What prevails about choosing a diving center?

[TMHeimer]

My boat diving has mostly been in the US. I would ask some of the questions mentioned. Important to me is:
--How often does the boat go out.
--How dependable is the boat-- ie. If there are less than ____ divers signed up are you going to call me a day or two ahead to say it's cancelled. Bad weather is of course understandable.
--Is there a head on board.
--Do you allow collecting shells (molluscs--dead or alive)
Maybe that last one should be on top.

I can't comment on courses/instructor ability since I've known by chance ahead of time stuff about the 3 shops I've dealt wiith when taking courses (except when I took OW and of course had no clue about any of this--that was just luck I had good instruction).

 

[Norrm]

As the poster above said, I always ask about whether they have a minimum number of divers to go out. All else being the same, if a dive Op tells me they'll go with only 1 diver (or maybe 2 because if I don't have a buddy then I'll pay for an extra diver), then they have my business first and foremost because clearly they put the needs of the vacationing diver ahead of their bottom dollar and might mean the difference between diving and not diving after flying 1000s of miles and taking time off of work and paying for lodging, etc.

I'll check negative reviews but most of the things people complain about mean nothing to me.

Are tanks supplied? Especially steel 100 or 120 and Nitrox for applicable dives, that makes a difference too. It's a hassle to have to rent and return tanks elsewhere. That's why I'll choose Pompano Dive Center over SFDHQ because the latter only has AL80 = shorter dives.

Flexibility with dive sites is good, leave it more up to the divers on the boat, or better yet make it "first come first served"- so if I want to dive wrecks and book a month out, I know what I'll be getting.

If they charge for weights, as do one particular Dive Op in Jupiter, Florida then they're my last choice.

 

[DiveBubbles63]

I check Google, Trip Advisor, for reviews and usually exclude the ones that are 4 star or less though I read all the reviews and responses. Then I will look at their websites and see what they offer, if a website is severely outdated or lacks a lot of information I disregard that shop. After that I will email my top 3-4 shops, from that if they are slow to respond or have no availability they get cut. Price never really plays a role unless it's extremely outlandish.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I do much the same as Saniflush. Along with online reviews (TripAdvisor, here, social media etc) I will actually Google Street-view the operation. I look for the basics (clean & well kept-up facade) and some pride of ownership.

Email replies- I too dropped a rather well known centre in Tulum because of poor responses. Despite asking very direct, simple questions and stating very simple, direct dive objectives in my emails I received a form letter/price list response. I don't think they actually read my e-mail at all. Language differences aside even Google translator would have made my objectives clear. If you can't understand an e-mail don't just send the form response... state that you are having difficulty understanding the e-mail.

When I'm doing that, I send my English question AND the translation. I don't just automatically assume that they'll be doing that.

 

[Khrissi]

My husband and I run a diving centre in Cyprus.
Together we are seeking opinions on what questions we should be asking our potential customers in order to know what they are looking for, for example:

What do you look for when deciding on a Diving Centre? This question is generally about what really convinces you to make a choice? Is this an instructor experience or something else?

What do you think about the standard of diving centres in Cyprus How does Cyprus compare to other locations?

Dana Theakston

Dived there this year Dana, lovely island but bit lacking in fish. Clear water and great shore diving, lots to do on land, so a great holiday but going back to Red Sea fr 2020. K

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Good tank fills. A diver who gets a short fill will tell others about it. The same goes for a good fill. With social media, news travels fast. Short fills will drive away customers you didn't even know yet.

 

[CyprusDiving]

All the regulars. Trip Advisor, Expedia, Yelp. I tend to put more trust in reviews of a particular business that has a lot of reviews (larger sampling size) This does not mean that I discount a business simply because it does not have many reviews, it only means that I do not put as much stock into the reviews.

Also Google Maps and Facebook?

That is the magic question isn't it? Seems hard to put my finger on it now that you have asked. Maybe a little more background on the Roatan decision.

Of course How do we reply to an email? Brief or long answers describing many aspects? Do you expect facts or funny stories? Do you like to be surprised in an e-mail, e.g. by suggesting a new dive site?

This may sound odd, but one of the things I look at is how the owners respond to negative reviews on TripAdvisor and other sites.

We're trying. We have one shameful opinion (from previous owners) → TripAdvisor.

@CanadaDan - Thank you

When I am searching for a dive operator in a new location i google that location and see the local web sites, then I click on the web site and hopefully I will see the following in a clear and concise manner without having to hunt for it

This is our site → Pissouri Bay Divers. We will change the website. What you wrote in the post will be on our site. Tell us. What else would you change about it?

A solid presence on ScubaBoard is a must for me. I like Dive Ops who care enough to engage us here, much as you are doing now.

In that case, we have already introduced ourselves above. I am pleased to join you. I didn't know it was so important. We will develop this forum.

Get your customers talking about you here, post pics and simply having fun, gives us real insight into who you are and what you're about. That's not possible elsewhere, and your insights, might incite us to come and visit.

Hm ... It will be hard. It's difficult to leave a review on Google Maps or TripAdvisor.
How to make them share their experiences in this forum?

My boat diving has mostly been in the US. I would ask some of the questions mentioned. Important to me is:
--How often does the boat go out.
--How dependable is the boat-- ie. If there are less than ____ divers signed up are you going to call me a day or two ahead to say it's cancelled. Bad weather is of course understandable.
--Is there a head on board.
--Do you allow collecting shells (molluscs--dead or alive)
Maybe that last one should be on top.

We will post the answer to these questions on the website.

@Norrm - Should we provide all this on the website?

Then I will look at their websites and see what they offer, if a website is severely outdated or lacks a lot of information I disregard that shop.

I gave the link to our website above. And I'm asking you too. What would you change on our site?

When I'm doing that, I send my English question AND the translation. I don't just automatically assume that they'll be doing that.

We invite you to our island.

@MaxBottomtime - Thank you for the hint

 

[Searcaigh]

I was in Cyprus last year and dived with Alpha Divers.

I read Trip Advisor mainly plus review anything on ScubaBoard as well as direct communication with friends or other divers who have been there.

I will also contact the dive op in advance to collect further information on accommodation, airport pickup, DIN valves on tanks, availability of stages and what size etc.

As the main draw in Cyprus is the Zenobia, then does the dive op have its own boat and run its own schedule?

Post dive cleaning of gear and storage of wet gear etc also is important.

Alpha Divers ticked all the boxes for me and didn't disappoint.

 

[The Chairman]

Hm ... It will be hard. It's difficult to leave a review on Google Maps or TripAdvisor.
How to make them share their experiences in this forum?

• Ask them
  • Just like you ask them to do it on other sites.
  • It's just not that hard
• Post their pic here
  • Take a group picture of everyone on the boat as they are leaving
  • Start a thread entitled something like "Friends of Cypress Diving"
  • Post their pic (and any subsequent pics) in that thread
  • Send them a link to their pic and ask them to share their pics and happy moments
    • Right click on the post number and copy the URL
    • Send it to the email you've already collected from them
  • Post other UW pics if you have them
  • Post other topside pics
    • Bonus points for drone and video footage
    • Super easy to embed videos from YouTube.
• Run picture contests for them here
  • Use a hat or tshirt as a prize
• Go to Signature and create a signature.
  • Web URL
  • Your name
  • Phone number
  • Corporate email
• I'll add you to the "Resort" user group so you can see the business side to ScubaBoard.

Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.

 

[jerrydascorpion]

This is our site → Pissouri Bay Divers. We will change the website. What you wrote in the post will be on our site. Tell us. What else would you change about it?

I like to see prices for dives, is it a one or two tank dive? I see that you mention creating dive packages, but maybe list a rough price for a two dive package, 4 dive package, etc.

If you rent gear, list prices for individual pieces of gear and if you have a “full gear” rental package list that price.