Frequently Asked Questions
We have FAQs on individual classes & departments so check those out.
This is a collection of general FAQs applying to commerce & our shop in general.
There are NO stupid questions, so ask away. There are, however, sarcastic answers, so enjoy.
General
- I noticed sarcasm & innuendo on your website, what's up with that?
- Sarcasm? Yes.
- Innuendo? Never, you need to get your mind out of the gutter.
- This is diving, not church. What better place for some levity then the place you are going for fun.
- While we expect everyone to be inclusive & respectful, we are all adults & we tease each other. Years ago our president, Nick, went on a planned decompression dive to 200 feet with our VP, Robyn. Once on the bottom, Nick knelt down. Robyn laid down on the sand to write her name. After, Robyn's computer read 202'. Nick's only read 199'. He still has not lived it down.
- If we offended you, we sincerely apologize, but we like to have fun & sometimes the jokes are too funny to pass up.
- Is it really Cincy Scuba if you relocated to Hamilton??
- Yes.
- It wasn’t “Above Water Specialists” since the store was not located underwater nor was it “Finneytown Diving Center” or “Fairfield SCUBA & Aquatics” after the local areas the shop was located at the time.
- Hamilton is part of Greater Cincinnati, so we checked with PADI, Diver’s Alert Network, the National Association of Underwater Instructors, Reef Safe Sunscreen, the cast of Hamilton & the Ohio Department of Naming Things & they all replied “what the hell do we care, stop calling here” so we went with it.
- Our new location gives us 75,000 vehicles per day passing by our front door as well as being inside the DORA district which allows for walk in traffic.
- I am not sure if you are aware, but recent studies from DAN (that I made up) have shown that many divers also enjoy drinking beer.
- On top of that, we are the only facility in Cincinnati that offers the ability to drive up to the tank fill, WITHOUT carrying them inside.
- Our new location gives us 75,000 vehicles per day passing by our front door as well as being inside the DORA district which allows for walk in traffic.
- When we polled the existing divers & asked if they would be ok with a facility named “cincy” outside of “cincy” the unanimous response was, “Wait, I don't have to carry my tank into the store? Call it whatever you want to.”
- Hope this clears up any confusion, we appreciate your concern & Happy Diving.
- (As an aside, this is a real question & if you’re wondering, it was the second question mark that made it worthy of the answer)
- I don't have anyone to dive with, will I be ok?
- Yes, we have a ton of "single" divers that dive with us both locally & on our trips.
- It is vital that we provide a safe & enjoyable diving experience for every diver.
- We do not tolerate racism, sexism or any other "ism".
- You are entitled to your personal & political beliefs, just keep them the hell out our trips, classes & dive shop.
- It isn't hard to be kind.
- Regardless of race, color, creed, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation or anything else not mentioned; you are always welcome & wanted.
- You deserve to feel safe & respected. When we jump in, we all get wet.
- If you ever feel unsafe or excluded, please contact Nick Rakel or Robyn Winegardner immediately.
- What payment methods are acceptable in store?
- Card or check. No cash.
- For staff safety, we are a cashless business.
- We have no cash drawer, no cash is stored on premises.
- If you are planning on robbing us that is going to be a wasted trip.
- Everything of value has a serial number so when you sell it to a pawn shop you're going to be arrested. It is really not worth the effort.
- If you only believe in cash, we will help you out & make special arrangements, just call the shop & we can work something out.
- What is your in store purchase return policy?
- If your product is defective for some reason, we want to make it right.
- If you bought it, opened it & realized it is not what you meant to buy, we want to help you out.
- Our return policy is simple, we make the decision on returns based on common sense.
- In general you have 30 days, you need to have the original receipt and packaging and it needs to not be used.
- If you used it (took it diving, used it in a pool, even wore it to the prom & kept the tag on) & then send it back, we are going to know. I mean, come on, we do this professionally.
- Please don't do this because it's going to make for a really awkward conversation where you are lying to us & we know you're lying to us and then we just stare at each other in an uncomfortable fashion.
- If you used it (took it diving, used it in a pool, even wore it to the prom & kept the tag on) & then send it back, we are going to know. I mean, come on, we do this professionally.
- If we special ordered an item for you we will accept the return based on the above conditions LESS any restocking and/or shipping fees we incur.
- In general you have 30 days, you need to have the original receipt and packaging and it needs to not be used.
- Can I buy used gear on eBay?
- Probably. If you put your credit card in they will probably take your money.
- We think you mean "should I" & the answer is AT YOUR OWN RISK.
- We sell gear, so obviously we want you to spend money with us, we like to eat, but there is more to it than that.
- We have an ebay store filled with used items we have acquired & items are sold at a fraction of retail.
- We won't place an item on ebay that we deem as unsafe, but anything we place on there is definatley in need of service.
- There are many other ebay sellers offering dive gear too & we can't speak to thier policies regarding putting junk on the internet.
- What you have to remember is this is a life support system for you to exist in an environment where humans have not evolved to live.
- These complex devices require service & care. They have to work.
- So if you pick something up, get it in a dive shop & let a professional check it out.
- Understand that sometimes you may find treasure & sometimes you may find crap.
- If I have a doctor sign off can I go diving?
- Not necessarily.
- While we may require you to get a physician to sign off prior to diving, having permission from a doctor does not guarantee we will let you go diving.
- The bottom line is safety and we reserve the right to refuse to take someone diving or to stop a dive in progress if we deem there could be a danger to anyone’s safety.
- That someone includes you, us or anyone else.
- This includes the attempted use of gear that is out of service or deemed unsafe.
- We want you to be safe. We want our staff to be safe.
- We don't want you injured nor do we want our staff or other divers traumatized by you being injured.
- I need something not in stock, how often do you order?
- Typically we order from our major vendors once a month, usually near the beginning of the month.
- Please note that many vendors have minimum order requirements.
- If you ordered a $5 item from Dive Rite & our minimum order requirement is $200 & we are all stocked up on Dive Rite gear we cannot bring in $195 of unneeded inventory to secure your item.
- In the extremely rare event where this should happen we will notify you & you will be given the option of a refund or waiting longer for the item.
Travel
- If I put a deposit down on a trip, can I have it back if I want?
- You understand what a deposit is, right?
- We don't want to take your money for something you can't do, but booking travel has deposits because we have to turn around and give deposits to the destination.
- If we can re-sell your spot, we will absolutely try and do that to help you & if successful then give you back what we can, but automatically returned because you want?
- No, they call it a deposit for a reason.
- If my trip get's cancelled for some reason (like weather), do I get a refund?
- If we get a refund you get a refund.
- If we don't, you don't.
- We highly encourage you to purchase travel insurance for dive trips as we have seen everything from hurricanes to pandemics cause issues.
- We want you to be protected but travel insurance is NOT included in the cost of trips.
- What about a roommate?
- All travel prices are based on double occupancy unless otherwise specified. Some locations have a single occupancy upgrade, inquire if interested.
- If you have a roommate joining you, please let us know.
- Some trips allow for specific booking options, like shared beds or specific cabin assignments. If available for this trip they will appear as options when you sign up. Please ensure you book the correct option for you, like the same cabin with your roommate or not booking a cabin with a single bed if you are not a fan of snuggling.
- We reserve the right to assign roommates for travelers.
- We make every effort to assign a same sex roommate when possible, however, it is not always possible.
- Sometimes planned roommates must be reassigned to different rooms. We endeavor to avoid this.
- What about Dive Accident Insurance (like DAN Insurance)?
- Having active Dive Accident Insurance is required to travel with us.
- This should be a no-brainer. Your medical insurance may not cover dive related medical expenses or medical needs outside the country. You absolutely should have this.
- We use DAN, you can learn more here.
- Can I get kicked off a trip/class or banned from future travel/classes?
- Yes. Absolutely. Has happened before, hopeful it never happens again.
- You really have to screw up or be a special kind of something.
- Examples of behavior that has forced us to take action:
- Repeated violations of safety or diving standards
- Continued intolerant language directed at an individual or group of people
- Harassment of our staff, vendor staff or other customers
- Attempts to solicit our staff to commit fraud
- Theft
- Ridiculous Drunkenness
- (imagine how drunk you have to be for a group of divers to think you are so drunk we have to take action)
- Substance Abuse
- Illegal Activity
- (local jurisdictions may have laws you are not familiar with)
- Bottom line is be nice. Kindness is free. Diving & travel rarely go as planned & being frustrated is human.
- Being polite is a choice. We hope everyone makes that choice.
- If not, FAFO.
- Examples of behavior that has forced us to take action:
- What if I buy a trip to a destination that I am legally not allowed to enter (or leave this one)?
- See the deposit question above.
- We have no way of knowing if you are personally not allowed to enter a specific country or leave this one.
- Note that this issue does not necessarily mean for a nefarious reason.
- Active service members may have travel restrictions without approval
- Medical professionals may have travel restrictions
- Please confirm eligibility prior to signing up
E-Commerce
- What is your online purchase return policy?
- If your product is defective for some reason, we want to make it right.
- If you bought it, opened it & realized it is not what you meant to order, we want to help you out.
- Our return policy is simple, we make the decision on returns based on common sense.
- In general you have 30 days, you need to have the original receipt and packaging and it needs to not be used.
- If you used it (took it diving, used it in a pool, even wore it to the prom & kept the tag on) & then send it back, we are going to know. I mean, come on, we do this professionally.
- Please don't do this because you are going to pay to ship it back, we are going to realize you are being a jerk & trying to take advantage & you’re not getting a refund.
- Then you're going to pay for shipping a third time for us to send it back to you.
- Please don't do that. Bottom line, don't be a jerk & we got your back.
- If you used it (took it diving, used it in a pool, even wore it to the prom & kept the tag on) & then send it back, we are going to know. I mean, come on, we do this professionally.
- If we special ordered an item for you we will accept the return based on the above conditions LESS any restocking and/or shipping fees we incur.
- In general you have 30 days, you need to have the original receipt and packaging and it needs to not be used.
- Return shipping costs are on you.
- I ordered online 93 seconds ago, when will you ship my order?
- Breathe... Depends on what you ordered...
- In-Stock items typically ship out within 3-5 days.
- Special Order items typically ship out within 4-6 weeks.
- Understand that we order once a month. Your item will be added to our next order. We typically place orders near the beginning of every month. Once it arrives at our shop we will ship it out to you.
- Special Order items are sometimes on back order. We will notify of you of the back order when we find out about it.
- You may choose to wait for the item or we will gladly offer you a refund.
- Special Order items sometimes no longer exist & the manufacturer neglected to tell us. We will notify you when we find out it no longer exists.
- You will receive a refund & our sincere apologies. Unfortunately, manufacturers are not always great about letting us know an item no longer exists.
- Do you ship overnight?
- We normally sleep overnight and ship during the day, but we know that is probably not what you mean.
- We know you're excited and we want your stuff to arrive as soon as possible too.
- If you need a shipping option NOT LISTED in the store for a special circumstance, like for example, you're bad at planning and leave in two days for the trip of a lifetime and totally forgot to order, we will do our best to help, but please remember, FedEx, UPS and the USPS do not work for us. We don't set their prices nor can we fly their planes any faster.
- How fast is your flat rate shipping?
- We honestly don't know.
- We charge $8 for shipping on orders below $100 & nothing on orders above $100 for two reasons:
- First, to save you money. Sometimes your purchase costs us less than $8 to ship. Most of the time it costs us a little more.
- Second, it's easier than programming the system with the weight and dimension of every item we sell online, then programming it to check current rates for USPS, UPS, Fed Ex and this guy Carl we used once.
- Because of the variables we don't know which of the major services we will use to ship your new toys, but between us, I promise we won't use Carl.
- The item I want says "in store only" but I live far away, can I buy it online?
- Sure, we just made it say "in-store only" for fun.
- Unfortunately, no.
- Different manufacturers have prohibitions from certain products being sold online. Some items simply weigh too much for them to be shipped in an economical fashion.
- We do have options for you:
- You can call us at 513.521.DIVE(3483). Then we are not strangers online, we are friends and we can potentially coordinate a solution for you that can be our little secret from Henderson or Scuba Pro.
- You can buy a plane ticket & come visit. This will likely cost you more but we will pour you a bourbon while you're here... so win/win.
- My coupon code does't work?
- We are really sorry to hear that. Before you ask us for help though, ask yourself this question:
- Did my code come from some coupon code website that specializes in storing discount codes that expired sometime during the Hoover Administration for every website imaginable?
- If the answer is yes, then you can guess what our reply is going to contain. (Spoiler alert: Sarcasm)
- Did my code come from some coupon code website that specializes in storing discount codes that expired sometime during the Hoover Administration for every website imaginable?
