Does it smell kinda funny? Yes. Does it take a while to schedule courses? also yes. Do they have a ton of inventory? no.
But if you are looking for somewhere to get Open Water certified this is the place to be. Lets all be honest with ourselves, SCUBA costs a lot of money. Don’t expect it to only cost a couple hundred bucks, that’s just not realistic. And don’t expect to be an amazing diver after you get your open water certification. I would be absolutely astonished if there was even one dive shop in the world that was churning out great divers after only four dives in open water.
You will have to call them back a couple of times and you’re going to have to practice and do research on your own, but the Scuba Shack will teach you the basics, they will take you down, they will hook you up with the stuff that you need. They aren’t pushy. They’re actually too busy to be pushy.
If you have trouble clearing or doing any of the basic skills, that’s on you. go to a public pool and practice clearing, getting water out of your mask, etc. Ignore all of the reviews of people complaining that they had trouble going down or doing the basics. Every dive shop is guilty of certifying people who may not be ready to go down on their own. If you want to be a good diver, this is a good place to start, but your progress and skills are your responsibility.
The Scuba Shack has some shortcomings but it’s amazing that we have a place like it in Northern Kentucky and I owe them a lot for doing my open water certification. If I didn’t drive by it every day, I probably never would have been certified and wouldn’t have been able to participate in all the awesome dives I’ve been on since. So please, support the Scuba Shack, get certified through them, get some gear, have a good time. This isn’t a mecca, it’s a dive shop in Northern Kentucky of all places, so just roll with it and you’ll have a blast. – via 