Mike's Divers Korolevu

We visited Fiji last April and stayed a couple of days at the beach house in Korolevu. Two of us booked a PADI open water diver course with Mike's Divers. It was a disaster. Below is the e-mail that I sent to PADI. I was wondering whether other tourists had the same experience.

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beginning of April this year, we went for a holiday to Fiji. My partner and her sister booked a diving course (PADI open water) with
Mike's Divers (P.O. Box 136, Korolevu, Fiji). Mike's Divers is run by Samisoni Walai and is, as far as I understand, collectively owned by Votua Village. I am already a certified diver and went also diving with them a couple of times during that time. What I observed is, to my knowledge, below an acceptable standard:
1. No personal teaching, the chapters in the book were not discussed, questions were not answered in detail.
2. Divers were not informed about the course schedule.
3. Diving lessons were irregular, i.e. they were not in sync with the chapters of the book, they were postponed on short notice, and on the last day, three dive trips were planned per person (the last one was, however, postponed to the next day)
4. Diving equipment was not fitted: Divers had to wear undersized BCDs, the weight of belts etc. was not adjusted
5. Diving equipment was broken: SPGs were not working, wet suits were torn, mouthpieces dirty, valves on diving cylinders and other parts were leaky.
6. Customers were not treated equally: Customers from a high-end resort nearby (who brought their own equipment) were given preference and we had to abort dives.
In general, they knew that divers will not complain because they paid for the course and wanted the C-card. They used this to get away with minimal service. I am well aware that things work differently on Fiji and may be at a lower standard compared to New Zealand, but Mikes Divers do not just operate on "Fiji time", the way they were running the course and the dive center in general was unprofessional and dangerous.
Later during these holidays, we dived with Kai-Viti Divers, which provided a very professional dive and a very pleasant experience. I talked with other professional operators on Fiji and they all confirmed that what we experienced with Mikes Divers was not acceptable and should be reported.

People want cheap-they get cheap-there are posts here all the time asking for the cheapest place to get certification.

Then they pay later......

Yes, true. But it is not about that. This deal was not cheap. We paid a normal price (around 450 FJD as far as I remember) and even if it would have been a cheap deal, there are certain standards that should be met if a diving school is PADI certified. Mike's Divers is the only operator that is reasonably close to the beach house and they did not advertise themselves as being cheap.

no business in fiji can offer a quality open water course for F$ 450. average course prices are around 600. about the eratic schedule- its fiji run- so it runs on fiji time. kai viti was run well, see who runs that?
copperspoon is right you get what you pay for...

This is going down the wrong alley. I honestly just wanted to warn others so that their time in Fiji is not spoiled. Now I sense some hostility and I don't want to be the scapegoat here. Let's leave it like that.

their is no hostility at all, i simply advice people not to go for the cheap, and this ads to your arguments. you are not the scapegoat, your mail and warning is justified.
there is so much competition amongst fiji diveshops that some lure people in with low prices or open water courses done very quickly. and you have seen first hand the different between mikes and kai viti. to some backpackers kai vitis price seems high, but their service is top.

I'm not a diver, but I ran into a bunch of them when I was writing my guidebook to the Cooks many yrs ago. They all complained about a particular dive operator on Rarotonga (one of three at the time) that had some safety issues---things like the tank refill system being too close to some exhaust stuff etc----so I suggested they write to the PADI people etc. The divers did so, and wrote to me that they later heard that PADI sent their concerns to the operator. A year later on another trip I asked other divers about that same place, and the particular problems the earlier divers had mentioned, and the problems were now fixed. So, your letter may have some good results.

Also, this was before all the internet bulletin boards. A few comments also on those dedicated diving bulletin boards should help either get the problems fixed, or save others from problems using these operators.

Hi,
I recently had the great experience of staying at Mikes Dive Hut for 2 weeks. I was so impressed with everything that I offered to make them a website to help with their business. The Dive shop is owned and operated by the residents of the neighbouring Votua Village and the divers are all certiified. I saw their certificates and my husband gained his during our stay through them.
Sure, their gear is not as flash as some of the higher end padi resorts but it is certainley quite fit and safe to use. You need to remember that this dive shop is operated by Fijians and they do run it in the Fijian manner so if this is not you're cup of tea then you need look elsewhere. I think the most important thing to remember is that you are diving with professionals who do this everyday, they would never let anything happen to the safety of their customers, just because they might seem a bit more easygoing than other establishments it does not mean they are any less capable. I let my 15 year old daughter go diving and she came back mesmerised with what she saw. My husband went diving with them on a few occasions and was more excited than my daughter as he'd come into contact with some sharks.
If you paid too much for your dive then I think you should also look at the fact that the resort you were staying at would have whacked on quite a fair bit of profit for themselves. If you check out the website www.mikesfijidives.com you can see what you would have paid if you'd come straight to them and not through the resort. They also do free pick-up and drop-off
Lastly, I'm sorry to hear that you had this bad experience but I just want others to know that mine was fantastic, no words can really describe how great my time was there. We stayed in the dive hut and ate with the villagers most nights and got to live like the locals. It was just so great....well, thanks for reading this....good luck in the future but please don't wipe Mikes Dives off your list totally

I've also heard bad things about Mikes Dive Hut from some friends who went diving there, but I have no first hand experience. I don't give much credibility to shazooma's glowing review and am not convinced they are an independent party.

MissinginAsia2004, I'm unsure as to why you wouldn't give credibility to my review of Mikes Dives as I wouldn't have wasted my time writing something that I felt was not totally true. I guess in the long run people have to make their own choices based on what type of diving they want to partake in. We were happier to dive with the locals and experience it their way and I know there would be others who feel the same. I dived with SPAD earlier this year and although it was a good dive I would rank my experience with Mikes Dives as NO.1.
Have a great day!

shazooma, Mike's Dive wasn't responsible for creating the wonders of the deep or the presence of sharks that thrilled you, and the fact that they were nice and easy-going Fijians who were warm to your family isn't really relevant to the points raised by the OP, either. Equipment safety is paramount, and it isn't cost-related. Leaking valves and mismatched or improper equipment are just not acceptable; in fact, safety and attention to the state of the equipment is most of what the PADI courses are about. Uniformity in instruction at least to the extent of covering the course material in a systematic way and synchronizing the practical with the book instruction is also a given. It doesn't matter if the company were run by Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama, and hammerheads danced Swan Lake for your daughter, if the instruction isn't properly delivered and the equipment isn't safe, it's not PADI quality.
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As to earlier assertions that "you get what you pay for", or the racist blather that because the operation is run by Fijians, you shouldn't expect it to meet international standards, that's total BS. PADI instruction is PADI instruction because it meets a certain standard, and good PADI instruction is available in Fiji for the price paid by the OP. I've met plenty of Fijians who can consult a watch and run on a schedule when it's required, including some topnotch dive masters, and suggesting that they can't is idiotic bigotry.
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Good on the OP for being responsible with this posting, and the notification of PADI. It might save a life, and it might do Mike's Dive a god turn by smartening up their operation.

i dont know if anybody is actually checking this anymore, but for future folks scouring the net for mikes divers, this is a very legimate and safe way to dive in the fiji islands. I lived in the village of Votua for 4 months back in 2004 and unless things have takes a turn for the worst, i cant necessarily agree with someone who was there for a period of a few days. I was in the dive shop on a daily basis and know that although it may have not have been the leatest and greatest equipment, it was functional. If you're looking for posh diving, go somewhere else where it owned by aussies or americans (of which I am) where they'll stick it to you with the prices you'll pay.

I received several diver certifications through mikes divers and to this very day, I still continue to be more knowledgeable than most others on ALL dive trips. Like I said, I understand this was over 3 years ago and things have changed. I also believe Pita who oversaw the operation while i was there began his own operation in the yasawas.

either way, mikes divers is by no means unsafe for a dive or for your padi instruction. but thats cool, go ahead, write your little padi whiney note so they lose their certification and you'll take away the largest source of income this time coral coast village has. The fijians are the friendliest people in the world and im sure if yu had issues, they would accomodated your wishes or refunded your money had you not wanted to dive. Did you almost die, did you run out of oxygen, did you get attacked by any marine life. I would assume the answer to this is no.

You know the majoroity of the PADI instruction is in the form of a book. Can you not read?

I honestly hope you feel good about yourself for what you did. I hope PADI revokes your certification for being a baby.