Phuket dive staff learn of ‘fine line’ between instructor and tour guide

[Ulic]

Never mind the shake down by Phuket's finest blame the victims.

Just one more question doesn't most of the dive equipment belong to the dive companies,

not the clients?

[stockholm1995]

"But their main duty is to teach people how to dive – not to carry oxygen tanks."

“As a dive instructor, you can carry your own bag, oxygen tank, mask and everything because that’s part of your duties.

“But if the bags [or equipment] belong to your customers, and you carry them and serve the customers that way, then that’s wrong because you are regarded as acting as a tour guide, a reserved profession.

If the dive instructor is nice to a lady and carry her bag/oxygen tank, does that make him to tour guide???

Mickey Mouse country

Micky Mouse rules

[stockholm1995]

What a bunch of idiots ! Can't even carry your own bag ! Tour guides do not carry bags, that is not what a tour guide does....

A Thai tourguide actually does that. I have been on a few tours. There are always a thai and foreigner tourguide on the buses. The Thai carry the bags , handing out water bottles.

[cloghead]

So they are making people dive with Qxygen tanks LOL so we should have a few thousand tourist divers poisened by diving with oxygen tanks another writes that has no clue what they are writing about

Jeez, you're such a nit-picking analogist. Everbody realizes what the guy implied when he wrote 'oxygen tanks'...

[MMarlow]

It appears that customer service is against the law… Unbelievable.

Unbelievable that you choose to be unable to see the difference between customer service and being a porter carrying their bags or acting as a tour guide.

[MMarlow]

So they are making people dive with Qxygen tanks LOL so we should have a few thousand tourist divers poisened by diving with oxygen tanks another writes that has no clue what they are writing about

Is Qxygen a recently discovered gas? Never heard of it before, but maybe you've just no clue what you're writing about.

[MMarlow]

"carrying their clients’ bags" So common courtesy is outlawed in Thailand? Next, the customer won't be allowed to carry his or her own bags, right? Have to hire Somchai...

Why would a dive instructor want to carry customer's bags, or are they bringing so much baggage to their lessons that they are unable to do so themselves? If I was learning to dive I would expect to have to carry my own stuff as a common courtesy to the instructor.

Read the report properly and you will be able to answer your own daft 2nd question.

[MMarlow]

“Whenever you do anything that might be seen as acting as a tour guide, you make yourself a target for the police,” Miss Orakan said.''

Well, how about:

“Whenever you do anything that might be seen as acting in a way dangerous to others, you make yourself a target for the police,”

In a way dangerous to others, such as:

Driving at high speed on busy roads

Stopping in the middle of a road to go get a coffee

Making a U-Turn on a busy road

Driving while texting or talking on a phone

Going through red lights

Driving while under the influence

And for these dangerous behaviours, no need for extended observations as it is the case for these 'law-breaking divers', as stated above:

“Before the police catch someone, they watch that person for a long while, not just one day.

They spend lots of police time on that !!!!!!!!!

How can anyone say such a thing with a straight face???

You do know that this report is about diving, nor driving?

[MMarlow]

What a bunch of idiots ! Can't even carry your own bag ! Tour guides do not carry bags, that is not what a tour guide does....

Only a real idiot would read the report and then not understand that carrying your own bag is allowed, obviously.

Edited April 9, 2014 by MMarlow

[MMarlow]

...isn't it the job of the respective ministries to apply the law as it is written in the first place......???

....people go through the motions in good faith.....they are misinformed...or misdirected....then blamed......even charged for crimes....

That's exactly what they are doing, there is no law changing going on.

Ignorance of the law is not a reason to expect to be able to break that law.

[stevenl]

Never mind the shake down by Phuket's finest blame the victims.

Just one more question doesn't most of the dive equipment belong to the dive companies,

not the clients?

Depends on the boat, about 40-50^ is own guests equipment.

And no, guests never have to carry their own, gear, whether the foreign diveguides carries it yes or no.

This really is not an issue at all, unless people choose to make it so.

[rjcampbe]

"carrying their clients’ bags" So common courtesy is outlawed in Thailand? Next, the customer won't be allowed to carry his or her own bags, right? Have to hire Somchai...

Why would a dive instructor want to carry customer's bags, or are they bringing so much baggage to their lessons that they are unable to do so themselves? If I was learning to dive I would expect to have to carry my own stuff as a common courtesy to the instructor.

Read the report properly and you will be able to answer your own daft 2nd question.

On every dive trip I've ever made, in Thailand and other places, loading up the truck at the shop and moving the gear to the boat, and the reverse at the end of the day, has been mostly an all hands activity... instructors, drivers, boat crew, and customers all help move the bags and tanks and gear...

this is just more petty Thainess...

[honoluabay]

Just another reason why Phuket is on the way Out as a Top tourist destination. Money for next Phuket Mayor. As always greed and money run Phuket. The more they crack down the worse customer service becomes, if I pay 10000 bht to dive Someone will carry my Shit for sure. Wake up Phuket only a couple more years and Burma will be the go to place. Aloha

Sent from my A200 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[stevenl]

"carrying their clients’ bags" So common courtesy is outlawed in Thailand? Next, the customer won't be allowed to carry his or her own bags, right? Have to hire Somchai...

Why would a dive instructor want to carry customer's bags, or are they bringing so much baggage to their lessons that they are unable to do so themselves? If I was learning to dive I would expect to have to carry my own stuff as a common courtesy to the instructor.

Read the report properly and you will be able to answer your own daft 2nd question.

On every dive trip I've ever made, in Thailand and other places, loading up the truck at the shop and moving the gear to the boat, and the reverse at the end of the day, has been mostly an all hands activity... instructors, drivers, boat crew, and customers all help move the bags and tanks and gear...

this is just more petty Thainess...

So you have not been diving here then. Also in other places where I used to work in diving we made sure the customer never had to carry his own gear, rental or owned, customer service that is called. Of course people can carry their own gear if they prefer that.