Question about dive school pricing.

[Eric Sedletzky]

When I got certified there were two shops in town to choose from. One was down in the south end of town amongst the detail shops, radiator shops, and used car dealers. They had and ad painted on the front window saying "Scuba classes $125". Being the seedy end of town I figured his rent was less and he could discount classes. Then for comparison I went up to the shop on the north end of town and they had certifications advertised for $365 complete. That included all the classes, book, pic card, full gear rental not including mask and snorkel but everything else, and also didn't include fills on the two tanks included in the rental, but only if you got them filled someplace other than back at the shop. The open water portion was out on the coast at a state park and it also didn't include the $5 park fee for each day. They had a sheet with all prices outlined and restrictions up front. There were no surprises. I went with that shop.
Later I found out that the discount shop would have been about $400 if I was lucky, but could have been way more in some cases. That price of $125 was for the teaching part only. It didn't include any gear, books, pic card, tank rental, nothing. Then Infound out from a source that he would routinely "run out" of rental gear which would cause people to have to buy new gear which be bad nothing but a lot of oddball fringe brands and his rental fleet was pretty lame also with a lot of mismatched oddball stuff that hardly worked and was in desparate need of servicing.

So my experience is to go in, talk to them, check out the shop and see what type of gear they sell and how they run their business, because chances are if they're a dealer of top end gear then that's what you'll be using for rental. And if you get a firm price and know exactly what it's going to cost it makes in so much easier with no grief or hidden surprises. Also make sure they'll reserve the gear you'll need for your check out dives so you don't get there and get told they are out and if you want to do the dives you'll need to buy all new stuff to complete the course.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

With that marketing approach, do you really still wonder why you can't command a higher fee for teaching scuba classes?

As a professor in grad school used to say there's a reason you don't see ads saying "Fly United... we don't crash that much."

Actually I do. Other than OW and Rescue my class prices for recreational courses are about double what others in my area charge. My OW class private rate is 600 plus student needs to supply msf and rental gear for checkouts. And I keep all of the tuition. I don't teach many OW classes. They are not my focus.

At the regular 395 for semi private 2-4 students max I am at the shop with the pool anyway on then night I offer instruction. In exchange for keeping the door open I don't pay for unlimited use of the pool and the scuba gear that's located there. It's 20 minutes from my house and the lake for checkouts is 5 minutes from the shop so expenses are low. I don't believe everyone needs to, or should be a diver.

A shop instructor might get what 50, 75, 100 per student if that? I get 395 per semi private student and 600 per private student. If I had to pay for pool use and other expenses I'd charge 600 each for group and 800 for private and not care if I got anyone. I make the money I need to make for classes and the content of them. The shop whose pool I use gets the gear sales,rental fees, and a little time from me that helps keep his expenses down.

 

[RJP]

Actually I do.

Imagine how much MORE you could get!



Dreams always sell for more than nightmares.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

In this area not much. Blue collar with lots of gas workers yes but those guys are too tired after the way they have to work. 12 hour days for 14 straight then off for a week or ten days. They make good money because of the OT. On the hour in reality the pay is not that great and they don't last long. A couple years usually and then they decide they want to have a life. If they can't move up they end with a nice truck working at Home Depot or someplace else. To top it off due to the inflated wages local housing costs have also been artificially inflated. People with regular jobs that used to pay 450 a month rent are now having to scrape up double that or lose their place to a gas co employee or two.
Houses that 5 years ago could be had for 50K are going for 125K or more. As a result the average mfg or office worker has lost a lot of what was income for leisure activity. All thanks to a state legislature that is bought and paid for. As well as a former governor (Tom Corbet) who was on his knees for the oil and gas companies. All the jobs, lower property taxes, and higher wages for everyone was a lie.

 

[redacted]

You really don't need Vance Armstrong to teach you to ride your first bicycle. (But that might come later.) Any one of the agency books will teach you what you need to know about the "don'ts to do". The skills are pretty basic and simple. What you need right now is a c-card. So, unless you have some special requirement, there is little reason to spend more than necessary for OW.

 

[DogDiver]

I charge by the day. If we can get your pool and open water dives done in 5 days. Great. But each additional day in the water will cost. These days are 8 hour days.


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[RJP]

You really don't need Vance Armstrong to teach you to ride your first bicycle.

Is that Lance's cousin?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I think it's his dealer. Uses the name to increase business. Probably from the nfl and mlb.

 

[Frosty]

Thank you for the responses. The schools I'm looking at seem to be pretty up front about all the costs. I just wanted to make sure since my own past experience is all I have right now. @Jim the price itself isn't the issue. Flight schools that do this tend to be unscrupulous and that's what I want to avoid.
Again thank you everyone for your help.

Heres the thing.
Unlike a PPL or Commercial licence there is no universal standard shared between agencies.
I could -and have taught people to "dive" in about 25 minutes. (its called a DSD dive)
Would I want even my very worst enemy to then go out in the sea and do a "real" dive without an instructor within hands reach. Heck NO!!
That's because that 25 minutes is the very basics of breathing and swimming underwater.
The other end of the scale is that by end of course you are certified as a diver but much more importantly have your buoyancy, finning, Navigation etc all sorted.
For now I would be asking exactly WHAT course you are getting / paying for at the various shops.
Incidently I would ALWAYS expect that the course includes supply of ALL gear required.
The option to buy your own gear should be offered.

 

[captsquirrel]

Heres the thing.
Unlike a PPL or Commercial licence there is no universal standard shared between agencies.
I could -and have taught people to "dive" in about 25 minutes. (its called a DSD dive)
Would I want even my very worst enemy to then go out in the sea and do a "real" dive without an instructor within hands reach. Heck NO!!
That's because that 25 minutes is the very basics of breathing and swimming underwater.
The other end of the scale is that by end of course you are certified as a diver but much more importantly have your buoyancy, finning, Navigation etc all sorted.
For now I would be asking exactly WHAT course you are getting / paying for at the various shops.
Incidently I would ALWAYS expect that the course includes supply of ALL gear required.
The option to buy your own gear should be offered.

I just don't want to get saddled with exorbitant costs if I need extra time. Of the two places I've been considering one includes everything while the other requires the purchase of mask, snorkel, and fins. The difference in price is about $75.