Trashing dive ops - my thoughts

[5615mike]

Peoples opinions are usefull but they must be taken at face value. Everyone has different perceptions of reality as well as levels of expectations. We all need to keep in mind that not everyone can be pleased all the time. I believe that taking anything to heart other than first hand experience is useless. Hearsay is just that. I have found some very usefull info on this board over the years and it has been greatly appreiciated. If we take peoples opinions out of the framework of the equation then the usefullness drops dramatically IMO.

Some just decide to make this a place to air dirtly laundry as well as a place for personal advertisement. Neither of which should be tolerated. This venue is usefull to many but can be ruined by a very selct few. ----->stepping down from soap box...........lol

 

[robint]

I am a bit disturbed by something that seems to be pretty rampant here on SB lately. It is the trashing of dive ops, some over tiny little issues, and some when the person has never even used the dive op! Come on folks, lets step back and think about all this. Not only is it bad form, it is also bad karma. :zen:

I have to admit, when I first started diving I got caught up in this trend with a group of other Coz divers. We bad mouthed several dive ops constantly, even though we never used them. Our preferred dive op was the best and these others were unsafe and rude and .... you name it. Well, it came back to bite me in the butt a few times, and I actually went diving with one of those dive ops that I had trashed and they turned out to be just fine. No, not my favorite, but not the "evil empire" I was making them out to be. I also was basing all my negative posts on rumors, things told to me second hand, nothing I could prove. As a NEW diver with very little experience with dive ops anywhere, I had nothing to base my opinions on, it was just me blabbering on when I should have kept my mouth shut. :chairfight:

Remember, ALL dive ops are trying to make a living and will sometimes make mistakes, but lets not blow them out of proportion. Rumors repeated over and over, especially here on the anonymous internet, can ruin a business.

so, just my 2 cents, but folks lets try to be informative here, not spiteful and negative.

robin

This is my original post! Please reread! I never said people should not give opinions good or bad. I never said that saying something negative was not needed if deserved... I said my problem is ".. the trashing of dive ops, some over tiny little issues, and some when the person has never even used the dive op!" and "... folks lets try to be informative here, not spiteful and negative."

All I want people to do is post honest reports about their experiences, not posting slams on dive ops when they aren't deserved. Enough said.

robin

 

[teknitroxdiver]

This is my original post! Please reread! I never said people should not give opinions good or bad. I never said that saying something negative was not needed if deserved... I said my problem is ".. the trashing of dive ops, some over tiny little issues, and some when the person has never even used the dive op!" and "... folks lets try to be informative here, not spiteful and negative."

All I want people to do is post honest reports about their experiences, not posting slams on dive ops when they aren't deserved. Enough said.

robin

While I agree with the goal of your post, keep in mind that what is a tiny issue for some, is a huge shortcoming for others.

 

[jd950]

To be fair, Robin, your rant (your description, not mine) was in part addressed to "trashing" dive ops over "tiny little issues" and a plea to posters not to be negative. I don't know what set you off, but the message I got was that you were angry about negative reviews, sometimes based on "tiny" issues and the idea of third party information.

I don't think anyone finds value in false reports, positive or negative, or reports about what somebody's dive buddy's friend said happened on some prior trip, etc.

There are a lot of folks who (for whatever reason) get worked up anytime something negative is said about their favorite dive op, as though you were criticizing their kid's skills in little league, or something. I have seen people come completely unglued when someone asks for the name of some dive op involved with an accident or diver injury. That is even more true with some dive ops that have achieved something of a sacred cow status.

Sorry to have mistaken the thrust of your original post.

 

[morecowbells]

You can read reviews about the same restaurant, hotel and dive op and everyone interprets their experience differently. I know that you can't please everybody and some people simply nit pick more than others. Sometimes I read a review and realize that people simply have their priorities in a different order than mine. What might be acceptable to me is a major issue with another. Either way I want to read about it and take with me what I think is necessary and beneficial to me.

 

[jd950]

One thing is certain, we would all be better off if we were in Cozumel right now, forming our own opinions about some dives, some drinks and some great meals.

 

[robint]

You can read reviews about the same restaurant, hotel and dive op and everyone interprets their experience differently. I know that you can't please everybody and some people simply nit pick more than others. Sometimes I read a review and realize that people simply have their priorities in a different order than mine. What might be acceptable to me is a major issue with another. Either way I want to read about it and take with me what I think is necessary and beneficial to me.

very true, but that isn't what annoys me... it is the hit and run types who only post once to slam someone. Maybe something did go wrong, but who can be sure and these people rarely give you an assessment of their whole trip. They just slam, slam hard, and off they go. In the process, they stir up newbies or other SB members who don't know anything about the dive op or locale and the thread turns into a slam-fest with others jumping in to give their opinions, many times when they really have no place commenting at all as they have never used the dive op, etc. Some people just like to kick the dog while he is down, so to say.

I am not saying this is confined to the Cozumel Forum... there are several other Forums that I frequent every week and I see it happening on all of them. I really hate it when it becomes "my dive op is better than your dive op...." Every dive op is not best for every diver!!!!! Come on people, get over it. Until you dive with EVERY dive op at a location, you can't call ANY "the best" or even why another dive op is "no good". Period.

so let's see everyone's opinions, but keep them as opinions and take things with a grain of salt. Sometimes people rant and rave, complaining about silly things just because they want a refund or they want to ruin a business for not treating them a certain way.

There is a big difference between being CONSTRUCTIVE and being DESTRUCTIVE.

robin

 

[DandyDon]

very true, but that isn't what annoys me... it is the hit and run types who only post once to slam someone. Maybe something did go wrong, but who can be sure and these people rarely give you an assessment of their whole trip. They just slam, slam hard, and off they go. In the process, they stir up newbies or other SB members who don't know anything about the dive op or locale and the thread turns into a slam-fest with others jumping in to give their opinions, many times when they really have no place commenting at all as they have never used the dive op, etc. Some people just like to kick the dog while he is down, so to say.

I don't see much of that. It's more common for the whiner to get called on their accusations.

I am not saying this is confined to the Cozumel Forum... there are several other Forums that I frequent every week and I see it happening on all of them.

Then why did you post it here, instead of a more general forum...?

I really hate it when it becomes "my dive op is better than your dive op...." Every dive op is not best for every diver!!!!! Come on people, get over it. Until you dive with EVERY dive op at a location, you can't call ANY "the best" or even why another dive op is "no good". Period.

See cheerleader thread...

so let's see everyone's opinions, but keep them as opinions and take things with a grain of salt. Sometimes people rant and rave, complaining about silly things just because they want a refund or they want to ruin a business for not treating them a certain way.

Or just felt like posting a pointless thread to see how much people will get riled?

 

[teknitroxdiver]

*yawn. I think we've rode this horse into the ground.

 

[DandyDon]

I thot it was dead at the gate.