Stuck with beginner diver who runs out of air in 20 mins?

[Lorenzoid]

Without knowing the identity of the liveaboard operator, I will offer that it could be a case of "you get what you pay for." The major franchises don't do this kind of thing--they know every guest is paying a lot of money to do that dive. Some budget operators might be different. This is the kind of thing people would like to read about in a review. A balanced review of the good and the bad is always appreciated.

 

[Dogbowl]

On the other hand, knowing full well how the internet can make or break a business' reputation, it is understandable that the OP is hesitant to name the operator. After all, it is the operator's livelihood that is at stake. This is exactly what happened here:

Finder's fee for recovered camera- is it appropriate?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Having given this some more thought, I would add to what I said previously that perhaps this event is so rare that it never makes it onto the radar of the review sites? I have read hundreds of liveaboard and land-based dive op reviews in Undercurrent and here on SB, and this is the first instance of what the OP reported that I have read about. Even if a liveaboard has no policy that would have prevented it, the odds would seem low of that kind of no-policy liveaboard having that kind of newbie diver aboard, and having at least one other diver aboard on that trip who visits sites like SB to ask/post about it. If this event happens, we would probably never read about it.

Without knowing the identity of the liveaboard operator, I will offer that it could be a case of "you get what you pay for." The major franchises don't do this kind of thing--they know every guest is paying a lot of money to do that dive. Some budget operators might be different. This is the kind of thing people would like to read about in a review. A balanced review of the good and the bad is always appreciated.

 

[tursiops]

Having given this some more thought, I would add to what I said previously that perhaps this event is so rare that it never makes it onto the radar of the review sites? I have read hundreds of liveaboard and land-based dive op reviews in Undercurrent and here on SB, and this is the first instance of what the OP reported that I have read about. Even if a liveaboard has no policy that would have prevented it, the odds would seem low of that kind of no-policy liveaboard having that kind of newbie diver aboard, and having at least one other diver aboard on that trip who visits sites like SB to ask/post about it. If this event happens, we would probably never read about it.

It is more likely we don't hear about it because people are unwilling to be negative, fearing possible consequences. I'm just sorry for the next person that goes on that boat and has a heavy-breather in the group.

 

[FinnMom]

The old adage was that one unhappy customer might tell 13 people. Businesses would do well to learn that in the Internet age, creating unhappy customers has gotten a lot worse. For the sake of all the other persons who will use that boat, please post a review. You are more than welcome to include your positive comments!

 

[Coztick]

This seems like this is the extreme case, which begs the question, how do they deal with this on every dive?
There will always be someone low on air before the others. The solution seems obvious and is scalable. The DM should be able to spare a few extra psi or carry a stage for an air hog.
Even as a paying customer, I would rather carry an extra cylinder and babysit for half of a dive than miss half of my dive. In SM, whether I carry a pony or a second full size cylinder, it dives the same. In the op's case, I would have offered.
I would bet that diving in tandem with someone calmly and slowly would have the newb improving in no time.
I know I would be losing my mind if I were not able to get my fill of diving in on a liveaboard.
Seems sketchy to allow 1 to limit how many?
Not enough info and probably a troll.

 

[Altamira]

The old adage was that one unhappy customer might tell 13 people. Businesses would do well to learn that in the Internet age, creating unhappy customers has gotten a lot worse. For the sake of all the other persons who will use that boat, please post a review. You are more than welcome to include your positive comments!

That old adage has probably been overcome by the advent of social media. I'll bet you could multiply that 13 by 10 and still be short on the number of people that hear about unpleasant experiences with vendors. Too many bad reviews on social media can cripple a company, and those reviews stay in the internet forever.

 

[The Chairman]

Then again, I really am a newbie, as I go through air like no-one else I dive with. I'm probably just particularly unfit, who knows.

I bet you're a sculler. Fold your hands, establish neutral buoyancy, slow DOWN, and watch your air hogginess disappear.

 

[The Chairman]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

A few posts have been deleted as they attack the OP for not being willing to post the name.

This is Basic Scuba and a safe zone. Please refrain from such acrimony in the future.

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[FinnMom]

That old adage has probably been overcome by the advent of social media. I'll bet you could multiply that 13 by 10 and still be short on the number of people that hear about unpleasant experiences with vendors. Too many bad reviews on social media can cripple a company, and those reviews stay in the internet forever.

That's exactly what I meant by "...in the Internet age, creating unhappy customers has gotten a lot worse."

The fact that too many bad reviews can be crippling is why most of us look both at the number of reviews, and the general trend of the reviews. If only the 100% happy customers post, they might have 3/1000 and the feedback is pretty worthless. But noting what made you happy or unhappy is important information: some people can't get over the fact that an op is not responsible for the weather, a random spell of unusually poor vis, the customer's own judgement in selecting a trip where they were not qualified for many of the dives, etc. A broken air conditioning system on one trip might be bad luck, but if there are similar complaints from several different trips, I'd be very glad to have been warned. So let us know the why behind your conclusions/opinions, be fair and honest but please do leave a review. You can also find some dive center reviews on Trip Advisor for example.