Sarting a Dive Op... a candid discussion.

[Scubakevdm]

already enjoying the story ScubaKevdm

Hey thanks, me too. My hand's starting to hurt though.

So, here's just a little nugget or two that I've come up with concerning the qualities topic. I really feel pretty strongly that you have to be, or at least have someone working for you who is a likable person. Someone who is good with people. After all, diving is pretty social, and for the most part people pay money to go diving on a dive boat to have fun. It's good to have people that are fun to be around running the op, interacting with the people. This is kind of obvious, but here's something that I think is just as important, maybe more... you should have fun customers. Now I know that alot of folks are saying, "How the heck do you have any control of who your customers are?" And in some cases there may not be alot of control, but I bet that there is more than you would think.
You see, here's something that I've noticed;
very boat has a different personality, and this personality is a function of the individual personalities of the crew, and of the policies of the business. So even by operating the business there will be a natural sorting of the customers. Socially, some people like some stuff, some people like other stuff. Some people prefer a boat with a military/adventure personality, some like kinder, gentler boats, some like conservative, some like liberal. So the good news is that whatever kind of boat yours is, some people will probably like it, and in theory will come back. After you've been at it for awhile, you start to accumulate divers with this social dimension in common.
If you look even further into the pool of divers you've accumulated, you might start to recognize people that seem like they would get along really well with other people. If you ask to one or the other "Hey, do you know Thomas Murpleberry, (or whatever the guy's name is)? He's an astronaut too, he dives every Wednesday, you should try to come out, you'd get a kick out of him!" And so, people make friends on the boat. Since you know all the regulars you can kinda help that along, at least if you are good at figuring out who would get along. It makes a big difference, because now people are not only coming to dive with you, they're coming to dive with each other. You are doing your customers a service, because it's more fun to dive on a boat full of friends.
So, in a nut shell, it's good

1) Not to be a butt-head

2) To be able to recognise who will get along and get them together

 

[Scubakevdm]

Wow! What a great story, and you tell it very well. Thank you for sharing this with us. I'm fan of your father.

So far the narative is pretty non-judgemental. I'm curious to know if you felt you were treated fairly (financially) considering you single-handedly saved their business. I mean, come on, running the show and working just for tips? And then putting your tips back in the business to pay the bills?

That part about not being able to see the revenue from customers paying with credit cards is pretty crazy. I don't know how it works, but couldn't you take the forms to the hospital and get what you needed signed?

How does the rest of the story go? How's the business going? Did you marry the fairy princess?

Hey, thanks! Yeah, he's starting to amass quite a following.
As for the rest of the story, I'll have to tell it as it unfolds. The Fairy Princess is in the Galapagos for three weeks, I'm not sure about the marrying just yet. Maybe.

 

[pennypue]

Suggestion: I think you should network with some of the out-of-state (cold water) dive ops. (Or even local shops that don't have their own boats) Would be a nice business flow to set up for check-out dives for new divers.

And also a wonderful source for repeat customers too.

And if I hadn't already found my prince charming, I'd ask how Dad's love live is going.........

 

[jasondcrawford]

The most important policy that I look for when choosing a dive-op is one that lets you dive your computer. I know this isn't do-able in all locations due to cicumstances and conditions, but where safety permits this is priority #1 for me.

I also will favor a dive shop that, weather/conditions permitting, lets me have some voice in where we dive. I plan my vacations months in advance, and by the time I show up on the boat have a pretty good idea of what sites I would like to see (You can thank scubaboard for that ) I will usually ask about these sites when I book, and if the operator doesn't seem to care what sites I want to visit, I call someone else.

 

[Scubakevdm]

The most important policy that I look for when choosing a dive-op is one that lets you dive your computer. I know this isn't do-able in all locations due to cicumstances and conditions, but where safety permits this is priority #1 for me.

I also will favor a dive shop that, weather/conditions permitting, lets me have some voice in where we dive. I plan my vacations months in advance, and by the time I show up on the boat have a pretty good idea of what sites I would like to see (You can thank scubaboard for that ) I will usually ask about these sites when I book, and if the operator doesn't seem to care what sites I want to visit, I call someone else.

I think that these are both very good points, and without getting into the specifics for my operation, I think that both of them are answered at a very fundamental level, sort of the philosophy of the operator. It kinda gets back to what is your mission as an operator. If you, as an operator believe that your job is to drive people out to the reef or the wreck plop them in, then pick them up and take them home, then you may end up with a boatload of people that had an okay time. However, if you see your mission as taking people diving and helping them to have the most fun that they can have, hopefully you'll have a boat full of divers that had a great time, and will come back. This might involve a little extra work, or maybe a little longer day, so an op has to ask itself, is it worth it to do this. I agree with you in that any of the ops I consider good would say yes.

Certainly safety is paramount, and even a part of having fun, and certainly there are time constraints if there are other trips that day, but within this framework, the more flexible the op can be so that people can have fun, the better it would be for business.

 

[robint]

Wow Kevin! I am sure you don't remember us, but me and my hubby dove with you for a few days 2 years ago. We were very very impressed with you and your former dive op and have referred many people to them. So, we know much of the back story here and understand your pain and need to move on.

My suggestion to you is to get a really GOOD website set up with nice pictures and an e-mail address where you can be reached daily. (nothing irritates me more than sending an e-mail to a dive op and not getting a reply back for a week or not at all!)
Then you need to start networking, getting your dive shop name and boat name out there. Figure out who your market is - instate weekend divers, families, new cert students, crazy adventurers, etc. and start a plan to market to them in particular. The WEB is your number one tool, use it. Make sure your website is easy to find when someone google's it for diving in that area. When they get to your website, make it speak to them!

good luck and keep your spirits high - if you really want this and you're willing to work for it, it will be a success.

robint
http://www.rnrscuba.net/SE_Florida_photos.html (pics from our trip)

 

[Scubakevdm]

Hey thanks everyone! And Robin, I do remember you guys, it was a pleasure having you. I'm gonna try to bow out of this thread for awhile to try to let some of the other operators in. I don't want this to turn into a commercial for me. I'll check back in this evening. Thanks again!

 

[cdiver2]

My wife and I dove with you some time back (lumpy water and Salsa remember). I did enjoy the store and crew so will definitely give you a go the next time we are in BB.
Good luck. By the way I could not get to the photographs in the gallery on the web site

 

[ckofabq]

Good stuff, Kevin. So, you don't sleep much, huh?
I wonder, as you move to being the boss, can YOU still be the "personality" that keeps your customers coming back, or will you find yourself moving more and more into the office?
If anything keeps me going back to a specific op, it would have to be the people. The DM, cptn. and mate ARE the dive op, right?
And, if you do find the right people, can you keep them? It seems like such a transient business, though maybe your location is different.
As for marketing, I agree with robint that this here web thing makes a huge difference when booking dive travel- for our family.
Something else, in 30 years of diving, I really hadn't seriously considered FL until just recently, and only then as we have family there. I bet when we see for ourselves what you have to offer, we'll be kicking ourselves for not seeing how the conch-half lives...
So, in that regard, I guess I'd like to see more marketing of the benefits of diving our own shores rather than viewing a SCUBA vacation as something that requires a passport and a passable understanding of another language.
Boats? Oxygen and dependable about does it for me.
And, yes as Jason says, flexability on the part of the op in allowing guests to direct the dive day is big.
Looking forward to more on your adventures, Kevin!
Best of luck,
Craig-

 

[D_B]

Perfectly Worded , you've conveyed your thoughts well ... I can very much "feel" exactly where your coming from
Boats ...
Note: It's not like I have lots of experience, and with only 3 different boat dives to my name .. well
One of the things I did notice was how one boat was laid out much better for holding tanks/BC/ and for gearing up for the dive
Another was the tank fills .. on one you were lucky to get 2700psi, on the other they could easily give you your rated fill
I like what you have said about the crew being important in the "fun" sense as well as the "operation" sense

A Good website is important, with as much info as can be put into it, arranged so it can be found .. I'm coming clear across the country, I want as much info as I can to determine just why I should pick you over someone else .. and how your website looks/is arranged, can also help to get you the type of clients that your looking for