How to vet a dive shop

[Steve_C]

That makes sense. I got to drive along with both my daughters during their classes. For the oldest, she was part of a larger group. Actually two separate groups from the same shop, but different instructors. When they were doing the skills part, I kept well clear, and really just observed and recorded on my GoPro. I did buddy up with her for other parts of the dive.

For the younger, she was in a much smaller group. Her, and two adults, so I was her buddy, and did all the skills along side her for each dive.

In both cases, this was all cleared with the instructors before hand.

\

And you were already certified.

 

[Belzelbub]

\

And you were already certified.

Exactly. That should go without saying. The only uncertified divers allowed on a checkout dive should be the students in the class.

 

[shurite7]

1. “When did you become an instructor?”
2. "Have you had any large gaps in your teaching career? How recently? How many courses have you taught in the past year?"
3. “What is your certifying agency?”
4. “How much time is required for the course?”
5. “How large are the classes?”
6. “What equipment do you provide and what do I as the student need to supply?”
7. “Is your class schedule set or flexible?”
8. “Do you teach skin diving skills?”
9. “What methods do you use to teach proper weighting?”
10. “What methods do you use to address the panic cycle?”
11. “Do you teach students to perform skills in a horizontal position from the beginning of the class?”
12. “Will I have time to just swim and practice the skills we learn?”
13. “Can I sit in on a class or pool session?”
14. “What methods do you use to teach buoyancy and trim?”
15. “How much time will I get to practice these skills?”
16. “Do you dive with students after class has ended?”
17. “Where do you do your checkout dives?”
18. “How many places have you been diving?”
19. “When was the last time you were diving?”
20. “How often do you dive for fun?"

1. “How long have you been in business?”
2. “What brands do you regularly carry and do you service them in-house?”
3. “If I have a brand that you don’t carry, can you service it or tell me where to get it serviced?”
4. “If I want an item that you don’t have in stock or a brand that you don’t carry, can you get it or will you refer me to somewhere that I can get it?”
5. “What agency or agencies do you offer certification through?”
6. “Can I choose my instructor?”
7. “Where do you hold classes?”
8. “Who sets the class schedule?”
9. “How big are the classes?”
10. “Are your instructors allowed to give more time to individual students if they need it?”
11. “What items are included in the costs of the class?”
12. “What type of rental equipment do you have and will it be what I use for my checkout dives?”
13. “Do you offer local diving opportunities?”
14. “What types of trips do you offer?”
15. “Do you support or recommend any dive clubs?”
16. “Do you offer discounts on equipment and trips to students and regular customers?”
17. “May I have the names of divers you have trained, as references?”
18. “What sets you apart from other shops that would make me want to train with you?”

In post #45 yle made an important point: "explain what reasonable answers to these questions should be?"

What good is a list of questions, for a potential student, without any guiding answers?

For example, #18 “How many places have you been diving?” What is the purpose of this question? What or how is an instructor who has made hundreds or even thousands of dives in one area such as a tropical island or a cold lake different than one who has dozens, maybe hundreds of dives in various environments such as cold mountain lakes, tropical waters, rivers, and murky quarries?

Having a list of questions is great, but without reasons and guiding responses the inquiries lack awareness and comprehension.

To be clear, I am not picking on the poster, rather the questions with no guidance.

 

[Steve_C]

Exactly. That should go without saying. The only uncertified divers allowed on a checkout dive should be the students in the class.

OP is not certified

 

[Belzelbub]

OP is not certified

I know that. I was responding to Pete, not the OP.

 

[Heatheroe]

Hmmm...

I read your earlier posts. It seems like the issue you had with this shop was scheduling of pool and OW sessions. You wanted to have your OW course done before a vacation, they gave you the impression it could be done, but then the scheduling didn't work.

And eight years later you're still giving him the "stink eye" over this.

Before trying to find the "right shop", you might want to work on figuring out why you feel so wronged by the owner of the first shop. Sounds to me like it has little to do with the owner's actions.

Once you're able to do that, find a local shop and get certified with them. But go in with realistic expectations. A wide variety of issues can cause scheduling problems... the availability of a pool, availability of an instructor, the comfort level of the students and the amount of time they need to become proficient in their skills, and of course the weather.

I've had students finish their OW course in a matter of a few weeks, and I've had some that had planned for a few weeks but ended up taking several months. The course can be done fairly quickly, but only if all the above factors fall into place just right. It has little to do with the competence of the shop, everything to do with just the way life is.

I dunno. There were SEVERAL issues with him. If you read the whole thing you'd see that many people were appalled and agreed that i should be upset. The guy doesn't have a great reputation around here apparently so I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels wronged, not to mention the rest of my class who paid half what we did.

 

[Heatheroe]

OP, what are you hoping to get out of sitting next to the pool during your sister's training?

watching how he structured the learning setting, interacts with students, deals with problems. A whole host of things. Come to find out the other person in my sister's class was less than an ideal student so much so that he ignored my sister at times and didn't even tell her how to inflate her BCD. Luckily she was smart enough to figure it out on her own. I was a bit alarmed to hear that.

 

[Heatheroe]

You are not certified. You are a huge liablilty. If they let you tag along, then you become their problem and responsability. I can not think of any instructor who would let an uncertified diver tag along on a lesson.

Your sister is trying to tell you something. Listen to her. Doing 100 discover scubas is not the same training as taking 1 decent OW course and getting certified. Taking the first two weeks of a math course over and over and over is not the same as taking the course all the way through.

A liability by sitting in their observation room or on the side of the pool? My sister wasn't trying to tell me anything. She simply didn't validate my fears or past bad experiences. Trust me on that. I know her better than you.

 

[Kohanbash]

In post #45 yle made an important point: "explain what reasonable answers to these questions should be?"

What good is a list of questions, for a potential student, without any guiding answers?

For example, #18 “How many places have you been diving?” What is the purpose of this question? What or how is an instructor who has made hundreds or even thousands of dives in one area such as a tropical island or a cold lake different than one who has dozens, maybe hundreds of dives in various environments such as cold mountain lakes, tropical waters, rivers, and murky quarries?

Having a list of questions is great, but without reasons and guiding responses the inquiries lack awareness and comprehension.

To be clear, I am not picking on the poster, rather the questions with no guidance.

I think you need to buy his book to find out...

 

[Centrals]

How to vet a dive shop my way:
Local:
Visit the place, look around and talk to the BOSS.
Word of mouth through friends or their associates.

Overseas:
1. Speed and the detail of the reply over several mails.
2. NO deposit to be paid if possible.
3. Look around the place after arrival.
4. Check the credibility over various channels ie. here, face book, tripAdvisors, word of mouth through friends etc.