I saw this post in another forum and wanted to pass it on. I have heard this from several different people about Reef Trekkers while living on Oahu. Hoping to prevent any further headaches for divers making their way to Oahu in the future...
A warning to you all so hopefully you can avoid similar experiences to mine…
Attracted by their professional looking website, I recently booked 3 days of 2 dives with Reef Trekkers in Honolulu, Oahu, paying up front for the small bulk booking discount.
Despite obvious signs of a borderline incompetent outfit (late pickup, old and leaky equipment, no one ever asking to see my dive certification, highly cavalier dive master), the first 2 days were enjoyable enough and the diving itself excellent.
On the third day, I moved hotel. I had an in depth discussion with the Dive Master about this, telling him I would make my own way to the harbour to meet the boat, and discussing what time I should leave to drive from my new place further away and the best route/likely traffic etc. He told me when to be there.
Arriving there the next morning, the boat captain told me that he had been told by the owner of Reef Trekkers I was no longer coming. I got his number and called him – he had been to my hotel and I of course wasn’t there.
So obviously what had happened was that his dive master had not passed on the news. An easy mistake to make you might think… no big deal, perhaps he assumed the owner already knew. Easily sorted out, no one even particularly to blame – there was still ample time for me to dive that day (I was there when I should have been, the boat didn’t leave for 30 minutes) or we could reschedule for the next day
Not with this guy. The owner - Andre Huste – then proceeded to provide the worst, most rude and outright dishonest ‘customer service’ I have ever come across in my entire life – and I have visited more than 40 countries and dived in more than 10.
He started by informing me that I had forfeited my dives. When I started to tell him that I had explained to his divemaster, he simply said (shouted really), ‘Zat did not happen! This conversation is over!’ and put the phone down on me. I called again, to restate my case (still trying to be polite, reasonable… I’m English). He put the phone down on me again.
I waited 30 minutes, figuring he had a bizarrely short fuse. Called again. He puts the phone down on me again. I call 3 hours later. Same thing. 4 hours later he tells me, OK, he will refund me some of the cost of that day… not 1/3 of the actual cost, but $ 75… I was heartily sick of all this so accepted that. Too much stress for a precious holiday…
Back home, with still no refund on my Visa, I call and ask when this refund will happen. ‘We will not refund you and never said we will’ he says... and puts the phone down again. I had initially thought I was just dealing with an incredibly rude borderline madman, but it turns out I was also dealing with a liar and a thief.
I am of course livid, and I want the world to know about this outfit. While still on the island I dived some more, and in subsequent conversations with boat captains and other dive instructors I learnt Andre Huste is in fact notorious for this kind of behaviour - abusing his customers trust, shouting at them, canceling their trips if they are 5 minutes late etc. As they said - ‘It’s a shame, but so many tourists come and go he doesn’t need any repeat business’. Reef Trekkers obviously only stay in business through a strong internet presence, and can get away with this
So my heartfelt recommendation is – don’t let this happen to you…. there are many far better diving outfits on the Island and there’s no way I would want anyone to trust their enjoyment, money or indeed life to anyone that unstable. I am trying to post this in as many places as possible to spread the word, and encourage you to pass on this information
One final note – on my return from the island, someone in Hawaii started using my credit card number to pay their cable bill and go shopping. That may or may not be related but given the degree of dishonesty I personally encountered I would not be at all surprised if Reef Trekkers had not lost/given away/sold my card number…
Beware!
A warning to you all so hopefully you can avoid similar experiences to mine…
Attracted by their professional looking website, I recently booked 3 days of 2 dives with Reef Trekkers in Honolulu, Oahu, paying up front for the small bulk booking discount.
Despite obvious signs of a borderline incompetent outfit (late pickup, old and leaky equipment, no one ever asking to see my dive certification, highly cavalier dive master), the first 2 days were enjoyable enough and the diving itself excellent.
On the third day, I moved hotel. I had an in depth discussion with the Dive Master about this, telling him I would make my own way to the harbour to meet the boat, and discussing what time I should leave to drive from my new place further away and the best route/likely traffic etc. He told me when to be there.
Arriving there the next morning, the boat captain told me that he had been told by the owner of Reef Trekkers I was no longer coming. I got his number and called him – he had been to my hotel and I of course wasn’t there.
So obviously what had happened was that his dive master had not passed on the news. An easy mistake to make you might think… no big deal, perhaps he assumed the owner already knew. Easily sorted out, no one even particularly to blame – there was still ample time for me to dive that day (I was there when I should have been, the boat didn’t leave for 30 minutes) or we could reschedule for the next day
Not with this guy. The owner - Andre Huste – then proceeded to provide the worst, most rude and outright dishonest ‘customer service’ I have ever come across in my entire life – and I have visited more than 40 countries and dived in more than 10.
He started by informing me that I had forfeited my dives. When I started to tell him that I had explained to his divemaster, he simply said (shouted really), ‘Zat did not happen! This conversation is over!’ and put the phone down on me. I called again, to restate my case (still trying to be polite, reasonable… I’m English). He put the phone down on me again.
I waited 30 minutes, figuring he had a bizarrely short fuse. Called again. He puts the phone down on me again. I call 3 hours later. Same thing. 4 hours later he tells me, OK, he will refund me some of the cost of that day… not 1/3 of the actual cost, but $ 75… I was heartily sick of all this so accepted that. Too much stress for a precious holiday…
Back home, with still no refund on my Visa, I call and ask when this refund will happen. ‘We will not refund you and never said we will’ he says... and puts the phone down again. I had initially thought I was just dealing with an incredibly rude borderline madman, but it turns out I was also dealing with a liar and a thief.
I am of course livid, and I want the world to know about this outfit. While still on the island I dived some more, and in subsequent conversations with boat captains and other dive instructors I learnt Andre Huste is in fact notorious for this kind of behaviour - abusing his customers trust, shouting at them, canceling their trips if they are 5 minutes late etc. As they said - ‘It’s a shame, but so many tourists come and go he doesn’t need any repeat business’. Reef Trekkers obviously only stay in business through a strong internet presence, and can get away with this
So my heartfelt recommendation is – don’t let this happen to you…. there are many far better diving outfits on the Island and there’s no way I would want anyone to trust their enjoyment, money or indeed life to anyone that unstable. I am trying to post this in as many places as possible to spread the word, and encourage you to pass on this information
One final note – on my return from the island, someone in Hawaii started using my credit card number to pay their cable bill and go shopping. That may or may not be related but given the degree of dishonesty I personally encountered I would not be at all surprised if Reef Trekkers had not lost/given away/sold my card number…
Beware!