Blackmail by 'professionals"?

[Sam Miller III]

@macado and @Wookie
My thoughts also
You are my new HERO
SDM

 

[Tug]

You sound like an EXTREMELY entitled and petty individual, more so than most "entitled millennials." Words cannot even properly convey all my thoughts on this matter but I'll try..

I have no idea what type of diver you are or caliber / quality of your skills as an instructor but let me just state that for me it's often dive professionals that cause the most issues or headaches on the charters. I really do not like to paint with such a broad brush and always try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but it's unfortunately often times true.

I'm not saying this is the case here but I'm sure in your "18 years as recreational diver" and 6 years as a "real instructor" you've perhaps run into the same thing. I expect your group would have been quite the handful. Either the dive site was not going to be interesting or engaging enough for you or it would be too shallow, or the dive would have been too short or not advanced enough. Oh god..I can think of so many other scenarios here.

Often times dive professionals don't want to listen to briefings because they are "instructors" and know better. They miss crucial bits of information because they are "professionals." This could be something relatively simple like safety briefings or navigation hazards at dive site, not bothering to hold onto the mooring line on ascent / decent.

Often times dive professional feel rules do not apply to them. They want to be special snowflakes because they are dive professionals, real instructors. They expect rules to be bent for them and special exceptions and accommodations to be made. The often do not want to stay with the group or if they do their own thing they surface far away from the boat or do free ascents on wrecks with heavy boat traffic.

From bombing down a wall to 200ft on a single tank, to trying to break their own personal depth record or riding turtles. I've seen it more times now than I can count.

I've had instructors actively criticize other dive professionals and give blatantly wrong and incorrect information that conflicts the information already given to students.

I've had instructors constantly badmouth other dive shops, dive resorts and dive charters because things were not be run "their way" or they did not get what they want. EXACTLY what you're trying to do to the original poster. This looks terrible to new divers who are just getting started in the this hobby and sets a pretty bad example in the industry.

But you're "real instructors, no entitled millennials." It's perfectly okay. If I were praying man (I'm not..) then I would not wish your patronage upon any dive shop, operator or dive resort.

To the original poster @Indah. You're 100% in the right here. If I ever make it back to Indonesia then I'll be sure to look your resort up. I don't require a special-snowflake discount or any special accommodations either, I just want to go diving.

AMEN

 

[Kharon]

.... Is it better to make 90% and have excellent advertising? or make 0% and have negative advertising?

The critical point here is that, with no experience at the said resort, you will badmouth them simply because they didn't cave to your extortion. Who the eff do you think you are? Just because you hold a card dosen't automatically elevate you to some supreme level. I would go head to head with you on skills and believe I would equal or surpass yours. Want to give it a try?

I would book with this resort in a NY minute. I respect people who don't cave to pressure from those who feel entitled - often unjustifiably.

 

[Diver below 83]

Popcorn time. It’s getting good

 

[Dogbowl]

Dive off!!!

 

[Darnold9999]

The absolute worst diver I have ever encountered on a liveaboard was a "dive professional". Ignored dive briefings, went into deco, ran out of air, was in general a serious pain. Thought he could walk on water. Wouldn't take his recommendation on a beer let alone a holiday destination.

Having a card and doing some instructing is a pretty low bar. Entitles you to ask for a discount - not getting one does not entitle you to dis an operator and I can tell you that if you do without having actually been to a resort and based only on the lack of a discount most people are going to figure you out pretty quickly. You're probably petty and vindictive in other areas of your life as well. You might consider that rather than an operator running a marginal operation and therefore being unable to offer a discount they might run a very successful operation that has no need to offer a discount to attract customers and you have missed out on a very special experience.

I have been at this resort - not for a number of years but they ran a great operation when I stayed there.

 

[Indah]

@Indah
Did @The Cat Man quote you correctly, or is this line also part of a much longer text that adds more context?

If that quote is accurate, then you kind of asked "why should we?" although not in those exact words, and now I have come to the opinion that since you invited more communication, I am less inclined to share your negative reaction to the returned message. Not that I agree with what what said, but i now understand it was written in a very different context than you first presented.

@The Cat Man
Sorry, I don't accept "I was just repeating what I heard" as a justification for what you wrote in #5, or at least for the way you wrote it.

To make things maybe more clear, this was my full email:
Thank you for your enquiry for our Divers Lodge Lembeh (since2002). Proud sister resort of Weda Resort (Halmahera) and Magic Bay Rao (Morotai). By staying in our resorts you directly contribute to our conservation and education projects.

We would be proud to show you the best of Lembeh Strait in the best way. Which means that two of you would be diving with only an excellent private guide but no other guests. We do not have limits on dive-time, as long as it is safe. We offer Nitrox 32 here, tanks in several sizes and excellent rental gear. Further, you would be staying at the most beautiful location of Lembeh Island.

Easy booking: we can keep a temporary reservation for you for seven days, without any obligation for you. This will give you time to purchase your flight-tickets. After this week we would like to receive a scan/copy of your flight-tickets by email. After receipt we will send an email to confirm your reservation with us. We do not ask for a deposit and you can cancel without any costs. You can pay when you check out: cash, by internet-banking or by credit card (CC +2%).

To prevent the risk of fluctuations in the exchange rate, you can choose to pay a part or the full amount of your reservation when you make the booking. If you let us know for which part you would like to receive an invoice, we will send you a bill promptly and you will get a 10% discount on the due amount. Please note that there is never any refund of the in advance paid amount in case you cancel, for whatever reason.

Tupai and Paniki are still available at the moment. Eco Resort - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait

We do not offer packages other than according to your preferences. You can decide to make a reservation for the transfers and accommodation only, and decide on the dives once you are here. For example, many of our guests highly enjoy the self-guided dives at our house-reef. The price per dive, per person is only IDR 100.000/USD 7, -.

If you prefer, you can also let us know what you would like to pre-book and pre-pay, and you would receive a discount of 10% over that part of your reservation: Prices and Booking - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait

We do not offer special discounts for Instructors, KITAS holders or Indonesian citizens. I never really understood why we should? The only reason people always give me is: others do it too.

The internet connection is excellent here. There is WiFi in the restaurant/lounge and we have a back-up too. Telkomsel offers 4G. Of course we are happy to arrange all transfers with our own cars/drivers and boat for you: How to Get Here - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait


Please have a thorough look at our website as well and let me know if there is other information you need.

We hope we may welcome you here at Divers Lodge Lembeh.

Would you anyway please be so kind to confirm the receipt of this email?

Best regards,

Rob Sinke

 

[JackD342]

To make things maybe more clear, this was my full email:
Thank you for your enquiry for our Divers Lodge Lembeh (since2002). Proud sister resort of Weda Resort (Halmahera) and Magic Bay Rao (Morotai). By staying in our resorts you directly contribute to our conservation and education projects.

We would be proud to show you the best of Lembeh Strait in the best way. Which means that two of you would be diving with only an excellent private guide but no other guests. We do not have limits on dive-time, as long as it is safe. We offer Nitrox 32 here, tanks in several sizes and excellent rental gear. Further, you would be staying at the most beautiful location of Lembeh Island.

Easy booking: we can keep a temporary reservation for you for seven days, without any obligation for you. This will give you time to purchase your flight-tickets. After this week we would like to receive a scan/copy of your flight-tickets by email. After receipt we will send an email to confirm your reservation with us. We do not ask for a deposit and you can cancel without any costs. You can pay when you check out: cash, by internet-banking or by credit card (CC +2%).

To prevent the risk of fluctuations in the exchange rate, you can choose to pay a part or the full amount of your reservation when you make the booking. If you let us know for which part you would like to receive an invoice, we will send you a bill promptly and you will get a 10% discount on the due amount. Please note that there is never any refund of the in advance paid amount in case you cancel, for whatever reason.

Tupai and Paniki are still available at the moment. Eco Resort - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait

We do not offer packages other than according to your preferences. You can decide to make a reservation for the transfers and accommodation only, and decide on the dives once you are here. For example, many of our guests highly enjoy the self-guided dives at our house-reef. The price per dive, per person is only IDR 100.000/USD 7, -.

If you prefer, you can also let us know what you would like to pre-book and pre-pay, and you would receive a discount of 10% over that part of your reservation: Prices and Booking - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait

We do not offer special discounts for Instructors, KITAS holders or Indonesian citizens. I never really understood why we should? The only reason people always give me is: others do it too.

The internet connection is excellent here. There is WiFi in the restaurant/lounge and we have a back-up too. Telkomsel offers 4G. Of course we are happy to arrange all transfers with our own cars/drivers and boat for you: How to Get Here - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait


Please have a thorough look at our website as well and let me know if there is other information you need.

We hope we may welcome you here at Divers Lodge Lembeh.

Would you anyway please be so kind to confirm the receipt of this email?

Best regards,

Rob Sinke

Thanks for the info.

 

[Dan]

To make things maybe more clear, this was my full email:
Thank you for your enquiry for our Divers Lodge Lembeh (since2002). Proud sister resort of Weda Resort (Halmahera) and Magic Bay Rao (Morotai). By staying in our resorts you directly contribute to our conservation and education projects.

We would be proud to show you the best of Lembeh Strait in the best way. Which means that two of you would be diving with only an excellent private guide but no other guests. We do not have limits on dive-time, as long as it is safe. We offer Nitrox 32 here, tanks in several sizes and excellent rental gear. Further, you would be staying at the most beautiful location of Lembeh Island.

Easy booking: we can keep a temporary reservation for you for seven days, without any obligation for you. This will give you time to purchase your flight-tickets. After this week we would like to receive a scan/copy of your flight-tickets by email. After receipt we will send an email to confirm your reservation with us. We do not ask for a deposit and you can cancel without any costs. You can pay when you check out: cash, by internet-banking or by credit card (CC +2%).

To prevent the risk of fluctuations in the exchange rate, you can choose to pay a part or the full amount of your reservation when you make the booking. If you let us know for which part you would like to receive an invoice, we will send you a bill promptly and you will get a 10% discount on the due amount. Please note that there is never any refund of the in advance paid amount in case you cancel, for whatever reason.

Tupai and Paniki are still available at the moment. Eco Resort - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait

We do not offer packages other than according to your preferences. You can decide to make a reservation for the transfers and accommodation only, and decide on the dives once you are here. For example, many of our guests highly enjoy the self-guided dives at our house-reef. The price per dive, per person is only IDR 100.000/USD 7, -.

If you prefer, you can also let us know what you would like to pre-book and pre-pay, and you would receive a discount of 10% over that part of your reservation: Prices and Booking - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait

We do not offer special discounts for Instructors, KITAS holders or Indonesian citizens. I never really understood why we should? The only reason people always give me is: others do it too.

The internet connection is excellent here. There is WiFi in the restaurant/lounge and we have a back-up too. Telkomsel offers 4G. Of course we are happy to arrange all transfers with our own cars/drivers and boat for you: How to Get Here - Divers Lodge Lembeh - Lembeh Strait


Please have a thorough look at our website as well and let me know if there is other information you need.

We hope we may welcome you here at Divers Lodge Lembeh.

Would you anyway please be so kind to confirm the receipt of this email?

Best regards,

Rob Sinke

You already offered him 10% discount & then he asked you for another 10%?

 

[LiteWeight]

You sound like an EXTREMELY entitled and petty individual, more so than most "entitled millennials." Words cannot even properly convey all my thoughts on this matter but I'll try..

I have no idea what type of diver you are or caliber / quality of your skills as an instructor but let me just state that for me it's often dive professionals that cause the most issues or headaches on the charters. I really do not like to paint with such a broad brush and always try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but it's unfortunately often times true.

I'm not saying this is the case here but I'm sure in your "18 years as recreational diver" and 6 years as a "real instructor" you've perhaps run into the same thing. I expect your group would have been quite the handful. Either the dive site was not going to be interesting or engaging enough for you or it would be too shallow, or the dive would have been too short or not advanced enough. Oh god..I can think of so many other scenarios here.

Often times dive professionals don't want to listen to briefings because they are "instructors" and know better. They miss crucial bits of information because they are "professionals." This could be something relatively simple like safety briefings or navigation hazards at dive site, not bothering to hold onto the mooring line on ascent / decent.

Often times dive professional feel rules do not apply to them. They want to be special snowflakes because they are dive professionals, real instructors. They expect rules to be bent for them and special exceptions and accommodations to be made. The often do not want to stay with the group or if they do their own thing they surface far away from the boat or do free ascents on wrecks with heavy boat traffic.

From bombing down a wall to 200ft on a single tank, to trying to break their own personal depth record or riding turtles. I've seen it more times now than I can count.

I've had instructors actively criticize other dive professionals and give blatantly wrong and incorrect information that conflicts the information already given to students.

I've had instructors constantly badmouth other dive shops, dive resorts and dive charters because things were not be run "their way" or they did not get what they want. EXACTLY what you're trying to do to the original poster. This looks terrible to new divers who are just getting started in the this hobby and sets a pretty bad example in the industry.

But you're "real instructors, no entitled millennials." It's perfectly okay. If I were praying man (I'm not..) then I would not wish your patronage upon any dive shop, operator or dive resort.

To the original poster @Indah. You're 100% in the right here. If I ever make it back to Indonesia then I'll be sure to look your resort up. I don't require a special-snowflake discount or any special accommodations either, I just want to go diving.

I am the former owner of a dive shop and quarry. Some of the worst divers I have seen, and customers I've dealt with, have been dive 'professionals' that think the very rules that they teach to students do not apply to them. Nor do industry standards and recommended practices.