NYC Village Divers, Cal Azzouni = BAD

[webediving]

I alway require students to purchase their personal eqipment (Mask, Snorkle, Boots,etc). I even offer them a new removable mouth piece if they are renting regs. I find people more inclined to buy their own equipment. I find they do not want to use an rental wet suit where people had p*** al over inside! Is their choice to buy them there or some where else. But they do need to have it for the class. It lets me know that you are shure you want to learn. If you do not want to spend that much ,it is your choice to say NO thanks.

Also if you have been "diving for years" and maried to the woman you should at least know what her likes are and helped the poor woman make a goog selection. I dive with my wife all the time and I do not let her dive with junk. (but the thought had cross my mind!)LOL


Happy Diving
T

 

[Mr.X]

no sir, i said his teaching was "average", not below average. and average is not bad at all, but what i could assertain when we talked about the experience.

in fact, i want to re-iterate that I am not attacking Cal (or others who sell overkill gear at inflated prices to novices who may only use the stuff once) on their training routine, just their business practices.

trust is really important in this underwater world, when it is abused and when other professionals support the practice, everyone looks a little "greasier" so to speak. don't do it.

I applaud you for showing up. I don't think anyone can get you to sway your perspective, but an overwhelming majority of the responses seem to indicate a favorable preference for Cal, his staff and dive operation.

Average is not a terrific indicator of performance given that as a beginner you are qualifying your experience from one perspective. A 360 evaluation may find that you were a poor learner..hence an "average" experience for you. Interesting to see what your fellow students, or instructor thought.

As per gear...scuba classes are often loss leaders. That means that the establishment isn't going to pay the rent, utilities, salaries etc on just instruction. It's a thin margin if all you do is just teach without throwing in some equipment sales here and there. Since you live in NYC you should know the cost of doing business is tremendous. I've bought gear from Cal in the past and places coast to coast. I didn't find his prices overboard by any means.

 

[Frank Hayes]

DBG40 Get ahold of the BSB'S. Road Trip to CAL's shop. I have to buy all new gear. I must buy most from LDS but , Mask FINS and boots Cal can supply. (Cal if you read this Please charge me the reglar price but tack on 200 to the receipt. Theres a nice club called Scores me and the guys would like to lunch at without the Wifes finding out. P.S Givechase, Scores is one of the things its ok to go without the wife

 

[PAdiver93]

Just wanted to comment that rental gear prices vary widely....we charge $10 per day for a full set of gear...everthing but a swimsuit, ha ha. Actually, if a customer has a problem with paying for rental gear, I'll throw it in for free. (this is, of course when they're diving with us.....if they just want to rent gear & head off somewhere on their own, I wouldn't do that.)

On the subject of gear purchases, I don't require people do buy any gear at all for OW classes....gear is included during the class. I will RECOMMEND that they pick up the basics...mask, fins, snorkel & boots....but that's the end of it. They're paying me to teach them to dive, and that's all I feel is "required" of them. As far as BCDs & regs, I say (I'm more of a diver than a salesman, ha ha) wait until you've been diving a while to decide what to get, and then I'll try to help out. If you're only diving once or twice a year (as many vacationing divers here in Guam do....) you can do a lot of diving on $10 gear rental/day before it would make sense to buy your own gear. Sure, it's nice to have your own gear, but, unless you have a couple thousand dollars you just HAVE to get rid of, you are probably better off from a financial viewpoint renting if you don't dive often.

I'm sorry - but Guam's prices are different from NYC (or US in general)...

 

[ronpriskie]

My first dive after OW certification was with an LDS (not the LDS I got cert with). The divers who had rented BC's and regs from that shop looked like a Salvation Army collection of divers. When I took my OW class, I was required to have a mask, snorkel, booties and fins...no weight belt or weights. By the time I finished, I voluntarily had bought a BC, reg, dive computer and wet suit (7 mm for local diving, not 3 mm to be comfortable in the pool). I'm forever glad I did!

 

[digitale]

maybe for frequent divers, but to lie about any future rental prospects is lame. and it is better to try out different types of gear when possible before purchasing.

The nice thing about Cal is that you can try out different gear. If you're unsure of any of the gear you get from him, you can test it in the pool and exchange it for any reason. This ensures that you have gear that fits properly and is well suited to you.

I've bought all of my gear from Village Divers and have had nothing but good experiences. I know if I have any question about my gear I can call him.

 

[ghostdiver1957]

just a heads up to any potential dive students in the nyc area:

stay away from Cal Azzouni and his operation: Village Divers on east 4th street

they pressure new students into buying overpriced gear that they DO NOT NEED.

their teaching is average, but let's not support this type of activity please.

plenty of reputable intruction available in nyc. good luck to all!

Ever heard of the "Village Idiot?"... I was just wondering if this is where the term originated?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

We require new students to have mask, snorkel, fins, and booties. Don't know what kind of stuff you are used to diving with but 40 is a mid to upper mid-range boot. 165 for fins is high for something like a oceanic vector (what we carry) but real good for a set of V-12's. All of our masks are 59.95 and we carry several lines but we believe you should buy a mask based on fit not price unless you want script lenses or full face or something other than standard dive quality. I would be scared to go to the Galapogos with just a mask. From my understanding the conditions can get pretty hairy and having gear that I was familiar with would be a must. So for your wife to pay let's see 40 for boots, 165 for fins, say 70 for a mask in NYC, and 25 for an average snorkel comes out to around 300 bucks. Not bad at all. If you are too frugal(another word for cheap) to get your wife good quality, well fitting gear, at what sounds to me like reasonable prices, maybe you should just stay home. Cause if you can afford a trip like that you can certainly afford stuff that will go along way towards insuring her safety, comfort, and enjoyment. You just be sure to have fun with your unknown quantity rental gear. And if it was my wife she'd have her own BC and REG as well as a good fitting wetsuit.

 

[ghostdiver1957]

Why would you require new students to have anything? Why should they invest in gear when they don't even know if they will complete the course? If they don't, then their stuck with mask, fins, boots, snorkel.

Where I come from the only thing we require a student to do is bring their own regulator mouthpiece. In my opinion that is even stupid... since everyone is sharing air and buddy breathing in the class anyway.

Requiring students to buy anything is absurd. It's like telling someone that's practicing for their motorcycle license that they need to go out and buy chaps, a leather jacket, eyewear and cowboy boots.... or should I say like telling a person going for their pilots license that they need to go buy an airplane and a pilots outfit... it's no wonder the industry is suffering... people all over the states have started to catch on to the scams the industry is trying to pull on them. You don't win customers over and lure them into a recreation by ripping them off and putting undue strain on them.

 

[asklouis]

or should I say like telling a person going for their pilots license that they need to go buy an airplane and a pilots outfit....

In reality student pilots ARE required to purchase Charts, mechanical flight computer, headsets, many different books, red flashlight, and many other things! That was a poor example to use for your side of the argument.