What to do when an instructor is out of line?

[AbyssalPlains]

Now, I was wrong for losing my cool and I admit that. It's bad form for a diver to rip up an instructor in front of 2 divemasters, another instructor and 12 students of various levels. However, it's also bad form to cuss out a student.

No, you're not wrong. If the "conversation" did go the way you describe it, I tip my hat to your calmness and patience. If I had been insulted like you describe, I would have used much stronger language on that instructor than you apparently did. I also would have made sure that the audience would have been as large as possible.

This instructor sounds like he is *****ing idiot, has an anger issue to say the least and in no way should you feel bad for anything. With your 25 dives, he should have regarded you still as a new diver and should have made sure the group didn't get separated.

In my book, REGARDLESS of what a student does, if an instructor uses language like that and refuses to debrief a dive, he is an a-hole. Plain and simple. Stay away from that guy, tell everybody you know to stay away from him, too. Make sure you find someone who is competent and professional and does not stand in the way of your enjoyment of diving.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

True. However, I'm at a loss to conceive of what a student could do during a dive to justify a public berating as described.

Exactly.

 

[divezonescuba]

With the large number of shops in the Houston area there is no reason to continue associating yourself with a diveshop that is taking that kind of attitude with you.

I once had a safety related incident with a dive shop instructor before we even left the dock. The instructor's behavior degenerated. It turned out that she actually had a history of acting inappropriately whenever a student or customer challenged what she said.

The shop conducted an immediate investigation and initially temporarily suspended the instructor. Later that day permanently suspended her. I believe my actions saved someone else from potentially serious injury at least with that dive shop.

It doesn't matter if you get your money back or not. You didn't get injured. Things could have easily gone differently. PADI expects instructors to conduct themselves professionally. If he did something like that during an instructors' examination or a course directors training session, that would have been the end of it.

Some otherwise normal people seem to get a big head when they become instuctors. You did the right thing to file a Q and A. I hope if I ever did something like that someone files one on me.

 

[Nemrod]

Regardless of what the OP did or did not do if in fact the instructor used the "f" word then that tells you something right off. People have taken to using this word as some kind of generalized catch all adjective and I am kind of sick of it and refuse to deal with people who use it that manner.

N

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Regardless of what the OP did or did not do if in fact the instructor used the "f" word then that tells you something right off. People have taken to using this word as some kind of generalized catch all adjective and I am kind of sick of it and refuse to deal with people who use it that manner.

N

I like George Carlin's take on it ... "When did the F word become an insult? Think about it ... what do we spend most of our lives trying to do? Next time someone says F*** you, turn around and say "Good idea ... Thanks!"

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[udtfire]

sounds like the instructor had as much experience as the diver. you stated 25 dives and your in dm class ?sounds like the shop cares more about fees than skills. ill bet the instructor has less than 2 yrs on task I could be wrong but ILL BET i am not find another shop reguardless of how they work it out you should take classes from a professional and if it went down like stated he is not and you as a paying student deserve better. but there is always two sides to a story.

 

[FireInMyBones]

Hotpuppy,

Sorry that you have been put through this experience. I am glad that you have taken it to be a learning experience. You are wise to seek a second opinion and still want to sever ties as peacefully as possible. Keep us informed of your progress into more in-depth skills. Best of luck.

As much as I love my two LDSs, this would be a tough thing for me to do.

 

[Pelagicsal]

HotPuppy-
Get out and do some recreational dives. A LOT of recreational dives. Have FUN. Go places, try different shops, different destinations, different conditions. If you dive with a leader, DM, or instructor, pay attention to what they do and how they handle divers and situations. If they are good, add what you learn to your skill set. If they are bad, learn from that, too!

I am strictly recreational, but I have paid attention to those who are more skilled and emulated their actions. On a regular basis dive professionals ask how long I have been an instructor. My reply? Not a day.
If I go that route, I have plenty of work to do. I know that. But my experience will go a long way in my readiness for the course.

I wouldn't imagine that you want to wait a couple thousand dives before you start your DM training. But would you consider a couple hundred?

Best of luck with getting out of your relationship with that shop. I've had the good fortune of only having had one bad instructor. The shop owner talked with me about what I'd learned and a similar situation he'd had early in his dive career. He reestablished my confidence, and it didn't occur to me until much later, but I never saw that instructor again.

Happy bubbles and continued diving mastery to you!

 

[Hotpuppy]

HotPuppy-
Get out and do some recreational dives. A LOT of recreational dives. Have FUN. Go places, try different shops, different destinations, different conditions. If you dive with a leader, DM, or instructor, pay attention to what they do and how they handle divers and situations. If they are good, add what you learn to your skill set. If they are bad, learn from that, too!
.....Happy bubbles and continued diving mastery to you!

That's the plan... to get out and have fun. CHUM (the local club) is the place to start. From there I'll seek out things I'm interested in. There are other flavors of kool-aid then the one served here. I have a good relationship with another shop, they are further away from my home, but then again, good dive sites are further away then both shops combined! I'll check out a few more shops as well. The hard part is figuring out how to organize and run my own trips. Right now I don't have the benefit of a built-in buddy (partner or wife).

From my perspective I'm off to a good start. I've learned one of the most important lessons which is to be more critical of my training. I didn't take up diving to take up class... I took classes to take up diving. So I'll revisit DM at some other point when it's more appropriate. My personal take on it is that I can handle the class, but the experience is more important than the badge. I've already gotten quite a bit from Rescue and the work I did for the DM course. While I am not a DM or DM Candidate.... I have an understanding of the material and that helps me watch DMs and Instructors. It helps me organize what I see and identify the excellent and the less then ideal.

 

[sabbath999]

You're right, AOW qualified you to dive 100 feet, my apologies for suggesting otherwise.

I know this is taking what you are saying out of context, so I will say that up front... what I am stating below isn't the same thing that you were talking about. Having said that, I do want to make the following point about the fallacy that a rudimentary "class" such as PADI's AOW offers any real qualifications for ANYTHING... so please forgive me for jumping the wrong way with what you were saying.

With all due respect, I don't care what a training organization says, AOW is ONE... count it ONE... dive to deeper than 60 feet...

That does not qualify a person to dive to 100 feet, not by its self.

Technically, according to PADI, it does... but in the real world, AOW means SQUAT.

I've been to 110+ feet in blue waters at Kona that looked and felt like I was at 20 feet... and I've been at 20 feet in a quarry with less than a foot of vis, temps around 40 degrees... and the 20 foot dive was one HECK of a lot harder and more stressful than the 110+ one. Now, add another 80 feet to that low vis, low light situation... and a single dive in clear water doesn't mean ANYTHING training wise.

I understand PADI and other agencies say that "once you have this C-Card you are qualified" but it just isn't necessarily so... especially with PADI's AOW.

Their AOW is a "smidge" of training and one dive for each specialty area you choose, including "deep" and "navigation". ONE dive. No matter what they say, one dive doesn't qualify a person for ANYTHING in real life.

IMHO.