By Paul Leggott
When
taking a vacation, we all probably take a lot of time considering
where we want to go for our holidays, It costs a lot of money and our
time is limited so we want to make sure we choose somewhere that we
think we will like and with so many places in the world on offer,
somewhere we feel we have got good value and good service and of
course great diving..
We
probably spend many hours looking at finding the right accommodation,
we don't want a dirty hotel room that's situated in the wrong
location or is next to a huge construction site. Yet when it comes to
activities It always amazes me how people give little thought to
who's operating them, how safe is it, and how well they will be
looked after, especially when you consider that its these activities
we spend so much of our time engaging in and spend so much of our
holiday budget on.
When
it comes to water activities such as diving people should take their
time choosing the right operation, take your time to consider the
options so you can choose the one that best suits your requirements.
If I plan a vacation it might be that I would do some online research
first, look at reviews, blogs and websites, get a feel first, I
always ignore the worst and best review and try and and judge the
middle ground. Depending on where I go and, if I can get better value
by booking in advance, I may choose to book my diving before I go,
this can have advantages in terms of advance booking discounts or
scheduling. Sometimes I will wait until I arrive in an area, take a
look around and chat with the staff of one or two dive shops that I
would have short listed first. Or maybe speak with other divers
about their experiences.
What
would I want to know? Well first the most important consideration and
above everything else is safety. I want to be sure first that I am
minimising any risk in my diving and to make sure that if the worst
happened and anything did go wrong, that the dive shop have a full
emergency action plan in place and they could get me the treatment I
might need. Ask what are the emergency evacuation procedures, Its OK
to ask these questions, have they had any major diving incidents? You
don't want to dive with anyone who has a record of several DCS
incidents or missing divers. What is the shop policy on briefings and
safety reviews?, I don't want to turn up, kit up and go straight to
the dive site without any information about the dive! Does the shop
have an oxygen kit and trained personnel to operate it? so many dive
shops don't? Its about getting a feeling that the staff are
professional and competent, that they take safety seriously and know
what to do if something does go wrong.
Size
is important.....I personally don't want to dive with a big shop, too
often the big operation is more interested in making money than
providing the best diving for its customers, I'm looking for a more
personal service, where I can dive in small groups and the diving is
best suited to what I like to dive and my abilities. I don't want to
end my dive with 150 bar left in my tank, because the dive centre has
buddied me with a 5th time diver with poor buoyancy
control who blows his air off in 25 minutes. My experience is that
the smaller dive shops usually give a more personalised service and
will try to put the customers experience and ability first when
choosing the dive locations and putting the dive buddy groupings
together.
Most
dive centres use equipment from about six or seven major
manufacturers and at the average level of shop equipment there really
is nothing to say any one manufacturers equipment is better than any
other, it is more about what the dive centre does with this
equipment, How it maintains and services it that counts, Take a look,
Is the dive centre tidy and does it look organised, if equipment is
scattered around the floor and not hung up, the chances are the shop
doesn't look after its equipment, A tidy well organised shop is a
sign of an organised operation that looks after its equipment.
What
does the equipment look like, fading BCD's or older regulators are
not always a bad sign, even BCDs less than 12 months old can fade
badly and look old, but if the BCD's are torn and look worn out or
the regulator hoses have obvious splits and cracks, then this maybe a
sign that the equipment servicing is not up to scratch. NEVER accept
any equipment you are not happy to use, ask for it to be changed for
another set.
So
the dive centre is tidy, the equipment looks OK, they only take small
groups and personalise the service, they appear to take safety
seriously, so what else am I looking for, well I'm on holiday, I want
to be relaxed, have fun and if possible get to see the best dive
sites in that area. So I ask, What are the best dive sites here and
why? Is it possible to dive them? I don't want to dive some mediocre
dive site just because its close to the dive centre and the owner
wants to maximise his profit by using less fuel, I want to see the
best the area has to offer as my holiday time is precious. I want to
dive with a shop where there's lots of smiles and a bit of fun I want
to enjoy myself not feel like I am part of an army training course.
Although I want a relaxed environment and fun, I also don't want to
dive with a guide that smells like a brewery in a morning, or says
its OK for a beer between dives, Alcohol and diving don't mix, one
unit of alcohol in your system on the surface can have the effect of
5 units at 40m. I want to dive with someone who thinks about his
responsibility to others and preferably a guide that won't rush
things and goes out of his way to show you what's special on each
dive site, not one who is hungover from the party the night before.
It
always easier to get a feeling when face to face, but sometimes its
wiser to book before you go, there might be big discounts available
to book online or in high season you may wish to arrange a schedule
ahead of time that suits you, so don't be afraid to email a lot of
questions, and be very wary if all the dive shop appears to offer is
discounts and doesn't a fully answer all your questions. Even when
emailing a dive shop you can get a good idea of all the things that
should make you feel comfortable, Don't be afraid to ask those
questions, When a diver emails me a lot of question I love it because
it gives me the opportunity to tell him about our shop and how we
operate, how we will look after him and what we can offer him to meet
his personal needs. Any of the following questions could be included
and would should receive interesting answers;
Hello,
I
will be on vaccination in July and would like to do some diving, I
would like to get a feel for your dive centre so I can make an
informed choice. I am a (diving Level) with (number of dives) and my
last dive was on (date of last dive).
- How many Instructor/divemasters do you have?
- What is your normal dive group size?
- How many boats do you operate
- On average how many dives do you schedule each day and how is this organised, single dives or multiple dives on each trip?
- Do you have a full Emergency procedure?
- Do you have Oxygen and trained staff to administer it?
- Do you service your own equipment and is all the equipment in good working order?
- What is your policy in regard to the environment?
- Do you have any pictures of the dive shop and the equipment?
- What best describes the way you operate?
- What in your opinion are the best dive sites in the area?
- Do you have any advantages over other dive shops in your area?
I
look forward to hearing from you soon
Regards
xxxxxx
Although
budget will always be part of your informed decision, it should not
be the most important factor, choose your dive centre based on value,
what are you getting for the amount you pay This of course might be
number of dives in a package or the cost of a course, but it should
also include all the factors I mentioned above, Never make your
choice based on price alone. Three great dives that are safe and fun
are better than four poor dives with 20 other divers at the same
time.
Enjoy
your next dive vacation, have a great time and stay safe
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