Disappointed

[Rileybri]

can I ask why you waited till the last minute to take a scuba class for a trip you presumably knew about long before booking your class on the "we'll do what we can" credo? Maybe he did what he could and still no dice on pool time. Get a referral for a shop down where you will be diving and problem solved. Just think real hard about WHO is at fault hear..............

 

[Heatheroe]

Warmwaterturner, that is so true. And yes, I think they only do pool on Sat and quarry on Sunday. It was not really made clear to me. Hopefully we can do the pool this Saturday, 1st quarry dive this Sunday and another quarry day some time before the 20th or do the referral with another shop. We've still got our last class next week and then we'll take the test.

Merlin, I sent you a PM

 

[Heatheroe]

Try this place in Charlotte, they seem to have check out dives for the next 4 weekends.
Divers Supply Charlotte

will do, we just bought our weights from them.

 

[Heatheroe]

Rileybri, actually we signed up (paid) at the beginning of August and there really were only about 2 classes starting (one we'd already missed 1 day of, another one that didn't fit our schedule) between then and the one on the 7th, so who is at fault HERE?

 

[doctormike]

can I ask why you waited till the last minute to take a scuba class for a trip you presumably knew about long before booking your class on the "we'll do what we can" credo? Maybe he did what he could and still no dice on pool time.

Sorry, I'm still with the OP on this one. I hardly think that six weeks lead time is the "last minute". I do agree with you that "we'll do what we can" is a red flag, but the issue seems to be open water time, not pool time. I never heard of a quarry not having any open spots... If the instructor is too busy to certify the class of students that already paid him for his time, then maybe he needs to hire someone else.

IMHO, if you put $600 down and say that you need OW certification within six weeks, most dive shops would be happy to take care of you (especially since they will probably get your gear business as well). Most of the time on this board, we are complaining about shops that do the whole certification in a weekend!

Get a referral for a shop down where you will be diving and problem solved. Just think real hard about WHO is at fault hear..............

It is certainly suboptimal to use up two of the OP's limited vacation dives in Andros for the OW checkout dives. Most people prefer not to do that if they don't mind doing the checkout dives in the colder water at home (as seems to be the case here).

Also, they have paid for their OW cert dives up front with this LDS. If they went to another place for the checkout dives would their instructor refund them part of the $600 to cover the new costs? If not, then the problem really isn't solved.

 

[TreyR]

Divers supply is usually booked with ow classes. I can set you up with a shop in Gaston that will do private lessons at your convinence for same cost as most other shops.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I want to reply to you as a dive pro and as an attorney. At the shop with which I am affiliated, every student who signs up has a specific syllabus of all class sessions and pool sessions, and select among open water dive options. We have monthly local open waters most of the year, and some opt to do their open waters at their vacation destination. We do a lot of classes- one to 3 open water classes every week most of the time. IF ( and it is a big IF) you specified in your contract with the dive center what needed to be done at the time you began, and they failed to provide what was needed, you should get a total refund. If there was ambiguity, then you won't. However, if you relied on the dive shop's representations of when you could complete the class, you should get at least a partial refund to put toward certification elsewhere. The vast majority of dive centers and instructors are very reputable and honorable. I am sorry you encountered one that wasn't. Don't give up on our wonderful sport!
DivemasterDennis

 

[Heatheroe]

Thanks Dennis, and everyone else. I thought we did our homework. I just assumed there were more instructors. And we expressed verbally what our vacation plans were so nothing in writing (I didn't know that could be part of a contract). We've been in his shop numerous times. We actually bought the manual about a year or so ago. We've been mulling over the idea of getting certified for a while now. The plan was for my husband to get certified first since he was so much more comfortable than I was (we've done 2 resort dives) but when it came down to it, I didn't want to be left out of the fun!

I'm guessing he's the only instructor and he has more students than usual because he did a half off promotion which we didn't know about until the 1st class. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

Didn't thnk about the private sessions, check you're local dive clubs, you may find someone that do your last pool and OW

 

[Dead_eye]

I would be all over this guy.

In that time frame, up here in the Great White North ( Toronto) you could have taken all of your classroom & pool in a weekend and then your OW the next weekend.

I know that this does not help, but maybe a call to the certification body is also in order. They may like to know what has gone on.