Dixie Divers in Deerfield Groupon

[danvolker]

And another thing !!
We have some awesome instructors that are at the BHB weekly....the list is huge, but I will name a few....Kevin of Underwater Explorers is so good he prepares some open water divers to do GUE Fundies....There are some great Force E instructors at the bridge all the time, as well as Pura Vida instructors like Mark and Colin. Most of the instructors I see there a lot, are very good, and when you see their students, they are hovering nicely in mid-water, not pogo-ing off the bottom...and their gear is intelligently configured, not strewn all over the place.... The discrepancy between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is mind boggling.
With all the time that many of us on SB spend on trying to promote safe and fun diving practices....I think we OWE IT to the OP in this thread, to warn them about the liklihood that they are on a bad road right now..... I want them to really enjoy diving, and to NOT get a bad first exposure to it.
They came here for advice-- I hope. My advice is to cancel and sign up for a quality class elsewhere.....While dixie Divers could provide good instruction at much more money, I think the message needs to be sent to them, that it is bad for business to DO Groupon to people...it is not fair to the students.

 

[Biggar]

Wow....everyone knows what assume means right?

I was looking for a welcoming into the community, not your unverified opinions.

For the record, my father in law is a dive master. I think ill be ok

 

[danvolker]

Wow....everyone knows what assume means right?

I was looking for a welcoming into the community, not your unverified opinions.

For the record, my father in law is a dive master. I think ill be ok

Biggar,
My comments were only meant to help you. In other words, the opposite of an attack..which seems to be the flavor you are reacting to.
If your Father in Law ( with his Dive Master rating) secretly entered this class as a student, I think he would be very safe, and suffer zero damage from it.
In your own words, you are not yet certified...you will be doing this for the first time.
If your Father in Law wants to go through the entire class with you, essentially doing the job of the instructor for the Groupon class (for you), then you will probably get some good instruction.

The whole "assume" thing does no one any good here. You will find thousands of divers on SB that will tell you quality instruction is much better than cheap instruction.. I will be shocked if even a handful come on here, and defend "cheap" groupon instruction.

In fact, you ARE being welcomed to scuba board, and many divers have already taken an interest in trying to help you.
Additionally, many on this forum will be happy to have you dive with them at the BHB Marine park....You will find mentoring, whether by your father in law, or by long time advanced divers you can see to have excellent skills, will help you progress very quickly.

 

[HowardE]

Wow....everyone knows what assume means right?

I was looking for a welcoming into the community, not your unverified opinions.

For the record, my father in law is a dive master. I think ill be ok

Hi Biggar.

Welcome to ScubaBoard. I hope you have a fun learning experience and enjoy diving as much as most of us here do.

 

[Sik_Z33]

I purchased the AOW groupon, having received my ow cert from a really good highly regarded dive instructor in the area I will report back on how Dixie divers compares. I never planned on getting my advanced because I was taught navigation by my ow instructors until I saw this deal.

 

[captjohnr]

160 Folks Bought this Groupon Deal in January this year....
Scuba Instruction by Dennis Buice Deal of the Day | Groupon Orlando
Dennis Buice had just gotten his Instructor Certification the month before Groupon put him in business.
Linkedin shows his background is a Costumed Character Performer.

Groupon Scares Me!

 

[danvolker]

160 Folks Bought this Groupon Deal in January this year....
Scuba Instruction by Dennis Buice Deal of the Day | Groupon Orlando
Dennis Buice had just gotten his Instructor Certification the month before Groupon put him in business.
Linkedin shows his background is a Costumed Character Performer.

Groupon Scares Me!

John,
I have never joined Linkedin....so this "Costumed Character Performer" designation...I am guessing it means on Linkedin that he is seen like a "masked burgler" ? This would be consistent with my impression of a heavily groupon using dive shop.

 

[Biggar]

Thanks for comments, I know you are looking out for me dan, thanks. I will never know if I was instructed correctly, but getting to know you guys will help ( :

have a great weekend

 

[captjohnr]

Dennis Buice does not have a dive shop. He is an independent PADI instructor that got his ticket one month before Groupon put him in business. Buice dresses up as Toby the Tiger a knock of Tony the Tiger.

 

[Reck Diver]

160 Folks Bought this Groupon Deal in January this year....
Scuba Instruction by Dennis Buice Deal of the Day | Groupon Orlando
Dennis Buice had just gotten his Instructor Certification the month before Groupon put him in business.
Linkedin shows his background is a Costumed Character Performer.

Groupon Scares Me!

How long should an instructor be certified as such before he begins to train divers? Do the certification agencies have any guidelines on this?