back office utila dive opt experience

back on the boards and like to take a moment to tell our story about utila dive opt.
setting aside our dive experience (which is of course the important part of our time w/ the opt)...

We scheduled ahead to dive an afternoon dive w/ utila dive opt when we arrived on utila. We unloaded our gear at the hotel and headed to the opt where we found no room was left for us on the afternoon dive boat. slightly disappointed, we just headed over to cross creek w/ our 10 dive invoice that utila dive opt printed out for us. Cross creek (dually managed w/ utila dive opt) asked for our invoice so they could bill us a discount rate for our 2 person 2 tank dive w/ them that afternoon. There seemed to be a bit of confusion getting us paid for our dive and in the 20 minutes of waiting to get things completed so we could head for the boat that was soon to be departing, the office forgot to give us our invoice from utila dive opt back. You wouldn't think this was too big of a deal....

next day, we completed our morning dives w/ utila dive opt and headed to the office to make payment of our dive package which we didn't complete the previous day b/c we were on short time to get to cross creek to make their afternoon dive departure. We headed to the office and explained to "the man in charge-(that's a scary thought)" that our invoice was left behind at cross creek's office the previous day b/c they requested it for reference during payment of previous day's dives and suggested that they either make a quick call to cross creek or look us up on the system.
The man in charge couldn't grasp the situation and fumbled through my clear explanation as to what dive package we planned the day before, the totals on the invoice, where the invoice was, and why it was there. After hearing him tell us we were making things difficult and that we shouldn't have lost our invoice, I left for cross creek to get the invoice. This was about 10 minutes into the simple solvable problem.

Upon returning, my gf was in "the man's" office, waiting for him to generate a new invoice. My efforts to find our original invoice failed so I waited in the waiting room since my gf had been dealing w/ the man for the past 10 minutes and he seemed to have a difficult time communicating w/ more than one person at a time. Apparently during the process of creating a new invoice the man couldn't work a computer. It took the man 20 minutes to create an invoice that took the guys in the shop 3 minutes to do the day before. When the invoice was complete he charged us the 4 dollar paypall surcharge fee that wasn't on our original invoice. yeah, it's only 4 dollars, but considering room wasn't saved for our dives the previous day when previous arrangements were made, considering the man repeatedly gave my gf a hard time about us losing our invoice when it was at his sister's dive opt office, and considering it took the guy a total of 30 minutes to create a new invoice you'd think he could accommodate us the 4 dollars that wasn't charged to us on the first invoice to begin with.

Well that's a rant. ...continuing onto the next day...we again completed our dives and wanted to make change so we could tip Marco, our dm for the day. We headed to the office where we found ourselves behind a couple who were involved in an unfolding situation w/ the same man. I'm not completely sure what the situation was, I just know that the guy didn't keep records of this couple's dives to this point b/c his only records were on a board that he had just erased. The couple also couldn't recall the # of dives, so the man said, "i'll just charge you for five because that's easier for me and you, and if I have overcharged you 1 dive then I'll reimburse you." -knowing that there wasn't going to be a reimbursement b/c neither parties knew whether they've done 4 or 5 dives. K, so again not accommodating the customer when the man in charge didn't know if he was appropriately charging his customers to begin with. Again putting his customers at an inconvenience if a mistake was made. Long story short, it took 15 minutes for me to get change to tip our dm b/c neither the knucklehead in charge nor his bookkeeper could observe another party holding a 20 in hand and quickly ask if what i needed could be quickly served on the side while the current fiasco ensued. I know we all do 10 things at a time at work and if someone's waiting we'll all quickly ask them if we can do somethin for them so they can be on their way if it ends up being something that will take only a moment. Nope, this knucklehead had tunnel vision, and poor it was.

why am I posting this? Because although we had a wonderful trip, this idiot acted as an idiot and then chose to blame us for something the an operations manager could've handled w/in 2 minutes w/o making a situation and causing anyone any grief.

If a manager who runs a business can't grasp various scenarios that must occur regularly through the course of business and quickly and effectively resolve them, then what kind of feedback can you expect to get from a trip report. Dive w/ utila dive opt, but don't pay much attention to the guy who thinks he knows what he's doing. He doesn't. He didn't have a clue when dealing w/ us, spoke rudely to us, fumbled through everything he did, and laid blame on us repeatedly when if blame was to be made it should've been laid on his operation's. When all was said and done after waiting for 30 minutes to pay we handed the man our payment and he said, "no, you can't pay me, you need to take this invoice and pay her." ---when they share the same office...he should've taken our money and said have a nice day...yet again, he made things as difficult as possible.

I know this is ridiculous for me to detail this lame story, to put forth the effort to detail the trials of making a payment and getting change, and to ridicule an opt in the manner above. If this was the most difficult part of our trip then i guess that's not so bad. I just wanted to write something honestly about a dive opt through our experience that wasn't positive b/c dive opts aren't just all about the diving...and this experience wasn't welcoming.

All this aside our boat and dive experience couldn't have been more enjoyable. Thanks steve and marco for taking us diving and showing us a great time.

Shrew:

why am I posting this? Because although we had a wonderful trip, this idiot acted as an idiot and then chose to blame us for something the an operations manager could've handled w/in 2 minutes w/o making a situation and causing anyone any grief.

Click to expand...

Welcome to Honduras where virtually no one takes responsibility for their actions. Living here, I deal with this on a DAILY basis - everyone form the newspaper delivery guy, to my students who don't turn in assignments, to waiters who screw up restaurant orders, to repairmen for cars and appliances, to ticket agents who double book seats. It seems especially true if there is a non-Honduran involved. Get used to it if you plan on spending anymore time in this country. You need to learn to roll with the punches, go with the flow and not let it stress you out too badly.

DiversMom:

Welcome to Honduras where virtually no one takes responsibility for their actions. Living here, I deal with this on a DAILY basis - everyone form the newspaper delivery guy, to my students who don't turn in assignments, to waiters who screw up restaurant orders, to repairmen for cars and appliances, to ticket agents who double book seats. It seems especially true if there is a non-Honduran involved. Get used to it if you plan on spending anymore time in this country. You need to learn to roll with the punches, go with the flow and not let it stress you out too badly.

Click to expand...

Spoken like a true and keen observer.

This was referred to by "Mr. Bill" as the "H FACTOR". (Honduran Factor)

I think it's a D.N.A. thing, dunno.

The original post by Shrew shows the absolute tizzy and spin that the H FACTOR can impart on our otherwise "normal expectations" of day-to-day life (as we know it).

When you go shopping at the "Banana Republic" for clothing, know that Honduras is the Banana Republic. Some folks may use this term in a derrogatory way, but actually it is a descriptor of how the government was created for the benefit of the United Fruit Company, to quote,

"The original 'banana republic' was Honduras, where the United Fruit and Standard Fruit companies dominated the country's key banana export sector and support sectors such as railways. The United Fruit Company was nicknamed 'The Octopus', for its willingness to involve itself in politics, sometimes violently. For example, in 1910 the company hired a gang of armed thugs from New Orleans to install a new president when the incumbent failed to grant the company tax breaks. The newly installed Honduran president waived the company's taxes for the next 25 years. The company's dominance in Honduras, as well as other Central American countries like Guatemala, led Pablo Neruda, to write a poem titled "La United Fruit Co." in Spanish."

The railroads they built did nothing to serve the people or their transporation needs. It was built to move the new taste sensation (of the era), bananas. When the production companies found better production facilities or other products (Hawaii & Pineapples), their interest in Honduras wained. (There is a reclaimed Honduran locomotive sitting in an antique store at 7500 feet in Frisco Colorado, not far from Cross Creek Condos at I-70)

We (the US) have, it is said, treated Honduras much as any other painted lady- using her, paying her a sum, then departing when our desires directed other interests. An apt analogy that still continued to apply through the end of the Nicaraguan War in the 80's.

In Honduras, you can take something seemingly simple, and it will evolve into a very complicated process. Paperwork. You gotta have paperwork. I would imagine DiversMom could enlighten us by relating, say- her last 2 day trip to get her vehicle's licesnse plates, or....?

It is a stunning and inviting place to vacation, living there or trying to do any sort of business (either as a consumer or as an entreprenuer), you better have an attitude adjustment.

Hey, Shrew- you got off easy! :smileysto <- Marcos, Curlitos y Larrio

After 12 months of paperwork and beaurocracy I finally have my legal resident paperwork!!!! And that was fast!!!!

Exactly as DiversMom said this is Honduras and like a lot of people I put up with the hassles of modern admin and trying to get stuff done because it's a trade off against the tranquility and beauty that can be found living in this country. If I want first world service, first world prices, first world materialism and first world 'friendliness' then guess where I go?!!!

Hey guys,

I think blaming it on DNA is a bit much. Like the other postees I put up with hassles of admin etc. but come on guys. I/we are effectively guests in this country and I for one am happy to be here, depsit any difficulties.

Loving it in the Bay Islands.

RoatanMan:

Spoken like a true and keen observer.


In Honduras, you can take something seemingly simple, and it will evolve into a very complicated process. Paperwork. You gotta have paperwork. I would imagine DiversMom could enlighten us by relating, say- her last 2 day trip to get her vehicle's licesnse plates, or....?

Click to expand...

for the Sig other to get his driver's license entailing two separate trips from Siguatepeque to Comayagua. The second trip, a senior transito officer who happened to know him sent him to the head of the line.

With my daughter it was a two day affair to turn in her passport application to the Honduran clerk at the American Embassy - 5 sets of photos and three visits later they finally accepted her renewal application for her US Passport.

My last trip to Copan, the bus reservation clerk refused to make my reservation because it was after three o'clock and she didn't do reservations. We called the head office in Tecgicgalpa and the clerk ended up with Mrs Hedman...of Hedman Alas Bus company on the phone and was told she will sell tickets to anyone any time the Hedman offices in Tegucigalpa were open.

Three days in a row the Sig other ordered pancakes and scrambled eggs at a local restaurant. Three days in a row he got pancakes and sunny side up eggs.

I can go on and on ....but Shrew should get the picture. Life in the original Banana Republic at it's finest.

The running joke here is
"Do you know where the President of Honduras's office is? Avenida La Paz, Tegucigalpa "
Avenida LaPaz is the location of the American Embassy.

diver567:

I think blaming it on DNA is a bit much.

Click to expand...

Ahh, the old "nature versus nurture" scientific debate.

Hey, I'll say it again. As a vacationer , you can't do better than Honduras for excellent value and the great people.

Just don't be needing a drivers license.

All said and done......This is why I dive with operations that are glad to earn your money and treat you with respect as a traveling diver. I will not waste my time and pleasure enduring an opeartion that does not respect me as a diver, a customer and a source of their cash flow.

PS I grew up in South America and have worked in every Central and South American country, including Mexico. I am in tune with local customs, etc. This is not a culture issue. It would seem to be an opinion regarding how a business is run. No more or no less.

Regards,

diver567:

Hey guys,

I think blaming it on DNA is a bit much. Like the other postees I put up with hassles of admin etc. but come on guys. I/we are effectively guests in this country and I for one am happy to be here, depsit any difficulties.

Loving it in the Bay Islands.

Click to expand...

I wasn't happy to be here and I never blamed it on DNA. I said one needs to learn to adjust to the way things run in this country. Personal experience in a multitude of situations running from my classroom to getting a driver's license to ordering a meal has led me to the conclusions about failing to accept responsibility.Those conclusions were reached after lving for nearly three years in this country and dealing with this stuff on a daily basis.

Now.....things are quite a bit different in the islands than on the mainland, especially where I live on the mainland. Islanders have an economy heavily based on pleasing the non-Honduran tourist. I live in an area that has little economic benefit derived from tourism. For most, this is a one night stay in a hotel and on to another bus bound for somewhere. They don't have to please anyone. I find a fatalistic attitude among many of "why bother, whatever we do won't make a difference anyway."

I have found some areas are better than others or worse than others when it comes to the responsibility thing.

Go with the flow is the policy....it isn't worth it to stress out over it. If you can't handle all or part of it, make some lifestyle readjustments to remedy the situation. I did - I just quit my job here in Honduras. I'm finished at the end of the school year.
If we didn't adapt and make the necessary adjustments, we'd all have ulcers and cardiac arrests after about two months of living here.

Someone down here for two weeks can't or shouldn't let it ruin a vacation. They need to be aware of the "mañana" mentality, be prepared to accept that things don't quite run like clock work here and adjust to that.

Shoddy business practices are unacceptable and unfortunately, too many business owners here don't learn that, even when they end up losing business.

I can relate to that sometimes dive center can be really mean they might be great instructors or divers when it comes to run a business that's a whole diferrent story.

Now the "mañana" u guys now why is so popular cause in honduras actually u can do things mañana (tomorrow)not everything has to be on time.

U live in siguatepeque The best weather in whole honduras is found there my sincere envy.

Actually honduras is not runned by us the embassy is runned in palmerola!!!!!!!jajajajaja

When it comes to found that's true no restaurant in honduras will try to please u. they will give u the food just as they prepare it if u ask for changes forget it ,they will tell ya sure. but when the food comes to u is the same way they did it.

as for well cooked ,mediun rare, forget everything is burned chrisp.

and that's my 5 cents.