Phuket - Sharkey Scuba

[trehoret]

I have personally known both AAA and BBB for many years now, having completed my OW through to Rescue Diver with them along with 6 specialty courses, over the course of 4 years. I have never once found them to be unprofessional. In fact I happen to know that AAA and BBB both adhere to the PADI standards very very closely and are some of the more conservative divers that I know. I also happen to know a person who trained as a DM with them and he is now one of my favorite people to dive with.

Very good, and I agree too, they are very conservative and safety orientated. I never questioned this about them, but about the other DM who was on the course, and happened to get lost at sea on the GBR.
Regarding professionalism, I do not think comparing students performance on a professional website is appropriate, or AAA planning a day of diving with us, then sending BBB because AAA watched Arsenal play with his mates at the bar, not very professional to me... I guess it is a question of personal appreciation.

With regards to the bar-restaurant that you often meet at, you might do well to point out that it also has a pool designed for pool dives and this a nice, cool alternative to being cooped up old day in classroom sessions as it is an open area with a breeze.

Again, maybe a personal thing, but I would rather take a physics exam or be taught in a quiet environment, not in a bar, or in a room (kitchen) with people talking all around me...

The dives that you didn't go on because you were feeling unwell, did they count towards the 30 dives that you were told you would get, or did they get logged also, because there is a huge difference. It cost money to send you out on the boat plus any gear you might have rented and the cost to put AAA or BBB on the boat also. You can't expect them to give you additional dives just because you got seasick (there a pills on the boat to stop that from happening). However, if the dives were logged then that is a breach of standards but I doubt either AAA or BBB would do that.

Here, the point was that we paid for the first day with 3 dives, I happened to not go on the first dive, I was sea sick for a bit, yes I should have taken a pill (If I had known ...), stupid me !!! We were offered a discounted price for it, but we paid for it separately from the courses, so we thought they were fun dives, to give the instructor a good opportunity to see how we dived. But nope, these were to be included in the 30 promised dives, that wouldn't have been a problem if they had been included in the total DM course price ...
I was then told to log those dives too.
Regarding the 2 day dives during the course which I missed because I was ill, another DM trainee (my girlfriend) ended up going, and there was 2 other OW students, I understand it would have costed money if it had only been me and the instructor, but in this case the organisation of the day did not change. I ended up being told to log those dives (and so did my girlfriend) which I think is wrong.

Perhaps the friendly, personal nature of this particular dive shop isn't for you. You might find that the larger, non-personal dive shops more to your liking. If anything you should stop from slagging a dive shop on this public forum such as this without giving the shop a chance to tell their story.

I have tried to get some explanation from them directly by email to them. They are more than welcome to give their version of the story, I would love to hear it.
It seems they have chosen not to, and stuck with their comments on their website.
And to be honest, my purpose was not to slag off the dive shop as all the instructors there are very nice and professional but one.