No class, no jump in Big D

[LawnDart21 0]

Good point about the unintentional volume up there. I have told every one of my tandem students as part of my pre-jump briefing:

"Okay, when we get ready to jump and the door opens, it gets a little noisy. In freefall, its really noisy. If I am yelling anything at you in the door or in freefall, like 'Cross your arms!' or 'ARCH!", I may even yell 'Go Red Sox', just remember I am totally not mad at you, its just that yelling in your ear is the only way I can effectively communicate with you." I make a joke about it beforehand to loosen them up and then if I have to (rarely) yell anything, they don't take it personally.

Once I got this in the door:
Me: "GO RED SOX"
Student:"GO YANKEES!"
Me: "WHO"S PULLING THE RIPCORD?"
Student: "YANKEES SUCK!" "GO RED SOX"
Me: "READY< SET

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[Breezejunky 0]

In answer to your question:

Anyone would have be NUTS to hang around ANYWHERE where they got slammed like this guy did! He may not have handled things as well as you all do when you’re disappointed and frustrated but I’m having a hell of a time reading as much between the lines of his post as you guys are.

He was asked to report back on how level 1 went (different thread) and he had strong feelings on the matter so he answered the question honestly…..or did he?....

Poor bastard: How could he know that he picked the only highly skilled, respected and admired instructor in the world (who couldn’t even rub Ebenezer Scrouge the wrong way if she tried!) to be the un-named villain in his sorry tail of woe that he was sure would win over the hearts of the super-cool people on dz.com.

So just for shits and giggles lets try a couple of visualization exercises.

The first one is to try and come up with a scenario that might allow you to see where the hell he's coming from then perhaps how he might feel about some of your responses: and see if we can figure out why he thought it might work

#1 Try to imagine you finally talked someone you really care about (like your kind hearted little brother, your opinionated but jolly father, your hilarious-but-sometimes-emotional favourite aunt or your laid-back-but-scared-shitless best friend) into coming out to do AFF. Your good friend, who is the best and most well-liked instructor at your DZ (who happens to be having issues at home but you’d never know it!) is teaching level 1. After the ground school part (and in front of all your skydiving buddies who are hanging out waiting for the winds to die down) they say what MM said in response to someone asking how it’s going. You know they wouldn’t bullshit yet how could it be true? Remember, this is you’re friend/aunt/dad/brother on the receiving end of the following (but without me beaking off in between)


• “questions were met with open contempt and derision.” (says the person you care about)
• Try to ask better questions.

(So much for “there’s no such thing as a stupid question”)

• [iI don't know anyone at that DZ and I don't know you. But the feeling I get from your posts is that you got smart-mouth and maybe tried to bait the instructor and got a case of the ass when she was better at then you

• …sincerely doubt that the instructor in question was actually rude - knowing her it seems inconceivable to me unless someone was disrepectful of her first

• IMHO (and pretty unbiased since I don't even jump there on regular basis anymore)…..I cannot believe someone posts such a BS about this instructor.

(Yep...that's an unbiased opinion if I ever heard one! It seems there's a lot of that going on)

• First, the complain leaves a false impression about the instructor in question (and I am absolutely sure that those who know this instructor will all agree that the remarks made by original poster have nothing to do with reality).

(Did someone just get accused of lying by someone who wasn't there to know the truth?)

• Second, the post delivers a wrong message to new students. Most of us pay to jump but regardless the amount of money we spend we all play by rules

(Rules? What rules?)

• Be warned, since you made a public announcement about your disappointment in one DZ without facts to back your statement (how does one express an opinion as a fact?) you may have a hard time finding a place that will take your money

(Well if that doesn’t deliver the wrong message we just might have to start encouraging people to jump or we’ll have no one to play with!)

• …I think someone just got their feelings hurt because they couldn't jump.

(Oh yeah, I loved the weather tangent some of you picked up on!)

OK, now here's one that might be tricky to grasp. Try to visualize what he might see if he was trying to visualize where some of you were coming from

#2 Picture yourself posting about the bad experience you had when you jumped (once) at some DZ you checked out on your way through some town. It started with a bumpy ride to altitude followed by a really hard knock in freefall then you were taken out on the ground by a swooper just after you landed your reserve which you used because of the lineover you had. “And to top it all off,” you write “I head to the pub for the half price chicken wing special and they had already run out!!! And I like wings so much I would’ve paid the FULL price!”

Wouldn’t you be a little freaked out if people started said stuff like:

• you're giving a false impression of the pilot’s flying abilities
• it’s you’re lack of flying skills that caused the freefall collision because you should’ve gotten out of the way
• that swooper happens to be one of the best most respected swoopers on the DZ. You must've not been looking and walked in front of him because you weren't looking
• if you don’t want a line over, pack the parachute yourself (who said you didn’t?)

Then they start in with:

• Your feelings are hurt because you didn’t get chicken wings so you slam the DZ!?

• I can tell by your post that you actually showed up after the special was over. Most people love the wings but regardless of the amount you would've paid you have to play by the rules and get there during the special. Don’t go accusing the cook - who we all agree has never run out of the special before - of not doing his job properly!

• Be warned, since you went public with this unsubstantiated complaint, no DZ pub will ever serve you chicken wings again!...Unless you do the hokey pokey and bring some really good hot sauce.

[justinb138 0]

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(Did someone just get accused of lying by someone who wasn't there to know the truth?)

If it makes you feel any better, I was there that day. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and the instructor in question was just as professional as they always are when I was asking a few questions.

Aaron's (ahegeman) post pretty much hit the nail on the head.

[happythoughts 0]

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• “questions were met with open contempt and derision.” (says the person you care about)

• Try to ask better questions.

(So much for “there’s no such thing as a stupid question”)

The response was mine. I was being sarcastic because of the tone that I saw in their original post.

I don't like it when someone complains about someone on the internet, but doesn't speak to the party that they are complaining about. As adults, these issues should be handled face-to-face.

I thought the whole post was whiny. I rarely consider the viewpoint of whiners.

I thought it was disrespectful to people who have earned respect.

The scenario presented was doubtful.

If people post responses in defense of a good instructor, that makes sense.

[airmagic 0]

Musicman,

I am sorry that you were not happy with the way the course was taught or the instruction you received. Being the instructor of the course, I really wish you had said something the day of the course so that it could be corrected then. Harboring thoughts like yours through the course not only hinders learning, but also leaves uneasy feelings about coming back to the dz for your jump.

As for the teaching methods...we do tend to keep the material simple and specific since there is so much of it for you to absorb. While we do cover all the basic material we focus more on drills that simulate the positions you will feel in the air. I assure you, as I did all of you in the course, that repetition of drills and practicing for perfection are the nature of the course. I do not make people repeat the drills to make them a bad example or because I am mean.

I really encourage you to talk to the Chief Instructor, the DZ Manager, and even myself if you are willing about your feelings so that we can make sure your first jump lives up to the expectations of everyone involved.

I assure you that regardless of the prior posts, your experience at Skydive Dallas with be treated with the same professionalism from the staff that we give all of our students. If you still have issues on the way we conduct business after making your jump, please feel free to contact the United States Parachute Association with a complaint.

Hope to see you back out soon. With a little willingness on your part, I think we can change your opinion of our dropzone and our skydivers once you are able to see the world the way do.

Mandy Schaeffer
Skydive Dallas

[HeyRobin 0]

I think we can change your opinion of our dropzone and our skydivers once you are able to see the world the way do.

[dorbie 0]

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Well, the truth is I spent 6 hours in a classroom, but I can't remember a time when I was treated with such open hostility or condescension(I was not alone in this opinion, by far), especially as a paying customer. I realize that AFF 1 must be a looooong time ago for some people, but instructors are not paid to make people feel like idiots. For that matter, there was a great deal of cliquish mentality throughout. The material was delivered rapid-fire, and questions were met with open contempt and derision. Hell, I can be treated like that for free just by opening my front door! BUT, when I'm laying out close to $400, I don't think it's too much to ask to be treated with basic courtesy. It was a most unfortunate experience as I was very excited about this and have looked forward to it for some time. Oh, and the winds were gusting at 25-35, so no jump, and a looong hour and 1/2 ride home.
Sorry to have to report the truth in this instance, but if it weren't already paid for, I'd not go back for the jump.

I did my first jump course at the DZ you seem to have attended and is was excellent, friendly, well paced and questions were encouraged. In fact the tuition was almost interactive.

Maybe you misread the tone of the instructor or maybe you caught a good instructor on a bad day. You need to take your complaint to the guy who runs the training there (S&TA) (AFAIK the DZO isn't there on a day to day basis).

My experience was the exact opposite from yours at the same DZ and I'm pretty sure they would not be happy that you or anyone else felt abused.

The wind situation sounds familiar, get used to it

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