I have been watching the "plan a NC dive trip" thread and there is a lot of good advice and information. I would like to take the opportunity to explain the practice of requiring full payment at the time of reservation, and also of waiting to the last minute to cancel the trip due to weather.
Most customers diving the Beaufort area have travelled in and already have accommodations. They want to dive if at all possible. As operators and seasoned Captains, we know when the forecast is one that could swing either way and tend to trust our own observations as opposed to relying solely on the forecast. They get it wrong OFTEN! One of the nicer days I ran on my last trip to Wrightsville for Meg teeth, a local operator cancelled the afternoon before and the forecast turned out to be wrong in our favor. Sometimes it is wrong the other way, like last Saturday when the forecast was light NE winds turning S light in the afternoon. We woke up to gusty 20 kt east winds and driving rain. I had to cancel at the dock. Several other boats did as well.
As far as deposits and pre-payments. I was once told that every policy is the result of someone getting burned. I am flexible with my reservation deposit policy depending on how well I know the customers. Even then, really good customers sometimes cancel the day before for whatever reason. Most times they still pay me for the spot. If not they generally lose their good customer status. I now require a deposit from every new customer to hold a spot. As a six pack, every seat counts and I need some assurance that you will be there (at least financially) before I turn others away because I am full. Just this week I have turned away more folks than I can carry because I am full for the upcoming holiday weekend.
Now let me tie the 2 things together. It clearly should be the operators decision on when to run and when to cancel. But a growing trend is that our customers watch the weather forecast on the internet and want to decide for themselves if it is going to be too rough to go. That is fine as long as you pay for the empty spot you left on the boat. But without much experience and local knowledge, chances are you will get it wrong. No operator is going to go to sea in unsafe conditions. Some may go in less than comfortable conditions, but that is relative to each individual's comfort zone.
No one in the dive boat industry in NC is getting rich. We all operate on tight margins, every seat counts whether it is a crew boat or 6 pack. Most of us do it for love not money, but love doesn't pay the overhead of running a boat. That is why most operations require full payment up front, just like the airlines. The worst thing you can do to a operator like myself who sometimes waives the deposit is to cancel late or not show.
I recently had to split one full boat into 2 days because I had a group of 4 inquiring and only 3 spots open. I asked the solo customer if they were "solid" and he responded definitely and asked to please not sell his spot. So I had to run 2 days with 4 people instead of one day with 6. He said he would go online and make a deposit payment that day. I took him for his word and didn't check to verify. I hadn't heard from him and the day before so I contacted him to make sure he was coming. I got no answer. The next morning, he did not show up. I had to run with 3 divers because I could not punish them for this guy not showing up. When I checked later, he had not made an online payment. Now he will not respond to my communications. So not only am I out the $150 he owes me (it is clear in my cancellation policy) but I had to burn $250 in fuel I would not have had to do if I could have consolidated the groups.
I only explain these things so that as you plan your trip to dive NC you will have an understanding of why things are done the way they are here. And if you have to cancel at the last minute and you haven't paid for your trip, you will understand that you will be asked to pay for it. And if you don't, you can write off ever diving that boat again. And most likely other boats as well, because Captains do talk to each other. Requiring full payment with the reservation eliminates this type of thing ever happening.
Safe Diving,
Captain James
Most customers diving the Beaufort area have travelled in and already have accommodations. They want to dive if at all possible. As operators and seasoned Captains, we know when the forecast is one that could swing either way and tend to trust our own observations as opposed to relying solely on the forecast. They get it wrong OFTEN! One of the nicer days I ran on my last trip to Wrightsville for Meg teeth, a local operator cancelled the afternoon before and the forecast turned out to be wrong in our favor. Sometimes it is wrong the other way, like last Saturday when the forecast was light NE winds turning S light in the afternoon. We woke up to gusty 20 kt east winds and driving rain. I had to cancel at the dock. Several other boats did as well.
As far as deposits and pre-payments. I was once told that every policy is the result of someone getting burned. I am flexible with my reservation deposit policy depending on how well I know the customers. Even then, really good customers sometimes cancel the day before for whatever reason. Most times they still pay me for the spot. If not they generally lose their good customer status. I now require a deposit from every new customer to hold a spot. As a six pack, every seat counts and I need some assurance that you will be there (at least financially) before I turn others away because I am full. Just this week I have turned away more folks than I can carry because I am full for the upcoming holiday weekend.
Now let me tie the 2 things together. It clearly should be the operators decision on when to run and when to cancel. But a growing trend is that our customers watch the weather forecast on the internet and want to decide for themselves if it is going to be too rough to go. That is fine as long as you pay for the empty spot you left on the boat. But without much experience and local knowledge, chances are you will get it wrong. No operator is going to go to sea in unsafe conditions. Some may go in less than comfortable conditions, but that is relative to each individual's comfort zone.
No one in the dive boat industry in NC is getting rich. We all operate on tight margins, every seat counts whether it is a crew boat or 6 pack. Most of us do it for love not money, but love doesn't pay the overhead of running a boat. That is why most operations require full payment up front, just like the airlines. The worst thing you can do to a operator like myself who sometimes waives the deposit is to cancel late or not show.
I recently had to split one full boat into 2 days because I had a group of 4 inquiring and only 3 spots open. I asked the solo customer if they were "solid" and he responded definitely and asked to please not sell his spot. So I had to run 2 days with 4 people instead of one day with 6. He said he would go online and make a deposit payment that day. I took him for his word and didn't check to verify. I hadn't heard from him and the day before so I contacted him to make sure he was coming. I got no answer. The next morning, he did not show up. I had to run with 3 divers because I could not punish them for this guy not showing up. When I checked later, he had not made an online payment. Now he will not respond to my communications. So not only am I out the $150 he owes me (it is clear in my cancellation policy) but I had to burn $250 in fuel I would not have had to do if I could have consolidated the groups.
I only explain these things so that as you plan your trip to dive NC you will have an understanding of why things are done the way they are here. And if you have to cancel at the last minute and you haven't paid for your trip, you will understand that you will be asked to pay for it. And if you don't, you can write off ever diving that boat again. And most likely other boats as well, because Captains do talk to each other. Requiring full payment with the reservation eliminates this type of thing ever happening.
Safe Diving,
Captain James
