What is the problem with doing a Scuba Review/Refresher?

[Skittl1321]

I think the resistance comes from cost (money that could have been used to go on a real dive), and the feeling that ops are just trying to make extra money by setting standards such that almost every vacation diver that came through would have to take a refresher.

 

[boulderjohn]

Going back to the OP's question - 6 months is too severe, even for newbies. 12 months is reasonable and I believe it is the PADI recommendation.

Yes, 12 months is the PADI recommendation. Six months seems more than a bit excessive to me. I think you need a more realistic policy, and if you don't have a more realistic policy, you can expect continued bad customer relations.

Let's start with a realistic policy. Here in Colorado, we do a lot of scuba reviews in a pool for people who area about to take a trip and have not been diving for a while. I am not sure what it costs, but I expect it is in the $50 range for a group experience. These are mostly handled by DMs, but I have done a number over the years. I find that if they have not been diving for, say, 2 years, then it all comes back to them very quickly, and it is a trouble-free fun experience. If they have been out of the water for much more than that, it becomes more and more necessary. I recently had to do a scuba review for a student who had completed his confined water classes nearly 12 months before without doing the OW dives. He breezed through the skills. It takes more than 6 months to lose it.

Now let's look at the level of service rendered. My grandson and his mother went diving recently more than 12 months after their certification dives, and they were gong to do a review with me just before the trip. Unfortunately, that fell through, and I suggested they do it with the dive operator they were going to use. They had to pay a significant chunk of change for it, and the review turned out to be about a 10-15 minute talk with the DM before they did the dive they had paid for in addition to the review. It was a total ripoff. They did fine once they were in the water. You can bet the mom was not happy with the operator, and they should not expect a repeat customer or a good recommendation. If instead they had made the first dive a special review dive, with the cost appropriate to the level of attention being offered rather than an inflated price for a chat followed by a full priced dive, everyone would have been happy.

 

[Storker]

6 months is too severe, even for newbies. 12 months is reasonable and I believe it is the PADI recommendation.

after not diving for a year physical characteristics can change and you might need to adjust your gear, Change weights, loosen or tighten straps, and get use to diving safety again.

OTOH, in my experience I notice that if I'm out of the water for more than a month or so, I feel "rusty" and prefer to do a dive or two at our club's training site, or at least make my first couple of dives simple and benign before I try something approaching the limits of my skills and experience.

i know how to dive in my back yard but that does not mean i know how to dive in your dive conditions. i am always happy for an intro to local dive conditions.

For a reasonably intelligent person, that's a no-brainer

 

[chrisch]

I think the main thing is people want to dive when on holiday not mess about doing skills. If you have flown to some exotic location and spent a wad of cash on hotels you want to have a diving vacation not a scuba review.

Firstly, I would make the policy very clear (and cite insurance as the reason) to everyone when they book. This gives people the chance to make a dive locally before getting there. Second, I would offer the review free to anyone that wanted it, so there is no issue of putting another dollar in. A quick skills circuit in the hotel pool is all you need.

I would find it hard to argue if that were the case. If you want me to spend $100 to show you I can still clear a mask then I too would object.

 

[diverjen]

Very Interesting. As Colorado folk, I try to make sure to get in the pool at least every 3 months just to work on skills and buoyancy, plus its fun! Unfortunately these are not OW dives so I don't log them. Right now, Chatfield (local pond), is starting to look real real good since we are in the very short diving season where I can get actual OW in affordably/easily on a weekend. I am still pretty new of course, but it does help me to work on skills. I think the hire a DM for first day or $75 policy for 12 month + lapse is very reasonable for new divers or a "checkout dive" for more experienced divers would also be reasonable, but $250 is quite steep for a 6 month lapse for almost anyone, especially if you are missing dives on vacation, too.

 

[KeithG]

what would you accept as proof of diving skill or recent experience? dive log? (can be faked) computer? (might be borrowed)

Wet bcd?

 

[redacted]

Wet bcd?

$100.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I agree that for many, maybe most, divers who have had a lay off of 6 to 12 months, an "orientation dive may suffice as opposed to a full blown scuba refresher, which, at my shop, is about a four to five hour class and pool combined. But quite candidly, if a person has been dry for a year or more, it is in their interest to do some sort of remedial training or review. Perhaps that can be less than a formal scuba reviuew, but more than an "orientation dive." Howeve4r, no one needs to be surprised at their dive destination if the shop or boat requires a scuba review based upon their history. You can inquire before the fact and then do a refresher or review at home before the trip, or plan it into you dive trip. Whatever the case each diver should acknowledge that they need to be current in their knowledge and skills before embarking on open water dives (or other dives). I have seen certified divers who have been out of the water for a prolonged period to inflate their bcd to surface, to not know how to set up their gear, who have no clue as to proper weighting, and who can't read a computer or remember what NDL stands for. Part of dive trip preparation is to prepare your skills and knowledge for diving if those things have been lost over time.
DivemasterDennis

 

[KeithG]

I think the main thing is people want to dive when on holiday not mess about doing skills. If you have flown to some exotic location and spent a wad of cash on hotels you want to have a diving vacation not a scuba review.

I think many posters agree that rational people are happy with a fair balance of safety versus money grab.

If my experience indicates I should be competent in current conditions, a money grab is VERY offensive. On the other hand: if my history indicates I am not prepared, then we should expect some additional training / acclimatization to cost some $$.

As a Caribbean vacation diver it would be stupid for me to show up for a Galapagos liveaboard and be happy for them to toss me off the boat. I believe the dive op should be all over me and I should not be surprised if they charged me for the extra attention / training.

BUT: if a Belize dive op ever tried to pull a $250 refresher baby sitting 15 minute course money grab tactic...

 

[azmodan50]

I think 6 months is too short a time frame to require a refresher. If I stop diving in October and don't get back in the water until April, I don't think I need a refresher.