DM duties seem to vary regionally, sometimes even from business to business. In some locations they are hands on guides, in others not. In most locations they are considered important saftey personnel, in some spots they are sales personnel. It can vary greatly depending on what type of activities the shop/instructor the DM is working with does.... charters, retail, training or combination of those. The difference between DMs isn't really as much of an agency issue as it is the training they received from whoever they took the course from. Some shops or instructors pump out DMs in a couple weekends and others do a more extensive job of putting out DMs that can really help run their businesses.
Nobody yet has really gotten much into what makes a good or bad DM. I'll chime in with a couple thoughts. People skills, attentiveness, observation skills are very important for a DM. DMs who are into themselves and their own thing rather than into servicing their customers and their needs are not really what I'd consider to be good DMs, no matter how good their diving skills are. All the dive knowledge and skills are worthless if you can't, or won't bother, to work with people. I've seen both types of DMs, and skill competance alone doesn't cut it.
Just my opinion,
Steve
Nobody yet has really gotten much into what makes a good or bad DM. I'll chime in with a couple thoughts. People skills, attentiveness, observation skills are very important for a DM. DMs who are into themselves and their own thing rather than into servicing their customers and their needs are not really what I'd consider to be good DMs, no matter how good their diving skills are. All the dive knowledge and skills are worthless if you can't, or won't bother, to work with people. I've seen both types of DMs, and skill competance alone doesn't cut it.
Just my opinion,
Steve
Kim:So what is a DM really? What should you or shouldn't you expect from a DM? What makes a good DM? or a bad one? Is there a difference between a PADI DM and the equivalent from other agencies?