I am writing this in response to a ootentially negative review of skydive Alabama, in particular to the people at the drop zone. I am relatively new to skydiving-- with less than 50 jumps. I have jumped in Florida-- Tennessee-- Georgia and Alabama. I can without hesitation or reservation state that the overall courtesy and professionalism demonstrated by the staff at skydive Alabama exceeds any dz I have jumped. From my initial call to skydive Alabama--- to speaking with the owner(jonathon) to the manager(stacie) -everyone --without exception has been professional and friendly. I began at skydive alabama with a tandem with harold mitchell and only have about 10 jumps there total. I have done tandems with harold and another tandem instructor named mike stalker. The tandem and aff instructors have all been extremely kind and patient. Just yesterday an aff instructor named frank had some down time --he initiated an instructional conversation with me -related to spotting-- packing-- wind speed and canopy control;. This guy didn't wait for me to ask- he initiated the dialogue. Also yesterday- another experienced jumper-- named eddie saw me and I guess realized I am still kinda green-- he came over and helped me go thru all my gear.. again- he just took the initiative to assist me. I had a hard landing yesterday--the owner came to me 3 times and inquired if I was ok. my gosh--- these people bend over backwards with regards to kindness and professionalism. I am curious if the author of the negative review is the same jumper( and I am fairly sure he is) who showed up without a log book or uspa card. As an unexperienced jumper-- I rely heavily on the owner- the "regulars" -and manager to insure that everyone on that plane is at least aware of jump safety. The uspa has established what I think is a fairly simple method for jumpers to jump at multiple facilities which is -- bring your log book and card--especially on the first visit to a new dz. The log book and card should serve the same as a driving license-- you need to have it with you to drive. As an inexperienced jumper-- I dont want to worry about the knowledge of everyone jumping with me. There was a recent death due to canopy control- I dont want to be curious if the other people on that plane are knowledgeable about procedures I am 45 years old and still have my training wheels on with regard to skydiving. However- as a school teacher for the past 25 years- I do have a good sense of people.. and the bottom line- the people at skydive alabama in cullman are just plain ol wonderful.
