OWSI Internships - Mermaids Pattaya

[riverserf]

Lisa, I've read your other thread from beginning to end and I loved 'seeing' your transformation. As you saw above in Comment #2 I had a really positive experience with Mermaid's the first time I went diving there (about 4 years ago). But this second experience in January was less than ideal.

Two interns (a boyfriend/girlfriend from England) where openly complaining about a fellow intern....they were steamed because they didn't think he was doing what he should be doing. I remember the guy saying, "that's it, he's off the boat!". It just struck me as very unprofessional to be bickering like that in front of customers.
It was really disappointing because I was really excited about going there in the future and doing the exact program you did. I wanted to meet with Peter and interns and talk about the program. I exchanged emails with Peter several times before arriving but he never seemed to be in the shop when I stopped by (and I stopped by several times each day -- I was staying in the hotel room over the front doors of mermaid's).
I'm not looking for a hut on the beach...but I do want to learn in a place that's organized. I was attracted by the 'unlimited diving' Mermaid's offers. That was a big think for me. When you did your daily diving, were you working or enjoying your own dive? I read your blog and you said the interns (volunteer) as the DMs and lead the dive trips. Does that mean that most days you dive you're actually leading the groups or are you able to just go off and free to just spend your time working on your own skills?

One reason I ask is because I want to do a lot of underwater photography and possibly videography. On those 'unlimited dives' am I going to be able to spend my time working on those skills or will I be leading others(regular daily customers) around?

Since you've been through the program, your opinion/thoughts are incredibly important and insightful. I'd appreciate hearing more about how the program ran.

Brad

 

[harrymeats]

Mermaids was a victim of it's own success. So many customers meant some chaotic moments. Things are much different now. Mermaids introduced the Mermaids Master Crew Program for preventing situations like this, improving customer service, and increasing training levels.

All interns at DM level and above were asked to apply for the program. Only 6 can be chosen, so competition is fierce. Many attributes are considered before choosing members - knowledge, professionalism, skills, role model behaviour etc.

At any time there is always 1 MMC member on each boat. They are all trained as DAN O2 providers, and advise the DM's on the best course of action on running boats day to day. They act as role models for DM's, and give them someone to look up to. Once a member leaves, anyone interested applies, and the Crew remains at 6 people.

As well as ensuring smooth running of the boats, these guys are official "meeters and greeters" to customers in the morning, just to avoid anyone feeling left out.

I am very suprised you found the shop closed. I am a long term intern here, and it only closes on New Years Day (1st of Jan) when most others are closed, and 1 day in April for SongKhran when everywhere is closed for Thai New Year.

I see your last reply is a bit old, so I hope you found what you were looking for.

The MMC is just one of the new measures Mermaids has introduced to stay on top of the game, and improve.

 

[Colsom]

Do not go to Aquanauts contact me direct and i will give you the run down on both companies I worked with and at bot Aquanauts and Mermaids

 

[Colsom]

Contact me direct I was with both Aquanauts and Mermaids and I WILL GIVE YOU THE LOW DOWN ON BOTH COMPANIES

 

[josh]

Contact me direct I was with both Aquanauts and Mermaids and I WILL GIVE YOU THE LOW DOWN ON BOTH COMPANIES

Seeing as the original post was in september 2005, it all seems a bit moot. However, for anyone looking for info, I did my IDC with aquanauts, and will be happy to expand on my (positive) experiences with them. PM me if you want details.
-j-

 

[craigr]

Do not go to Aquanauts contact me direct and i will give you the run down on both companies I worked with and at bot Aquanauts and Mermaids

hi thinking of going to thailand & you mentioned you have experience of mermaids & aquanauts, would like to hear from you

 

[limbo]

Craig,

There are plenty of other options in Thaialnd, with small groups where you get a lot personal attention, have a good look around.

 

[lord khram]

I'm looking at taking an internship at Mermaids Dive centre Pattaya Thailand in November, with the view of travelling around the world scuba diving for a living!! Firstly I'd like to know if this is the right course to be taking to be able to do this and secondly has anyone trained at Mermaids in Pattaya. Would you recommend it or do you have any other recommendations

If you are serious about a career in diving I would not recommend one of these type of courses at all.
The scope of diving in Pattaya is very limited and as an example that I have used on another thread, I know of instructors that have been certified on these internships that have only ever entered the water from a platform on a hard boat. How can they be qualified to teach other procedures such as a shore entry and entry/exit procedures from a semi inflateable boat when they have never caried it out themselves?
If you want to become a comprehensive instructor I would recomend that you avoid this type of course and build up your experience over a period of time in varied locations/conditions.
If you want to live and work in Pattaya then one of these courses will probably suffice.

 

[katdiver]

As Limbo said, check out all the other options. Ok, so the smaller shops can't give the warehouse clearance prices of the big operators, but you get to see another aspect of the dive industry. In a small operation, you are not just one of many candidates. If you are not prepared to work at it and have the right attitude for the task, it'll show up pretty soon. Sure, the training is a 2 way mentor/appentice type of thing and at that level you get good personal service.