How to piss off a Divemaster?

[nimoh]

I'm not a DM, and I'm not sure I'm understanding your point but I want to weigh in. I teach at the college level and I had a student this past semester that I secretly refer to as Eeyore. NOTHING in life is good. EVERYTHING in life is challenging, evil, or unworthy of his effort because it will always turn to sh*t. I spent the semester cajoling and otherwise trying to involve him in class. If I had someone like him on a diveboat for a week it would bring down the mood of the other divers and really get on my nerves. I don't think that means that I am a negative person or not meant to be an instructor - and I don't think that DM's frustration with these type of people reflects on their overall social skills or commitment to what they do. Some people are just drags! I guess all a DM can do is count the days until they leave!

I think Mike has a point if the complaining were done on the boat, or customers were somehow mistreated, but I think there is a big difference between that and complaining about unnamed customers on a message forum.

 

[supergaijin]

Be a professional means you're a professional, you don't turn it on or off based on the customer's demeanor

Why not?

I provide a service to a range of people. If an individual (or group) make the experience unpleasant for the collective, it makes economic sense to deny access to those unpleasant person(s). That's being professional.

And no, I'm not talking about silent people.

If someone is obnoxious, they aren't welcome on my boat (when I run the operation). It happens in various 'service industries' eg. restaurants. You can be a dick at McDonalds but it won't be tolerated at a fine dining restaurant.

And no, I'm not talking about silent people.

 

[aceupmysleeve777]

Nice reply. Keep your head up get your DM cert and enjoy it. What this thread is preparing you for is when it's time for the DM to talk and let people/divers/customers know something that could help them they can't shut the **** up. Like they say there's a reason god gave you two ears and 1 mouth most divers/blowhards haven't figured that or diving out yet. Ahhh the life of a DM.

So, I'm reading a thread that ostensibly started out to see what pisses off DM's. As a DM candidate I was curious what would come up. Some very good stories and info came to the front and I was amused and even educated. Then the rants began about what was/is wrong with DM's. It seems that no matter what the topic is, there will be folks on this board that take the opportunity to hijack the thread to their purpose. That purpose is usually to tell everyone reading what a great, experienced, wise and safe diver they are and how everyone else pales in comparison to them. Good for you, however, I could not care less!

As I have gone through the DM process I mentioned to my instructor that I was reading ScubaBoard and he asked why? I explained that there was some good info and interesting stories and that I enjoyed the interactions. I have to admit that the enjoyment is waning. It gets very old, very quickly, when certain individuals seem to be so self assured that they truly believe everyone else is incompetent, and idiot or worse, and even threaten harm on people just doing their job.

While I may not be a DM as yet, this is what makes me angry. Lighten up, one doesn't have to be disagreeable to disagree.
RichH

 

[Mike]

Why not?

I provide a service to a range of people. If an individual (or group) make the experience unpleasant for the collective, it makes economic sense to deny access to those unpleasant person(s). That's being professional.

And no, I'm not talking about silent people.

If someone is obnoxious, they aren't welcome on my boat (when I run the operation). It happens in various 'service industries' eg. restaurants. You can be a dick at McDonalds but it won't be tolerated at a fine dining restaurant.

And no, I'm not talking about silent people.

Oh please...

Your reply to my comments -- well of course if somebody was outrageously obnoxious such as a man grabbing other female guest boobs or getting on board drunk or something of that magnitude, well of course there would be consequences and you'd gleefully get to act out at them and feel all warm and fullfilled.

However, that's not what my reply was about or my comments were about. The magnitude is the difference. When somebody steps over a line that society as a whole accepts as being vile, obnoxious or dangerous its' one thing, the comments were about something far less benign.

As a professional in a service industry you sometimes just bite your tongue and keep it to yourself if your guests just don't measure up to your personal abilities. They are your guests, they pay your bills, that's what the exchange for services is all about. You don't have to love or even like all your clients but you should certainly show professional curtesy and respect to them.

Running a service business by emulating the soup nazi only will work on television.

 

[WhiteSands]

I'm not a working DM, but I thought I'd at least relay one experience I had on a boat that I truelly felt sorry for the DM's.

I was on a day boat out of Port Douglas in Queensland, AUS.
We were going out to do a part of the GBR.
Anyway, most of the boat was booked by a group of Japanese tourists, probably 20 of them.
The boat had 30 or so people on it minus capt. and crew. It was probably in the 40 to 50 foot range I'm guessing, a pretty fast boat.
The Japanese took over the entire back deck and wouldn't let anybody else have room to do anything. The rest of us had to find some nook or cranny to try and get our gear on. No matter how hard the DM's tried they couldn't relay the message that other people needed space too. As the dives went on the deck got messier and messier.
After the third dive there was so much gear and crap strewn accross the back deck (knee high) that I just started walking right on it, screw it!
Underwater they looked like a big dust ball with an occasional arm or fin sticking out of this tornado of Japanese roto-tillers, with one DM in front and one behind kind of guiding this ball of dust, fins, tanks, divers and whatever else made up this storm.
They were all done with their dive in about 15 minutes (first guy out of air), one of them pointing to his regulator that it stopped working! OOA? gee U think?
That screwed the rest of us out of a bunch of bottom time since the rules were to come up with the group. Me and another guy from the states and a few divers from UK were kind of doing our own thing close by and were looking at each other in amazement as all this was going on.
We got very little service actually, the food had been mobbed by them. The boat was essentially taken over and destroyed by them.
On the way back there was a whale that came very close to the boat. The captain stopped the boat so people could get a look. All the Japanese tourists were up on the flybridge where they weren't suppose to be in large numbers. As the whale went from one side of the boat to the other they would all run accross the side with the whale and I saw the DM trying to physically get some people back to balance the boat out because he was concerned about a roll over.
Finally after it was all over and we were back at port, NOT ONE OF THEM put a single dollar or a dime into the tip jar!!! Not one.
Can you imagine!

I asked the poor DM if this usually happens and his reply was "Dude, you have no idea!"

I'm very surprised to read this. Japanese are the most considerate people as a group that I've come across in my travels. Those in my country even form volunteer groups to clean the beaches here.

Not tipping is a cultural thing, perhaps cultural ignorance. It is an insult to tip someone in Japan, its saying they won't do a good job unless you offer them money.

 

[Tigerman]

The whole "a tip is EXPECTED" (and often added to your bill with no prior warning) thing is very american, I wouldn't expect the rest of the world to work the same way just because thats how it is in america (and especially the US)

 

[Dr. Lecter]

The whole "a tip is EXPECTED" (and often added to your bill with no prior warning) thing is very american, I wouldn't expect the rest of the world to work the same way just because thats how it is in america (and especially the US)

Unless of course the rest of the world happens to be visiting the U.S., in which case one can reasonably expect them to avoid that kind of behavior as much as one would avoid being loud, rude, and intimidating in Japan or going on a three day public drunk in KSA.

 

[Tigerman]

Unless of course the rest of the world happens to be visiting the U.S., in which case one can reasonably expect them to avoid that kind of behavior as much as one would avoid being loud, rude, and intimidating in Japan or going on a three day public drunk in KSA.

Well, you do have people doing the aforementioned, dont you? Not everyone realize that how you are coming across have a bearing on how you are received, much less bother doing any research on the dos and donts of where they are going...

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Well, you do have people doing the aforementioned, dont you? Not everyone realize that how you are coming across have a bearing on how you are received, much less bother doing any research on the dos and donts of where they are going...

Indeed. Just goes to show Americans have no monopoly on being clueless global travelers.

Now back to semi-volunteer dive "pros" whining about their bosses' customers.


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[tomfcrist]

Semi volunteer???not this guy....

And don't flush the dang head when I'm doing deco!!!