annder32

Dave, thanks for the correction. I should have checked that out first. www.igovincent.com Boxing Lessons? The Skyride guys probably need the help / instruction. Does Skyride represent a similar problem for other sports or industries? Their marketing is certainly deceptive and that is probably the case regardless of the particular customer interest. Does Skyride screw people for 'Romantic Cruises', White Water Rafting, Exotic Car Rentals, etc? Edit: link removed ~ Craig

This may or may not be similar to the skyride scam. Does anyone know of any DZ's that accept certs from luxergy.com? It just feels like another scam.

I get the idea, but the approach is not very effective. Shutting down one of the hundreds of Skyride websites or phone numbers only affects a small part of the marketing channel in one area. You want to get tandems to the nearest IA DZ. This benefits you and the student. A tandem student from the immediate area is much more likely to come back if they don’t have to drive for hours to get to the DZ. Getting all the DZ’s in a state or region to stop working with Skyride may be more effective in reaching that goal. Of course, convincing all the DZO’s in one region to drop Skyride may be a difficult challenge, but it is the most effective way to reduce and/or eliminate the Skyride problem. It sounds like the DZO’s in your area may have been working together – or at least listening to each other. That’s a great start. If someone in IA wants to do a tandem, they will hopefully find another way to get in touch with the nearest IA dropzone. It is now less likely that they will use Skyride. Hopefully, your DZ’s have effective marketing in your area so prospective tandems can find you. Of course, there’s still the chance that someone in part of the state could go – or be sent -- to a Skyride DZ in a neighboring state. Any DZ’s nearby accepting Skyride certs? Skyride may consider itself to be a ‘booking agents’, but their marketing is deceptive and it negatively affects the sport. Skyride has a terrible affect on prospective students and the small business owners (DZO’s) that our sport depends on. Congrats to your DZO’s for eliminating a big part of the Skyride problem in your area.

You jump at one of the IA DZ’s, so… Why did the DZO at your DZ accept Skyride certs? Why did this policy change (why did the DZO stop accepting Skyide certs)? Do you know for sure that all 3 of the DZ’s accepted Skyride certs? Did they all change their minds about Skyride? It would be interesting to know the effects on Skyride customers when an entire state stops participating. Where would a prospective tandem student from IA have to go now if they call Skyride? Out of state? How far away?

Was there a DZ in IA that accepted Skyride certs? If so, why did that change?