Dive Op emailing.

[old gaffer]

My biggest frustration with traveling to Cozumel is the over all poor email communication with Dive Ops when trying to confirm reservations.

I have used several different Ops over the years and the best for good prompt communication have been Alison with Scuba with Alison, I mean she does everything but captain the boat and yet I have never waited more than 24 hours for an email response. Aldora was also excellent in this regard.

Now I am not going to name the Ops I have been having communication issues with by name because my intent is not to bash anyone. I am curious if others have had similar issues. One dive Op I have used several times have been excellent to dive with and I have recommended them to others but I have waited weeks for response to emails. Matter of fact my trip this Friday I inquired back in December and got a quick response that an email would be coming the next day, a month passed with no response so I sent another and the reply was that I would hear soon, so I started looking for another Op, never did hear back.

now the op I am using this time told me they had openings but their policy is not to confirm your reservation until 1 week prior to arrival, never heard that one before. So I email last Friday and again each day after with no response, finally heard back today and was told payment in cash ( pretty typical and was prepared for that) but what if I was a relatively new traveler to Cozumel and intended to pay by credit card and now you have to come up with the cash just days before you travel. I have relatives who are doing open water cert dives and will also be renting almost all gear and they have also not heard back and they will need a good pile of cash of course the could use ATMs though I have had issue with those as well!

Anyway just curious if others have had similar issues.

Gaffer

 

[nodakdive]

I've been diving with Deep Blue for about 10 years, and they're always prompt. I've had email communications with Blue XTC, Scuba Shack, Dive with Allison, Blue Magic and Aldora. All were very prompt with email communication.

One factor that could come into play is the internet service provider for the shop. Depending on how the isp is handling mail, and in particular, spam filters, this could cause not only delay, but "lost" email. A factor that could play into that is the email account/server from which you are sending. A big, well known domain? Probably not a problem. A smaller provider? (which is what I use) may not be recognized by the POP (incoming) mail server and be treated as spam.

 

[DandyDon]

Unacceptable...

I've never had a problem with emails, booking in advance, or using credit cards. My emails are simple, tho; if your's are long or complicated, that could be a problem.

Dive with an op who makes the whole experience comfortable. Too many good choices to accept a pain in the ass.

 

[Chilidog11]

We use DWM and Paddi is always quick with a response. As soon as they got my check, I had a confirmation email with my waivers to bring with.

 

[gopbroek]

I am personally surprised to hear this, try this e-mail and I would be real surprised if Jeanie were to give you the run around dive@trespelicanos.com .
There that’s my cheerleading for the day!!!
Really I suspect the other valet shops that also have frequent cheerleading on this board are most likely pretty professional business persons to survive in such a competitive environment and most probably are prompt with reservations and communication. I do find the ex-pats less laid back and little more business oriented towards this type of stuff, since I suspect most have a good chunk of their life savings tied up in their shop and lack a safety net if they let it wither away due to not taking care of business.

 

[cbm32]

I have never had any real problems with the few dive shops I have used in Coz.

I dive regularly with Tres Pelicanos now and there is never a problem with communications.

 

[bsppc]

Drop a line to Alison at Scuba with Alison. She is prompt with all correspondence and a whole lot of fun to dive with ! Alison@scubawithalison.com

 

[briankinley2004]

I have had similar issues. Seems they come and go with various ops. I had one op I dove with a few years ago and had communication issues via email. Was persistent enough to finally get booked and dives done but seemed like a lot of work. So dove with another valet service. Explained to that operator I chose him because he answered my emails promptly, etc. and the other op hasn't replied.He said he had heard of that issue with them and even gave me his cell # etc. So when we went this spring I emailed him with no reply. Also sent texts to his cell with no reply (yes he sent me texts the prior time). So I went back to the original op I had some issues with and had some of the best communication I have had with any op. I'm not aware of any issue on our end, we tipped properly and were not demanding. I just think they tend not to reply with a "sorry we are booked" and just ignore the emails. Personally this cost at least one op future business.

 

[Craig66]

I had to give up on one of the better known dive ops on this board (to remain nameless) because I was unable to get an answer to my emails in an even remotely reasonable time and when I did get a reply I was always told that a full reply will be forth coming and it wasn't even 20th coming. After a couple of failed attempts I gave up an moved on to another dive op.


I was lucky to find Blue Project and I have over the last couple of years been diving with Blanca from Blue Project and she and Paco are amazing with replies. They almost always reply in under 24 hours and sometimes even within a couple of hours. Amazing communicators, amazing people and amazing dive op.

 

[CamC]

Try getting a response to an email or a web form when you're in the UK - it's as if you were speaking a different language!

I tried 4 different operators before a recent trip (to Cancun, rather than Cozumel, to be fair) with not a single response, before deciding to just fall back on the in-resort option. Not a great idea, as it turned out. (I may post a whole new thread about that experience...)