Devon Diver
In response to your post:
I am here. Apologies for not being on the forum for 2 weeks. I had the small matter of proposing to my girlfriend and (for the first time since February) some days off work. Yes, I have worked 7 days a week for the last 8 months.
Your activity on ScubaBoard shows otherwise. See below:
September 11 09:
Post #10
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/th...-idc-tech-training-working-thailand-year.html
Post #44
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/buoyancy-compensators-bcs-weight-systems/301959-types-bcs-5.html
Post #4
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...303150-philippine-cave-expedition-2009-a.html
September 18 09:
Post #155
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tanks-valves-bands/298295-spare-air-experience-its-use-16.html
September 21 09;
Post #25
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bu...s-weight-systems/304460-bp-w-vs-jacket-3.html
Post #5
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/thailand/304063-instructing-koh-tao.html
Post #64
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...303920-safety-stop-anchor-double-sausage.html
Subic Scuba College is a legitimate 5*IDC. The OP obviously failed to notice the host of PADI certificates, including the 5*IDC on the walls of the classroom and behind my desk. The company operates under the business name of Bella Baia Inc, as the business owners have interests in several dive centers (both 5*IDCs) in the Philippines.
It was PADI that informed me that your school was not affiliated to them. When I posted the thread, that information was correct based on what
THEY had told me. However, after posting this thread PADI then advised me that the school
IS in fact affiliated to them and holds a 5 star IDC rating, all be it under a different name.
I have already apologized for this error.
The nitrox course was taught very properly....with many extras, including an intro to Gas Blending and Cylinder Filling, compressor set-ups and advanced dive planning (SAC vs Volume etc). It was way way beyond the PADI minimum course requirement. 3 days training for $208 was incredible value for money at any dive center.
I fully agree. The course was taught to a high standard and this was reflected in my correspondence to PADI. I received the manual pack on Tuesday and started the course on Wednesday and finished on Thursday, so it was two days - not three. The price was the going rate for that area, so no more of a bargain than elsewhere.
I dont know (yet) what the snag was with the processing of the OPs online PIC. If he gave me time to investigate the matter, rather than leaping to 'name and shame' here on SB, then I am sure I could have answered his question without causing any bad feeling or ill will. I am casing the matter with PADI at the moment.
You verbally told me that you would carry out a PIC online the following day. What was the problem with doing the PIC there and then? The following day was 11/09/09 no PIC carried out but you made three posts online so it appears that nothing was wrong with the internet that day. I contacted you on 16/0/09 here is what was said;
Hi Andy
I hope Subic is treating you well and the weather has perked up a bit.
Did you submit my information to PADI for certification for my nitrox course?
Your reply dated 17/09/09;
The weather has turned lovely here...typical luck! Not a cloud in the sky and scorching hot!
Sadly, I have been laid up with a random virus... lost about 10lbs since you left!?!? I have yet to get into work and send the application. My apologies for that. Will get it sorted ASAP when I can get back into work.
So you claimed you were ill and I accepted that, thinking you would process it shortly. On the 21/09/09 I sent you emails again enquiring about my PIC
no reply. On the 22/09/09 I got in touch with PADI and asked if they had received my nitrox PIC
they had not.
It was at this time that they incorrectly informed me that Subic Scuba College was not affiliated to them, so a PIC online could not be carried out. Furthermore this application had to be submitted
WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF COURSE COMPLETION. This is when I started to get concerned. What else was I supposed to think?
In the worst case, I will re-submit his online pic application, even though to do that will cost my dive center another certification fee (and mean I made a distinct loss in running the 3-day training course for the OP).
Although I am very grateful, you did not run a three day course for my benefit. It was because you had no other customers and due to the prevailing weather it was not possible to dive. If you feel you made a loss then why did you say that courses are where dive shops make their money?
As an apology for the unexplained delay in the electronic processing of his certification, I would gladly offer him a further 1 days/3 dives complimentary diving at our center, should he care to return.
This is certainly most generous of you and, again, I am grateful for the offer.
Rather than this silly slanging on a public forum...and a 'name and shame' for what seems to be a simple error in the electronic processing of his PIC, I would invite him to contact me. He has my email and I check this daily (via my phone) even if I am not at work to access SB.
Unfortunately, until your PM today, I was not in possesion of your personal email address. If you had carried out the PIC online as promised on 11/09/09 then this
silly little name and shame would been How great Subic Scuba College is!!. I believe, had I not contacted PADI, my application would still be a mere
glitch in the system and I would be waiting for my certification process to start.
I am sorry if the OP had a bad experience with our center. I took every effort to ensure that he got the absolute best value out of his visit to Subic Scuba College, despite the abysmal weather experienced during his visit. I am also sorry that I was not available to answer any of his enquiries last week on SB.... but there is one very happy lady as a result of my absense from work It's not often that I get time to spend time away from the center...and I was kind of pre-occupied with the business of my marriage proposal to a very wonderful ENT surgeon from Manila.
Congratulations on your engagement however, I still feel this should not be used as some excuse for a five minute PIC that was never processed.
I would also suggest to the OP that contact via my personal email is a more sure-fire method of addressing a problem that posting private messages onto a forum, or conducting a name blackening campaign in the public domain.
I sent three personal messages via this board as, previously stated, until today you had not suplied your personal email address. (I am assuming that you also received email notification of these PMs however, I am obviously unable to confirm whether you have this option set or not). I also phoned four times but you were either away from the office or the phone automatically diverted to fax mode.
I have paid 10,000 peso for a course that I have completed and passed. It is not unreasonable to expect the instructor to complete the relevant paperwork and notify PADI within seven days (for PIC online application).
Giving me 10 days after the course completion to resolve the problem, before a public attack, is hardly fair. Although PADI standards do state the pics must be processed before 7 days. For that delay, I do most genuinely apologize. I am back at work tomorrow and will resolve the problem as my primary concern.
Due to your tardiness I had to scan all the relevant paperwork and correspond with PADI directly in order to get the PIC processed. I paid for the course in full, which includes documentation.
Whether you were ill, getting engaged or had problems with your internet connection, there was no excuse for not carrying out this simple task within the specified time limits.
For the benefit of other potential customers of Subic Scuba College I would like to clarify that Andy has subsequently contacted me via personal message. I would like to add that the facilities and level of instruction was excellent.
