Frank's Underwater Sports: Edmond, OK

[A2thaK]

Repost-I deleated the original thread since I had not received my c-card yet, and did not want any problems to arise due to my review. We (my wife and I) did receive our cards on Fri, 5 days after our 4th OW dive. So at least they we really quick getting us our cards.

So this is probably going to be more of a vent then a review. However, the purpose is to give anyone in OKC a heads up to this dive shop.

My wife and I signed up for the OW Diver course through Frank’s back in March. Our classroom/pool dates were three weekends ago, and we finished our OW dives two weekends ago. When we signed up for the course, we purchased our MSF, booties, and wetsuits through him. We told him that we would be diving soon in Cozumel, but would like to dive locally as well. So he sold me a 3mm and my wife a 5mm. For the course, MSF, booties and wetsuits for us both: close to $2000. Not a small piece of change

After doing a lot of shopping and research, I find a MUCH MUCH better deal for gear off of Scubatoys.com. Not to mention no tax or shipping. Great gear (Zeagle BCs, mares regs and octos, oceanic comp). I call the shop prior to the class to ask when to bring gear, etc. His asst. instructor tells me to bring the gear both days. She does not say that my own gear would not be allowed, in fact says to leave gear in the car for the classroom session.

When we finish the classroom section (which was filled with Frankie bragging about how he know Jacques Cousteau (spelling?) and how he helps edit the instruction book, no big deal, but needless) He starts handing out gear. I inform him that we have our own gear with us. He gets noticeably angered, and tells me I cannot use my own gear. After quite a bit of arguing, he states that “the gear is standard across the classroom” and that “if I have any problems with my gear, he would not be able to help me” and that “I need to focus on learning the skills, not my gear”. Well I will be diving with my own gear, not his when I go to the ocean, so wouldn’t it make more sense for me to be trained with my own gear? I am pretty sure that he was upset that I did not buy the overpriced gear he is selling. He even tells me, “so you trust me to train you but not to sell you gear” after I have explained it was over $1000 cheaper to buy from Scubatoys. ARGGHHH!! I get irritated just thinking about it. He finally caved and let us use our own gear the second day. In addition, we had a 30minute “break” during the class, when we had to sit around and wait as the owner/instructor sold gear to a customer. WTF?

My wife and I had no problems in the pool, performing all skills without incident. She had a little trouble equalizing, but has bad allergies, so I wasn't too surprised. She did eventually get the cleared after going back up a bit, then back down.

We went to Lake Elmer Thomas for our OW dives. I had called during the week to see if they have loaner wetsuits, since I know my 3 mm and my wife’s 5 mm (she gets cold very easily) would not be warm enough. The same asst. has no idea if they loan gear, and the owner never calls me back. The water temp was 61 deg. I was freezing!

Only good thing about the OW dives is the asst. instructor was very helpful and it was him to the two of us. We both felt very confident, got our buoyancy pretty good, and performed the skills well I think. The owner/instructor was not there, and had the asst. instructors doing the dives. None of our dives went over 25 min. Our SI was 10 min of floating in the water. First dive: 17 min at 21’ max depth. Next dive: 21 min at 28’. Day two: first dive: 19 min at 27’. Next dive, we were allowed to lead, and I wanted to go deep, so it was 23 min at 40’. We were shivering both days. He second day the asst. instructor loaned me his personal 5mm vest/hoodie, and it was much better, but still COLD!

Oh, we had one pretty crappy mishap. As my wife went to put her BC with the tank attached on her back off of the tailgate of my truck, she bumped it with her elbow, knocking it off my tailgate onto the ground. It ended up busting one of the O-rings in the primary reg, and blowing out all the air. So, we have to take our brand new Mares reg to the LDS to get fixed. Well it turns out the yoke got bent, and it is an easy, and luckily pretty cheap fix.

At least I’m done with him and his shop. I will never set foot in there again. The only positives I can say are that two of his asst. instructors were very helpful and friendly. I am very glad they dove with us in the OW dives as they really made the experience much better.

 

[Stu S.]

Scubatoys can fix and rebuild a Mares regulator. They serviced mine.

The your story is familiar. When we signed up, the owner-instructor didn't talk of gear purchases. It just wasn't mentioned. At the end of class #1 we were given a list of what he was going to sell us and the prices. It was mask, fins, snorkel, lead weights, belt, booties, dive table, and gloves. Bring the money next week so you can go to the pool. The prices were more than the class cost and some students didn't return.

Three of us bought gear elsewhere for less. We borrowed a mold and made our own lead weights. The owner responded with consternation, but couldn't do much. We all did just fine.

This sales technique is not new. What happened to us was in Glen Burnie, Maryland 1977.

 

[A2thaK]

Stu-thanks for the reply. I already dropped the reg off at a Mares premier or whatever its called service center. Another dive shop in the city services Mares and Zeagle, so we will probably be using them from now on. Wife said they were really friendly and helpful, so I will probably use them for our nitrox and any other advanced training.

 

[rwalsh]

I feel compelled to respond to this post as I am a very satisfied customer of Frank and all of the staff at Frank's Underwater Sports in Edmond. Based on glowing recommendations of other clients, I went to Frank's last year to get SSI certified. Frankie was very helpful as well as his assistants. I had the same schedule as A2thaK.

When we were in the classroom, we were educated about the gear but there was absolutely no hard push for sales. I was certain that I was going to be doing a lot of diving so I asked the instructor and Frank to show me the equipment. They were very helpful in finding what would work best for me. I did price check and was very satisfied with his prices. In fact, I have price checked on many items since my original purchase and find the difference so minimal that I prefer to shop in Edmond as Frank will stand behind and service the equipment.

When I first started my scuba adventures, I was truly a novice and Frank and all of his staff were so very helpful and often go above and beyond to help me. I have been on three trips to Cozumel with Frank's group and have one scheduled in January. I am very sorry this customer was dissastisfied with his experience. From all of the customers and divers I know, Frank's is the best and I would recommend the instructors, Frank and any of his staff to anyone interested in this wonderful sport. I would also encourage anyone who suspects the prices are out of line to compare because they are very fair.

 

[Sierra@diver]

Repost-I deleated the original thread since I had not received my c-card yet, and did not want any problems to arise due to my review. We (my wife and I) did receive our cards on Fri, 5 days after our 4th OW dive. So at least they we really quick getting us our cards.

So this is probably going to be more of a vent then a review. However, the purpose is to give anyone in OKC a heads up to this dive shop.

My wife and I signed up for the OW Diver course through Franks back in March. Our classroom/pool dates were three weekends ago, and we finished our OW dives two weekends ago. When we signed up for the course, we purchased our MSF, booties, and wetsuits through him. We told him that we would be diving soon in Cozumel, but would like to dive locally as well. So he sold me a 3mm and my wife a 5mm. For the course, MSF, booties and wetsuits for us both: close to $2000. Not a small piece of change

After doing a lot of shopping and research, I find a MUCH MUCH better deal for gear off of Scubatoys.com. Not to mention no tax or shipping. Great gear (Zeagle BCs, mares regs and octos, oceanic comp). I call the shop prior to the class to ask when to bring gear, etc. His asst. instructor tells me to bring the gear both days. She does not say that my own gear would not be allowed, in fact says to leave gear in the car for the classroom session.

When we finish the classroom section (which was filled with Frankie bragging about how he know Jacques Cousteau (spelling?) and how he helps edit the instruction book, no big deal, but needless) He starts handing out gear. I inform him that we have our own gear with us. He gets noticeably angered, and tells me I cannot use my own gear. After quite a bit of arguing, he states that the gear is standard across the classroom and that if I have any problems with my gear, he would not be able to help me and that I need to focus on learning the skills, not my gear. Well I will be diving with my own gear, not his when I go to the ocean, so wouldnt it make more sense for me to be trained with my own gear? I am pretty sure that he was upset that I did not buy the overpriced gear he is selling. He even tells me, so you trust me to train you but not to sell you gear after I have explained it was over $1000 cheaper to buy from Scubatoys. ARGGHHH!! I get irritated just thinking about it. He finally caved and let us use our own gear the second day. In addition, we had a 30minute break during the class, when we had to sit around and wait as the owner/instructor sold gear to a customer. WTF?

My wife and I had no problems in the pool, performing all skills without incident. She had a little trouble equalizing, but has bad allergies, so I wasn't too surprised. She did eventually get the cleared after going back up a bit, then back down.

We went to Lake Elmer Thomas for our OW dives. I had called during the week to see if they have loaner wetsuits, since I know my 3 mm and my wifes 5 mm (she gets cold very easily) would not be warm enough. The same asst. has no idea if they loan gear, and the owner never calls me back. The water temp was 61 deg. I was freezing!

Only good thing about the OW dives is the asst. instructor was very helpful and it was him to the two of us. We both felt very confident, got our buoyancy pretty good, and performed the skills well I think. The owner/instructor was not there, and had the asst. instructors doing the dives. None of our dives went over 25 min. Our SI was 10 min of floating in the water. First dive: 17 min at 21 max depth. Next dive: 21 min at 28. Day two: first dive: 19 min at 27. Next dive, we were allowed to lead, and I wanted to go deep, so it was 23 min at 40. We were shivering both days. He second day the asst. instructor loaned me his personal 5mm vest/hoodie, and it was much better, but still COLD!

Oh, we had one pretty crappy mishap. As my wife went to put her BC with the tank attached on her back off of the tailgate of my truck, she bumped it with her elbow, knocking it off my tailgate onto the ground. It ended up busting one of the O-rings in the primary reg, and blowing out all the air. So, we have to take our brand new Mares reg to the LDS to get fixed. Well it turns out the yoke got bent, and it is an easy, and luckily pretty cheap fix.

At least Im done with him and his shop. I will never set foot in there again. The only positives I can say are that two of his asst. instructors were very helpful and friendly. I am very glad they dove with us in the OW dives as they really made the experience much better.

I have dove with Frank since I was 7. I am now 13 and about to get my Master Diver. Frank has always been so nice to me and my dad. Everyone who has dove with Frank has loved him. Frankie on trips lets me dive with kids as well. You might have had a bad rap with him, but Frankie is so sweet. I started diving with him after I lost my mom and he was so welcoming to me!