LDS Owner/Instructor Incident.

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PaulSmithTek

Contributor
Messages
407
Reaction score
0
Location
Salt Lake City Utah
# of dives
100 - 199
My wife started her OW last night. I went with her to hang out and get a review. The minute I walked in the store the owner told me to leave. During the class he told my wife that I am a Tec diver and not to listen to anything I say, because it is different the OW. I also have my padi OW and Advanced. Tec Diver, I am a commercial diver. The physics and medicine are all the same. Then he went on to tell her that PADI says the #1 rule in diving is never hold your breath they are wrong it is #3. Carry your own gear is #1 and minds your own business # 2. This guy was so rude my wife didn’t even enjoy the class. He wasn’t sticking to the information that PADI the agency has told him to teach. He also stated that her OW wasn’t even really a certification to dive. That she had to take all of these specialized courses to even dive on a charter anywhere in the world. I don’t know but I am so displeased that if I hadn’t already paid for the full class. I would take my business to the other LDS that I buy all my gear from.

A good friend of mine worked for the LDS as the manager. The current Owner/Instructor bought the LDS from another good friend of ours. My friend (manager) quit working there because he was not making any money to support his family. The owner is now mad and treats anyone that knows my friend like we are no longer customers.

Is the instructors support to teach the class the way PADI has it setup or can they tell the students what ever they want? I am just curious what everyones options and suggestions are.
 
No, the instructor can't just teach whatever he wants. PADI is very strict about the information that should be delivered in any given session.

I would pull your wife out and screw the money. You might be able to get some of it back, but it doesn't sound like it. Any additional money you have to spend for good training will be worth it.

Rachel
 
If this guy has this bad an attitude, I don't see any way your wife is going to come out of this feeling that diving is a great thing. If the instructor is also the owner of the LDS, then complaining and getting a new instructor probably isn't an option, either. You can always go and have a talk with him, and if you get nowhere, let the money go and find another place to train. Then you can write a letter to PADI describing what he's teaching and asking THEM if they think it's all right.

Sounds to me as though this guy's very threatened by your experience and credentials, as well.
 
It doesn't sound like you will have to wait very long before the place goes out of business. Hopefully your friend had lots of friends.

PaulSmithTek:
The owner is now mad and treats anyone that knows my friend like we are no longer customers.
 
I agree, that was hopefully the only time he was going to be the instructor. Her instructor for her pool dives, is a guy that I trust and enjoy. But the first experiance of the Class shouldnt be with a Instructor that teaches what ever. So we will see how Wednesday goes. I was just curious if it merited talking to Padi about it?
 
I would demand your money back, I would also to put a call or email to PADI. I am not sure who but they should know what their instructor is doing.
 
This is a sport that must depend on its members to police themselves. I'm not talking about draconian rules, "scuba police"l, or regulations, of course. But when the certificying agencies produce good materials, literature and training, and those responsible for transmitting that data deviate from it, then I think we have a responsibility to report those lapses.
Certainly, poor tactics, training and customer service will weed out poor LDS operators. However, we shouldn't wait for that to happen before we tell certification agencies what their people are doing. It's our sport, too.
 
Did you pay for the course with a credit card? If so, your wife may be able to pull out and then deal with the credit card company about the refund. They are pretty good (or bad if you are a merchant) about these kinds of things. The important part is, you would have to tell them that you did not receive the service you paid for...which pretty much seems like the case.

Jeff
 
Agreed I think I will contact PADI @ lunch. I paid the class with cash. I figured the shop still had a good reputation since it was only bought about 6 months ago. But I was completely wrong.
 
Yup, let PADI know what's up and also, let the shop owner know what's up. PADI is pretty good at mediating. If you chose to drop the class, I would ask for a refund and tell the owner why. If he refuses, get PADI involved.

cheers
 

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