KrisB is a part time Maui resident who instructs and guides just for tips. No mater whether the reasons for this financial arrangement are due Kris's lack of required Maui County Commercial Business permits, a lack of green card &/or his generous philanthropic nature, to say he is one of the 2 best choices for Maui shore diving is uninformed at the very least.
It's funny, Steve -- the people that I've worked with who have been diving with other operators on Maui seem to appreciate the fact that I'm not nickel & diming them when they take a little longer to get the skills figured out, or if there's rescheduling necessary.
Just to clarify a further note -- commercial beach permits haven't been issued to new applicants for several years. If they were available, I may pursue that option...
A couple things to consider when choosing a dive guide / instructor is the difference between business insurance and instructor insurance as well as the availability (or lack) of a shop full of gear and repair facilities. When you dive with a legitimate business, the business insurance would cover accidents before you get in the water. With an independent instructor the coverage is only in water.
I think you'd better take another look at that and maybe not take your insurance agent's word for it as he tries to sell you more insurance than you need. My instructor insurance covers me when I am conducting dive activities or training -- that means, when we are sitting in a room doing CPR training, I'm insured. When we're sitting at Starbucks filling out paperwork... I'm covered.
Of course, the only time this is an issue is if I am negligent or cause injury -- something I strive (and so far have succeeded) to avoid.
As for equipment availability -- the bottom line is that I have access to higher-quality gear for reasonable rental prices than most shops on Maui will offer. Furthermore, when it comes to rentals, you're only renting what you need -- you're not paying an "all inclusive" price when you have all your own gear if you don't need it.
Kris is not a bad guy, and not a bad instructor, but the main reason I see for his popularity is that his services are free.
That's funny, Steve. While it may get some attention, the bottom line is that people seem to leave a larger gratuity to me AFTER THE FACT AND OF THEIR OWN CHOICE, than they would have paid up-front to many of the operators on the island.
Maybe it's the fact that I care more about the diver and the dive than the money. I can't attest to their motivation.
Ultimately, the diver gets to set the price and value the services how they see fit. And apparently, they value *my* services more than the rate-card base operators.
In our current economic situation, I really feel divers need to support the legitimate dive operators.
To call the guiding & training I do illegitimate is short-sighted, Steve. The bottom line is that any money that is paid to me, or saved by not having to pay me, is more likely to go directly into the local economy than many operators that are paying leases on property or boats, etc.
We will be very happy with the diving. We want to thank you all for the info you are providing. This helps us alot!
