AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Trip Reports Dive Report: Diving with protech

Sluggo that last statement is just plain wrong.

After evaluating our diving capabilities Protech did not hesitate to refer us out to Amigos del Mar for our Blue Hole trip (both Irm and I had 20 dives under our belts.) As a matter of fact, I was on the fence about diving the Blue Hole. Brian and Gilbert from Protech both told me my skills were good enough and strongly encouraged me to go, that I would love it (it was one of the best days of my life). mobunny

Mobunny- don't know if it is right or wrong. I do know that when I discussed this with them, they did not refer me to Amigos, but to another op. Of course I wasn't talking to the DM's, but the office/management people. They did admit to me earlier that everything on AC worked on a referal system, and who kicks what back to whom for that referral. The DM's most likely don't collect a referral, were as Pro-tech the company might. Nothing wrong with that in IMHO. I dove Blue Hole with Amigos, and agree with you, that it was a great trip.

As I have talked to Peter I feel I must step up and admit some wrongs here. As a few people have pointed out, yes I was wrong in posting this here and flapping my gums with frustrations and anger towards Protech, it could have and should have been dealt with very differently and in a more tactful manner by contacting Peter. One of the mixups was not due to the staff at Protech, it was due to the staff at Bananna Beach where I was staying which doesnt suprise me. I admit I am very taken aback by what Peter has done in not charging me and also apologizing for what happened with his staff. I know what I said in my original post above, but by Peters actions he has proved to me that Protech IS a standup company and when I return to AC I would definitely give him my business again.


As for the few people that constantly push Amigos, I dont know what their motives are. Although I was upset by being left at the dock, I still had a spectacular time under the water with the protech divemasters and they each pointed out several interesting items I would have never seen if they had not pointed them out to me. Not only were the divemasters great below the water but they made me feel very comfortable on my first few dives as I had not been in the water since 1999. The gear that Protech uses is outstanding. I had the opportunity to look at the rental gear at Amigos and it looked rather beaten and used. The rental gear at Protech however was very different, in fact I thought the BC and reg I was using was brand new as they definitely have top notch gear for their customers.


All in all, when I return to AC I will definitely have to do a dive with Amigos to see how top notch their operation is being recomended by so many here, but I will also return to Protech and give them the majority of my business.

All is well that ends well, mon.

I might only have 18 dives under my belt, but I know a good company when I see one. My father has owned a few businesses in his lifetime, so I am familiar with some of the behind the scenes things that some people don't see, but can sense by how things are run. I've traveled to a dozen different countries and have lived in Scandanavia and Argentia for awhile, experiencing other cultures and the way their businesses are ran. You don't need to have 400+ dives to know you are diving with good company. It's an attitude like yours of "How do you know with only 18 dives..." which is not needed on the board. I am 1/2 your age, but I know that it's how you say things. You come off sounding condensending and that you are better than this "newbie" who doesn't know anything. Word choice and placement is very important, so if that was not your demeanor, then maybe better word choices could be used for less misinterpretations.

WillDiveForBeer I didn't mean to offend you, or look down at a newbie. I know I was one once, and when I dive with some of my friends, I am still one. And I am not here to run down Pro-tech, if you check my posts I've always supported them. But the fact remains, differ ops work differently in other places. I was very disappointed I did not get to dive with the owners, and I told them that. That's why I went with them because I thought as a smaller (at least than Amigos) I would dive with the owners. When I dive with Red Barron in Grand Cayman, I dive with Nick & Patrick, the owners who are wonderful. this board seems very sensitive to people with opinions that differ from the norm. Heaven forbid you say something against Ramons.
All this being said I am starting to believe the article in USAtoday about the soccer generatiion, look it up.

I didn't say that you were putting down ProTech and it is good to voice your opinion, but constructive criticism is better than just ragging on someone and then someone else coming in and giving a perfect 10, which we haven't seen since Nadia in the Olympics. My friends a couple weeks back got to dive with Peter and unfortunently I wasn't able to dive with Peter due to his cold, but he did come and greet me during the surface intervals and even showed me around to a few resturaunts since I was down by myself. JFabes in his 3rd post said how he had good dives and fun on them, not mentioned in his 1st post. At the end he realized he should have maybe been a little less harsh. Constructive critisim would have included how he was never picked up, the office staff has little to be desired, but when he was actually diving, he had a great time, DMs pointed things out to him and the equipment is top notch. That is a complete dive report, not ripping into a company with a one-sided view. Additionally, when "ke" posts a perfect 10, is that really true? I've heard from others that Peter has the best rental gear on SP. I brought all of my own gear, but from what I saw walking around and my experience in Mexico, Peter's gear was better than what I was expecting. So, if Peter does have the best rental gear, how is Amigos rated a perfect 10? Now as the thread is going on, we are getting to see more details and ProTech isn't as bad as "jfabes" originally reported and Amigos isn't the perfect 10 as "ke" reported, but from reading these posts, I would say that both dive operations are among the good ones. I've seen pictures of the one dive shop which sunk into the shore and heard stories about a dive company (I don't remember the name) who left some divers stranded and were picked up by another boat. Those are the dive shops I want to stay away from.

Mira, mis experiencias con ellos fueron fantasticas. No tengo nada mas a decir. No queria hacer problemas en esta conversacion. Yo solamente respondi a la pregunta sobre las tiendas de bucear. Queria ayudar y nada mas! Buenas Suertes a todos con tus experiencias. La verdad es creo que estan las mejores!

Hmmm ... ke either said that it was a good experience with no problems or that the dog has a runny nose and ate all the ice cream

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