I took an Open Water course with an instructor that was absolutely horrible. This person should not be teaching PERIOD. It was not safe, he was mean, offensive, demeaning, not patient, and at times not competent. These were the feelings shared by all of the students in the course. What if anything can be done? Do NAUI and PADI do anything when they get these types of complaints?
What to do about HORRIBLE instructor?
- Thread starter fredlikes
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There are always 2 sides to every story and I hope that no one rushes to judgment. If you have a valid complaint then you can always contact the specific agency that was sponsoring the training. You mentioned 2 of them. Which one was your?
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They might if you have a legitmate complaint. The best way to handle the problems is to write up a narative, stating specifics, especially what you base the fact you say they weren't competent on. File it with the train agency and regional represenative of the specific agency. I would even contact the regional rep beforehand to discuss it with them. You can ususally find who they are online or someone on here can help you locate their names.
It is best to do this after you have thought about it for a few days just to cool off.
It is best to do this after you have thought about it for a few days just to cool off.
I get the "2 sides to every story" thing and I do not take lightly the idea of someone losing their livelihood, though, this guy is just plain dangerous and I now feel morally obligated to at least report him.
There is a difference between someone who is just an "a#$hole" and someone that should not be teaching. This man should not be teaching.
There is a difference between someone who is just an "a#$hole" and someone that should not be teaching. This man should not be teaching.
David_57
Contributor
Based on what your opinion give us facts not generalizations, did you try and talk to him or the dive shop before posting on here?
When we complete instruction in our shop, we have a class evaluation form for students to fill out, with students marking different aspects of the class on a 1-5 scale. I will brag a little and say that I get around 80-90% 5s, with a smattering of 4's. I never get a 3 or below.
Until recently.
After feeling euphoric after what I thought might have been one of my most successful classes ever, I got blasted by one student, who clearly thought I should not be teaching. I really don't understand why. The rest of the class thought I was just fine. I even got a low score on my coverage of the content. I always go over everything thoroughly and even add additional materials. Every student scored in the high 90's or 100% on the final exam, with almost all wrong answers being silly mistakes. I don't believe any of my students have ever before given me less than a 5 on that item.
So please make sure you have good reasons for your evaluation.
Is the instructor an independent, or did he teach for a shop? If he taught for a shop, then you need to make a clear listing of problems and take it to the shop ownership. They will deal with it appropriately.
Until recently.
After feeling euphoric after what I thought might have been one of my most successful classes ever, I got blasted by one student, who clearly thought I should not be teaching. I really don't understand why. The rest of the class thought I was just fine. I even got a low score on my coverage of the content. I always go over everything thoroughly and even add additional materials. Every student scored in the high 90's or 100% on the final exam, with almost all wrong answers being silly mistakes. I don't believe any of my students have ever before given me less than a 5 on that item.
So please make sure you have good reasons for your evaluation.
Is the instructor an independent, or did he teach for a shop? If he taught for a shop, then you need to make a clear listing of problems and take it to the shop ownership. They will deal with it appropriately.
DevonDiver
N/A
As you were on your OW training course, how do you feel qualified to judge his competance and safety?
Perhaps you should share the precise facts, so that people who are qualified can give you some good advice on the matter.
Evidently, his employer and his dive agency believe otherwise. Having said that, there are some sub-standard instructors in the world. However, I don't think anyone on this forum would pay great heed to your complaints...or the validity of your 'assessment' unless you give precise reasons as to why you feel this way.
I have, on several occasions, seen negative assessments of instructors/courses written on this forum by novice divers. Generally, those negative assessments stem from a mis-understanding or mis-appreciation by the novice diver. On a few occasions they were valid.
Generally, I would initially question how a novice diver, on their entry-level training, would expect to have a better risk assessment and understanding of safety protocols than a seasoned, qualified instructor.....
He teaches independently, and I was not the only one who held this opinion of him. My entire class did.
Does any of the following sound appropriate for an Open Water class, or as to how anyone should be treated in general?
He yelled at students in the ocean as they were puking from sea sickness and left them there with their inexperienced dive buddy as he moved forward while calling them "pussy", he was sexist and made the females feel uncomfortable, he gave conflicting info regarding many important things, the students were afraid to ask questions because he yelled so often, he was very impatient and often got questions by students mixed up so he would yell at them when he completely was misunderstanding the question, everyone was intimidated by him and just wanted to finish the course, he did not pay attention at times during the dives and his assistants who only had their open water certifications had to take over and assist the students...
the list goes on....
Does any of the following sound appropriate for an Open Water class, or as to how anyone should be treated in general?
He yelled at students in the ocean as they were puking from sea sickness and left them there with their inexperienced dive buddy as he moved forward while calling them "pussy", he was sexist and made the females feel uncomfortable, he gave conflicting info regarding many important things, the students were afraid to ask questions because he yelled so often, he was very impatient and often got questions by students mixed up so he would yell at them when he completely was misunderstanding the question, everyone was intimidated by him and just wanted to finish the course, he did not pay attention at times during the dives and his assistants who only had their open water certifications had to take over and assist the students...
the list goes on....
David_57
Contributor
So was he a PADI or NAUI instructor? Suggest you call them an complain, if this instructor is such a tyrant I am sure there have been other complaints against him, if that is the case the cert agency would be impelled to look into your complaint. How about the other students are they willing to file a complaint? If this is the normal behavior for this instructor she or he will not last long.
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