My family and I just returned from Bonaire (wonderful time!!!). However, I am a bit peeved at Buddy Dive (again). One of the buckles on my Tusa Zoom fins broke, and I visited the Buddy Dive shop to see about a replacement.

They only had a full strap with two buckles, but only one clip (that fits on the fin itself). The price was $9.95, but I asked for a discount since there was only one clip. The woman at the counter was very nice and sold it to me for $6.50.

Unfortunately, when I went back to my room to test it, I realized the clip was for some other fin brand, and would not fit my Tusa.

I was able to jury rig my original strap and could make a dive that afternoon. The dive shop was closed by the time we returned.

The next morning, I asked to return the strap, since I couldn’t use it, but hopefully someone else could. I asked for only $5.00 back, just to make it easy on them. The clerk at the counter said she "could not take it back", even though it had never even seen water! I asked her to contact the manager, feeling confident the manager would be happy to refund my money (and not the entire amount at that).

However, when the clerk returned, she said the manager refused to refund my money! I sought out "Martin", who had a name tag identifying him as Manager. I explained the problem, including the fact that the original clerk mis-identified the strap/buckle/clip which wasted my time, and I had to improvise a solution myself, and that I had only asked for five bucks back, not the original $6.50 I paid for it.

Martin absolutely refused to refund my money, saying "it was not possible"! As a small business owner myself, I was flabbergasted to hear that a customer (me) would be treated so rudely, especially over a measly five bucks!

Since a somewhat similar problem arose the last time we were at Buddy Dive, involving a doubling of the charge for our meals at Lion’s Den restaurant, and a complete refusal to refund the overcharge, I have to declare that I am done with Buddy Dive. Too bad, because the divemasters, attendants, etc. are all very nice – it appears the management is hellbent on taking every dollar from tourists.

So, I am curious if others have had similar experiences at Buddy Dive as well?

Have had dealings with Buddy's over the years with no problems of any type. The management, and staff have been very helpful in my past. I think you should have brought in your fin into the diveshop to let them see what your problem was. You made your own diagnosis, unpacked the strap, and should not be refunded. That is a personal item with no retrun.

I do not like to be taken advantage of HOWEVER this would not even be a blip on my radar to make me give up going to a place where I thought the divemasters and attendants (?) were of high quality. Sorry it happened, but dude if you let a $6.50 item turn a pleasant stay into a negative one then maybe you take things a little too serious. I hope you have a change of heart, Buddy Dive is a favorite of many here and I hate to see you give up a place you seem to have enjoyed other than this one little incident. I see you also had an issue with Lions Den on your last visit, a call to the credit card company should have resolved that one. I've had it happen a few times in several places and called the CC company and it was removed that day. (Only one of the places were on Bonaire by the way).
PEACE!

Ron - I'm glad you haven't had any problems; good to know. I DID bring in the fin - the woman made a misdiagnosis that the clip would fit my Tusa. She didn't try it on; neither did I. I accept responsibility for not trying it on until it was time to dive.

I simply did not/do not like Martin's attitude.

MBZ - I am posting a full trip report in the next day or so, and am not mentioning this small blip.

Perhaps it is my past experiences and personal feelings that the Buddy Dive mgmt seems to look for ways to take advantage when possible. We did not stay there this time, but rented a house instead. The house was less expensive, oceanfront, much more room and we had great dive service.

Regarding the restaurant ordeal, it was Lobster Night and we had just come from an evening dive, so most diners had already left. I believe the waiter made a mistake on the check, basically charging regular price for the lobsters, and I simply paid the bill (I always use cash). When he came back with the change, I re-looked at the bill and realized it was too high and informed the waiter. He realized his mistake as well, and went back to correct it. However, the manager came out and said "it was too late" (whatever that means). No offer of refund, nor of taking it off our room bill, nothing.

That rip-off was obviously much more money than the simple strap. However, it did not dampen our vacation - I was just much more careful from then on that trip, and realized that Buddy Dive mgmt was not on the up and up. At least for us. Again, one or two anecdotal experiences cannot be generalized for an entire large operation such as Buddy Dive.

I am simply curious if others have had similar experiences, or I just happened to be unlucky a couple times.

Please be aware that Buddy does not own nor control Lions Den or its management! So perhaps you will consider using Buddy since it is only one strike, not two!

Howard that is good to know.....I think you did get ripped off....Listen, in the retail world, the CUSTOMER is always right.. I am in retail as well, I build them For Buddy Dive to act that way is ridiculous, and the same goes for the restaurant...

I certainly would not stand for it, so you loose a customer over 6 bucks..then you tell others and they do not patronize the place...etc...

Free market and only the best will survive...dive shops are a dime a dozen and that one is doing nothing to survive with that mentality.

Shop elsewhere..tell more....that will cause them to rethink that thought process...

Howard..Really..I'm sure others that read this board are thinking the same thing but out of politeness have not posted their responses..Don't you have better things to do with your time than to argue over $5.00? I hate to think how you'd react if anything really serious happened to you.

Enjoy life & don't swell on the insignificant sucky things which happen to us all. By the way, I've been dealing with Buddy Dive for many many years and have never had any problems. And I certainly (and I suspect many others) don't consider the scenario you presented as "a rip off".

I'm agonna stick up for Howard, Mr. Pietro, sir. He's not ranting and raving, and he says it's a small thing, but it bugs him. Sometimes it's not the money involved, but the principle. A bunch of small gripes can just turn your mind about something, and I think Howard's mind has been turned in such a way.

There's a place on Bonaire that I don't frequent because of a similar string of incidents. Am I going to tell you which one? Uh, no...do I look crazy to you? Would I start a thread about it? Probably not...nothing that happened to me was big enough to kvetch about, but the cumulative effect is enough to change my mind about the place...

And, Howard, I look forward to the Full Report!

Wow, never in a million years would I have dreamed that I would share an opinion with "CB", but I have to agree with her on this one. (Has hell frozen over recently or something? Maybe its the heavy meds I'm on from my surgery.)

Clearly, Howard had an unpleasant retail experience that is bugging him. It's all about perception, and there is nothing wrong with him sharing his thoughts about a transaction that went wrong for him. That it happened at an establishment that many on this board know and love shouldn't negate his personal experience.

And piling on (Ron, RA, Vince) to mock or blame him for this incident is childish and not remotely constructive.

You know..I think this board IS the place to post info like that....Hell, most of us only get there once a year if we are lucky enough...and if someone could post their deals while they are on the island for someone else to hear their experience.I want to know....you think I want to get that same experience on my vacation? I want to know the good and the bad...In fact, why doesn't Buddy Dive get on here and address it?

I am sure they look at this...just saying, it isn't the money..I could care less....it's the SERVICE!!! and that service and mentality Blows!

Oh my..Well Liz & CB, we're all entitled to our respective opinions. A free an open exchange of ideas right? Notwithstanding my views, I thought the posting was indeed childish, but(Liz) I certainly was not blaming him and do think "mocking" was too strong of an accusatory word to use.

I specifically didn't use the worn out line "it's about the principal not about the money" because between you and me I've heard it way too many times and really don't believe it when someone says that. If you do, that's fine with me.

At any rate, I certainly don't expect (nor would want)everyone to agree with me on all issues, but I for one (unequivocally & categorically) think there are way too many "drama queens" in the world. Yes, indeed it is DEFINITELY a matter of perception.

I liked Buddy but also felt as if they tried to squeeze every $ they could. I would not eat at the Lions den again. I forget what I ordered something with Shrimp which usually means multiple in this case it was singular a Shrimp. who serves a shrimp???? LOL Live and learn.

Remember, Lions Den is not Buddys.

We have had only great experiences staying (and boat diving), vehicle quality, dive pros, at Buddys.

We don't patronize the Lions Den.

Lizard, I did not mock him nor blame him. I just said I hoped that he wouldn't let a small incident such as this ruin his otherwise good opinion, that's all, you read too much into it. I thought my was post was rather pleasant actually, I didn't feel it was childish either but I have been known to be accused of being immature, I guess that's why I enjoy life so much. c'est le vie!

Scot your post made me LOL..."who serves a single shrimp" hahahhahahaha

Hello Guys and Gals,

I didn't mean to stir up such a hornet's nest! Anyway, I did not know that Lion's Den is under different mgmt; therefore, I must retract my statement linking Lion's Den with Buddy Dive.

Regarding the strap, perhaps Martin was just having a bad day... everyone does while working, but I was on vacation, so I couldn't and didn't have a bad day!

In any case, my perception that Buddy Dive tries to squeeze out every dollar still stands. But that does not mean they are not a great resort! I can empathize with their desire/need to turn a profit, and catering to tourists (even us wunnerful and ever-polite divers) can be a fickle pain in the rear.

So, as far as I'm concerned I received my answer - other people have NOT had a problem with Buddy Dive, so I will chalk my experience up to "just one of those things".

Thank you all for your input. Now I've got to continue with my trip report or I'll procrastinate until it's time to go to Bonaire again....

- Howard

I got a glass of coke with 99% ice. I will never go back again.

Baby back rib. One rib.
Baby back ribs. More the one.

Shrimp LA-LA....one shrimp.
Shrimps LA-LA....Two shrimps.

Anyone want to buy a old fin strap cheap?

Jerry.....

I LOVE BUDDY DIVE!!!!! I LOVE BUDDY DIVE!!!!
I have NEVER had a bad experience there EVER! Just returned from our 12th stay there and will do it again in a few months.

Augusto is the dive shop manager so not sure how you got Martin? At any rate, sorry you were disappointed. I truly would not let something like that EVER stop me from going back.

Howard, in as hornet's nests go, this is nothing. I'm glad you're going to stick around and give us that report.

While I still hold my opinion, I want to distance myself from any association with Lizard0924, whose nastygrams I have been the recipient of in the past. No thank you.

Vince, RosAnne, you're good company even when we disagree....I'll meet you on Arthur Avenue any time...

Well Howard I'm certainly glad that you were not "put off" by anyones comments. Yes things do happen on Bonaire.. But I do know for a fact that many established successful businesses have hard working principals who also have many excellent folks employed by them. Can someone have an off day?...yea of course. Goes with the territory. Don't take things too personal.

You'll find that many of the established businesses have a strong following consisting of folks who have had excellent treatment and fond memories of their experiences. With further trips to the island, you will to, I can just about guarantee it.

**CB*** Someday.. whether on AA or Bonaire.

That will teach a new poster to comment on his experiences.

This is a local site for local people. We need no strangers here..

Antony WTH are you talking about?? did you cross post and this should be on another thread???

I think I could count on my two hands and toes how many "locals" post on BT.. This is an international site for all. Strangers welcome...

Agree with Antony. More often than not, I see any negative experiences posted met with criticism of the poster....and generally from the same people. I know what he means by "local."

--from an outsider looking in.

DD, Dude, you're getting more "local" every day...

I keep forgetting that I am one of the few Brits on here and quoting from a BBC comedy show is somewhat lost............

Calm down Freddie, calm down! Damn, I'm doing it again.............

Howard, welcome to BT :-) I'd probably be a little peeved too. Maybe sell the buckle on eBay?

Jerry, what's the name for 3 shrimps?

Calm down Antony, calm down!! I get your sense of humor but some how the joke gets lost occasionally in the snideness of your remarks. You have said some pretty damn funny things, made me laugh out loud even! Can we all just get along?
Many of us disagree on things but we still LIKE each other, most times it's nothing personal. I hope Howard continues to post, he writes in such a calm manner perhaps it will rub off on us.

Okay...being one of the few Italians on here I guess it would be somewhat lost to say I have to get the sauce and meatballs ready for the BBQ today.

I'd venture to say it's OOH-LA-LA

RA..After grilling all weekend; tonight is puntanesca!! For those folks who are not Italian, that's hooker sauce..

Vince, LMAO!!! When I translate for the kids it's "ladies of the evening" sauce. They have no clue!

Have fun grilling, kids. We're off to the ballgame. And, yeah, I love you guys, even when you're Completely Wrong! HAAAAAAAA........

Tinky Lo Wo, that would be shrimp + Shrimps.

Just returned from a weeks stay with BDR. All in all a great trip. Diving was fantastic. As for our stay at BDR, not so good. Ate, Slept and Dove with BDR last year and all was great. Brought 6 friends with me this year and had poor food/service at the Pool Bar our first night and never went back. Our room was in building #2 which was having some re-tiling work done which meant power tools running all day long. Made SI's at the room unbearable. The dive operation at BDR is top rate in my book. Augusto has a fantastic team. I really appreciate John and Sue at the Photo Shop. They are both such big help. Will I stay at BDR again? Not sure, but I will utilize their dive operations every time.

I intend to contact BDR management and give them our concerns. I really like BDR and was very disappointed this time. As a dive leader for a group to Bonaire, I have to consider the wants and needs of my group. Because of the poor accomodations and food/service I will be forced to look for alternate sources for meals and lodging next year unless I can work something out with BDR management.

(Message edited by paddy on May 31, 2010)

(Message edited by paddy on May 31, 2010)

Patrick,
We saw the work being done in building 2 as well. We were there 2 weeks ago. It's much needed reno though!

If you are a dive leader take the initiative and ask for a specific room block or building. Buddy has ALWAYS been more than accommodating for us over the last 12 years and we're typically a party of two Try it and see. Give it another try. We landed ourselves one hell of a room this trip. In building 7 which is on the Lion's Dive side of the resort. LOVED the view; it was only one of 2 rooms that were truly ocean front





Hope you go back!

Very nice Kobi! I could probably sit there for a week solid!

Construction and renewal are a constant part of living near the sea. I made it a point on our very first rental to inquire here on BT and through the agent about construction. It was an epic FAIL. We still had a good time and in hind site I am glad that there is renewal. I wish I hadn't had to listen to the pool repairs and deck repairs next door but, it was all the more reason for ME to get going and get under!

What a shame people. How is anyone suppose to make any sense out of what is good or what is bad on the island if everyone jumps on anyone with a less than positive post. You should weigh all good and bad and then make your own decision after talking to whoever you plan on renting from. Anthony you really need to get a handle on things. I am quite certain you do not want this island to be locals only. Am I wrong to think tourist puts $$$ in your pocket?

When booking our accommodations BDR probably thought they were doing the right thing by putting us in building #2 in the three bedroom unit. Unfortunately they didn't inform us of the renovation going on nor did they realize how inconvenient the renovation work was. I would have rather split our group up into separate units had I known. To be next door to that kind of noise is one thing but when its in the same building... a concrete building... it will rattle your fillings loose. As I stated before, I/we love Buddy's. Next year our group will be even larger and I would love to continue doing business with Buddy's. It will all depend on how the management responds to our concerns. As a manager myself I've learned not to judge people by the mistakes they make but by how they react to resolve them or not.

I'm sure we'll be back back Kobi. I'm hoping to work things out with Buddy management. One of my group members hosts an internet based show called Talking Scuba.(talking-scuba.com, twitter, facebook and youtube) I was anticipating having as good of an experience as my wife and I had last year at BDR. We were ready to do a cover piece on Bonaire featuring BDR but to be fair we will have to leave the BDR part out of the show this time around. No publicity is better than bad publicity.

just to add to the fray: booked with buddy in march for a may trip, have stayed with them 6 or 7 times before, no real problems to speak of. returned this weekend from my long-looked-forward-to dive trip (is there any other kind?). upon our hot & sweaty arrival on the hopper from curacao & 117 bags, tired 3 year old twins, there was no one from bdr to escort our party & considerable luggage to the resort. after searching the area for a while for someone with a little buddy's sign & asking several airport employees & airport security for help (they all acted like we were the first divers on the island & had never heard of buddy's), we finally got 2 taxi drivers to cart us off to our week of fun & sun.

when we got there to check in, we waited for 20 minutes in the sun while the front desk clerk & said taxi drivers argued before us. the clerk only wanted to reimburse one driver & the 2 taxi drivers were not happy. as for our no show transfer guy (airport transfers included in package price!), he said we weren't on the incoming plane & left. BTW: WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE ON THE PLANE. either he didn't go at all to get us, or he didn't wait for the plane to LAND.

back to check in: after watching the taxi drivers & clerk hash our their differences of opinion (very inappropriate for us to have to witness), we didn't get the oceanfront room we requested back in april. clerk said we could stay in the gardenview room until sunday & move late sunday afternoon. this was friday afternoon. clerk said "not to unpack," as this would make our move easier. seriously? as you can imagine, by sunday, we had things scattered from here to, well, sunday & had no intention of schlepping everything including groceries to another room. so much for oceanview.

had several gear problems over the course of the first few days, dive guys (including martin) seemed to be a little annoyed to be asked for help (not including murph!!), even for things we had to pay for. and dive photo shop guy john was an ass. no other way to say it. had camera housing problems, asked for help, asked him to talk me thru what he was doing, he could only stare at me & work in i'm-smarter-than-you-about-camera-stuff silence.

so in conclusion, no huge probs with bdr, but enough for me to grab a few brochures about apartment rentals for our next trip to read on the plane ride home...

(Message edited by mom_of_twins on May 31, 2010)

Sorry about your experience at BD - it sounds like one of those cases where the response to your problem is what really irked you, rather than the actual $$ amount, and I don't blame you.

A word about Lion's Den - we just got back from staying at Belmar (we usually stay at Buddy) and made the trip up to Lions Den twice. We got nothing but great food and great service (and a great view!)

I had a bad experience at BDR a few years ago. Rooms were simply not being maintained. Fridge didnt work in one, ac didnt work in another, etc. A globe off of one of the lights over the sink fell out of its frame and cut me rather seriously on the back of the hand. Management showed no concern WHATSOEVER. I didnt let it ruin my vacation but I never went back except to enjoy the atmosphere at the bar on Friday HH with Moogie.

No reason to return to an unsatisfactory resort. There are too many great options.

Quote from Joe - "A word about Lion's Den - we just got back from staying at Belmar (we usually stay at Buddy) and made the trip up to Lions Den twice. We got nothing but great food and great service (and a great view!)"

I have to Agree With Joe on the View and food at Lions Den the View is awesome and My Shrimp (Singular) was also Awesome (6 woulda been super duper awesome but thats another story). LOL

My 2 cents worth...

Lion's Den is very over priced and service is slow, but very convenient for a good meal. I still do not understand their "service charge" that is not considered a tip. Can anyone explain that?

I have had one run-in with charges at Buddy's. On a trip several years ago, we lost electricity in our room (electrical short from rain) for almost an entire day and night. I asked Buddy's for a discounted rate for the room for that last day. They offered to waive my CDW insurance instead -- which I happily agreed. This all happened after my trip, as their "datacenter" had no electricity and their computers were down -- so we settled the bill after I got home via email. My emails were directly with a manager, Michelle Van der Valk, who was very cooperative and understanding. It was funny though...I asked if they had a business continuity plan in place when these things happened. I got the "deer in the headlights" look in return.

I do, however, understand Howard's frustrations. For a $6.50 transaction, it's much easier just to refund the money than argue, upset the customer, and in turn have him tell his friends (everyone on here) about his bad experience. Buddy's may have very well lost a customer over a $6.50 transaction....what a shame.

I just love it when people take posts the wrong way. I love it even more when they still do it after it has been explained. Keep up Ron.......Doh!

Scubagirl,

I agree with you...

I was a loyal customer of Buddy Dive for 10 years. A few years back I found out I was pregnant two days before we arrived on the Island. My husband and I had reserved an unlimited shore diving package for 3 weeks with a credit card. Upon our arrival, I went to the front desk to tell them that I could not dive and they said it was too late. My credit card had already been charged for the full amount and I had missed the cutoff for a refund. My husband and I sat and argued with her for 1/2 hour at how ridiculous it was, but she would not budge. She finally said the Manager would contact me. The following day the Manager said he would refund my portion but not my husband's, since he was not pregnant. This turned into another whole debate about how my husband could not dive alone and how they would try and fine him a buddy etc or he could convert to a boat package, but we would have to pay more money. It was so silly. We finally asked him to leave, called our credit card company and had the charges removed. The next day the Manager came by and said they would refund the entire amount, but that this was a one time exception.

None of this ruined our vacation, instead we spent our time snorkeling and looking for new accomodations for the following year. We never returned to Buddy Dive. I do not think they were very concerned about losing us as customers. I guess they have plenty of customers to fill their rooms.

Anthony ....that is my dust you see.

After reading all this I truly feel blessed! We have never had any problems like what have been shared here.
I even found myself saying WTF?! Did these people stay at the same place I just returned from 2 week ago?!?! Truthfully, if they lost a customer over $6.50 the sun will rise again and another customer (ME) will be there with their wallet

Dive on...........

Why does Buddy's need to change...?? with most of you guys praising the Mighty Buddy Dive, they have no need to change, yinze will keep on giving them $.....it's a shame... yep $6 and lost a customer....make that 2....Obviously, they have some CUSTOMER issues they need to work on....

too many place with Quality Customer Service there on the Island to deal with that crap...Dive on.


but not at Buddy's

Well I for one think that some of you should listen to the lyrics of the song entitled "Get over it" song by Don Henley of the Eagles. How about focusing on some of the more important things in life.

Thanks, Vince
Getting over it is what we must do.

I'm just glad there are 2 less customer's to patronize Buddy's to make room for those of us that want to go back!

Well I can see that Vince has never had a coke that was 90+% ice. I'm never going back.

Jerry..I can't believe someone would have the absolute audacity to do something like that. Don't they know that you pay good money for soda (I assume that's what you're talking about) :> and to have it melted down with cheap ice is unconscionable AND on top of that A COMPLETE RIP OFF!

Why if it had been me, I would have thrown a complete tizzy fit & demanded to speak to upper management. I also suspect a trip to the governor's office to personally voice my displeasure of this type of nefarious business practice would definitely be indicated.

Man, how's a guy supposed to get the skinny on Buddy Dive with all this fluff around?

Hey Bill just go to the Lions Den and order the Shrimp (singular)!

Another suggestion Bill, try spending a SI in room 209 while the tile work is going on. And oh, by the way, you may want to bring some aspirin.

Patrick, I can ABSOLUTELY tell you that they would have moved me within minutes or returned every single penny. I have a "condition" which makes it impossible for me to be around loud noises or large noisy crowds for any length of time. Your situation would have been an absolute show stopper. I do not go on vacation and spend good money to be placed in conditions worse than where I live. I also have no problem hiring lawyers, lambasting a property or person for treating me improperly, or making sure everyone and their mother knows about it.

In short, I am BEYOND in agreement with you.

Gosh: I've been to Bonaire 5 times, never staying at BDR, and probably won't in the future!

Mr. Bill, will you be my Consumer Advocate? I could used you...

Mikeal, welcome to BT

We always stay at Buddys, nice vehicle, room well stocked with kitchen needs, great dive op, and front dive, also gives dive access to Bari reef and Dons reef. Never had any problems. Always found the staff helpful and friendly, but then, we're very friendly and courteous visitors.

I also don't take any nonsense, or put up with anything I didn't expect.

http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/1022/10292.html

Nothing we have experienced in the past 9 visits has changed our feelings towards BDR. We look foreward to our next return.

As I posted right below Kobi's beautiful picture above in this thread - all property near the see requires constant maintenance and the occasional overhaul. I did all my homework the first trip. I looked here on BT, specifically wanting to avoid construction noise. I called the renting agent. A $7,000/wk villa next to one that was having it's pool completely renovated. We survived and I was pissed. All you can do in life is your best to know what's going on and I suspect short of being on the ground in Bonaire you're really never going to know. Those who are going somewhere else - well, you may find that Buddy's is a lot quieter the next time, after all, they're done renovating. But, what's going to be happening in the new place you've chosen? Just a thought.

For me it is not so much the actual problem, but how management responds to the problem. At BDR I felt they were fat and happy and I was just a number. If I did not return it was no big deal. There was a time when the owners of BDR knew my name, they sent my husband and I a wedding gift. I had the same maid every year, knew her children etc. Now BDR is big resort.

BDR is no longer for me, but I am happy for those of you who have enjoyed your stay at BDR. It is a nice feeling when you find that perfect place.

That makes sense Beth. I have never stayed at BDR. Our local dive group goes every year though. I guess I had never thought of BDR as anything but a large impersonal resort. I sort of unwanted change is unpleasant I am sure.

i couldn't agree more, beth! we just returned from bonaire, were sooo excited to go back to bdr (our 7th stay with them). once there, had the same feeling as you, that we were no more than faces in the crowd. no concern when we didn't get picked up at the airport (!), didn't get the room we reserved, had broken furniture & blown lightbulbs. i think they have gotten too big & busy to give great (what i expect) service. will be looking for another place to stay for future trips.