This was a disappointing experience not because of the Mantas taking a rare day off but the lack of organization and customer awareness from some of the crew. We were the first group out and the boat operator showed up late without even acknowledging to the 6 of us. I had to text the office (who was very responsive) to find out if it was still on. So for an outfit that was explicit in their instructions to be prompt and ready to go, they were neither. We had to wait for them to drop the boat in the water, take out the gear and then we hurriedly took of in to the location on the water.
In the description of this tour there was no indication we were basically daisy chaining our light board with all the tour groups. There was no ‘small group’ personal touch was that was advertised— they didn’t ask anything about us, not even where are you from like other tours we’ve taken in HI. .The diver with us in the water did his best to make an experience that didn’t happen informative and we moved a few times in search of the elusive rays.
When our 30 minute time limit was up and we returned to shore, we had to walk up the asphalt road in bare feet to the truck where our stuff was stored. Not sure why they didn’t offer to grab our shoes. There was no ‘sorry you didn’t see rays’ by the land crew or apologies for leaving 20 minutes late or an offer of taking another trip for a discounted rate. Just focused on the next group coming in like an assembly line. While I never felt unsafe, this operator has room for improvement in customer satisfaction given you are dealing with tourists as your business that have many other options.
Одговор домаћина
Sep 2022
Aloha,
First off I'd like to thank you for your honest review. We appreciate the feedback as it helps us to see where improvements need to be made in order to excel. I apologize for the lack of organization within the company. Regardless of the reason for the late departure, there is no excuse to make things right. As for linking up with other groups, this tends to be a common practice when there are few mantas in sight. We do try our best to get a good amount of views, even if that means linking to other companies when needed.
Once again, I do apologize that we were not more informative as to what the procedure would be beforehand. As the office manager, I do strive to keep our team accountable for engaging with customers in making them feel like we are there to ensure that they have an amazing experience even in times when we did not succeed. (ie. running late, no mantas, bad weather, etc.)
I do hope that we can make it up to you and would love to see how we can make it right. If you are willing to give us another try or have any family or friends that will be in town, please don't hesitate to give me a call at 808-315-8631.
Once again, I appreciate the feedback and hope that you had a great stay here on the Big Island.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Alisha Lei