American Pro Divers? GRRR!

[Missdirected]

Figured it might be about that time to remind people who NOT to dive with What say you Brian/DeepStops?

 

[deepstops]

Figured it might be about that time to remind people who NOT to dive with What say you Brian/DeepStops?

In lieu of the "manatee harassment caught on video" thread that further implicated American Pro, I have to say YES.

 

[parkit88]

I know for a fact that those captain and dive masters work 8 days a week and 14 hrs a day.. For a fact but know room for rudness.. I dont think birds offers a manatee snorkel trip and a guided cavern dive on the same boat ride, I know that Crystal River water sports behind the Day Inn is a great place 352-795-7033

Happy Diving..

 

[sage10s]

At every business there can be some bad eggs. I personally had a great experience this past Spring with American Pro Diving going on two Manatee Snorkels with different tour leaders each time - both great (Quinn and Mike) - and then getting OW certified by an excellent instructor there named Jim. People are everything- and those that don't measure up should be identified to management. But I also agree with one of the posters that being on time, even early, is important when managing groups....

 

[Missdirected]

At every business there can be some bad eggs. I personally had a great experience this past Spring with American Pro Diving going on two Manatee Snorkels with different tour leaders each time - both great (Quinn and Mike) - and then getting OW certified by an excellent instructor there named Jim. People are everything- and those that don't measure up should be identified to management. But I also agree with one of the posters that being on time, even early, is important when managing groups....

Agreed on your second to last statement. However, the owner of AP has been notified and cares not to change his ways. As Ed Jackson stated, he preys on tourists to stay in business. If it were one or two complaints well you can't say too awful much and a thread this long wouldn't really be deserved. However American Pro continues to top the worst of the worst.

That said, I am glad you had a good experience and aren't in line with the many others that did not. btw, welcome to the board

 

[parkit88]

So to add to that,
we called the dive shop to find out who it was that we spoke to, and it turns out it was Ron the owner. We were not allowed to ask questions or finish sentences during this phone conversation as we were waspishly snapped at and were told constantly that everything was all our fault.
We were naiver offered the waiver to sign as we were at that point already too late to fill them out, my parents had been diving with them before and on their last trip waited (with their entire group) for over 90 minutes for the boat to show up at the dock. Over the phone were told that because we were indecisive about what gear we needed we were holding everyone up. Of course tanks and 1 reg is definately a hard decision to make so I'm sure we took a long time deciding that one! As for cancelling our afternoon dives, if someone is rude I don't want to be stuck on a boat with them. I do not like being treated like garbage for a service I pay for and so we chose to take our business elsewhere. Ron forgets to mention that when my Mother suggested my posting our experience on Scubaboard, he threatened to charge us for our afternoon dives.

When this post was mentioned during the phone conversation my Mother was told that the Scubaboard members that posted here were just late and inconsiderate like my family is, and their opinions were not to be counted for.

What I would really like Ron to explain to me is why he was rude. Yes we were late, we paid for our seats. Why did he need to berate us in front of a room full of divers?

Somtimes a person observes there audiance be for they choose there tone. This is what happened your procrastination of getting out of your car when knowing you were late is what set the tone, not having your c cards also set the tone for a irresponsible diver. I was there that morning and do remember the whole conversation. I dont agree with AP sometimes when they call there self American and dont fly an American Flag but a dive flag insted why not both. Those captain have a very regemented schedual for the day, they have to stay on track, loose 10 min here loose 2 hrs by the end off the day, trust me I know... The customer is not always right, I'm sure his rudness was set by the aduiance, so excuse. So in the futrue as a diver you should be more responsible so you dont give out the chance of showing up late. I know when I take people diving and they are prepared or late it makes me wonder should they really be diving and are they even awake.

 

[F106A]

Somtimes a person observes there audiance be for they choose there tone. This is what happened your procrastination of getting out of your car when knowing you were late is what set the tone, not having your c cards also set the tone for a irresponsible diver. I was there that morning and do remember the whole conversation. I dont agree with AP sometimes when they call there self American and dont fly an American Flag but a dive flag insted why not both. Those captain have a very regemented schedual for the day, they have to stay on track, loose 10 min here loose 2 hrs by the end off the day, trust me I know... The customer is not always right, I'm sure his rudness was set by the aduiance, so excuse. So in the futrue as a diver you should be more responsible so you dont give out the chance of showing up late. I know when I take people diving and they are prepared or late it makes me wonder should they really be diving and are they even awake.

I don't think anyone could have said it better.

 

[Missdirected]

To those just joining this thread... you may want to go back and read some of it before posting.

Parkit - you were there and you are just now posting? Odd. Please finish filling out your profile, lest some get the impression you are trolling.

 

[ScubaSteve]

 

[obx_diver]

I find myself wondering how many of these negative postings are from competitors, vendors APD won't work with, and ex-employees. Could you help us put it into perspective?

I dove with AP. My family dove with AP. We always had a great time. Thank you Mike W., Keith, and Quinn.

After researching the web, several phone calls, and an in person visit, I went Pro with AP. My training was nothing but excellent and professional. Thank you Sean, Mike W. and Quinn. If you want to learn to do it right, there's no better place to go. Its why APD instructor candidates blow the IE out of the water, time after time.

After the IE, I was lucky enough to have a chance to work for APD. Great education on how to run a successful dive shop. Most of the staff is excellent and role models. All too soon, family reasons caused me to move back to NC. Hope that gives my comments the correct perspective.

That being said, Ron, the owner, is not easy to work for, but I have nothing but respect for him. He's been doing this a long time. He's built a huge operation by taking care of his customers and giving them a great value. Most of his business is either repeat or customers referring friends. If you've run your own business you know that that says it all about the shop's operation from a customer perspective.

I have had the pleasure of watching Ron save customer's and other OPs vacations and dive trips by juggling staff and shop resources to accommodate unexpected problems and last minute changes. I have also had the pleasure of watching Ron impersonate a seawall when a customer is wrong and compounds the problem with attitude. Sadly, some of us have learned that if we are loud, and pushy, and make enough of a stink, we get our way. When you're dealing with a successful owner of a family run business, I would choose a different, more prudent, approach.

This is my one posting on this thread. It deserves no more than that. If you weren't there, before during or after the event, are your repeated postings about this subject helping our industry or just grinding an axe? I will however, respond to any PMs of substance, and if you want to talk, ask me for my number in the PM.

Once again, THANK YOU American Pro for helping me get started.