Stay Away from Florida Keys Dive Center

[Rich Keller]

It seems to me like you are making a big deal out of a couple of very minor things. It was a holiday weekend and you have your own SPG. I dove with them a couple of days in March and they seem like a fine operation to me. The other thing I think you are doing wrong is judging and entire operation on one half day dive. How would you feel if you job performance and chance for promotion were based solely on you worst day on the job? Bad days happen, get over it!

 

[jar546]

I see a customer service issue due to attitude but no reason to bash an entire operation. Sorry, no sympathy here. Holiday weekend, large boat with 11 less divers than they are allowed? What's the problem? Your thread should have been more focused on the customer service issue rather than condemning an entire operation.

 

[Scott]

<FKDC employees at the bar> You know it wasn't a bad day. Yes, we were behind but most of the customers were understanding. I only ran into a couple of a-holes.
Tomorrow is another day, we'll try it again. Bottoms up.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

Ditto on Ocean Divers. Great operation. Can't speak for the other place.

What's funny is the last time I dove with Ocean Divers (March 2010), they crammed 28 people onto their 46 Nekton. We waited almost an hour on the boat in the sun for the South Beach divers to finally show up. We encountered large swells, lots of n00bs, 5 people vomiting over the rail, an avalanche of dropped weights and bicycle kickers that stirred up the sand so much that many could not find the boat. 28 jumped in and only 24 returned to the boat. Never again.

 

[Reck Diver]

When you open your dive center I'm sure everything will be perfect. Of course then it will be your turn to put up with those wonderful folks from the Northeast.

 

[Hawkwood]

... 28 jumped in and only 24 returned to the boat...

.......obvious question.....what happened to the other 4? Still out there?

Bill

 

[faster7581]

I wouldnt want to be on a boat with that many divers either, but if the boat can handle it, it is what it is... But, I definitely dont see a problem asking for a guage to check your tanks they filled.... if they were nitrox, youre supposed to sign out on the % after you check it with their analizer, at least at shops up here, so i dont get why it would be a problem to check pressure also..... I dont like short fills...

 

[Jim Lapenta]

For one thing I always carry my own checker. It's on my reg. And unless you are doing the Duane or the Grove 2500 in an al 80 is more than enough air for me on a reef dive of less than 40 feet with an hour time limit.

 

[Selchie in LB]

Booo to the OP! Whine & cheese section please.

 

[conchrandy]

Being in the biz, I find myself a bit defensive, here. That said, no excuses for rudeness; the guy across the street (in this case, literally) is always willing to accommodate you.

You have to understand that dive ops in the Keys rely on the peak days i.e. Memorial Day, The 4th, and Spring Break to turn a profit and stay in business. Not to mention the good weather attendant to same. Like every enterprise in the Keys, i'ts going to be a a little chaotic on those days. The boats will be full, all of them, even at the not so great shops. Every restaurant will be maxed out with hour long waits.

Most boats operate at 50% capacity average during the non-peak period. Suggest those times if you don't care for the crowds.

Memorial Day weekend was a scare for us shop owners as the weather forecasts were bad. Turns out we had glorious weather, filled our boats and as such were given a little financial strength so necessary in this very volatile business.