Once I finally got in the air, my experience was fantastic. I had my first tandem jump from 16,000 ft, and it was the most exciting 6 minutes of my life! The tandem master and videographer were fabulous, very professional, put me at ease, and provided me with memories (and a video souvenir) to last a lifetime.
The BAD side: ASC gave me a reservation time of 11:15. I rushed the 1.25 hours from ATL without breakfast or even coffee, afraid of being late and either missing some very important instruction or being charged for a late or no show fee. To my surprise, I had an hour of paperwork to fill out, then another three plus hours to sit around and WAIT. I asked the mgmt countless times when they anticipated I would be called, whether I had time to go get food, etc. They kept saying either they didn't know, or it would be 20 minutes. Finally, there was a weather delay and they told us we had enough time to drive the 7 miles to the nearest sandwich shop and back. Just as we arrived there, they called to say we were up and so we rushed back w/out any food. Then I was even more surprised that my tandem jump went off with little more than about a 2 minute briefing on what was going to happen. I've heard of other DZs providing at least 1-2 hours of instruction and safety briefing for tandem jumps. This didn't instill much faith in the process. Fortunately, it went off without a hitch (though I was so dizzy and lightheaded from not eating all day long, that I was too weak to help control the chute when my TM offered the pulls to me). But what if it didn't? What if something happened to my TM and I had to deploy the chute and land myself? I wouldn't have the FIRST idea what to do. NOT GOOD, and NOT SAFE!!
As for deceptive charges, we were told that they wouldn't refund our money if the weather prevented us from jumping (they will offer a rain check, but what if you're just visiting and won't be able to get back?). THEN they add a 5% surcharge for using a credit card, which they conveniently failed to tell me when I was grilling them about the pricing details the previous day, and of course now you're at least a 30 min drive from the nearest ATM, so you have no choice but to pay it. When I complained about the 4 hour wait (what's the point of the reservation?), they told me the res time was just the time for you to show up and get your name on the list. They know exactly how many people are ahead of you. They know how many people are going on the plane (THE plane. Only one plane). They know how long the plane takes to go up and come back. So why is it that they can't tell you roughly how much longer you're going to have to wait to go? What's the point of keeping us there, bored, tired and starving? And when I complained about this, their answer was that it's always busier on the weekends, and I should come during the week. Sure, take a day off work, no problem. Whatever.
They claim that they use such ultra safe equipment that they can take people heavier than the recommended 225 pounds, but I think that's a deceptive statement and to me it says they're blatantly flaunting safety regulations. Also not good. They've had a few fatalities in the last few years, so obviously, they're not quite as safe as they claim to be. And that should be your biggest concern when selecting your DZ.
