Boat crew setting kit up

[Nightwitch]

Boat crew setting kit up

I am currently working in a dive centre in the Philippines..

We are in the middle of a debate with the owner about divers expectations differing with my and my instructor partner about having boat crew set up dive kit.

The boat crew we use are not divers and they have no training in kit set up..they are primarily boat crew/ fishermen and Butanding interaction crew.

They have training of how to get divers in and out of the water, positioning of the boat for pick ups, some safety training, and also the basics of how to handle kit.

Now I am of the mind set that if I am going to dive with the kit, I should be the one setting it up. My partner thinks the same and most of our British divers friends think the same also.

Most of the guests we get through, despite us briefing them that the boat crew will help them, but not to let them set up the kit, just sit back and let them do it and worse than that, then proceed to dive without ever checking the kit. We have had numerous instances of divers entering the water with tanks turned off, tanks falling out etc.

The owner thinks that to give good customer service we should train the crew to set up kit. My partner and I think that, from a safety point of view, divers should set up their own kit.



One of our main dive sites is Manta bowl where the surface conditions are often very poor and the current rips through...the consequences of not having properly set up kit there are really rather severe, something which the guests are briefed about but most chose to ignore.


Also is having ones kit set up by crew lazy, or just what guests expect these days?..it seems we have a lot of guests who are almost literally unable to set their kit up which sometimes leads us to wonder how well they know how to use it..

Interested in comments please..

Thanks
Jo

 

[sumpdiver]

Don't touch my junk

 

[Hallmac]

I would ask the owner how much liability he wants, and then consider how much you want. The more you do the more you do, the greater the risk.

Also consider are you negating the Release of Liability by taking the responsibility through your actions.

 

[shoredivr]

I prefer to set up my own gear. The only time I had a crew member touch my gear was in a tourist destination, and the first cam band was not done up correctly, and the second one was not done up at all, at which point I said "please don't touch my gear".

I don't understand why anyone would want someone else to set up their life support equipment. It is not IMO good customer service. Is the owner of the shop a diver?

Good for you and your partner for working on this issue.

 

[fire_diver]

I don't like for crew to touch my gear, but I know other who like to have everything done for them. If I were the dive op owner, I wouldn't allow my boat crews to touch customers gear without knowing what they are doing. Dead customers tend to be bad for business.

 

[Nightwitch]

I can't work out how to put quotes in my reply...

Don't touch my junk....my thoughts entirely


I would ask the owner how much liability he wants, and then consider how much you want. The more you do the more you do, the greater the risk.

Also consider are you negating the Release of Liability by taking the responsibility through your actions.
We have discussed the liability of it.... but he seems not to be worried about that

I don't understand why anyone would want someone else to set up their life support equipment. It is not IMO good customer service. Is the owner of the shop a diver?.....Me neither..he is a DM and yesterday took a boat and out and was surprised he had to set HIS OWN KIT UP!!


If I were the dive op owner, I wouldn't allow my boat crews to touch customers gear without knowing what they are doing. Dead customers tend to be bad for business.

We don't want them too either, even if trained by us....
Totally agree with last sentence

 

[scubadiver888]

Don't touch my gear. I set up my own gear and I do not expect the boat crew to set it up for me. Even if the boat crew were all master instructors with over 5000 dives each, I set up my own gear. Mind you, I'm a divemaster and understand that if my gear is set wrong, I'm the guy who suffers.

I have been diving in the Caribbean Sea with causal divers. These are people who dive maybe once a year, while on vacation. I have often had to help them because they do things like put the regulator on before the BCD, put the BCD on backwards, don't tighten the straps enough, etc. They are happy to trust the dive guide to take care of them and make sure they all get back to the boat.

If causal divers are the type of diver you are catering to, then training the crew to set up the gear for them would probably be expected. I'm not sure of the liabilities of doing this however. If you advertise or lead the customers to understand you will take care of setting up the kit and something goes wrong, the shop could be in for a lawsuit. If you are a PADI shop, you might want to talk to someone at PADI about the legalities involved.

Personally, I set up gear for Discover Scuba Diving customers. Everyone else sets up their own gear at my shop.

 

[markmantei]

Let me preface this by saying I prefer to set up my own gear, however on my dives in mexico, the boat crew has changed the bc and regs to the second tank on the si between dives 1 and 2. I have never been nervous about this, but it is important to test everything before getting in the water, just like setting up your own gear. On two out of 12 dives on my last trip I had a tank that was not turned on, but I caught it right away (I was the only one forgotten, so I could joke with the crew that they were trying to get rid of me).

I guess in short I think it can be ok, BUT each diver is ultimatly responsible for themselves and MUST test all of their gear. Maybe you could do a head to toe gear check with the group on the dive boat before each dive?

 

[fisheater]

Asking us for this advice is bad market research.

Most people here prefer to set up their own gear. Those that wouldn't mind won't likely admit it online.

 

[mateo1147]

I couldn't imagine having someone else set up my gear for me. I had to have at least read about the procedure, watched a DVD with the same procedure and be ready to demonstrate the correct procedure for my first night of confined water dives. I would get highly offended if any member of the dive boat crew were fiddling with my kit when I came out of the cabin. If the DM asked me why I had it set up a certain way and then recommended a different set up I would take it under advisement based on my training.
Short answer is I think you guys are setting yourselves up for a fatality if your taking people diving that can't even set up their own gear or don't know how.