sadman Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Just wanted to tell folks about the Phuket Scuba Club (Kata and Karon Beach). My wife, son and I have just completed our open water diver certification with them and then did a few more dives. I can't praise them highly enough. Run by Kevan and Chantal (a tv member), it caters for every level and diving is made fun, safe and affordable. They have both Thai and farang instructors and divemasters and we all felt totally confident. No pressure, good solid instruction and advice on any diving topic. This was all at a price which was around 30% less than other dive operators. We also did a liveaboard with them which was oustanding. We shall be going back when we are next in Phuket in a couple of months. WARNING: HIGHLY ADDICTIVE. BTW, I have no interest (financial or otherwise) in the club, but just want to share our good experiences with other members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 (edited) Nice! 5 Star Padi center? Edited August 23, 2006 by jdinasia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartecosse Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 sounds like you had fun. how much was the open water course then? the web site says "starting from" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 (edited) Nice!5 Star Padi center? LOL PADI = Put Another Dollar In or Pay And Dive Immediately. Have seen more than my fair share of certified PADI divers, and the long and the short of it is that PADI is good at marketing, but fairly lax at making sure any standards are met. ( except that all dues have been received). Tons of stories, but one i remember was vividly was an advanced course on the Sutatip in Rayong area. 2 "advanced divers" went with instructor. Both mis managed their air, one shot up to the surface to take a gasp of air from about 15m , they other had to octopus with instructor to the surface. Both got a briefing about what they did wrong, signed the forms, and duly got their shiny new Advanced Card - most likly to end up on the "scuba diving fatailities" list in the near future. Could go on for hours. To sum it up, dont put too much trust in this 5 star <deleted>, and take a good look at who the instructors are. (sadly, i did not have this insight 12 years ago, and my instructor turned out to be a traveling achoholic bum and the quicker the better was his MOU - survived it though!! ). There are alot of them out there. Great the OP had a good experience with the Dive shop, and its most likley due to the 2 dedicated owners. ( p.s. PADI was informed of some issue, and the response was something to the effect of " you must of been mistaken". A very political and lax position. ) Edited August 23, 2006 by skippybangkok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartecosse Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 so of course there would be no bad BSAC, NAUI,SSI,CMAS,TDI,SDI etc etc instructors out there??? you can't blame PADI for the fact that some of the instructors are <deleted>. if no one can be bothered to QA them then PADI doesnt know. soem BSAC instructors are a joke, doesnt make BSAC bad, same for TDI and the rest. Its down to the individual. But hey, its fun to jump on the "bash PADI" wagon after all they are very sucessful so we have to maon abot them don't we Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 so of course there would be no bad BSAC, NAUI,SSI,CMAS,TDI,SDI etc etc instructors out there???you can't blame PADI for the fact that some of the instructors are <deleted>. if no one can be bothered to QA them then PADI doesnt know. soem BSAC instructors are a joke, doesnt make BSAC bad, same for TDI and the rest. Its down to the individual. But hey, its fun to jump on the "bash PADI" wagon after all they are very sucessful so we have to maon abot them don't we Waow....acronym alphabet here..... If these PADI instructors are certifying students, are you saying that now this has nothing to do with PADI ? So once you paid your fees to become an instructor, you get a licence to print money, and there is no future checks at all. No QA checks at all ? I have worked in mission critical industries ( aeronautics ), and having good QA is critical when peoples lives are at risk. I can remember on one occaision, our diving group approached PADI about an accredited shop of theirs which had extremely worn out compressors, and the air was basically totally foul ( breathing from ur exhaust pipe would have been better). They (PADI) had a clear lead and not only failed to check it out, but was very confident that their accredited members would not have such bad air. A few years on, i hear from others about the foul air. The previous example of the peanuts getting certified as advanced (on the hard deep ). ( the guys certified were are business contact of my friend, and said they should never have been certified from day one....they were a statistic waiting to happen ). I have been with SDI and TDI, and although they are not as glossy, they seem to have better standards. My distaste for PADI was so many people trying to hard sell me the next plastic card . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartecosse Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 i have no argument at all with you on the fact that PADI's qa process needs to be better. Personally both a friend and i were ripped of for over US$ 1000 ech for course that the PADI inst wasnt actually allowed to teach. no money back and no redress from PADI. Also if you qa someone you are not actually told what happens. However, this doesnt change the fact that its not PADI's fault if the inst is bad. I have had laughable training from bsac and ssi as well. PADI have the most insts out of all the agencies, just on a % basis there are going to be more "bad" ones in PADI than the rest. You should always meet the instr BEFORE paying for any courses etc. Just to make sure you are not going to get a complete muppet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) You should always meet the instr BEFORE paying for any courses etc. Just to make sure you are not going to get a complete muppet LOL.... Correct. Edited August 24, 2006 by skippybangkok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartecosse Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 which one is your next instructor?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantal Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Just wanted to tell folks about the Phuket Scuba Club (Kata and Karon Beach). My wife, son and I have just completed our open water diver certification with them and then did a few more dives. I can't praise them highly enough.Run by Kevan and Chantal (a tv member), it caters for every level and diving is made fun, safe and affordable. They have both Thai and farang instructors and divemasters and we all felt totally confident. No pressure, good solid instruction and advice on any diving topic. This was all at a price which was around 30% less than other dive operators. We also did a liveaboard with them which was oustanding. We shall be going back when we are next in Phuket in a couple of months. WARNING: HIGHLY ADDICTIVE. BTW, I have no interest (financial or otherwise) in the club, but just want to share our good experiences with other members. Wow! Thank you Sadman for such a wonderful compliment! It is so nice to hear such good feed back. But also remember that you guys are an absolute pleasure! So the Changs are on ice already and we will allow you to bring us some more Maynards Wine Gums....puleeez! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ask my Nephew who did his OW in Phi Phi.... his instructor we nick named Gonzo cause he looked the same and had similar IQ. ! Gonzo was a muppet for sure, and fits the classical " i am an instructor so I know it all "profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 thanks skippy for hijacking a nice thread and turning it into your personal gripefest about PADI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippybangkok Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) My Pleasure. (flamer) I guess ur still sore about the comments the thread that "gays dont go after straight men" ( correction, they do!!, not only that, its ok to sneak peaks and +++ ..... and, yes, some of these guys were teachers too !! ( been following this thread about teachers being booted with great interest )) ). Looks like there are a few of you still trying to take pot shots at me. Good luck. Edited August 24, 2006 by skippybangkok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 lol ... forgot about you being a 'phobe too .... No .. the point of the thread was an unabashed plug for a good dive operation. not your personal fripes with PADI <which I will pvt Chantal to find out about> I don't understand your teachers comment ... but I'll ask Donna to clean this mess up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacoste Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 (edited) lol ... forgot about you being a 'phobe too ....No .. the point of the thread was an unabashed plug for a good dive operation. not your personal fripes with PADI <which I will pvt Chantal to find out about> I don't understand your teachers comment ... but I'll ask Donna to clean this mess up Looks like Donna's not listening to you either Edited August 24, 2006 by Lacoste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donna Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Well Skippy, donna WAS listening, and I feel that this thread has run its course. Thanks for the praise about a good operator in Phuket. Its great to know these things and I am sure that many TV members are appreciative of the good advice. But the anti PADI comments belong on another thread im afraid. This thread is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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