Review of 5d/5n Burma Liveaboard Dive Trip with AICD (Based in Ranong, Thailand)

[acelockco]

We paid compensation to everybody if they had extra cost because of the delay.

As you should have, but what about the other loss of their vacation time and such? I see you just don't get it and are not going to get it. Not a problem, there are plenty of other companies out there that want our business.

[Pipefish]

I would just like to clarify:

The amount of 7.420,-THB per diver was the "upgrade" to the 5d/n Burma trip from the 5d/n Similan trip, which we had originally booked. The total cost of our liveaboard "vacation" was more than 30.000,- THB per diver.

However, given our experience, and as I have already said, I would not take this trip again even if I was paid for it.

Thank you, acelockco, for your understanding. Indeed, "pipefish" was not available as a username on scuba-board, which is why there (and only there) I have posted as "guitarfish".
Also, it is good to see that we are not alone in our disbelief that an operation like AIDC can survive any competition at all in the long run, given their poor service.

[acelockco]

No problem Pipefish. As a business owner I know that the best way to do well in business is to make your customers happy. I have had a few customers in the past that were not happy with something and I either made it right, gave them a refund or didn't charge them to begin with. Of course it is a loss for my business, but money is not the most important thing. I provide a service for people, and I don't expect them to pay for a service they were not happy with.

Doing business that way has gained me a lot of clients. Remember if you do a great job your customers will tell somebody, if you do a bad job your customers will tell everybody. It seems that AICD failed to do their job in making their customer happy. It also seems they failed to make things right even if it caused a loss of revenue. Now they have an unhappy customer that is going to tell everyone....seems pretty simple and straight forward to me.

Now after all of this Pipefish, I really hope you see fit to use our forum in the future for your other diving thoughts, ideas and questions. We love to see photos, dive reports and anything else dive related. Seeing that you are someone that travels the world to dive, I am sure you have a wealth of information you could share with the rest of us. Hopefully you don't use us for your rant and then move on.

[Aidc]

Ok, again… It’s very clear in your Booking Confirmation that if you make cancellation 2 weeks or less before the trip the full amount will be charged.
I made you a very fair deal that you only had to pay 7.540,- and then you could join a Burma trip instead. In the booking Confirmation it also say that you should make a travel insurance that cover Scuba diving and it would also cover in cases like this where you have to cancel a trip.
I only gave you this deal because I wanted to help you. If you want I can put in your booking confirmation and our email conversation?
Until now I didn’t mention that you actually also canceled the Burma trip after you made the booking, because of reasons that I don’t want to put public.

Preben
AIDC

[acelockco]

Giving someone a great deal on something and then failing to provide what was promised is no longer a great deal.

I have a great deal on a 50 meter liveaboard dive boat. I will sell it to AICD for 80.000,- THB

Oh, but when I deliver the boat to you it will be in the process of sinking.

Still sound like a great deal?

[Aidc]

Don’t you think it a little bit strange that on the same trip we had 11 other happy customers and they all paid full price with no complaining?

Now we have been running for 6 years and I can count “unhappy” customers on 2 hands and most of them because they came with different expectations in regards to diving.
So I think we can make the conclusion that we do it in the right way and we will continue that way.

Preben
AIDC

[DonqyJon]

I've been researching my next dive trip, thinking about Burma for a change of scene; having found AIDC's trip to Burma I then soon encountered these negative threads. It certainly makes one think (and worry) as a potential customer, and is as far as I can tell quite unfair to the company's reputation.

The booking details on AIDC website clearly state their policy about cancellations and refunds, which are pretty much standard. I for one have a diver's insurance package which covers late cancellations for certain reasons - if the couple involved had no such insurance, they took a gamble and lost.

It appears this initial lack of refund left them all bent out of shape, and the trip would be a disaster regardless. Their other points of complaint are mainly subjective, and not substantiated by the other guests' experiences.

The exception could be the first dive, to which I hold some sympathy. This is always the most stressful dive for me, and I like to be molly-coddled a little to get into the swing of things, and it is reassuring to have the guide close by. Again, there is possibly a communication mix-up regarding this and the wife being a divemaster herself; it is impossible to judge right or wrong here without having been there.

Regarding the company compensating the couple, it seems the very cheap rate given for the Burma trip was already a great deal and a decent act. The other inconveniences they 'suffered' really seem minor. Many would have been delighted with an extra unexpected Burma excursion.

Lastly, it seems there will be some remedial action taking place to improve the cabin in question, so the company is not ignoring the complaint.

I just hope I don't have to eat my words if I book with them for next year, but from the balance of what I've been reading, I would think not.