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Avoid the Cost Cutting Idiots-Choosing a Good Dive Center to Dive With

Posted by SCUBATASTIC on June 22, 2012 at 10:01am ON OUR WEB SITE OR View Blog

Now over the years I have heard the question asked many times on how to choose which dive center to do your dive training with or go diving with when there is a large choice available. In certain areas of the world there are so many options in a saturated market that it can be a difficult decision to make, with a lot of final decisions being made by the dive customer normally based on price alone. But what are the things you should really check out when deciding the best business to dive with? It is a really important decision especially when you are investing a lot of money in that such as a professional dive course or internship or liveaboard trip.

What is the outward appearance of the dive center?What is the outward appearance of the dive center?

A first consideration is how much attention to detail is how much pride the dive business puts into its appearance. Does it have an attractive business location, with a well-stocked shop and modern training facilities in the classroom? Or is it a back street office where you are given a laptop to watch a DVD in the corner of the office or just a kiosk with an instructor teaching on the spot without the benefit of learning materials.

What is the quality of the learning materials?

Are the manuals rented to you or do you get your own new copy with the course or do eLearning?  Many dive centres cut costs to themselves by offering shoddy used copies of manuals for rent. Do the dive center actually have the manual for your course in stock or do they ask you to come back so they can go out and buy one. Whilst this can be forgiven for larger course materials such as IDC crew packs, or alternative language materials for core courses such as Open water up to Dive master to not have the manual in stock does not say much about the dive centre’s commitment to customer service or preparation. By the same token does the dive center offer further learning aids such as using Prescriptive lesson guides, DVD players, iPads and computers for eLearning as well as giant tables and charts. Have they made the attempt to make your learning experience as easy as possible for you? It is a good idea to find out.

  

Does the dive business have its own equipment or rent it from somewhere else? If it does have its own equipment then what is the quality of it like?

A major indication of whether a dive business takes itself seriously is the equipment that it has for use in training by customers. Good quality well maintained, rental equipment should be what you are after, the newer the better generally. No exceptions.  Some older equipment is fine to use as long as it is well maintained but a center that upgrades its rental equipment periodically shows more commitment to customer safety and comfort. Dive businesses that rent all of their own equipment are cutting costs and must rely on other businesses for the quality of the equipment they use. This is fine if they have a trusted supplier but can be problematic when there is a shortage of equipment. Like I said it is much more preferable for the dive business to have their own equipment and ensure it is properly maintained. Check this out before using a dive business if you will use rental equipment. After all this equipment can mean the difference between an easy comfortable dive and a life-threatening situation. There should be no compromise. Ever!

  

Does the dive business have its own boat?

While not a deal breaker as it is unfair to expect dive businesses to be able to cover all dive sites in their area for all diver levels and in which case it is normal practice for dive centers to charter space on other dive business’ boats. However again the dive center that can provide a number of options using its own boats is often the more reliable as you are running on their schedule and nobody else’s, meaning that yours and other customers of that dive business’ needs will be prioritized. That said it is important to check out what kind of boat you are being offered the experience on, what the boat trip includes, how suitable for the local area it is and amenities on board.

 

Does the dive business use its own tanks and air fills?

Again not a deal breaker but it is nice to know that the dive center uses air from a reputable filling station along with scuba tanks that have undergone regular hydrostatic and visual inspections. You would assume that if a dive center does their own fills then they would be more committed to ensuring that the fills are done correctly. Also dive centers that go that little bit further in offering mixed gases such as having a nitrox filling station on-site also indicate that little bit more quality as they have more input into the accuracy of the fill you will get.

Are the dive center staff freelance or salaried employees?

Whilst being a freelancer is by no means an indication of the quality of instructor, the dive center that has permanent staff gives more of an indication of the fact that it has regular business to support such an arrangement and that the quality of the instructor is such that the dive center want to use them on a full time basis. Whilst this is not always the most accurate indicator and there are some fantastic freelance instructors out there, it is useful o find out if the instructor you will have, has a long association with the dive center

  

Ask around. What is the local reputation of the dive business?

Word of mouth is always the best advertising. Ask any other divers you know if they have dived with your proposed choice? What is their local reputation both for customer satisfaction, business quality and staff care, all of which can have an impact on your experience. After all if the staff are not taken care of then they have less impetus to take care of clients of that dive business. Check reviews available from dive websites and magazines and sites

Is the dive business certified by a recognized diver training organization?

This is an important factor. To be certified by diver training organizations such as PADI and SSI, dive centres must first prove to the agency representatives that they meet the standards required to hold the certification. The higher the certification held by the organization then hopefully the more assurances you have that they are.

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The above points are not necessarily the deciding factors in the quality of a dive business but should give you a basic indication of the business and more of an idea if they are of the quality that you are looking for. If anyone has any further points/factors that they feel should be included then add them below. But lets try and protect other divers from businesses that cut costs at the expense of safety and quality, because they do not want to venture the outlay on making their business a better one. It may be an expensive business to kit out your dive center properly but at the prices that dive consumers have to pay they are entitled to a quality and safe experience.

 

DIVE MASTER DEDIK M.D. JUST ASK  AROUND THE DECISION IS NOW YOURS CHOSE WISELY!