How to vet a dive shop

[scrane]

Let your sister do as she chooses.
Certification is only the first step in learning how to dive.

 

[The Chairman]

Caveat: Your instructor can't dive for you. You and only you are responsible for how you dive. You and only you are responsible for your comfort and safety. My first two classes were pretty crappy, but that didn't prevent me from excelling. They certainly did show me how not to teach a class. Pursue excellence in all that you do and especially so underwater. Many divers exhibit excellent trim, buoyancy and propulsion in spite of their instructor.

 

[formernuke]

I was like @The Chairman my OW and advanced were cookie cutter what does PADI require OW was on my knees wearing 44 pounds of lead (I weighted 160 pounds). I since spent a lot of time and money becoming a decent diver working on bouyancy trim proper propulsion etc.

One of the shops up here is literally twice the cost of others. What do you get for that. There pool sessions are much longer, they don't over weight the students, they teach all the finning techniques (you are expected to master frog and flutter) right from the beginning you are taught trim and buoyancy. Skills are done in proper trim and off the bottom. And once your a student with them you can sign up for free pool play time, they don't even charge for rentals for pool play.

 

[ontdiver]

Also, if the dive shop has a FB page, try to find someone who has taken a course or two and get some candid feedback from them. Ideally, you would like to be able to continue your dive education with the same shop. However, if they don't have a good reputation beyond OW, you may want to shop around for a better fit. That said, and as noted by the Chairman, "You and only you are responsible for how you dive."

 

[AdivingBel]

Not saying this to be mean and I get your concern for your sister, but...with you not being certified and your only experience being a negative one, I'm not sure what positive you're bringing to the table. If you trust your sister to be a competent, rational adult, then let her make her own judgements and have her own experience. If it goes well, you'll have some common ground and her enthusiasm might persuade you to give it another try (when you are ready without external pressures) then you'll have something to share for a lifetime. If not, there are other hobbies. Good luck. All IMHO, YMMV.

 

[Heatheroe]

Have you searched FB, Yelp, or Google for reviews on said dive shop?

I did and most of them are good reviews but I'm still a bit gun shy from the first experience. My sister said I should still ask for the discount even though I didn't book before the deadline which is today.

 

[Heatheroe]

Is your plan to try to get in on the class starting this Saturday? I agree talking to the instructor who will be teaching is the way to go, and we could maybe suggest some questions to help avoid the issues you had before if you could tell us a little more about them.

I didn't find Yelp very useful here. Most people who've just gotten certified aren't really in much of a position to evaluate the quality of instruction because they have nothing to compare it to.

I'm not exactly sure when the classes start. They are every Saturday for several consecutive Saturdays in a row so the schedule is very rigid which I'm not in love with.

 

[Heatheroe]

You're not certified. You would have had to take the class with her and not just tag along.



I am not the last word on adequate or good vs excellent instruction: YOU GUYS ARE! But, since I've been asked, here is my two cents on what to expect:

The vast majority of shops give "adequate" instruction. You learn Scuba in a traditional manor (kneeling) with up to 8 students and all the standards are kept and all the skill boxes are checked off. You may, or may not know when to use your skills or feel comfortable and ready to go diving on your own. This is usually a few hours in the pool and 4 or 5 dives over two days. An overly aggressive shop will do the pool one morning, two checkout dives in the afternoon and finish up the class the next day. Quite often these guys appear to be the cheapest and quickest, but there are often add-ons and you'll probably need more training to be able to dive on your own. They often claim efficiency, but I don't see it. This is how I got certified.

Good instructors will probably do two or more half days in the pool and make the effort to get you neutral before open water. They make sure you've actually mastered skills, know when to use them and won't take shortcuts. You're more likely to be comfortable in the water and ready to go have some great adventures.

Great instructors will never let you kneel, sit or stand on the bottom during any portion of the class. The class sizes are limited to 4 or less rather than the traditional 8 so they won't waste your time. They always set a great example in the water for you to follow and have developed great insights into identifying and correcting bad habits before they get ingrained. They adapt the class to meet your needs and desires not only in how you learn your skills, but also in the length of the class. While they may not take anymore time than the "good" class, you'll come away with exceptional trim, buoyancy and propulsion. You'll not only be comfortable, but you'll be confidant to go dive and have fun within your limits. They do cost more, but they are more than worth it.

If you want a good or great instructor, just ask here on ScubaBoard. The community knows who's adequate, good or freakin' phenomenal. Yes, you should talk to your potential instructor, but if they're anything like me, they don't believe that their poop even stinks. Try to talk to their students and find out how many pool sessions and their training philosophy. If price is your bottom line, then you deserve crappy, er adequate instruction.

thank you very much for the advice. I did read a review where someone did tag along on one of the trainings so I don't think the shop would've had a problem with it. I think it was more that my sister didn't want me to go and that caused a bit of a tussle between us. I've decided she's probably not going to be a good dive buddy for me.

 

[The Chairman]

I've decided she's probably not going to be a good dive buddy for me.

Training can be a bit intimidating for some. I had a girlfriend who wanted my help to get in the water, but did not want me in the water if she was taking a class. She did not want any distractions for her or the instructor. I always honored that, and we were great buddies otherwise.

 

[Heatheroe]

Not saying this to be mean and I get your concern for your sister, but...with you not being certified and your only experience being a negative one, I'm not sure what positive you're bringing to the table. If you trust your sister to be a competent, rational adult, then let her make her own judgements and have her own experience. If it goes well, you'll have some common ground and her enthusiasm might persuade you to give it another try (when you are ready without external pressures) then you'll have something to share for a lifetime. If not, there are other hobbies. Good luck. All IMHO, YMMV.

thank you. The bad experience I had was with a shop here in town when I first tried to get certified. I've been on several dives through discover scuba or "resort courses" and they've been fine. My best dive was in Utila with a great dive shop there. I'm tempted to go back there and get certified.