No Morning Dive After Flight the Day Before with ProDive Mexico?!?

[Cali_diver]

"Incredibly ridiculous"? Interesting. While I do appreciate your sarcasm (my first language as a child), we do agree on one thing. We were not a good fit and we found another dive op.

Yes mine too... sorry!

 

[Mitch H.]

Yes mine too... sorry!

Lol! No worries at all!

 

[stuartv]

EVERY time we ask specific questions, we get answers like "sounds good" to a direct question. I'm sure that led to my frustration. I'm not sure if it's a communication issue or not but it is consistent.

You're doing an online chat with someone in Mexico, right? Someone who probably isn't a native English speaker, right?

Operator Coralie has joined the chat.
Coralie: Hello
Coralie: How can I help you ?
Visitor: Hi. We arrive the afternoon of the 22nd of August at the Allegro Cozumel and plan to do the morning dive the following day. Is this a problem?
Coralie: Hi, sounds good <- response to your first sentence
Coralie: how many dives would you like to do in total ? <- response to your question
Visitor: Sorry, but you didn't answer my question.
Coralie: We usually ask our divers to start in the afternoon trip since our morning dives are usually deeper
...

So, the problem was that she hit Enter between her response to your first sentence and her response to your question?

Or the problem was that she wanted to know how many dives you wanted to do before she could answer your question?

Or the problem was that you were primed to be pissed off before you ever started the chat?

Her later responses made it clear (to me, anyway) that she was totally willing to let you do something different than their "usual", that they "prefer". She just wanted some information to help her establish what your (and your buddies') actual experience and credentials are. She NEVER said anything about anything being REQUIRED.

Her later responses make it clear (to me, anyway) that the exact answer to your specific question is "it depends on the experience and qualifications of you and each of your buddies." So, you wanted a yes or no answer, but there is not a yes or no answer to your question that she can give you until you answer the questions she was trying to ask. You don't really expect a customer service rep in that position to respond to your question with "yes, that is a problem unless you can show that you are qualified" do you? That wouldn't go over very well with most people.

I bet if you work for a while as a paid DM you'll run across quite a few people that you come to learn really overstated or exaggerated their experience and/or skills, and you'll understand why a dive operator like ProDive would want to get detailed with you in an online chat before they tell you that they'll allow you to do a certain dive. Isn't that better than just telling you yes on the chat and then getting there and being told no in person when they find out that one of your buddies only has OW and 10 dives? I don't know. I'm no DM, so I could be wrong.

 

[Mitch H.]

You're doing an online chat with someone in Mexico, right? Someone who probably isn't a native English speaker, right?



So, the problem was that she hit Enter between her response to your first sentence and her response to your question?

Or the problem was that she wanted to know how many dives you wanted to do before she could answer your question?

Or the problem was that you were primed to be pissed off before you ever started the chat?

Her later responses made it clear (to me, anyway) that she was totally willing to let you do something different than their "usual", that they "prefer". She just wanted some information to help her establish what your (and your buddies') actual experience and credentials are. She NEVER said anything about anything being REQUIRED.

Her later responses make it clear (to me, anyway) that the exact answer to your specific question is "it depends on the experience and qualifications of you and each of your buddies." So, you wanted a yes or no answer, but there is not a yes or no answer to your question that she can give you until you answer the questions she was trying to ask. You don't really expect a customer service rep in that position to respond to your question with "yes, that is a problem unless you can show that you are qualified" do you? That wouldn't go over very well with most people.

I bet if you work for a while as a paid DM you'll run across quite a few people that you come to learn really overstated or exaggerated their experience and/or skills, and you'll understand why a dive operator like ProDive would want to get detailed with you in an online chat before they tell you that they'll allow you to do a certain dive. Isn't that better than just telling you yes on the chat and then getting there and being told no in person when they find out that one of your buddies only has OW and 10 dives? I don't know. I'm no DM, so I could be wrong.

I was going to respond, but you seem pretty close to stroking out here. So I'll just say OK.

 

[redacted]

You're doing an online chat with someone in Mexico, right? Someone who probably isn't a native English speaker, right?

In Mexico - yes. From Mexico - almost surely not. ProDive is a training facility for foreign dive masters, most from the USA or Europe, who have an excellent command of English.

 

[stuartv]

I was going to respond, but you seem pretty close to stroking out here. So I'll just say OK.

LOL Hey, I just came back to this thread specifically to say this to you: I have realized that my last couple of posts here directed to you probably came across as me being a dick. For that, I apologize. I wasn't trying to sound like a dick, but it comes very naturally to me (or so I've been told so many times). I was really just trying to make the point that the transcript of your chat really made it *look* like you brought an expectation into that conversation and then reacted to the first thing the lady said on the basis of what you were expecting, rather than what she actually said. I think if you really consider the whole thing from their point of view (a dive op in a popular dive destination who surely gets a lot of people who think they are much better divers than they really are) and what she actually said in that chat, you could probably empathize with what they were trying to do by asking you those questions instead of just giving you a simple yes or no.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it's quite common for them to get people telling them they've done the Deep specialty when they've really only done the 1 Deep dive from AOW. They probably even get some telling them they have their Dive Master when they really mean they have their Master Diver cert, which we all know is not nearly the same thing. I would think you would have to cut them some slack on wanting to really make sure a person is what they say they are before they tell the person they can do a certain dive.

Like I said before, that seems a lot better than just saying "yeah, sure. Come on" and then telling you when you get there "Oh, I'm sorry. We can't let you do that dive after all because your buddy only has OW and 10 dives" or whatever. Props to them for trying to make sure they don't set bad expectations, really.

In Mexico - yes. From Mexico - almost surely not. ProDive is a training facility for foreign dive masters, most from the USA or Europe, who have an excellent command of English.

And you feel pretty good about interacting with someone in a chat (who is representing a company in Mexico) on the ASSUMPTION that they have a good (or better) command of English?

 

[Dogbowl]

 

[Mitch H.]

LOL Hey, I just came back to this thread specifically to say this to you: I have realized that my last couple of posts here directed to you probably came across as me being a dick. For that, I apologize. I wasn't trying to sound like a dick, but it comes very naturally to me (or so I've been told so many times). I was really just trying to make the point that the transcript of your chat really made it *look* like you brought an expectation into that conversation and then reacted to the first thing the lady said on the basis of what you were expecting, rather than what she actually said. I think if you really consider the whole thing from their point of view (a dive op in a popular dive destination who surely gets a lot of people who think they are much better divers than they really are) and what she actually said in that chat, you could probably empathize with what they were trying to do by asking you those questions instead of just giving you a simple yes or no.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it's quite common for them to get people telling them they've done the Deep specialty when they've really only done the 1 Deep dive from AOW. They probably even get some telling them they have their Dive Master when they really mean they have their Master Diver cert, which we all know is not nearly the same thing. I would think you would have to cut them some slack on wanting to really make sure a person is what they say they are before they tell the person they can do a certain dive.

Like I said before, that seems a lot better than just saying "yeah, sure. Come on" and then telling you when you get there "Oh, I'm sorry. We can't let you do that dive after all because your buddy only has OW and 10 dives" or whatever. Props to them for trying to make sure they don't set bad expectations, really.



And you feel pretty good about interacting with someone in a chat (who is representing a company in Mexico) on the ASSUMPTION that they have a good (or better) command of English?

No worries at all. There is no doubt I had some left over frustration from my previous contact with them. I absolutely see your point and that probably would have been a better way for it to be explained. I certainly would have understood that position more easily than the path we went down.

 

[WildcatChris]

I've dove with Pro-Dive from the Occidental Grand (same boats and DMs as the Allegro) several times. I've never pre-booked any of my dives, I just go to the dive shop the day we get there, sign up, and get on the boat the next day. They have never mentioned anything about doing afternoon instead of morning, in fact, on my last trip I did all four the day after I arrived.

I usually do a day or two with them to reacquaint myself with Cozumel before spending three or four days with Aldora, who will pick up down south.

 

[krbailey]

It has to be noted that in Cozumel at least a dozen divers die every year.

Is this accurate? It seems like any/every incident in Cozumel usually gets some mention on SB in the Accidents/Incidents or Cozumel forums. Even if it's a non-diving related medical issue.