I'm not writing this to discount the original poster's experience, I will say though, that I'm surprised to hear the account, and sorry to hear about the bad experience.
I've done somewhere in the neighborhood of 175 or so tanks with Deep Blue. I did my OW referral with them, my AOW, and several specialty certifications including nitrox and 5 or 6 others. (I did Rescue here in North Dakota as the visibility is really good if we get over 5 feet of it. I got my Search and Recovery card in ND too. Same reason.)
Via their assessment of my skills, I've been to every site on the lee side of the island, most of them multiple times. (Finally made it to Villa Blanca wall last trip) I consider myself a competent diver, not an advanced diver. I've been diving with Deep Blue since 2004, and have visited at least once a year, sometimes twice, since then. I've been on their boats with just about every kind of diver you can imagine, from newbies that have no business being in the water, to people claiming to be divemasters with 100's of dives that have no business being in the water. I've also been diving on their boats with really excellent divers, both newbies and old pros. I dive as much as I can, so I'm on the "advanced" boat in the mornings, but in the afternoon, it's usually a mixed group. Deep Blue is not the only shop I've been diving with in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen.
Here's what surprises me:
1. I actually pay attention to the dive briefings, even though I've heard them over and over. When there are new divers on board, it seems to be SOP to address equalization. "
if you have trouble equalizing, don't continue your descent. Ascend to the surface if you have to, but you must ascend to relieve the pressure. Once the pressure is relieved, carefully equalize and attempt to descend. Remember that the current on the surface is moving faster than it does at depth, so keep your eye on the group and adjust so that you don't drift past
" I should say that "new" means, new to the shop, not just beginning divers. Doesn't seem to matter to them if it's a boat full of visiting DM's and Instructor's and lil ole me (heh), they make a point about equalizing and the current.
2. Many, many times, I have witnessed divers having trouble descending, and I have watched the DM go to the diver and personally address the situation. Appears to be SOP. Sounds like that's not what happened in this case, and that really surprises me as I've seen it on so many occasions.
3. Every time I've been there on my birthday, I've been to the clinic. Had a shot once too. If I let the shop know I'm not feeling well, it seems the entire staff knows about, and asks how I'm doing when I get back to diving and while I'm not diving. If I've been diving a lot, I've had the DM's and even the shop suggest that I take a day and chill. From a DM
"
you've been diving a lot. It's probably a good idea to just relax for a day. Your body is working harder. You're breathing dry air. You've got nitrogen in your body. If you take a day off, it will give your body a chance to repair and it will save you from getting sick
." Etc. I've never heard any concern about getting my money. I have heard concern over my well being. Once, I apologized to Gary because I called a last minute dive. Earlier in the day, I said I'd be up for it and when he called to say the boat was going to go (norte situation), I told him that I wasn't feeling super up to it. I had kind of queasy stomach. No problem. I found out later, that, since I didn't go, the boat didn't go out. Ugh. They didn't charge me for the dives, even though they lost 4 divers worth of income. (including me) Gary said, "
not a problem Blair, if you're not feeling good, you shouldn't dive. The conditions weren't that great for diving anyhow." Sure, I'm a repeat customer now, but this is the treatment I've received long before they thought I'd be constant repeat business.
4. I consider the instruction I received to be excellent. Before I ever had OW class number one here in ND, I had read the manual and answered all the questions, twice. The first time I went to the dive shop, I walked out with around 20 Dive Training magazines, and I'd read all of those before my first OW class. I think I learned as much about diving in Deep Blue's fitting room as I'd learned in the classes I had attended and the magazines I'd read.
Again, I'm not trying to discount what the original poster said, I'm just really surprised based on my experiences with the shop.
On another surprising note, I asked an old pro my favorite question for new divers the other day. It belays my lack of training as a professional diver/instructor and simple mindedness, but I won't dive with anyone that can't answer the question. (Ok, if they can't answer, I tell 'em, but I'll ask them later and expect them to know the answer)
"What are the two most important things you never do when you're under the water scuba diving". The person couldn't answer the question. I almost fell over. Maybe the answers are too obvious. I was taught this before my first resort dive, and have never forgotten it. I've since added my own third item. That one is, Watch Your Air Gauge.
I'm with Lapenta. I think the cave diver's mantra should be taught in every dive course, from OW up. I'm also a firm believer that "Stop, Breathe, Think, Act" shouldn't show up in the Rescue course. It should be a part of every dive course, OW and up.
-Blair
