Central Oregon Diving / Mike Simpson (Contract Instructor) Learning RIPOFF Bend Oregon

A rebuttal to this report is being filed for clarity and accuracy.  May I begin with a passage from the Bible.  Proverbs 18:17 reads "The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him"  There are two sides to every story.  From this point, I will refer to this anonymous person who filed the report as M, and I did certify him last fall.  I will refer to his girlfriend as E.

Our Confined Water - pool training - seemed to be problematic for E in that she was not always listening and following my instructions.  This is often an outward sign of stress.  This also made for a lot of one-on-one time spent with E before we could proceed as a class.  Each skill is built upon the mastering of a previous skill.  At the end of Saturday, we were behind with only Sunday remaining to complete all of the required skills before Open Water.  On Sunday, the first skill the class was taught was a surface skill.  I briefed the skill very clearly and demonstrated step-by-step how to perform the skill.  After this, it is required of the students to do the skill and for me to evaluate their ability to do it.  PADI has "Performance Requirements" for each skill that is taught.  It is always about the student's safety in the water.  They must be confident and competent in their ability to repeat the skill as demonstrated.  E attempted to complete the skill at least 6 times, but was unable.  Working with the pre-assigned schedule, if a student is unable to move along with the rest of the class, it puts the entire class in jeopardy of not finishing.  The class needed to move along so they could finish their skills to be ready for Open Water.  Unable to master the skill, I told E she would have to exit the pool, as I needed to move the class forward.  I also stated there were other options for her completing the course.,

 One optioon was one-on-one tuturing for an additioinal fee, which is covered in the Learning Agreement that each student signs prior to the first class.  This Learning Agreement describes the Shop's responsibilities, Instructor's responsibilities and the Student's responsibilities.  It also states the student must demonstrate mastery of all of the skills taught in the class.  This means that the student demonstrates his or her ability to perform the skills smoothly, calmly, without effort, confusion, or stress in a repeatable manner.  These skills must be demonstrated to the certiying instructor.  As agreed to and signed by the student, the Learning Agreement states "The student agrees to be on time for all training sessions.  The class is set to a very tight schedule and it cannot be delayed for students who are not present.  The instructor will provide an opportunity to make up any sessions at a cost of $60 per hour with a 2 hr. minimum.  Individual tutoring will be provided at the same price."  This was a "Group Class" and not a "Semi-Private" or "Private" where we could allow more individual instruction time.  

Half refund as requested is not warranted.  During the registration process, the student signs up to reserve their spot in the class.  Since a "Group Class" is limited, the student is advised that $200.00 is Non-Refundable.  M states that the majority of the fees go to paying the instructor.  This is false.  There are costs for materials, rental equipment and maintenance, shop administrative costs, PADI processing fees, pool rental and more.  M's personal attack is unfounded.  I have been instructing for 10 years and have certified hundreds of first time divers, one of which is my granddaughter when she was ten.  There is no greed here, just pure satisfaction seeing people stretch themselves in a sport that can result in positive life changing rewards.  One has to earn their certification and not buy it.  While M paid for the class, completion was up to E.  In a phone call to one of the owners, M further stated that the surface skill that E was unable to complete in the pool "was not important and stupid" and there were no "PADI poilice" there.   ALL of the skills that PADI has in their course are important and necessary.  The surface skill E was needing to master is a skill that could save her life.  As a PADI instructor, I have pledged to follow all of the "Standards and Procedures" and "Requirements" to ensure diver safety.  M, being a welder, is surely aware of procedures that ensures one's safety!  Private tutoring had been offered to E, which was refused.  E decided to do a referral to their vacation location to finish up her Confined Water and move on to Open Water training.  We all wish E and M a safe and fun vacation.