cooperscuba
Contributor
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
Don't like other people setting up my gear. Having said that, I'm not averse to setting up certain guests equipment between dives, usually when they are a small group (and usually when they are relaxing and I'm a bit bored). Afterwards, I always inform them I've swapped their cylinders, to do their usual checks and make sure they're happy with the height of the BCD band. Everyone should do a predive safety check before jumping and anyone who says "you forgot to turn my air on" is admitting they didn't. I'd have no sympathy or guilt over such an incident (not that it has ever occurred to me - touch wood).