I arrived at the operator's dive site right on time, got on the boat, and started to gear up, but I learned there was a problem. They had started the day with an expectation of 7 divers on the boat, but after a flurry of cancellation calls, they only had 2 divers now. Since we were already on the boat, they decided not to cancel, as they would have if the calls had come earlier. The divemaster was upset. He said the problem was that so many boats cancel the dives at the last minute that the locals had learned to register for several dives on the same day, finally choosing the best ones from the ones that don't cancel. His suggested solution, which he repeated several times, was for people to have to give a credit card number when they schedule the dive, with the dive fees non-refundable. He said that would solve the problem.
I could certainly see the problem from that operator's point of view, but I could also see it from the diver's point of view. At that point I had been in south Florida for a little over two weeks of perfect diving weather, and 4 of my scheduled dives had been canceled by the operator at the last minute, leaving me to find alternative plans for the day. I later had other dives canceled. I was actually thinking of doing what the divemaster was complaining about--scheduling with different operations so I would be more likely to get the dive. It certainly is a problem for everyone, but while there is no doubt that non-refundable registration fees would have an impact, I don't think it would be a positive impact, and I have a different idea for a solution.
First some thoughts on non-refundable registration fees:
For a better solution, I suggest the strategy used by an operator I use in another dive location I have visited frequently. They advertise that they never make last minute cancellations of dives because of a low numbers of passengers. If you are scheduled to go on a boat, you can go to bed the evening before confident that the boat will go, weather permitting. As someone who has had a number of dives on my one-week dive vacations canceled at the last minute, that certainty is important to me. I think it is important to a lot of people. Consequently, a lot of people book with that operator, and I suspect that the result is they probably never have a problem with low numbers of divers.
In contrast, the dive operator I mentioned above, the one that canceled the dive even after charging the people who couldn't go, is one that I used to use frequently over the last 15 years that I have been coming to south Florida. Their reputation for canceling trips has grown to the point, though, that I did not even look at their web site once in the 5 weeks I was here. I want to go with someone I can trust.
I realize that running a boat without the minimum number of passengers will cost a little that day. I was on a boat a week or so ago when they had to go out with 3 divers instead of the normally required 4 because the 4th did not show. I suppose they lost some money on that trip, but they gained a lot of good will. I was with them the next day, too, and they had 20 paying customers that day. There was barely room to move on the boat. So on those 2 days, they averaged 11.5 divers on one boat. Not too bad.
I could certainly see the problem from that operator's point of view, but I could also see it from the diver's point of view. At that point I had been in south Florida for a little over two weeks of perfect diving weather, and 4 of my scheduled dives had been canceled by the operator at the last minute, leaving me to find alternative plans for the day. I later had other dives canceled. I was actually thinking of doing what the divemaster was complaining about--scheduling with different operations so I would be more likely to get the dive. It certainly is a problem for everyone, but while there is no doubt that non-refundable registration fees would have an impact, I don't think it would be a positive impact, and I have a different idea for a solution.
First some thoughts on non-refundable registration fees:
- A few years ago, on the day I had a dive canceled, I ran into a ScubaBoard thread in which people complained about having to pay for a scheduled dive even though they had to cancel. The reason was non-refundable registration fees. It took very little detective work to find out that they were talking about the dive I had just had canceled! In other words, after collecting their money, the operator canceled the dive anyway. He figured out that the fees he had collected from them were money in the bank, so he still came out money ahead by canceling the dive for me and for whoever else was still ready to go. He screwed the customers, but came out ahead financially. Non-refundable registrations solves the problem for the operator, but not necessarily for the divers.
- In the course of the 5 weeks I eventually stayed here, I logged nearly 30 dives, the overwhelming majority with one operator. There would have been more without the cancellations. One day I was happily preparing to for a dive at a site I had myself requested, but I suddenly became ill and realized I could not dive. I sadly called to cancel. They were nice about it. If they had instead charged me for that dive when I was legitimately ill and after I had been such a good customer, I would have been furious, and I would have started looking for a different operator.
For a better solution, I suggest the strategy used by an operator I use in another dive location I have visited frequently. They advertise that they never make last minute cancellations of dives because of a low numbers of passengers. If you are scheduled to go on a boat, you can go to bed the evening before confident that the boat will go, weather permitting. As someone who has had a number of dives on my one-week dive vacations canceled at the last minute, that certainty is important to me. I think it is important to a lot of people. Consequently, a lot of people book with that operator, and I suspect that the result is they probably never have a problem with low numbers of divers.
In contrast, the dive operator I mentioned above, the one that canceled the dive even after charging the people who couldn't go, is one that I used to use frequently over the last 15 years that I have been coming to south Florida. Their reputation for canceling trips has grown to the point, though, that I did not even look at their web site once in the 5 weeks I was here. I want to go with someone I can trust.
I realize that running a boat without the minimum number of passengers will cost a little that day. I was on a boat a week or so ago when they had to go out with 3 divers instead of the normally required 4 because the 4th did not show. I suppose they lost some money on that trip, but they gained a lot of good will. I was with them the next day, too, and they had 20 paying customers that day. There was barely room to move on the boat. So on those 2 days, they averaged 11.5 divers on one boat. Not too bad.
