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Fellow women, if you like incompetence, boundary issues, and sexism you’ll *love* this place. My husband passed away last year and I thought I needed to try something new to lift my spirits so I signed up for scuba certification at this dive shop. I spent approximately 4k on gear there, and a $400 certification course. Of course after paying, it became obvious this shop was fraught with disorganization, poorly written and confusing information and brochures, creepy behavior, and arrogance — all of this being run entirely by men, many who think far too much of themselves.
After completing the written certification test I was scheduled by Weaver’s for two open water dives at Homestead Crater in Utah. Getting to this dive site shouldn’t be difficult, right? Maybe, except Weaver’s doesn’t organize their dives well: 1) they create their own brochures that are confusing — mine also had an incorrect address including town of the dive site, 2) they don’t organize or help facilitate car pools so you’re left trying to figure out travel on your own to remote locations, 3) they don’t consider the needs of women and how that may differ from men, and 4) they offer no assistance for finding lodging at or near the dive site.
I didn’t want to drive 9hrs to Utah by myself and was finally able to catch a ride with one of their instructors, Scott, who wasn’t the most pleasant person to be stuck in a vehicle with for 9 hrs. There was a snow storm along the way and we just made it past Laramie, WY when I-80 was closed. After arriving at the Utah crater the weather forecast showed heavy snow and possible travel delays the next few days. I had a business flight to Houston that Monday so I flew back to Denver Saturday morning, having to miss my Utah dive but avoiding weather issues. Before leaving I learned that Scott had rummage through my personal dive bag. I have no idea why he thought that was appropriate, but after rummaging through it he felt compelled to tell me that the knife I had in my bag (and that they sell in the shop) would probably not be allowed in the crater. The contents he went through were part of my general gear bag where I keep everything regardless of the dive, along with some personal items. With the crater being so small I planned to enter with just my suit anyway. He could have made a general announcement to all divers, but he seemed to want to let me know he went through my personal stuff, which was troubling if not creepy.
After returning from my business trip I rescheduled the Homestead crater dive and received a confirmation email stating I was on the schedule for May 12 &13. This time I booked a flight into Salt Lake with plans to Uber over to the crater. Days after booking I learned that Weaver’s gave me the wrong dates, which were actually May 20-21. Then the manager, Troy, didn’t want to extend the shop discount to me (at no cost to the shop) for the Homestead Lodge onsite with the crater even though I was now out a round-trip plane ticket because of their mistake with the dates.
Their arrogance and the way they treat their customers (especially women) make them not worth patronizing. After the scheduling issues, subsequent flight cancelation, and bag rummaging, I decided to transfer my certification to Ocean First, another dive shop in Boulder. Ocean First has a majority of women in management, and who operate the front desk and travel department. Ocean First has their own indoor pool for training while Weaver’s requires you to travel to a rec center to dive. The vibe at Ocean First is amazing, non-arrogant, non-sexist and supportive. It’s a community. They have social gatherings and a great group of women who support each other and understand our needs and safety concerns. If you are a woman wanting to learn to scuba dive, I encourage you to go where you will feel safe and comfortable, be given proper and correct information, have a support system so you’re not left scrambling to figure out everything on your own, and not have your personal belongings searched through by a male instructor. - via 