Dive Op Report: Ecologic Divers

[RickPeck]

First the good points:

• Very responsive booking and great communication. If they can't meet yours needs they will find an operator that will.
• Warm scented towels after the dive.
• Good briefings.
• Fruit, Chips and Salsa during surface interval at dock between dives.
• Water on the boat.

Bad points:

• Open boats, no cover from the sun. (I think I overheard one of the owners talking about that being addressed)
• Every boat I was on had engine problems. Changed boats two out of three days. ( Again, the owner told me they had a new mechanic starting next month.)
• TIMED DIVES. I complained when I heard the first day, along with another couple. We were split off from the group and managed to get two 60 minute dives with a hung over DM that trailed us and didn't show us anything. I can handle that part, not that big a deal. The last dives I did were timed 40-45 minutes and the DM was at the surface and on the boat before I finished my safety stop on the last dive. Nothing I hate more than traveling 3,500 frigging miles and surfacing with 1400 psi and plenty of NDL left on my computer. The ironic part is that one of the dive sites was named "Bottom Time". I will say that they had to cancel the morning dives and schedule me in the afternoon. I was the only "paying" customer that day. One of the owners and his son went out with us. That's still a poor excuse for what is obviously SOP for the operator.

The couple I dove with the first day went to another operator after a second day of bickering with the DM about the limit on bottom time. We talked at the airport when returning and they were not happy campers. My feeling is that if Ecologic changed that one point about timed dives I would consider them a top-shelf.

Rick Peck

 

[Gaz]

Hey Rick

Did you let them know ? ie take the time to speak with them and offer your valuable insight ? as a past operator the only way one can improve is to listen to customers experiences and try to do better.

I always provided a questionaire for every diver to fill in at there leisure asking all sorts of questions and a comment box for additional constructive critique. It helped a lot as some customers I thought were having a great time during there stay and i would ask hows everything OHH GREAT they would say and then on check out my staff would give me the questionaire which had all sorts of minor issues which could of easily been corrected had they had a word in my ear.

Its a tough game to run a dive biz in the islands i can confirm that after doing it for 15 years you have to stay right on top of things and even hten you cant get it right every day.

Gaz

 

[RickPeck]

Hey Rick

Did you let them know ? ie take the time to speak with them and offer your valuable insight ? as a past operator the only way one can improve is to listen to customers experiences and try to do better.

I always provided a questionaire for every diver to fill in at there leisure asking all sorts of questions and a comment box for additional constructive critique. It helped a lot as some customers I thought were having a great time during there stay and i would ask hows everything OHH GREAT they would say and then on check out my staff would give me the questionaire which had all sorts of minor issues which could of easily been corrected had they had a word in my ear.

Its a tough game to run a dive biz in the islands i can confirm that after doing it for 15 years you have to stay right on top of things and even hten you cant get it right every day.

Gaz

Read my post for content.

I did not take the time out of my vacation to try to improve someone else’s business practices. I said it once, along with 2 other people, at the beginning of the week. That should be sufficient. I'm not going to go to some dive shop and continually whine. I either say it once and accept the results or vote with my wallet and go somewhere else. I chose to stay with them this time, but I would do more research and choose another operator if I was returning to Belize, unless they changed their practices.

I was trying to be objective and give a fair assessment of my experience with them.

As an aside comment. I tried your link before going to Belize. I sent a message asking questions about mainland tours and packages. In the spirit of "offer your valuable insight " I received no reply from your website.

 

[Downing]

Geez, Rick, lighten up a little. Gaz was just offering a suggestion and it's obvious that he did read your post "for content." No need to b*tch slap the guy.

I'm a little surprised you didn't do like the other couple and switch to an operator better able to give you the dives you're looking for.

Having said all that, I absolutely agree with you. Timed dives suck unless there's a good reason and operator's convenience doesn't qualify as a good reason.

 

[Gaz]

Read my post for content.

I did not take the time out of my vacation to try to improve someone else’s business practices. I said it once, along with 2 other people, at the beginning of the week. That should be sufficient. I'm not going to go to some dive shop and continually whine. I either say it once and accept the results or vote with my wallet and go somewhere else. I chose to stay with them this time, but I would do more research and choose another operator if I was returning to Belize, unless they changed their practices.

I was trying to be objective and give a fair assessment of my experience with them.

As an aside comment. I tried your link before going to Belize. I sent a message asking questions about mainland tours and packages. In the spirit of "offer your valuable insight " I received no reply from your website.

GEE WHIZ Rick

I don't believe my post was an attack on you in any way shape or form you was a valuable customer and in that light I was only trying to put across a point of view that dive ops need to be advised when things are not up to scratch as how can they improve f they are not informed of problems

Sorry you took my post as an attack on you it was not in any way meant that way.

I answer all emails within 24 hours Im sorry if your slipped through the net somehow.

regards

Gaz

 

[RickPeck]

It's right in the original post that I had "taken the time" to speak to the dive operator about my concerns. Gaz seems to be looking at the situation as a former dive operator rather than who the post is targeted for, the diver. It seemed obvious to me that my OP was read lightly and a reply was pounded out without fully assimilating what was said. I never denegrated Gaz or his post. I just did as he asked and gave feedback. Like it or lump it, you can't have your cake and eat it too (all the time).

I stuck with Ecologic because they accomadated my other requests for land based excursions and snorkeling for my wife. For that they deserved my business. They also took the time to source my requests to other operations for the Blue Hole and Manatee excursions. If I was going to dive every day locally (as was the couple I referred to) I would have switched operators.

It's basically a good operation with one bad flaw.

Rick

 

[peterbj7]

Well, Ian (the current owner of Ecologic) is on here from time to time so hopefully he'll respond. Don't hold your breath though, as he's often away for weeks on end on remote charters, with no internet access. If he hasn't responded yet it'll be because he's away and hasn't seen the post.

The issue of timed dives is a difficult one though. The norm here is to run two morning dives from 9am, and two afternoon dives from 2pm. On most dives surface intervals are taken back at the dock, as the sites aren't far away. Now, funnily enough dive guides and boat captains do like to eat occasionally and there isn't an inexhaustible supply of them, nor of boats, so if there are enough divers to keep the above program operating something has to give. If each morning dive lasts say 75 mins then allowing for boat travel time and surface intervals, the afternoon program will be pushed back. Divers booked on a 2pm dive won't take kindly to being told that although the boat is back the crew want lunch so it won't go out until 3pm, and the second afternoon dive won't happen at all. Of course, you can't tailor your schedule to these longer dives because much of the time your divers have drained their tanks and are back on the boat after 40 minutes. OK, you could factor in an extra-long lunch break, but it's difficult enough to earn enough money to pay the bills without sitting on your hands when there are divers wanting to go out.

If a boat has divers of mixed abilities it may well be that a group of inexperienced divers may be back on the boat long before another group is close to wanting to surface. Inexperienced divers are the people who take to sitting on a rocking boat for 30+ minutes the least well, and there comes a point where you have to curtail the dive for the rest so as not to have half a boatload of sick divers who'll never want to set foot on a boat again. OK, put them on separate boats. Only feasible/viable if there are enough divers on each to make economic sense - boats cost a lot to operate. If diver numbers are low people have to be prepared to accommodate a bit more.

Commercial realities can often dictate some limit on dive length, which is why it's a practice found throughout the world in the diving industry. Recreational dive boats in the Florida keys mostly operate a rigid 45 minute time limit regardless - here in San Pedro most operators do try to be flexible as much as they can.

 

[Gaz]

Excellent post Peter from a dive operators standpoint

Sometimes it a no win situation for the dive op, its quiet season you only have a few divers to barely cover costs and 2 are divers that want to max there bottom time and rightly so when they are paying, and you have another 3 that are newbies that will most likely drain their tank in 30 minutes and end up sitting in rocky seas waiting for the experienced 2 to complete there hour long dive and when they get on the boat its almost a fight as the newbies are puking all over the boat after being on the boat waiting for 30 minutes sick as dogs.

What to do ? its a fine line trying to keep everyone happy.

What I tried to do in that situation was provide 2 dive guides and explain the situation in the briefing and allow the experienced divers to get into the water first and out of the water last, they are faster and more familiar with there equipment and can be in the water 10 minute before the others are ready to decend.

Same at the end of the dive by the time the newbies have acended and got into the boat I would calculate its a 50-55 minute dive for the experienced guys and that was normally a very acceptable compromise for all onboard with everyone understanding each others situation in a quiet time.

In season there would be enough divers to split the divers on 2 boats.

Its all in the communication and co-ordination.

Gaz Cooper