Did the instructor short change me

[unit240]

I know that I may set myself up here, but I want to know if anyone else has had this feeling. I did my O/W and advanced O/W through the same instructor. I kind of got a bad feeling on my O/W cert. dives as we were supposed to do 4 and only did one. The instructor stated that he could get all the skills done and then just let us have fun. So we short cutted somewhat.

Then I decided to do the advanced, and did not spend any time with the instructor or his assistant. The instructor teamed me up with a friend of mine on that trip that was a dive master, but had not dove in 4-5 years. The instructor asked my friend if I had done okay and signed off on everything and sent my card off.

I have had a really bad feeling about this guy, it appears that he is in it for the money only and doesn't care if things are done right or not. I am now going to go through the Rescue Course, but through a different instructor. I expect things to be alot different and probably tougher.

I guess I am asking if I was expecting too much or is this the norm with instructors, and to find out if anyone else has had this same experience.

I am not trying to bash anyone and don't want to come off as a whiner, but I am concerned about this. Thanks for any input.

 

[Rooster1]

From what you are saying, you got screwed. You should have had all 4 dives in your open water. Your instructor sounds like a poor one.:upset:

 

[MASS-Diver]

Gezzz, that guy sounds pretty bad to me. I've been lucky enough to have only had very positive experinces with instructors.

Just curious, but, what agency certified you?

 

[DivingGal]

If the agency was PADI - for OW - you must have 4 dives. Depending on class size, your instructor may shift skills required from one of the four dives to another (this is all governed by PADI standards as to which ones can be moved), and some skills may be evaluated by an Assistant Instructor but you must have four dives.

Depending on the training (AOW or other) it depends if the instructor must see you accomplished the skills, or have a recognized assistant (DM or above) witness the skills u/w. Some skills can be observed from the surface (ie navigation -- follow the "bubbles" to notice if you're following the pattern requested.

 

[divedude]

You Got SCREWED!! Sorry but you did. If this is the way this instructor works you need to report him to the agency that he represents. This may seem harsh, but someone dying is a lot harsher. I deal with divers a great deal and have no use for Instructors that cut corners. This is a great sport and a lot of fun, But in order to have fun you need to be safe and have as much information as possible!

Which is one of the reasons for this board, even us old guys are still learning from one another.

When you stop learning, your probably dead!

 

[Scottri]

I can't say for any other agency but PADI or SSI but he did not run you through the proper open water protocol. Both SSI and PADI require 4 open water dives with a snorkel dive. He needs to be reported to the agency now before someone gets hurt. The 4 dives are not just an arbitrary number, there are required elements in all four dives that need to be met in order to certify someone. There is no way you could demonstrate all of the skills and requirements in 1 open water dive. Even if you could you would gain no experience as a diver doing it. Report him now for the sake of future divers.


Scott

 

[devilfish]

Desn't matter what agency. This guy needs to be reported and his teaching status revoked. He's going to kill some one.
If you driving along and see someone holding a gun to someone's head, would you call the cops if you had a cell phone? I would.

 

[chiara]

When I read about things like this, I get in a fury, whatever the agency involved.

Send a letter to the offices close to you giving details of the instructor, member number and such, they will deal with him thoroughly.

The swimming pool we train in twice a week is managed by another agency, IDEA, we are PADI and we share costs.

We are in the process of getting the IDEA instructor into big trouble, there is even doubt about him being a real instructor, we have nothing against the person, but there are too many people coming over from him to us asking if they can switch to PADI.

Of course, if the thing continues, we'll be forced to change the pool, but we are working on it as well.

 

[sdexcalibur]

Sorry dude but I think everyone is right. It's a pity when something like this happens. Has anyone gotten hurt? Maybe it's because of poor training. It could even come back as a criminal charge. Sounds far feched be true. Get this guy out of the water.
NOW!

 

[AllenG]

Do a big favor to others in your neck of the woods and to those who will someday dive with the people who have been certified/but not trained by this person: contact the agency that issued you your certification and DEMAND action. Even if you are embellishing your account to your advantage (and I would doubt it since your tone is one of puzzled embarassment), the certifying agency needs to hear your story immediately. This person is sending out time bombs of divers who are not properly trained and who will someday be the people the rest of us have to rescue!