Island Divers Hawaii - Oahu

[SexSea!]

Ahh I love IDH. Really surprised to hear of such a bad experience. Been diving with them for awhile now and have yet to feel a bad one. Though usually all I expect from them is the boat ride in and the boat ride back.

 

[rockjock3]

Hard to believe that you had that kind of experience. Did you talk to Matt, the owner? They do have a couple of new DMs that I haven't dove with yet, but all the ones that I have dove with are top notch. As for carrying your doubles, sorry, that's your job. I have never had a charter carry my tanks for me. If I bring my own tanks then I carry my own tanks. They don't go to peoples car to get their gear bags, why should they get your tanks?

If you did have a bad experience your first stop should have been the store, so they have the chance to rectify the situation. This forum does nothing to help fix the problem, unless Matt is on here and then finds out who you are, what boat you were on and who the DM was. Yep, should always contact the manager/owner first.

I have dove with IDH countless times and 95% of the time I am one of maybe 3-5 locals out of 12-18 divers. I have never seen them treat the the locals or tourists any different .

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

where is my cd punk

 

[rockjock3]

where is my cd punk

I got it. Just gotta come and get it. You never called me on Sunday. I am going to go up to the club tomorrow night if you want to get it then. I am gonna go there at 1800 and will even have JJs if he is around. I only have about 5 minutes of vid from the dive last weekend though because I forgot to put my "diving" tape in and the tape in there was almost at the end. I have the full unedited version of the LCU and Beechcraft though.

 

[itch808]

What was the DM's name? I only dove once with them and it turned out to be one of their newer DMs. She was great and made the entire experience as good as it could've been despite the boat breaking down between dives. We also use them frequently for gear. My gf once had a problem with the rental gear, they credited our account and apologized for the mistake. I REALLY hope your DM was one of the new guys.

 

[Wildcard]

My last time in the store on Hickam I was free to wander the store and pilfer at will ( I didn't) as no one was there for the 15 minutes I was there. I have tried many times to set up classes and once they did call back but not the other half a dozen. I never have gotten a straight answer from the dingbats at the store about anything.
Never dove with them, never will.

 

[smitty71]

I am astonished that this was Island Divers Hawaii. Which location were you in? I have never had anything but great service from them.

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

Actually this brings up a good point--as I was thinking about this tonight. If someone carried my tanks, hand held me, MADE ME FOLLOW THEM ON A DIVE etc etc I would be PISSED. I am used to (and like it) being a self sufficient diver. Afterall, what did we get certified for...to be self sufficient right (with a team mate/buddy of course)?

Case in point. You get on any dive boat south of San Luis Obispo in California, and the likelyhood of any of the boat crew actually entering the water with you is about 2%. The mentality out there is--we provide the ride to the dive site...you do the rest.

So...it all depends on what your expectations as a diver are...which drives how you perceive the "service" from a dive shop. I for one would not let anyone carry my tanks (babies)...or touch my gear--and if they would touch it I would be annoyed. No way in hell would I wait until the next day for someone to show up with some weights...as I want to put my stuff together the night before..personally (the way I LIKE it).

But then there are others who are the exact opposite...again everyone is different and different in their expectations--the challenge then becomes catering to ALL of these types of divers, which can be nearly impossible.

 

[Lopaka]

You get on any dive boat south of San Luis Obispo in California, and the likelyhood of any of the boat crew actually entering the water with you is about 2%. The mentality out there is--we provide the ride to the dive site...you do the rest.

I have to laugh.......... After years of diving boats in SoCal, as in SLO, it is normal to you to hump your own gear, do your own diving. I always felt embarassed when diving here in Hawaii on vacation, with the crew lugging all that stuff around. They'd kid me when I would help toss gear onto the dock, pass empty tanks, etc. I suppose the east coast caribbean vacation divers are used to that treatment.:14:

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

I have to laugh.......... After years of diving boats in SoCal, as in SLO, it is normal to you to hump your own gear, do your own diving. I always felt embarassed when diving here in Hawaii on vacation, with the crew lugging all that stuff around. They'd kid me when I would help toss gear onto the dock, pass empty tanks, etc. I suppose the east coast caribbean vacation divers are used to that treatment.:14:

Yup...the funniest thing to watch (and no offense to anyone) were divers used to the "service" they were getting in Cozumel/Carribean coming onto any of the Channel Island or Catalina charters.