Which local shop for OW cert

[cvrle1]

Hi everyone,

Fiance would like to get OW certification, but I am not sure which shop she should go with. When i did mine several years ago, i went with Ocean Quest, however it seems that store changed a lot in last year or so ( i didnt go in there for about a year) Staff is all new, they expanded, none of the old crew seems to be there anymore, and people that worked in there just stared at me when i walked in about a month ago.

It just felt weird and unwelcoming. Completely different feeling then when I got certified through them.

Which shop would you recomend? Should she still go with OQ or someone else. We live in DT so dont want to drive to surrey or something silly like that

Thanks in advance

 

[xdjio]

I live downtown too and I'll put in a (biased) plug for IDC (International Dive Center) on Arbutus near Broadway.

Helpful, nice staff with lots of training. I did my OW, AOW and Drysuit with them and may go on to do GUE Fundies there too. Great folks -- and it is helpful having them so close to downtown.

 

[t1n_2]

I seem to have a different experience with Ocean Quest. I don't work for them or have any affiliation. My 1st visit with them was last week and Ken helped me out.

I was there to get more information for a new BCD as well as to get prices (building my gear set up). Unlike most LDS, they actually recommended me a BP/W and gave me a quote etc with no sense of *pushing* at all despite the fact that there were other customers before me. Ken was patient as well. He took out the wing and backplate knowing that i was not going to purchase it that day. Also explained why he recommended BP/W and that it wasn't only for tech divers etc. Most LDS i've been to in both Vancouver and Singapore would always recommend the jacket and always give the "BP/W is only for tech divers" etc.

So yeah. You may have gotten in during a bad day. But i can't be sure either since that was my 1st visit. But i will be doing my Dry Suit Orientation with them next month despite having to drive all the way to Burnaby from UBC.

 

[M.HARDY]

Try "THE EDGE Dive Centre" in North Van..I'm sure you'll feel welcomed as soon as you walk in the door
Cheers

 

[Julian55]

I have been to IDC,Ocean Quest and the Edge. I think you can't go wrong with either store really. only advice I would give you is to WAIT to buy a setup. rent for a while and see what you like.

 

[xdjio]

Good advice Julian. IDC has been good to me in this regard, much like t1n_2 has found with OQ - I'm not sure if other shops have them in their rental fleets, but IDC now rents BP/W gear (Halcyon Infinity to be precise). They were very articulate when talking about the relative merits of backplates, and like the other poster describes, have been pretty keen to say "they're not just for tech divers!". I've never had any high pressure sales there, but I do value their advice when I come in with questions. Could just be that they've done a good job of brainwashing me though If so, I don't mind.

 

[TheWetRookie]

I have been with Ocean Quest for a few years now and while they have expanded and the staff has changed, I have always found them a good group of people to do business with. People do have off days from time to time and this may have been one of them but I can guarantee you that it is not the norm. My advise would be to give them a second chance before writing them off.

 

[cfenton]

+1 idc

 

[gmccracken]

Hi Cvrle1,

I am sorry to hear about your experience upon your return to Ocean Quest (I do appreciate your feedback).

I can tell you that we are still the same diver friendly dive shop we have always been! In fact, each year, we try to make the Ocean Quest experience better for our customers with more diving opportunities, guest speakers, quality training, new rental equipment and selection of good equipment (with good pricing!). As an active diver and instructor myself, I try to make sure that everything we do is centred around diving and fun.

With respect to the OW course for your fiance, we still have the same experienced instructors you would have had when you took your course, we still have small student to instructor ratios (no more than 3 or 4 students to instructor), we still have our great two weekend format and we still make sure we take care of all of the details to make the coures fun! We also just added several new drysuits (Whites Fusions), bcd's (including back inflation) and regulators (Apeks and Aqualung balanced first and second stages) into the rental department to make sure students get the best equipment available.

I hope you will give us another chance as I can assure you that we will take great care of your fiance! If you have any other comments or questions, please feel free to contact me directly at gregm@diveoceanquest.com.

Thanks!

Greg McCracken
Owner, Ocean Quest Dive Centre
www.diveoceanquest.com

 

[Darnold9999]

Have dealt with OQ for a number of years and would not hesitate to recommend them - what a local dive shop should be. Edge and IDC are also good places to deal with in Vancouver.