Wow... your description sounds just like I guy I used to know. He was hired by the shop I worked for to manage our classes. He then decided to assign all classes to himself. His conduct with his students was exactly your checklist... some students quit the first day, some assumed this was the way scuba class is.
We (fellow instructors) complained to management, they told us to "give him a chance". Students complained to management; they were given refunds. Then female shop employees complained that he was harassing them (and he was); he was fired.
If your friend's instructor is of the same ilk, they should run away and take with them whatever they can. Even if they have to run away with no refund and start over from Classroom 1, i.e. the worst case scenario, it's better than "sticking with it" and hoping it will improve. If they find an instructor and class like the one you had, they'll be much happier divers and have no regrets.
(For what it's worth, most of the instructors I've worked with are similar to the one your described for YOUR class... with students opting to follow them into the cold Pacific water even when they had the option to finish on vacation.)
We (fellow instructors) complained to management, they told us to "give him a chance". Students complained to management; they were given refunds. Then female shop employees complained that he was harassing them (and he was); he was fired.
If your friend's instructor is of the same ilk, they should run away and take with them whatever they can. Even if they have to run away with no refund and start over from Classroom 1, i.e. the worst case scenario, it's better than "sticking with it" and hoping it will improve. If they find an instructor and class like the one you had, they'll be much happier divers and have no regrets.
(For what it's worth, most of the instructors I've worked with are similar to the one your described for YOUR class... with students opting to follow them into the cold Pacific water even when they had the option to finish on vacation.)