The Scuba Shack

I’m a fan of Scuba Shack, but there’s so many facets that make up a good dive shop so I’m not sure where to start…
Classes: The Shack offers SSI certification and I like SSI better than PADI anyways, so this works out great. You can usually find a deal on the classes and I think its a good value. The classes are small and casual and they have a pool so you can practice. Major downside though — the pool is pretty crappy. It is heated, which is great. As a swimmer, I’ve seen thousands of pools — this one is pretty bad, but it serves its function. The whole point of scuba is to explore the underwater world, but here there’s absolutely nothing to see except a dirty white floor. I found the courses to be fun, very informative, and I think I know what I’m doing! I did my checkout dives at Gilboa Quarry with them too and thought it was great. I recently went to Mexico and none of the dive masters down there could tell I had just been certified because Scuba Shack taught me well! And that’s really the most important thing — knowing what you’re doing and feeling comfortable doing it. Also, there’s many specialized and advanced certifications to get past the general «open water.»
Equipment: This is a Scuba Pro shop and ya know — I like it. At first I was concerned about the lack of variety and choices, but after some researching — realized ScubaPro was really what I was looking for and was about as good as you can get. Plus — when you buy from The Shack, you get to ask all the questions you want on how to use it and fix it and add to it — that you can’t get from buying from Amazon, eBay, etc. The Shack even has multiple price levels and configurations of gear to choose from, so there’s something for everyone. They even ordered me an Ikelite camera scuba housing specific for my camera and it arrived within 24 hours — incredible! (The photos are incredible!)
Dive Trips: There are lots of dive trips offered. Bön Air, Vortex Springs FL, Crystal River FL, Wakatobi… I’m really looking forward to going to Crystal River to dive with MANATEES! Anyways, I haven’t been on a dive trip yet, but I know they’re always offered. They do seem to always be priced based on double occupancy. As a single gal who isn’t exactly comfortable sharing with strangers — this is a bit of a negative, but can easily be navigated around.
Pricing: Diving is an expensive hobby/​pasttime/​sport. I did find the Shack to be competitive with other shops though.
Customer Service: Everyone at the Shack is very nice and enthusiastic and knowledgeable about scuba, but the shop manager (Matt) really made me feel welcomed and put up with my thousands of silly questions throughout the whole certification process and afterwards. He knows a lot about the sport and made some really good suggestions — without being super «sales-​y.» Oh, and they also do Shack happy hours that are great. Its a good opportunity to meet new friends and gives me a chance to ask even more silly questions…

The is one of two dive shops that I am aware of in Northern KY. They are an SSI shop and offer several courses. Prices are average, but check for specials — they usually run them and it makes classes and class materials cheaper than the competition normally.
The only sell Scuba Pro gear, so the variety isn’t great.
Staff and instructors are friendly.
I did my open water and some specialty classes here. So far, so good — I would recommend.