DevonDiver
N/A
Hi guys,...
My initial comment wasn't whether being a voluntary DM was good for the DM. It was whether it was good for the customer.
Yes, the DM concerned may be motivated to dive. But will they be motivated to put the customer first? What about safety issues?
I get the feeling that the concept may work well in the USA market. Especially where those DMs work weekends, but have a regular 9-5 during the working week. I did a simular internship course in the UK (military officer, doing DM internship at weekends for 18 months).
However, the market in places like Cyprus (and Asia...and, I imagine Mexico) will be quite different. Cyprus is a 'party place'... Bars, booze and sex. There's a lot of temptation to go wild there.
If you're volunteering as a DM, then essentially you are there for the free diving and the lifestyle. There must be temptations for the DM to dive when hung-over. That's not good for the customer. Neither is it good for the customer if the DM is having to work in a bar job until 2am... then having to wake at 6am to take customers diving...
If you are there for the diving, but not paid, then there may also be temptations to be selfish and put your own agenda before that of customer safety. After a few dives on the same site, you get bored and want to explore more, explore deeper etc. I think that this is an issue that leads to DMs taking customers on dives beyond their qualifications and comfort zones etc.
At the end of the day... if you're not salaried for a job, then you have nothing to lose if you are fired. If that's the case, where is your motivation to put the job first, and yourself second?
It wasn't a description of Cyprus dive pros... it was an illustration of what could happen.
The advert does say "ideal for gap year students".
If you've been to Cyprus, then you'll know precisely what the 'lifestyle' is like for the gap year students that work there... in the bars, as holiday reps etc
It's also something I've encountered with some (note: "some") gap year DMs working in Asia...
My initial comment wasn't whether being a voluntary DM was good for the DM. It was whether it was good for the customer.
Yes, the DM concerned may be motivated to dive. But will they be motivated to put the customer first? What about safety issues?
I get the feeling that the concept may work well in the USA market. Especially where those DMs work weekends, but have a regular 9-5 during the working week. I did a simular internship course in the UK (military officer, doing DM internship at weekends for 18 months).
However, the market in places like Cyprus (and Asia...and, I imagine Mexico) will be quite different. Cyprus is a 'party place'... Bars, booze and sex. There's a lot of temptation to go wild there.
If you're volunteering as a DM, then essentially you are there for the free diving and the lifestyle. There must be temptations for the DM to dive when hung-over. That's not good for the customer. Neither is it good for the customer if the DM is having to work in a bar job until 2am... then having to wake at 6am to take customers diving...
If you are there for the diving, but not paid, then there may also be temptations to be selfish and put your own agenda before that of customer safety. After a few dives on the same site, you get bored and want to explore more, explore deeper etc. I think that this is an issue that leads to DMs taking customers on dives beyond their qualifications and comfort zones etc.
At the end of the day... if you're not salaried for a job, then you have nothing to lose if you are fired. If that's the case, where is your motivation to put the job first, and yourself second?
I don't know where you read that. This comment says more about you than it does about dive pros in Cyprus.
It wasn't a description of Cyprus dive pros... it was an illustration of what could happen.
The advert does say "ideal for gap year students".
If you've been to Cyprus, then you'll know precisely what the 'lifestyle' is like for the gap year students that work there... in the bars, as holiday reps etc
It's also something I've encountered with some (note: "some") gap year DMs working in Asia...