Dixie Divers in Deerfield Groupon

[danvolker]

I've always found that the quality of my training experience has more to do with the professionalism of the instructor and what effort I put into learning what's in front of me, than what I paid the shop. I don't see a business owner regretting getting into Groupon as proof positive that their instructors will do a poor job.

There are good shops and not so good shops. There are good instructors and not so good instructors....and the same applies to the students.

I've never trained at Dixie Divers so I don't have a dog in this fight. I also have heard nothing historically negative about their instructors or program, which would be more to the point in answering the op's question.

And Danvolkner...if you had to take a pay cut in your profession, does that mean you'd deliberately lower the quality of your work? Just asking.

I don't teach scuba.....
However, if I was being paid to write articles, or ad copy, and I had to suddenly triple the volume I normally put out, for 1/4 th of the pay.....and there was no end in sight to this new direction.....It probably would lower the quality of my work.
I'd like to hope I never find myself in that situation

 

[bilsant]

hope you never do.

A Groupon offering is "no end in sight?"

 

[boulderjohn]

I don't teach scuba.....
However, if I was being paid to write articles, or ad copy, and I had to suddenly triple the volume I normally put out, for 1/4 th of the pay.....and there was no end in sight to this new direction.....It probably would lower the quality of my work.
I'd like to hope I never find myself in that situation

How do you know the instructor is getting less pay from the shop?

If the shop is using it as a loss leader, as has been suggested, then the shop must be expecting to take a loss on it.

If the theory that enough people will purchase the coupons but not use them to make it profitable turns out to be true, the shop will not lose money.

The shop I used to work for has in the past ran several discount promotions while I was with them, and there was never a hint that I would be paid anything less than my standard rate of pay. The shop was intentionally taking a loss in order to bring in more customers. When a retailer puts materials on sale it, does not cut the pay of its sales staff.

Dan, your entire argument is based on your belief that the shop is going to pay the instructor so little that he is going to say "The Hell with it" and do a crappy job. I think the onus is on you to tell how you know that Dixie Divers is going to pay its regular instructors so much less and risk the morale of its employees. What is your evidence that this is happening?

 

[danvolker]

How do you know the instructor is getting less pay from the shop?

If the shop is using it as a loss leader, as has been suggested, then the shop must be expecting to take a loss on it.

If the theory that enough people will purchase the coupons but not use them to make it profitable turns out to be true, the shop will not lose money.

The shop I used to work for has in the past ran several discount promotions while I was with them, and there was never a hint that I would be paid anything less than my standard rate of pay. The shop was intentionally taking a loss in order to bring in more customers. When a retailer puts materials on sale it, does not cut the pay of its sales staff.

Dan, your entire argument is based on your belief that the shop is going to pay the instructor so little that he is going to say "The Hell with it" and do a crappy job. I think the onus is on you to tell how you know that Dixie Divers is going to pay its regular instructors so much less and risk the morale of its employees. What is your evidence that this is happening?

John,
I actually thought I had made it apparent that this is a Florida phenomenon.....and it was not about Dixie Divers per se....I would love to actually know that Dixie Divers is paying full price to instructors, but this is not something I care to pursue ..... We could do some googles searches over Groupon complaints in Florida, and some of the other posters already have resources like this....but I think we are already way past the value part of this posting tangent, if it ever had one...meaning I am not sure the direction I took was one that got the OP what he had hoped for...."Good Advice".

 

[Reck Diver]

If a shop pays the instructors full price, and does not allow any aspect of normal training to change, then Groupon wont hurt the diver's training. ...

I will be shocked if you do not end up with a terrible excuse for dive instruction.. Groupon is probably the best way there is to remove any chance you may have of getting quality dive instruction in South Florida.... Get your money back now, and sign up for a real class somewhere else.

Well, if nothing else, at least you are consistant.

 

[captjohnr]

Take the Acid Test about cut rate groupon scuba certifications.

Would I allow a member of my family to dive with this person?

 

[bilsant]

Hmmmmmm. Does that question include in-laws?









Seriously though, the answer to that question involves a helluva lot more elements than whether it is a Groupon offering or not.

 

[weitodive]

How long should an instructor be certified as such before he begins to train divers? Do the certification agencies have any guidelines on this?

To the op, welcome to the board. Enjoy your class. Just remember, don't let anyone push you to the extent that you won't enjoy it. If you feel at any point your safety is not number 1 or if you don't feel comfortable with a skill, do your best to get your instructor to try to keep working with you. You might even consider having a private session. You might have to pay a little extra for a little bit of private instruction( essentially negating the groupon savings but private sessions can be a huge benefit for any diver). Either way, have fun and I hope to see you on the boards to ask all the newbie questions you can think of.

To answer the quoted question, there is no requirement. As long as you have completed the ie and have your insurance, then you can teach. It's up to the instructor to decide when they are ready. Just because you just completed the ie doesn't make you a bad instructor. As far as groupon goes, it all depends on the shop. I think groupon for scuba would be best served by offering a discover scuba. From an instructors standpoint, I don't think I would consider offering groupon on an open water course because it is one of the most time consuming courses. For me, there is a lot of driving involved( central to southern Florida). A lot of us do it for the joy of teaching. At the same time, I won't teach if I have to pay out of pocket. I learned long ago that teaching won't make me a millionaire. For those instructors that love teaching and is close to the resources, it might be fun for them. Point I am trying to make is that those doing groupon for an open water course should talk to the instructor and see how the course is setup. If you are comfortable with their instructor/certified assistant to student ratio and if you are comfortable with their approach with the course structure, then go, learn, and have fun. With anything you buy as a "deal" make sure you know what you are getting before you buy. My 2c.

 

[Biggar]

To the op, welcome to the board. Enjoy your class. Just remember, don't let anyone push you to the extent that you won't enjoy it. If you feel at any point your safety is not number 1 or if you don't feel comfortable with a skill, do your best to get your instructor to try to keep working with you. You might even consider having a private session. You might have to pay a little extra for a little bit of private instruction( essentially negating the groupon savings but private sessions can be a huge benefit for any diver). Either way, have fun and I hope to see you on the boards to ask all the newbie questions you can think of.

To answer the quoted question, there is no requirement. As long as you have completed the ie and have your insurance, then you can teach. It's up to the instructor to decide when they are ready. Just because you just completed the ie doesn't make you a bad instructor. As far as groupon goes, it all depends on the shop. I think groupon for scuba would be best served by offering a discover scuba. From an instructors standpoint, I don't think I would consider offering groupon on an open water course because it is one of the most time consuming courses. For me, there is a lot of driving involved( central to southern Florida). A lot of us do it for the joy of teaching. At the same time, I won't teach if I have to pay out of pocket. I learned long ago that teaching won't make me a millionaire. For those instructors that love teaching and is close to the resources, it might be fun for them. Point I am trying to make is that those doing groupon for an open water course should talk to the instructor and see how the course is setup. If you are comfortable with their instructor/certified assistant to student ratio and if you are comfortable with their approach with the course structure, then go, learn, and have fun. With anything you buy as a "deal" make sure you know what you are getting before you buy. My 2c.

My wife and I just finished the class. Im happy to say we are finally certified. ( : My wife didnt even want to dive before this class, now is super excited. She even loved the pool classes. We are on our way to the keys on June 8th for our 1st real dives.

The instructor who taught our class has been diving for 20 years now and made it a fun, enjoyable experience. I would not even think twice about going back for the advanced courses for the same price. I want to get some open water experience first.

The owner was annoying, but our instructor was good.

 

[boulderjohn]

I am very glad everything worked out for you, although I am sorry you found Pavan annoying.