What people think of SCUBA training

[tridacna]

Someone called the shop this fine Wednesday evening.

“I’d like to get SCUBA training for me and my son because we’re going on vacation to the Caribbean. Do you do that?”.

“Sure”, I said. “When are you leaving on vacation?”

“On Saturday morning”, he replied cheerily. “Can we get this done on Friday?”.

This is not the first time I’ve heard this. Many people actually think that learning to dive is a trivial task that should take no more than an hour or two. I wonder if people are deterred from learning to dive when they discover the reality of the rigor and time requirements of the process?

 

[northernone]

Here's my guess.

Diving is being marketed by discover scuba diving try dives globally as an easy alternative to any other "extreme" experience. Today yoga, tomorrow skydiving, yesterday scuba diving.

The expectations from people sharing stories of their resort day dive "training" is likely the majority of the public's personal knowledge of diving.

 

[rabe]

Well, I guess this applies to every activity that requires some training and learning, which is basically everything, call it scuba diving or playing the guitar...

 

[taimen]

People who are not (yet) scuba divers usually do not think anything about scuba training. Why should they?

I think the correct answer to these people should be "Good news! You don't need any prior training to do discover scuba dives with an instructor during your Caribbean vacation."
Then politely tell them about different levels of scuba training and what they mean. And last but not least, welcome them to take an OW course after their vacation. Asking them for contact information for a follow up call two weeks later is not bad for business either.
Most of these people are not ignorant and won't be deterred from learning to dive. They simply do not know the process yet. They may ask for "scuba training" but what they actually mean is a discover scuba dive.
Now if their discover scuba dive is a pleasant experience, they already have a friendly instructor to train with after vacation. Unless you yelled at them for asking stupid questions....

 

[АлександрД]

I think it is not a problem.

You should just make to him first intro-to-dive briefing, may be one test dive in the pool or shallow water, than inform:
(1)"Now you can dive, but just only as Introdive, hand-to-hand with instructor. For double price."
(2) "Otherwise you can pay 400$ (approx.) for study, and take five days for it." If not - see (1).

 

[icechip]

My high school students (and sometimes their parents) often ask about certification and scuba training, but they see it as a course/class requiring a time commitment. They might not know for how long, but realize it'll take more than an hour or two.

 

[KatieMac]

The expectations from people sharing stories of their resort day dive "training" is likely the majority of the public's personal knowledge of diving.

I agree. A friend of mine did about 40 resort dives before he finally completed OW earlier this year. And even with those 40 dives, he wasn't fully aware of what was next until he contacted his local shop.

 

[stuartv]

The SDI Scuba Discovery Program can be done in 1 day. It yields the student an "SDI Experience" card.

It qualifies the student to "Dive under the direct supervision of an active instructor."

The course requirements include an academic portion, a confined water portion, and 1 open water dive.

Regarding course duration, the standards say "The suggested number of training hours is 2." My read is that that is for all components of the course, academic through open water.

I am not a PADI person and I can't find details on the PADI standards for their Discover Scuba Diving program, so I don't know how the details compare. SDI course standards and procedures are available to the public right on the web page about each course. PADI doesn't appear to have that.

 

[60plus]

The PADI discover scuba can mean many different things. It can be as short as a 20 minute video or lecture, a 10 minute multi choice question sheet, some brief instruction followed by a 20 minute dive in a pool. It does not as far as I know qualify you to do anything although you do get a discover scuba certificate. This is the sort of thing scout groups do for an evening or 1/2 day activity.
On the other hand (as it was with me) it can be a check to make sure your are suitable for training as a diver and it is the first step on your OW qual. Initial video and multichoice questions the same as above, then 2 hour pool session using full tank of air and setting up buoyancy, trim, weight drop etc and practicing mask recovery and cesa. In afternoon equipment assembly, followed with more instruction in sea with descent, buoyancy practice, mask flood and clear, regulator recovery, 33 minute dive to 11m and 3 minute safety stop, full tank of air used, then exiting water, dismantle and rinse equipment. This dive was then logged as first dive of scuba / OW certification.
Some places charge as little as £15 for the minimal discover scuba, I paid 59 Euro for the more comprehensive version which then entitled me to a 59 euro deduction on the OW course.

From PADI website "Have you always wondered what it’s like to breathe underwater? If you want to try scuba diving, but aren’t quite ready to take the plunge into a certification course, Discover Scuba Diving is for you. PADI dive shops offer this program either in a pool, off a beach or from a dive boat. You can try scuba close to home or while you’re on vacation at a dive destination. While not a scuba certification course, Discover Scuba Diving is a quick and easy introduction to what it takes to explore the underwater world. To sign up for a PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience, you must be at least 10 years old. No prior experience with scuba diving is necessary, but you need to be in reasonable physical health. Are you ready to try it out? Use the event locator to find and schedule a Discover Scuba Diving experience near you."

 

[TMHeimer]

We were on a cruise in 1999 and they had (what was to be named?) Discover Scuba in the ship's pool. They told me it was about an hour then off to the ocean. I opted for the snorkel tour. I can easily believe someone could assume a full scuba course could be done in a day. Most likely this would be someone who has not snorkeled or done much else in the water. But it could be anyone.
My views on Discover Scuba have been stated often here. I'm not a fan due to the stories I've heard about inappropriate teacher/student ratios and that I believe I read a few years ago that PADI said the rate of incidents/accidents is about double in Discover Scuba vs. any other PADI course. But many swear by it and say if it weren't for Discover Scuba they wouldn't have become divers.