A lot of emotional responses here. I want to thank the people that have given a balanced view that has helped me look at this from a different perspective.
For those of you that think talking to the man at six PM was unrealistic - a lot of other shops had been preparing for a night dive. So yes, it would have been great if he had mentioned if there was a night dive planned. You know, as part of the welcoming. This was my only contact at the resort, and I was hoping for some guidance from him before I committed to the five days.
And yes, I lost an evening diving because of all that. Finding a different hotel and dive operation was the last thing on my mind at that time.
I had apologized to the man for calling after hours and told him I only had a few questions, and thanked him for his time, despite his curtness. He somehow avoids mentioning that in any of his comments.
Any man that calls me an idiot, our conversation is over. If he wanted to elevate it further, like I said, we could continue at the gym.
So yes, his behavior cost me hours of my time. And I think future customers should be aware of the way the situation was handled.
I hope my experience helps someone else with their decisions as to choice of diving operator.
This week, I had a customer coming from another town. For a simple AOW, on which I will see very little money. A single customer, not a cash cow by any means, nor do I see him such. I was the first one to give him my cell phone, which is on my business card as well, and asked him to call me any time with any questions. He did call at 8 pm. He was not sure if he could park next to the dive store overnight. There are heavy parking fees there, and the signage is bad, hard to find for an outoftowner especially. I spent three minutes on the phone explaining to him where to find parking. Did not think anything of it.
We had a great time on the course, and he is coming back for more, with several of his friends. The point of that little bit of customer service (that I do not consider extra by any means)-I have another member of the club, that appreciates outstanding service, that will allow me to continue doing what I love.