DiveGearExpress
Contributor
It is sometimes difficult to draw the line between what is within the domain of training with the dive instructor, and what is simple education by the suppler regarding equipment features. Unfortunately, the global pandemic has accelerated the shift from store to online by perhaps as much as ten years and further highlights a 'gray area' between the two.
The training agencies and their instructors generally take the position that dive equipment assembly and use is part of the training. The (perhaps archaic) thinking has been that providing the raw information on how to use the equipment, without the benefit of individual instruction, invites the user to exceed their skills and training. A frequently heard opinion is the internet can't or shouldn't attempt to provide dive equipment instruction. In the early days, our Dive Gear Express customers were highly trained and very experienced divers. In the last few months, we have encountered several customers unable to perform tasks as fundamental as assemble their new bcd onto a tank. We have received a complaint about a defective regulator because the customer didn't understand they needed to open the valve on the tank. We have had customers who didn't understand that a light will flood if you disassemble it underwater.
What is our responsibility to the customer? Should we produce ever more detailed manuals and videos to explain without supervision, or is the more responsible action instead to direct the customer to seek more individual training and/or mentoring (which usually just makes them angry because our documentation is "inadequate".)
The training agencies and their instructors generally take the position that dive equipment assembly and use is part of the training. The (perhaps archaic) thinking has been that providing the raw information on how to use the equipment, without the benefit of individual instruction, invites the user to exceed their skills and training. A frequently heard opinion is the internet can't or shouldn't attempt to provide dive equipment instruction. In the early days, our Dive Gear Express customers were highly trained and very experienced divers. In the last few months, we have encountered several customers unable to perform tasks as fundamental as assemble their new bcd onto a tank. We have received a complaint about a defective regulator because the customer didn't understand they needed to open the valve on the tank. We have had customers who didn't understand that a light will flood if you disassemble it underwater.
What is our responsibility to the customer? Should we produce ever more detailed manuals and videos to explain without supervision, or is the more responsible action instead to direct the customer to seek more individual training and/or mentoring (which usually just makes them angry because our documentation is "inadequate".)