Be careful with Innerspace in Big Pine!

[deepstops]

That sounds great in theory, but if you live in PA and are planning a Keys diving trip, you kind of want the shops you arrange the diving with to have you signed up for diving...

Agreed, I'd find this totally unacceptable.
Why the phones are being answered and reservations taken by someone 1500 miles away is beyond me

 

[Stu S.]

Sorry...that's not an excuse to blow off business like that. I've been here many times before and even the more laid back shops I've encountered were a little more organized! The kid at the shop even made it seem like it happens all of the time.

Diving with Captain Hooks on Tuesday instead....not a wreck dive, but diving none the less!

I sure understand. I was born in Central Pennsylvania, where everything is neat, organized, and on-time. German traditions, I suppose. Being late is very rude. The electronic watch (Hamilton) was invented there.

Well, the only tropical islands that you can drive a car to from Chambersburg are the Florida keys. The Keys do not operate with Pennsylvania precision. Call a restaurant and ask if they have crabs, and the answer is "yes". Drive over, wait in line, get seated and the waitress says "no". To some folks, it may operate more like Barbados than the US.

Re-confirming reservations, and keeping a backup plans is solid advice. After that, I have to roll along with things, because only the Keys has.... the Keys.

Next time you get down this way, send me a PM and maybe I can show you an interesting dive.

Stu.

 

[DebbyDiver]

Agreed, I'd find this totally unacceptable.
Why the phones are being answered and reservations taken by someone 1500 miles away is beyond me

That sounds great in theory, but if you live in PA and are planning a Keys diving trip, you kind of want the shops you arrange the diving with to have you signed up for diving... If weather or something else uncontrollable by the dive shop were the issue, I would fully agree with you, but to have a shop fail to record a reservation would be pretty hard for any vacationer to get over. I don't blame the OP one bit for being annoyed by this, many people are only able to take vacations like this once every several years if not once in a lifetime. I don't know if that is the case here or not, but the good thing is that it does sound like they were able to get past the issue and still enjoy the trip.

I have to call B.S. on Stu S and agree with Deepstops and I Dive. That "oh it's the Keys, get over it" is crap. I have lived in the Keys, I have worked in the Keys, and good dive shops keep their promises, weather and boat breakdowns permitting.

By the way I graduated from high school and achieved my undergrad degree in Pennsylvania and, in fact, achieved my YMCA Basic and NAUI Assistant Instructor certifications in Pennsylvania and I STILL call B.S. on Stu S.

Many Kudos to Buoyant1 for making lemonade out of lemons and enjoying his trip!!!

 

[100days-a-year]

Underseas is a great shop on Big Pine,this is the only web info I have.

Underseas Inc Lower Keys Diveshop - FLKeysDiveshops.com: Scuba diving in Key West to Big Pine Key , the Florida Keys scuba divers with underwater tropical reef fish in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and see maps of wrecks

Keys Disease is BS,I explain to shops what I want and make it clear I take my business where it is appreciated.In a normal year I spend 30-40 days in the Keys and haven't anything like the OPs problems.There are plenty of professionals to get their market share.

 

[Jupiter31]

Be interesting what the response from the operator will be - or perhaps they agree with Stu.....

And Stu, not to "pile on" you, I hate the "well, its the Keys...." nonsense -

Thankfully things have gotten better down there, but if you are paying good money for a service - and we can all agree the Keys are not cheap; dives costing less then $60 in Jupiter cost me $80 in the Keys - you expect what you pay for.

So what he did not "confirm" the dive sites - why should he have to - how many times do you have to check with a business to do what they say they are going to do?

The only excuse on the part of the operator is if the dives were on a "best efforts" basis, so lets see what they have to say.

BTW - using Stu's logic; next time I check in at a hotel in NYC, and they loose my reservation and basically tell me to "get lost", I guess I'm going to smile, and say, "well that NY attitude - ya just gotta love it and go with it"

Honestly, Stu, I get your point, but I would be pissed if the facts are as presented.

 

[deeper thoughts]

The Florida Keys "Where customer service goes to die" except for a handful of shops/biz this is the unfortunate truth. Why do you think there biggest ad is "we show up" like that is out of the ordinary.

 

[Buoyant1]

I have to call B.S. on Stu S and agree with Deepstops and I Dive. That "oh it's the Keys, get over it" is crap. I have lived in the Keys, I have worked in the Keys, and good dive shops keep their promises, weather and boat breakdowns permitting.

By the way I graduated from high school and achieved my undergrad degree in Pennsylvania and, in fact, achieved my YMCA Basic and NAUI Assistant Instructor certifications in Pennsylvania and I STILL call B.S. on Stu S.

Many Kudos to Buoyant1 for making lemonade out of lemons and enjoying his trip!!!

Like I told my wife, getting wet is the prime objective no matter what. I've been down here enough to know that dives get cancelled for many different reasons, and I have my "safety valves" in place if something gets cancelled. (Tilden's came through, Captains Corner in KW has come through in the past)

The Eagle dive was the highlight so far (check out the other thread in the Florida forums) and I still have two wreck dives planned for the end of the week. No worries!

Off topic...Where in PA Debby?

 

[Buoyant1]

Underseas is a great shop on Big Pine,this is the only web info I have.

Underseas Inc Lower Keys Diveshop - FLKeysDiveshops.com: Scuba diving in Key West to Big Pine Key , the Florida Keys scuba divers with underwater tropical reef fish in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and see maps of wrecks

Keys Disease is BS,I explain to shops what I want and make it clear I take my business where it is appreciated.In a normal year I spend 30-40 days in the Keys and haven't anything like the OPs problems.There are plenty of professionals to get their market share.

I actually forgot about this op...They really don't have much of a web presence and I don't have any pamphlets for them (I usually stalk the advertising racks for info that I keep in a file at home) But someone a few years back told me about them, I'll have to remember them when scheduling next season's trip. thanks for reminding me about them!

Looe Key has a great set up though, One dive on AB, then after a surface interval, two reef dives...that's very appealing, and I wish I caught that deal before I set up this trip. (I'd try it, but we're pulling stakes and heading to Key Largo Wednesday which is when they do that trip)

 

[DebbyDiver]

Off topic...Where in PA Debby?

Graduated Neshaminy High School in Langhorne (Bucks County), and got a B.B.A. from Temple University (Philadelpha). But I'm not "from" Pennsylvania and have no relatives there, so I really don't know my way around the area. Came here 27 years ago to go beach diving and never went back.

 

[mrx3000]

I tried getting to dive with Innerspace a few times over last few weeks. Their captain was in the shop when I came in - he's a nicest guy in the world, but he's not an owner and does not set up dives. The owner never returned any calls, even though I left my information and requested dives on a few separate occasions. The dive book was pretty much empty. I got the distinct feeling that Innerspace owner is doing something else at this time and dive shop is simply not operational.

YMMV.