Scuba Wars

By hoofhearted, on July 3rd, 2009

On a recent trip to South Africa my wife and I had the misfortune of booking some dives with Aliwal Dive Centre in Umkomaas.
Unfortunately we were a little bit short on time and so didnt do the usual amount of research of dive charters before making a booking. So that was our 1st mistake. For our 2nd mistake we went with Google’s first search result, www.aliwalshoal.co.za.

The lady on the other end of the line was very pushy when we spoke to her to find out about the dive details. Not helpful at all. We said we’d have to think about it before making a booking.
We then received 2 phone calls within half an hour from the dive charter asking if we’d decided. Eventually we booked the early morning dive out to Raggie cave to go see some sharks. She requested credit card details over the phone to confirm the booking.

Now to me, an early morning dive means EARLY. We were told to be there at 8:30. We misjudged the travel time slightly and got there at 7:45. The DM then informed us that we would be the only people on the boat, so it would be a nice relaxing dive. I had no idea just how relaxing.
The DM informed us that we should kit up and be ready for 9am. At 9am the staff were all too interested in their morning coffee. Ditto for 9:30. And 9:45 At 9:50 we loaded up and headed for the beach. Uneventful launch after 40 minutes waiting for fuel for the boat. Finally we got our feet wet at 11:15. EARLY MORNING.
We had booked a 2 tank dive. So complete the 1st dive, sit on the boat for an hour then do the 2nd.
During the roll over my wife hurt her back very badly, but managed to complete the dive because of the neutral buoyancy taking some of the strain off. However when the dive was finished and we got back on the boat it was a different matter all together. She had to be pulled overboard and was then unable to move for at least 10 minutes. She could hardly move at all during that hour. She lay dead still at the skippers feet. Needless to say she didnt do the 2nd dive

I did the 2nd dive and all went well. We headed for shore to end the day diving, with my wife still in massive amounts of pain.
I then spoke to the very helpful lady at the reception and explained the situation and asked if my wife could have a refund for the 2nd dive. I had much better things to do with the R250. Now I think I have a sense of humour, but what she said next nearly killed me. She said that she would not be able to refund us because we did not give her 24 hours notice. 24 HOURS NOTICE OF AN INJURY. This comedian then had the cheek to compare my wifes injury to a lady who didnt want to dive because she was cold. Needless to say, I will never be makig use of their efficient services again, and I urge other people to do the same. I would just like to wish them all the best through the recession.

City: Umkomaas

Country: South Africa