Scuba Schools of America/Rusty Berry

[fnfalman]

And what is it with the $8000 mark?

I started doing some interweb search on SSA and other divers complained about getting suckered for around $8000 worth of gears & training?

 

[Darol]

Ask.com has the average price of scuba lessons at $350 to $400.
A little research would have gone a long way. I wish you all the best.

 

[Johnny Mojo]

And what is it with the $8000 mark?

I started doing some interweb search on SSA and other divers complained about getting suckered for around $8000 worth of gears & training?

Retirement Planning...........

J.

 

[Blackwood]

And what is it with the $8000 mark?

I started doing some interweb search on SSA and other divers complained about getting suckered for around $8000 worth of gears & training?

I bet it's like the posted fine for the carpool lanes ($371 or something else as seemingly exact). Someone had a budget gap, had an idea how many people would pay it, and divided.

 

[Lina77]

Yes, that's what he told it would cost, but that's just tuition and education materials. He doesn't include all the equipment that he insists you buy and promises is refundable, or the boat trips which are completely separate.

 

[Lina77]

And what is it with the $8000 mark?

I started doing some interweb search on SSA and other divers complained about getting suckered for around $8000 worth of gears & training?

At the show when I met him, it was $400-600 to get certified is what I was told. That just included tuition and education materials as I found out later. 2 days later when he wants to give you the orientation at the store, it was another $860 for personal equipment, snorkel, fins, mask, gloves, hood and boots. Straight to the pool to make it automatically used. 2 days after that, it was the BC, computer, drysuit and all the other stuff that goes with it, which was another $7300. The only reason I bought the stuff is because it came with the business owner's personal guarantee that everything is refundable if I didn't like scuba diving at the end. Hindsight is always 20/20 and I have definitely learned a painful lesson, but it's still not right to treat anyone like this.

 

[ChrisM]

He sold you a drysuit before certification? Wasn't that shop selling rebreathers to newbies as well some time ago?

 

[muddiver]

OK, I don't know squat about the store or the owner, and I have never been anywhere near it. I do have some questions for those who have that might be helpful to me in understanding the situation.

Can anyone tell me if the shop has 5 mannequins decked out in complete packages, each in a different price range? Is one of them the complete outfit worn by the instructors? Are customers given a discount if they buy one of the complete packages instead of buying each one separately?

The shop in question does promote dry suit diving as being superior to wet suits diving here in So. Cal. They have their own custom dry suit line that you can get all kinds of colors and patterns that include a blue camo sceme, green army cammo, red flames and the new army digital camo. They also have a custom line of BC that can be ordered in the same color and pattern as the dry suit which nicludes your name on the inflator hose hold down strap. Thus, the very expensive gear prices.

I believe basic open water is priced compairably with the other local shops like Sports Chalet. I don't doubt that dry suit instruction is an extra. At what shop around here is it not?

Cylinders that can not be filled any where else? That's BS, they just subscribe to the ANDI SafeAir program that recomends that you oxygen clean your cylinder before having it filled via the partial pressure Nitrox fill method, and thus it should not be filled at just any shop because they might not have a compressor system that can pump oxygen compatable air. It's just a clean cylinder thing. Nitrox fill there start at $12 for 32% and go up just like any of the other local shops that do Nitrox fills. Their air fills are expensive at $8. I get my cylinders filled for free so any fill you have to pay for is expensive.

Other than that, yea the guy is out to make money without keeping a large stock of equipment in the shop.

 

[Codyjp]

At the show when I met him, it was $400-600 to get certified is what I was told. That just included tuition and education materials as I found out later. 2 days later when he wants to give you the orientation at the store, it was another $860 for personal equipment, snorkel, fins, mask, gloves, hood and boots. Straight to the pool to make it automatically used. 2 days after that, it was the BC, computer, drysuit and all the other stuff that goes with it, which was another $7300. The only reason I bought the stuff is because it came with the business owner's personal guarantee that everything is refundable if I didn't like scuba diving at the end. Hindsight is always 20/20 and I have definitely learned a painful lesson, but it's still not right to treat anyone like this.

Holly crap sunshine!

Any chance you might be interested in learning to fly?

 

[Lina77]

He sold you a drysuit before certification? Wasn't that shop selling rebreathers to newbies as well some time ago?

Yes...he was trying to sell me a rebreather before I ever went out into the ocean. He taught one of the classes that I was in and the whole time just talked about how cool rebreathers are and went on and on. Someone in my class asked about the dangers or if there had ever been any incidents where some had been injured or killed. He flat out said NO. Later, I found out there was a wrongful death lawsuit that he was named as a defendant in because someone died using a rebreather. The man was under for an hour before they started searching for him. Here's the link to the document that was found on the suit: http://crossbowdiving.com/robles2/complaint.pdf

I was shocked when I read this. He plays with people's lives and someone else is going to eventually get hurt, if not worse.