My friend actually had to pay $6.00 JUST TO DROP ME OFF in their parking lot (he then went back to town).
That's a new one. I'm not aware of them charging just to drop someone off. Last year I had a friend pick me up on his way to White Star. He didn't pay a dime.
*UPDATE* Having just looked at their website it looks like you registered your friend as a non-diver. Why'd you do that? If he was just dropping you off, why did they even know about him? Now if he wanted to hang out a bit and watch you dive, then he's a non-diving guest and he costs $6. That's actually a deal. Many quarries charge more then that. For example, Haigh Quarry charges $10.
I imagine what happened is that you needed him to drive you back and drop you off. Once you go past the office, you're a guest and it's $6. While I understand that's frustrating, it's the same thing at any for-fee park anywhere. If you want in, you gotta pay. At least they have a guest rate available. I do agree though that it pretty much bites when all he's doing is dropping you off.
The way I look at it (just my opinion ... take it or leave it), when you look at the overall cost of gear, training, charters for "real" dives, etc, $4 here and $6 there just doesn't add up to sh%$ in the grand scheme of things. There are very few quality training sites in the area and I'm awfully glad Mike and Jodie run the place and continue to put money into it. The site offers enough value that I'm willing to pay the fees they charge. While all the separate fees are silly, I just tell them what I'm doing (# of nights, camping, 1 vehicle, etc.) and pay the bill. It always comes out to a reasonable amount for what I get in return.
...rude customer service when we are just trying to understand their fees!
Not saying it doesn't happen, but I've never seen it there. As a matter of fact, I've never seen it at Haigh, Gilboa or White Star. Those are the primary quarries I've been to over the past 2 years. However, I've read posts bashing all three for poor customer service. Go figure.
Someone posted earlier - "...why dive there - you have so many good dive sites elsewhere". It's because we picked a dive shop for classes (Advanced, deep, dry, etc) that chose to go there (probably because they get free entrance and fills - understandable). The site was one thing that I had not checked into when chosing a local dive shop for training. It will be in the future though! I won't go through a shop that only trains at Gilboa. Most go multiple places though
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Fair enough. No sense going someplace you don't like.
