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From driving the boat to lugging tanks, the owners of Sea Dwellers Dive Center in Key Largo do everything it takes to ensure guests receive top-rate service Not many dive shop owners in the Florida Keys drive the boat every day, and even fewer carry tanks ashore upon returning to the dock. But that is exactly what Jeff Cleary and Rob Haff have been doing for the past six years.The owners of Sea Dwellers Dive Center in Key Largo are strong believers in leading by example. I may not be doing this in 20 years, but right now it is important for us to be out there every day because we really stress service on the boat, Cleary says. By being there, we know all of the divers are getting a quality experience - plus, it tends to make the divemasters work a little harder.Judging from Sea Dwellers' high rate of returning customers and unusually low staff turnover, their strategy seems to be working.Like a number of dive operators in the Keys, Cleary and Hoff stress the importance of responsible diving and reef conservation.We're big on talking with people before they get into the water, Cleary says.In addition to taking part in the annual Great American Fish Count, Sea Dwellers offers divers the opportunity to complete PADI's Underwater Naturalist specialty course.Sea Dwellers also is an ideal place for beginners to complete their PADI Open Water Course. The center's staff includes four full-time instructors who hold classes in the nearby Holiday Inn Key Largo Resort. As part of the course, students complete eight open-water training dives at outstanding sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. That's twice the number of dives offered in most open-water courses.We got special permission from PADI to exceed the standards, Cleary says. This way our divers get twice the fun and twice the experience. Some new divers don't do eight dives in their first year, but all of ours do before they go home. Sea Dwellers Dive CenterPhone: 800-451-3640 E-mail: sdwellers@aol.comWeb: www.sea-dwellers.com
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