About a month ago I posted a question to this newsgroup regarding B.C.'s with
#80 of lift, and the fact that the instructor at the store I was taking my open
water CERT required that any B.C. we had was capable of this amount of lift. I
explained that I had bought a Seaquest Black Diamond B.C., and was told by the
instructor that I would not be able to use it during his class, due to that
fact that it did'nt have enough lift.

I received about 45 responses all of them telling me that the guy was crazy,
and to find somewhere else to get my CERT from.

Well, this is the final chapter to my story of my experience at Scuba Schools
of America in Montclair, Ca.

First I would like to warn you this might get kinda long, so only read it if
you have time. Furthermore, this story is in no way, shape, or form, a
slanderous attack on S.S.A., but basically a recount of my experience with
them.

After figuring out that I was receiving a sales pitch instead of a scuba
education, I decided to search for other means of purchasing my equipment. I
researched the brands of equipment I was thinking of buying, and after getting
multiple opinions on the items, bought them from a few different places.

Part of the S.S.A./S.S.I. curriculum includes practicing in the stores pool the
things we had learned that week in class. The last class I had, was on the
affects of pressure on the body. At the end of the lecture, the instructor
asked if anyone was in the mood to go in the pool, and do some air sharing, and
mask clearing exersises. Since I was the only one out of the four of us that
was willing, the instructor told me to just come by the store that weekend, and
we could cover the exercises in the pool.

So off I went to the store the following Saturday, and assembled my new gear,
got in the pool, and did the exercises. When we were done, the instructor told
me to go ahead and spend some time in the water, and practice what he had just
shown me. After about 30 min or so, I was swimming along, and a #5 lead weight
landed a few feet in front of me, I took this as a sign of someone trying to
get my attention.

When I surfaced, the store owner, and head instructor was standing there, he
asked me where I bought my equipment, and told me that by not buying it from
him, I had broken an agreement with him. He then told me he need to talk to
me, and that I should get out of the water and meet him inside.

When we sat down to talk he explained that the only way the store can survive
was to count on the students to support it by purchasing their equipment from
him. I told him that I really didn't feel like I needed to spend $1200 on a
dry suit, $455 on a B.C., and $1450 on a regulator, octo, and computer setup,
just for being an open water beginning student. He then told me that he could
have ordered the stuff that I got, at the same price if I really wanted the
poor quality stuff I had bought. (for ref, I bought: Sherwood Oasis reg, Aqua
Lung octo, Suunto console with computer, and a 7 mm wet suit).

He then explained that I could more than adequately dive on this equipment, but
that on a boat, I would feel uncomfortable seeing everyone else with real high
quality stuff, and that I might even run into a problem with the divemaster of
the boat not letting me dive with this equipment!

Next he continued to explain the store provides instructors, classroom
sessions, and pool sessions, and that if the students don't but anything from
the store, he asked where the incentive for him to teach me was. I told him
that I was under the assumption that the class tuition paid for all the things
he had brought up.

Anyway to avoid going around in circles with this guy, I asked him what he
wanted, and he told me this:
"You either have to return the equipment you bought, and then buy it from me,
or your going to have to quit the class, and I will give you a refund minus
your textbooks."

I then reminded him of the statement he made in a post to this newsgroup about
'allowing me to use the stores rental equipment, free of charge for the
duration of the class.' His response: " I changed my mind."

So he gave me my refund and off I went. When I was leaving, he told me that "I
should just go to one of those PADI places, pay the fee, and get my card from
them, cause they hand them out like coupons, and I could be in and out in about
two days."

I must congratulate the store owner for having such a successful business, IM
sure over the past 12 years he has owned the store, he has persuaded many
people to spend in the area of $4000-$5000 on diving gear. There is nothing
wrong with being a good salesman, but IM just not going to be on the receiving
end of his sales techniques.
final ATTACH NO DOWNLOAD
So now IM off to start PADI classes next week, and the funny thing is, at the
place IM going to, their course is less expensive, includes the cost of a boat
dive, and is actually longer in terms of class and pool instruction than the
course at S.S.A.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story, and let me know if you have any