An incident this weekend got me to wondering what policies other shops or resorts have about mandating a refresher.
Two guys come into our shop to sign up for a two tank dive, with the first a 100' wall dive and the second a 60' reef dive. Diver #1, let's call him Bob, has done 50 dives spread out over 14 years. Bob hasn't done any diving in 14 months. Diver #2, let's call him Scott, last did 2 dives three years ago - the only dives he has done since he was certified in 1996.
Our shop policy mandated a pool refresher for Scott followed by a shallow 60' reef dive. For Bob we require a shallow 60' reef dive before a wall dive another day. Our cutoff is a mandatory refresher after two years, and a mandatory shallow dive before wall diving after a 6 month break.
Bob yelled at me a bit, stormed out, then came back in long enough to demand my name. All entertaining enough, but Bob's reasoning was that Scott should be able to go straight onto a 100' wall dive immediately after the pool session. Bob was even more incensed that we would require a shallow dive for him.
BTW, we don't care if they do the shallow dive with us or as a shore dive elsewhere. We just won't take divers on a wall dive without some recent diving experience.
So, what sort of policies have you run across in your travels?
Two guys come into our shop to sign up for a two tank dive, with the first a 100' wall dive and the second a 60' reef dive. Diver #1, let's call him Bob, has done 50 dives spread out over 14 years. Bob hasn't done any diving in 14 months. Diver #2, let's call him Scott, last did 2 dives three years ago - the only dives he has done since he was certified in 1996.
Our shop policy mandated a pool refresher for Scott followed by a shallow 60' reef dive. For Bob we require a shallow 60' reef dive before a wall dive another day. Our cutoff is a mandatory refresher after two years, and a mandatory shallow dive before wall diving after a 6 month break.
Bob yelled at me a bit, stormed out, then came back in long enough to demand my name. All entertaining enough, but Bob's reasoning was that Scott should be able to go straight onto a 100' wall dive immediately after the pool session. Bob was even more incensed that we would require a shallow dive for him.
BTW, we don't care if they do the shallow dive with us or as a shore dive elsewhere. We just won't take divers on a wall dive without some recent diving experience.
So, what sort of policies have you run across in your travels?