False Advertising?

[Searcaigh]

Not sure if this is the right section, but anyway ...

I was reviewing local dive center websites to link to my own website, and I noticed in most of them that they have photographs definitely not from this area (UAE), one even has a photo of a Caribbean Angelfish, as well as obvious Red Sea shots.

Many photos showing excellent vis so again certainly not from this area where vis is normally 3-5M

Now a diver who might be wanting to learn to dive will have no clue about what the local conditions are like, but what about somebody traveling from outside of UAE?

So when you are planning your dive travel and you are checking out websites how much faith do you have in what you see on them?

Do you expect them to reflect what the diving is like in that area?

 

[Doc]

I look at dive-op's websites for only one thing: the diving services that they offer.

I'll do my research on the local zones first, knowing what I'll see and what I will expect from a variety of internet sources. I recommend :sblogo: above all others for that.

Dive Op websites? I want to see their boats, number one. I want detailed images of the interiors, not just a full-length exterior shot.

Water and toilet on board? Oxygen? Trained O2 providers? Radios? (not always important to me, but it is to many)

Show me the gear storage rooms, the showers, the transition from there to the boats. Show me an actual map of the actual dive sites that they do travel to on a regular basis.

Lay out their exact dive boat schedule and sign-up process. Tell me what to expect in terms of DM assistance, if the operation is even remotely handicapped friendly?

Other than that, I have no use for what is on a dive-ops website. Most are what they should be, a sales tool. They advertise their cert courses and rental gear. If you could figure out a way to show me what the rental gear looks like "today", I might give the overweight baggage fee to the rental shop instead.

Now a diver who might be wanting to learn to dive will have no clue about what the local conditions are like....

A non-diver reading an accurate description would be like my cat who likes to watch the Millionaire Game show. She gets the right answers all the time but has no idea what she is meowing about- or what she is going to do with her winnings. But I get your point.

As a long-standing joke, a Roatan resort (CCV) ran flyers that had a small thumbnail shot of a Clownfish in an Anemone. After many, many years, the marketing department grew tired of their inside joke and removed it. No one ever had ever said a word about it. Other Dive-Ops on Roatan that are located 30+ miles away have often show pictures of wrecks that they never, ever dive.

 

[Teamcasa]

...So when you are planning your dive travel and you are checking out websites how much faith do you have in what you see on them?

Do you expect them to reflect what the diving is like in that area?

Before I even make a phone call, I've done a significant amount of research on a new site. Much of it right here on ScubaBoard.

I pay zero attention to the resorts/dive shop website.

 

[knowone]

I'm sure there are only a handful of lobster signed up with Fords.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I think a dive operator who is located in a specific area should only show pics taken on their dive trips, in that area.

One Molokini operator here has a great picture of a great white shark on it's web site, and while the picture was taken by one of their guides (owner/Blesi), on one of their trips, at Molokini, that was pretty much the only time a recreational dive group has ever seen a great white while diving in the entire State of Hawaii.

Do you know that many fish ID cards in Hawaii include "Nemo" looking clown fish, even though there are no clown fish in the entire State of Hawaii (not counting aquariums). Guess which fish ID cards are most popular?

 

[cloudflint]

One of my friends was standing in a dive shop on holiday and there was a video of a wreck absolutely covered in fish. He went out and dived the wreck expecting it to be a brilliant dive and spent 45 minutes swimming round an absolutely barren wreck. When he went back to the shop and looked closer he realised the fish where CG

 

[fjpatrum]

I look at dive-op's websites for only one thing: the diving services that they offer.

I'll do my research on the local zones first, knowing what I'll see and what I will expect from a variety of internet sources. I recommend :sblogo: above all others for that.

Dive Op websites? I want to see their boats, number one. I want detailed images of the interiors, not just a full-length exterior shot.

Water and toilet on board? Oxygen? Trained O2 providers? Radios? (not always important to me, but it is to many)

Show me the gear storage rooms, the showers, the transition from there to the boats. Show me an actual map of the actual dive sites that they do travel to on a regular basis.

Lay out their exact dive boat schedule and sign-up process. Tell me what to expect in terms of DM assistance, if the operation is even remotely handicapped friendly?

Other than that, I have no use for what is on a dive-ops website. Most are what they should be, a sales tool. They advertise their cert courses and rental gear. If you could figure out a way to show me what the rental gear looks like "today", I might give the overweight baggage fee to the rental shop instead.



A non-diver reading an accurate description would be like my cat who likes to watch the Millionaire Game show. She gets the right answers all the time but has no idea what she is meowing about- or what she is going to do with her winnings. But I get your point.

As a long-standing joke, a Roatan resort (CCV) ran flyers that had a small thumbnail shot of a Clownfish in an Anemone. After many, many years, the marketing department grew tired of their inside joke and removed it. No one ever had ever said a word about it. Other Dive-Ops on Roatan that are located 30+ miles away have often show pictures of wrecks that they never, ever dive.

Not to be a dick, but can you show me one example of a dive op that has the information I "bolded" on their website? Seriously, I've never seen (in my admittedly short experience) ANY dive op that provides that much detail. Many don't even offer it when you speak to them in person unless you're asking specifically about these things.

 

[Doc]

... can you show me one example of a dive op that has the information I "bolded" on their website?

I would agree, there isn't much real information out there. This comes very close: CoCo View Resort Roatan Scuba Roatan Diving located in Roatan, Honduras diving, scuba and snorkeling. if you take the time to dig your way through and see the links provided to CoCo Chat and to CoCoView Explained in Pictures pictures There is a lot of info on the resort website, but with the addition of a provided message board they have allowed anyone to jump in and question, elaborate, praise, or criticize. This has provided an active forum for all answers to be given by prior guests. All of the answers to every question thought-up so far is listed there, but just like any internet source, searches and reading are a bafflement to some folks.

... Seriously, I've never seen (in my admittedly short experience) ANY dive op that provides that much detail.

But- the general lack of such examples doesn't mean that they shouldn't be there and be available.

Many don't even offer it when you speak to them in person unless you're asking specifically about these things.

I'm not sure we can fault any dive-op for not answering questions that were not asked. At some point, the consumer (you and me) have to be smart enough to know the questions to ask. On our first ventures, it is a good idea to travel with an experienced dive club. New friends will speak to your concerns, likely they will have presentations from divers experienced in the areas.

Off Topic: A great source is any of the seminars at the consumer Dive Shows. Some are sales pitches, but when I do them, I just talk straight facts, likely the kind of stuff that you are really wanting to know. I speak often about the Philippines, Roatan, the Red Sea, Maldives, live-aboards, and land-based diving in Galapagos. I refuse to pitch for the op sponsoring the presentation's time slot, but I will talk about what they really offer and what the diving is all about. Some others also follow this methodology.

I would posit that the standard dumb question that most operations are asked is, "How thick a wetsuit will I need?". The only answer is to note the expected seasonal water temps and let the individual decide through personal experience what they will require. When a resort goes any further by suggesting "what many divers wear is...", that is just a poor answer given~ versus embarrassing the obvious noob. There is nothing wrong with being a noob, but it's hard to understand that there is no answer other than log-book data from past personal experience. (I guess you can tell everybody 7 mil if you have a lot of lead lying around)

I would now add to that list I made in the post above:

- Water Temps, Air Temps and Precipitation, month by month

- Advice on any hazardous sea life that one may encounter

I doubt that most would give that information up-front, either.

 

[Token]

So when you are planning your dive travel and you are checking out websites how much faith do you have in what you see on them?

Do you expect them to reflect what the diving is like in that area?

I am clearly such a noob that it never occurred to me that a dive operation website [or brochure] would put up fake pictures. I also realize in retrospect that there is a lot of useful information that _should_ be there, but isn't.

I have to travel to dive...so do lots of other people. Perhaps we should start asking pointed questions about what we see on websites. I know I will be from now on...

 

[TSandM]

I may become intrigued by underwater photos on a website or brochure, but I certainly wouldn't book a boat or resort based on them alone. You can't blame people for putting up the absolute best pictures they have -- if one hammerhead has ever been seen in the area in the history of diving, they're going to put that picture up anyway. Who wants to see the ordinary stuff?

Frank misrepresentation (pictures from elsewhere) is reprehensible.

I like to get as much information as possible, and with respect to boats, I've seen quite a few that have photographs of the interior, staterooms, dive area, storage lockers, etc. Information on O2 on board and crew training is something I haven't seen.