Scuba Schools of America/Rusty Berry

[muddiver]

I don't know what's considered good quality in comparison to others, but for the price you pay, I would expect it to be TOP notch...

Price is not always an indicator of quality.

Example: I dive a Viking Extreame dry suit. They can sell as low as $900.00 In my opinion Viking is one of the best dry suit manufacturers in the business but most other dry suits (Whites, SSA, DUI) start at a much higher price. It does not make them a more durable and higher quality dry suit.

Just my opinion.

 

[muddiver]

So apparently Mr. Rusty is on SB......let's just send and invite to VooDooGas and see if it is him. Maybe he will bless us with explanations on how it is fair practice to remove part of a mask opr BC only to charge you extra to get it back.

Let's see.........

Well, that is his photo on the profile of "VooDooGas"

 

[ScubaSteve]

Well, that is his photo on the profile of "VooDooGas"

And he has been politely invited to explain the situation to those who wish to hear it. He has not been on in a while from the looks of it though so he will likely not get the PM.

 

[Thalassamania]

You can get a perfectly adequate BC or BC/w in the range of $300 to $500. Dry suits can be more expensive, they can range from a low of about $700 to more than $3,000. Like MudDiver I too am a Viking fan, though I also dive a DUI and a Polaris.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

A new Zeagle Express Tech retails for around 250. My drysuit is a HOG and I got one helluva deal. Plus I sold my OS Systems suit for 650 and it was 5 yrs old. Excellent shape and recently gone over by superior.

 

[Abidon]

Wow!:shocked2: I knew I wasn't alone in being duped by this guy, but compared to some on this thread, I got off easy. From reading all these stories, it's obvious his MO hasn't changed one bit. Luckily, my wife found out about this dive shop the day after we signed up for classes.

Rusty initially refused to accept any returns or refund the cost of the class (around $1800). I had my run-in with him around the same time he was named a defendant in that wrongful death suit, so maybe he wasn't in the mood to haggle with me. I only ended up being out a few hundred bucks, and was left with some over-priced "snorkeling gear" that we still use to this day. No diver I've come across here in So Cal has a nice thing to say about Rusty or his dive shop.

Give 'em hell, Lina! :voodoo:

 

[Thalassamania]

Except for his cadre of true believing diving Moonies ... that's is the marketing plan. But he needs a constant supply of fresh innocents. Find a way to stop that ... like get him barred from the shows, and he'll go under.

 

[scjoe]

But he needs a constant supply of fresh innocents. Find a way to stop that ... like get him barred from the shows, and he'll go under.

That is not likely to happen because he has a very large booth at the show and that means money for the show. It is hard to believe that the manufacturers and SSI are not aware of how he operates. I suspect he certifies far more divers than most SSI shops and is one of the top sellers for most of the lines he carries or rebrands, so the agency and the manufacturers probably don't see any reason to make changes.

 

[D_B]

now that's a depressing thought

 

[Codyjp]

That is not likely to happen because he has a very large booth at the show and that means money for the show. It is hard to believe that the manufacturers and SSI are not aware of how he operates. I suspect he certifies far more divers than most SSI shops and is one of the top sellers for most of the lines he carries or rebrands, so the agency and the manufacturers probably don't see any reason to make changes.

And so goes many training agencies operating principals. Sad really.