Socal Chartered Boat Dive Protocol

[peraevum]

I'll start off by saying, as a shop owner, I think what they did was wrong assuming the following two facts are correct (1) They left earlier than their intended/stated departure time, and (2) They knew you were on your way. That being said . . .

I checked the Scuba Center Temecula's website and here's what's stated for each of their trips for 2008 (and I assume was the same for 2007):

"Check in no later than 6 am on departure day. Sorry, no refunds if you miss the boat."

They make no mention of a departure time. But they're pretty clear about the check-in time and the consequences if you miss the boat. I'm sure this will be the answer you'll get when/if you try to talk to them.

Also consider that whoever you talked to the night before may not have been the same person who told the boat to leave on Saturday morning. The message that you were definitely coming may not have gotten through to that individual. And anyone who charters boats can recount experiences with people who the night before said "See you at 6AM" and then never showed up. It's a tough call for us because how long do you keep a boatload of people waiting who managed to get there on time?

I'm sure you feel that you're owed a refund. I'm sure they're going to feel that they're entitled to keep your money. Perhaps a good middle ground would be for them to use your money as a credit against a future trip with them, perhaps in the next six months or something like that.

So did you get to go diving Saturday? Who was the "boat behind the Bottom Scratcher" that was so helpful? Did you end up going out with them?

- Ken

Ah, thanks for the info. That sort of phrasing would have been much more useful to us, but unfortunately, I had only dealt with the dive shop over the phone and had only thought to call them in the first place because I was on the Bottom Scratcher's web site and wanted to try the boat operation out for that Saturday. The guy on the phone only said that check in was at 6am and departure was at 7am. I assumed standard protocol in that case. To the guy's credit, he did say we could spend the night on the boat and check in any time starting the night before the trip. However, I did not take that to mean "check before 6am because we're leaving without you otherwise." Why would the guy even go through the trouble of saying they were leaving at 7am in that case? It is kind of confounding.

There must have been something mighty nice to see to make them so eager to leave ahead of schedule. I wish I could have been there to see it.

The boyfriend and I did get to do one dive on Saturday, though. After the shell-shock of being left behind had passed, we put our heads together and decided to take a ferry ride to Catalina Island to check out Avalon Underwater Park. Although we only had enough time to do one dive, it was great to see lots of divers out there, and I wish we had originally planned on that instead of the boat dives on Saturday. It's too bad all this had to happen. I've heard a lot of great things about the Bottom Scratcher. Maybe I'll try them again one day, although not through the same dive shop.

 

[merxlin]

Thanks, everyone. I didn't want to get all riled up without doing a gut-check first. The charter was actually for Saturday morning, and the people behind the Bottom Scratcher were nothing but helpful. I normally do not like to air out my dirty laundry like this, but in this case, I also don't want anyone else to get burned as such. The dive shop that ordered the Bottom Scratcher to leave early without calling us was Scuba Center Temecula.

Ken, good to know not all dive operators are haphazard like this.

At least this dive operation didn't leave thinking they had everyone on the boat! They knew full well they were leaving two people.

If I can play devil's advocate here: What kind of traffic did you run in to on a Sunday morning at 5 AM? L.A. traffic is bad, but usually at that time on a weekend the traffic is awfully light. Not to say that even if you were just late they should leave ahead of the scheduled time.

It's now Thursday. I'm curious if you have contacted the dive shop and asked for an explanation, and if so if they offered a refund or a credit against another trip? I'd like to hear what their side of the story is. If it was me, the phone lines would have been burning Monday AM. This board is full of horror stories, some which were "made right" and some that never got settled. It's always good to see if the shop in question did anything to try and satisfy you.

 

[peraevum]

If I can play devil's advocate here: What kind of traffic did you run in to on a Sunday morning at 5 AM? L.A. traffic is bad, but usually at that time on a weekend the traffic is awfully light. Not to say that even if you were just late they should leave ahead of the scheduled time.

It's now Thursday. I'm curious if you have contacted the dive shop and asked for an explanation, and if so if they offered a refund or a credit against another trip? I'd like to hear what their side of the story is. If it was me, the phone lines would have been burning Monday AM. This board is full of horror stories, some which were "made right" and some that never got settled. It's always good to see if the shop in question did anything to try and satisfy you.

That's fair enough. There was actually a major accident on the freeway, and law enforcement halted all traffic while they figured out what to do with the cars and clean up. We were pretty close to the harbor by then, so I don't know if we would have gotten there before 6am even without the accident occuring. My boyfriend and I didn't feel particularly worried as we thought we still had plenty of time before the boat's departure.

Oh yes, I definitely let them hear it that very Saturday. At first, I thought I had written the departure time for 7am when it was supposed to be 6am. Already pretty frustrated with myself, I called in to just double check the info they gave me over the phone. But the guy at Scuba Center Temecula confirmed that 7am was the correct departure time and was also surprised to hear that the boat had left early. I demanded a refund right there but he said there was nothing he could do and I'd have to talk to the owner of the shop who was on the Bottom Scratcher trip when he got back. On Monday, I laid out the logic before the owner of the shop, and he still refused to give a refund, stating that I paid for the trip knowing there were no refunds and that when check-in is at 6am, it means 6am. He also said it was not his responsibility to call us (though I had given them my number) to see where we were or why we weren't at port. No apologies for leaving early either.

The guy did offer me credit for our dives when we spoke on Monday, but I think I deserve a refund. My diving trip had already ended by Sunday. We agreed to disagree, and I called up American Express right after the conversation. They'll be doing an investigation on this whole ordeal. It's a shame all this had to ruin a perfectly good weekend of diving.

 

[covediver]

Don't let the dive shop turn you off to using the dive boat in the future or vice versa. Most dive boats leave at the stated departure time unless everyone is on board. And I am not sure a "check in time" has the universal meaning of "be there or else. For example, in the hospitality industry it means the earliest that you can show up, whereas the aviation industry it does mean be there or else.

The shop probably won't give you the money back. Don't use them again and let them know why.

The problem I have with the Spectre is that they started leaving early, with me and a brand new diver still in the water. Haven't been back on board since.

 

[divinman]

While I can see both sides of this story, for me it comes down to the fact that shop showed no regret for their early departure that left you standing on the dock. Is the cost of two divers really worth the result that MANY divers won't book with your shop now. Pretty short sighted in my opinion. I won't use them now, won't recommend them to visiting divers either.

Chalk it up to experience and hope AmEx does ya good on the dispute.

Terry

 

[merxlin]

Thanks for the follow up. I'm glad you called your card company. Hoepfully they will side with you.

I think that the dive shop may be very short sighted in this and have figured that since you are not from the area, they are not losing much. However, they should remember the power of the internet, and this forum in particular. I for one will never book with them if the opportunity arises.

On the other side of the coin, I have been on boats that waited past the departure time for folks who were running late. Once, we turned around and came back (hadn't cleared the breakwater yet) to the dock to get someone who arrived a few minutes after the 10 minutes we waited for her. Not all OP's are this negative, and I'm also glad you are not blaming the boat. They do what the poeple who charter them say to do.

 

[limeyx]

Hi all,
However, we were informed later that the dive shop owner who was on the boat had made the call to the captain to take off at 6:15am!
...
Karen

Inexcusable.
If there are no facts missing, I cannot see any excuse for the boat leaving 45 mins early unless every person on the charter has been called and has agreed they can make it.

I have taken dozens of charters in SoCal and the only times we left early are if every person is on board or we knew for sure they were not coming.

 

[Ann Marie]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

I've sent an email and placed a call to SCUBA Center Temecula to see if they would like to respond. The owner is not currently available but hopefully when he has a chance he will provide some information.

Thanks!

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[Codyjp]

Maybe we should each call them and ask for an explenation. I bet that would get some action happening! Ann, thanks for trying to get their end of it!

 

[JMdiver]

I agree with Cody we should all call that shop but not for an explanation, to tell them the right thing to do would be to refund their money. Also that the whole ordeal is being discussed on SB & his shop is not looking too good.

John