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We never ever ever assigned buddies, and happily allowed solo diving, and if you weren't a certified solo diver, we made sure you knew that the class was available, that the rule for the boat was buddy diving, and that as long as you came up within a reasonable time "together" or with a good excuse, you were good.So, Frank, as an experienced dive operator, which of the following would come closest to the approach you used when having highly experienced and/or professional divers sign up for your trips?
- I will stick him or her with an absolutely beginner, someone who may never dive again, to keep that beginner safe, even though I know the experienced diver/professional will be pissed as all Hell about it.
- I will give him or her the best possible experience so that he or she will want to come back frequently, bring friends, and recommend my operation to students and to other professionals.
As I get older, I like to think that folks should have some responsibility for their diving. Some folks want and should have buddies. In that case, we felt that the trip leader (The guy coming for "free") should shoulder that responsibility. OTOH, other folks are perfectly content and indeed want to wander off on their own.
To answer more directly, we enjoyed an 80% repeat customer rate. So number 2 was our goal.
That doesn't mean we were the boat for everyone. We didn't allow scooters or doubles, only because we serviced 24 divers. The new boat will be a much more intimate operation, where the charterer sets the itinerary and diving rules. And they will select the other passengers as well.