How to piss off a Divemaster?

[SPARKMEL]

Having just read all 19 pages of this, as a new OW diver with only 12 dives under my belt !! My first reaction is WHY would anyone want to piss off the DM. and how different a DM can be depending on the client. My view of a DM is that he is the boss and what he says goes for my safety and the safety of others. I have never dived as a group only as a buddy and instructor but going by the views on here is that it is when people have their own agenda and start doing their own thing underwater. This to me is putting lives at risk. If i was buddyed up with someone and they left me behind i would be majorly pissed off and once on deck have a right go at them and refuse to dive with them again. Being new to diving i am still learning and know the upmost importance of the buddy system. BUT i thought the DM was responsible for me HOW EVER MY OPINION ON THIS HAS CHANGED. No I am responisble for me and my buddy. I have only dived with my 11 year old son but would feel some trepidation being partnered with someone else as being new i fully appreciate the dangers once under the water. A DM is there for guidence and support if needed and to make the dive safe. During my training my instructors were fantastic and made me feel safe on dry land as well as under the water. The result being a fantastic diving experience and OW certified. This thread has been very interesting to say the least and has opened my eyes to other divers and DM's.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

When you get more experience and encounter more DMs you may begin to feel differently. That's the main gripe here. Some DMs are great divers, some are terrible and have no understanding of more advanced diving gear/techniques or believe they know it all. Just like any other human endeavor, DMs are capable of overreach.

 

[dvankirk]

These "tourists" who have "resort dollars" to spend and were previously certified at some 48-hour crash course at another resort last year now chose to spend some resort credits on a day of diving with their other credits spent on a wave runners, a dune buggy trip, parasailing, a trip to the Myan ruins, a massage, a dinner, and whatever other excursion their resort may offer to consume their credits.

Hey, I liked my dune buggy trip and my massage.

 

[Helixx]

$100 be a decent tip?

 

[bracko]

When you get more experience and encounter more DMs you may begin to feel differently. That's the main gripe here. Some DMs are great divers, some are terrible and have no understanding of more advanced diving gear/techniques or believe they know it all. Just like any other human endeavor, DMs are capable of overreach.

but, and I will stress this again, in a recreational environment they are in charge of punters on the boat and have some level of responsibility. Like any situation there are multiple solutions to a problem and the one that requires the finesse of a sledge hammer is rarely the right one.

 

[Doomnova]

When you get more experience and encounter more DMs you may begin to feel differently. That's the main gripe here. Some DMs are great divers, some are terrible and have no understanding of more advanced diving gear/techniques or believe they know it all. Just like any other human endeavor, DMs are capable of overreach.

Sounds to me like you just described the entire human population of this planet that has been and ever will be...They teach in school ,work at automotive shops, run cash registers, sell god knows what, run businesses and companies, rule countries.

In my DM course I am taking we are pretty much told if its tech gear watch them set it up if they need a hand getting into their gear help them and watch them do their check ect. Otherwise leave the gear alone unless out have tech experience and even then only help at the request of the diver. The biggest thing though on both sides of the diving business is respect and understanding. Understanding that you as the DM have obligations to work and clients. respect them and respect yourself. To the divers you may be paying for a service but that DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO ACT LIKE AN ASSHAT to people who are doing a job that is not exactly an easy job not a great paying on by any means. I really wonder ata few of these posters in this thread if they have every done work in the service industries and know how trying it is to deal with people who all have different expectations and ideas of right and wrong.

 

[Hickdive]

Having just read all 19 pages of this, as a new OW diver with only 12 dives under my belt !! My first reaction is WHY would anyone want to piss off the DM.

It isn't necessarily deliberate. Apparently sitting quietly in the boat minding your own damn business pisses some of them off!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Sounds to me like you just described the entire human population of this planet that has been and ever will be...They teach in school ,work at automotive shops, run cash registers, sell god knows what, run businesses and companies, rule countries.

In my DM course I am taking we are pretty much told if its tech gear watch them set it up if they need a hand getting into their gear help them and watch them do their check ect. Otherwise leave the gear alone unless out have tech experience and even then only help at the request of the diver. The biggest thing though on both sides of the diving business is respect and understanding. Understanding that you as the DM have obligations to work and clients. respect them and respect yourself. To the divers you may be paying for a service but that DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO ACT LIKE AN ASSHAT to people who are doing a job that is not exactly an easy job not a great paying on by any means. I really wonder ata few of these posters in this thread if they have every done work in the service industries and know how trying it is to deal with people who all have different expectations and ideas of right and wrong.

More than a few of us do. That's why we never assume the diver wants something. We ask them or wait for them to ask us. One thing I hate in any service industry is someone constantly hanging over me doing something they assume I want them to.

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