DM said "Don't worry about it".

[boulderjohn]

The Dive Shop that rented me broken, faulty gear was South Florida Diving Headquarters, Pompano Beach and no, even after I showed them the faults, they did not apologize or offer discount on the $97 I paid to rent two bcds, regs for one day. I did not ask for a discount, but was shocked that no one acted on my report, and that the dive instructors did not even glance at mangled bcd, before loading it up for a student to use.
I cannot use that dive op again.

Fortunately, you have a lot of options in that area.

SFDH does not have a huge supply of rental gear, probably because they cater to local divers who mostly own their own. Additionally, they do not have a real dive retail shop, so they do not have the mass purchasing options available to such operators.

They are also just about the only dive boat operation I know that does not supply weights as a normal part of their operation (there may be others). If you want weights from them, you have to rent them and bring them on board with you. That is also consistent with an operation that caters to local divers with their own gear.

 

[Bubblesong]

@boulderjohn if SFDH don't carry so much rental stock, it is not as expensive to upgrade and service regularly.
Their office is in hotel that I stay at, so they are counting on convenience to offset problems?

 

[boulderjohn]

@boulderjohn if SFDH don't carry so much rental stock, it is not as expensive to upgrade and service regularly.
Their office is in hotel that I stay at, so they are counting on convenience to offset problems?

Possibly, but their location is relatively new. Until recently, they had their own (albeit small) building near the Hillsborough Inlet. Everything in that location was purchased and removed by someone with some big plans, and they had to move to their present site (where they had actually been long ago). There are two other dive operations within a hundred feet or so of them. I have used them on more than a few occasions, and I believe most of their clientele is local.

 

[diver 85]

Newbie vacation diver here. We don't take dive vacations, we have been going to places where we take a vacation and a good place to throw in 4 dives or so. I got thinking about our last trip to Belize. First day out we did the touristy thing and book a combo for a snorkel to 'shark ray alley' and a dive at Hol chan.

Integrated bcd's. Cool. New to us. Just before the dive I check the releases and they don't work. Just a piece of thread hanging where I assume pull tabs should be. DM says "Don't worry about it"..ok. I reason it's only 35 ft. Hey, what could go wrong. Dive was fine with a stronger current than expected. No big deal I guess. Guy says we'll have the bcd fixed for tomorrow.

Next day I um.. had a stomach issue due to food or water and couldn't make it. My buddy said they had the same bc set out for me and the releases weren't fixed. This dive was 85 feet. I don't know that I would have been comfortable "not worrying about it".

What would one do in this situation? Practice removing the weights on the boat? Or declining the dive? I won't name the shop as I'm not looking to discredit someone's business, they were nice guys trying to earn a living.

I'm new. I simply don't know. Thanks.

Go to a weight belt---I wear one every time,.... for over 2k dives........

 

[Doby45]

The Dive Shop that rented me broken, faulty gear was South Florida Diving Headquarters, Pompano Beach and no, even after I showed them the faults, they did not apologize or offer discount on the $97 I paid to rent two bcds, regs for one day. I did not ask for a discount, but was shocked that no one acted on my report, and that the dive instructors did not even glance at mangled bcd, before loading it up for a student to use.
I cannot use that dive op again.

In Pompano I could not more highly recommend Pompano Dive Center.. Good folks and they are a GUE shop..

 

[boulderjohn]

In Pompano I could not more highly recommend Pompano Dive Center.. Good folks and they are a GUE shop..

I also recommend them and use them often, but I am not clear on what makes them a GUE shop. I do recall seeing a sign identifying them as a GUE instructor development center at some point, but I have never seen that going on. They offer recreational instruction through PADI and SSI, and they offer technical instruction through TDI. Their website does not mention any GUE affiliation.

 

[Doby45]

I also recommend them and use them often, but I am not clear on what makes them a GUE shop. I do recall seeing a sign identifying them as a GUE instructor development center at some point, but I have never seen that going on. They offer recreational instruction through PADI and SSI, and they offer technical instruction through TDI. Their website does not mention any GUE affiliation.

Sorry you missed out on that. No one said that they only offered GUE, just that they do.

GUE

 

[The Chairman]

I cannot use that dive op again.

I also vote with my fins. Insult me, screw me over and/or disregard my concerns and you won't ever hear from me again... except here. They don't want me writing about them here. Rarely will I make a public fuss, but when I do I try to make it anonymous. Often, that's not enough and people know precisely who I'm writing about. Their reputation often proceeds them so when you describe them in detail, peeps know who it is. That's incredibly unfortunate and I don't see how they stay in business like that.

 

[Bubblesong]

In Pompano I could not more highly recommend Pompano Dive Center.. Good folks and they are a GUE shop..

Oh, the pain of public confession!
I had originally booked with Pompano Dive Shop, but they were saying they didn't have enough divers for night dives, so we switched to booking with Sam (as dive guide )at Force-E and using SFDH boat and rental gear. Sam tried to find some other night divers, but they bailed. So we paid for four spots for two divers and had private boat. We coulda (shoulda, woulda) just booked private boat through Pompano to begin with, hired Sam-The Dive Pro-Bro. And that is what I can do next time, hopefully real soon.
Love the area, and the easy drift diving.

 

[Doby45]

Oh, the pain of public confession!
I had originally booked with Pompano Dive Shop, but they were saying they didn't have enough divers for night dives, so we switched to booking with Sam (as dive guide )at Force-E and using SFDH boat and rental gear. Sam tried to find some other night divers, but they bailed. So we paid for four spots for two divers and had private boat. We coulda (shoulda, woulda) just booked private boat through Pompano to begin with, hired Sam-The Dive Pro-Bro. And that is what I can do next time, hopefully real soon.
Love the area, and the easy drift diving.

It really is excellent drift diving. I was there lobstering and it was amazing, also hit the Lady Luck 3 days after it was sunk. Very cool..