Good reasons why you should not do your DM/IDC/IE in the PADI Asia area

[Mauifish]

I am making this post as a warning to Americans and Europeans in general as to why it is not a good idea to seek PADI training in The PADI Asia area.
If you have a problem with an examiner or instructor in the PADI Asia area and return to your home of residence and file a complaint through your main office such as PADI America or Europe they will only tell you that it is out of their area of authority and you must make your complaint directly to PADI Asia.
Guess what happens when you make your complaint with PADI Asia?
Well the good ole boys at the main office in Australia will have a talk with whom you are making the complaint against and seeing how they are all long time friends, have a laugh and tell you to "bugger" off. Any actual witnesses will not be relevant you see because they all know each other so well, viable witnesesses are not necesary.
If you are thinking about taking a course in any of PADI Asia areas and you are not from or working in that area you might want to reconsider your own country for legal reason's {now I wait for the derogatory post from Thailand}

 

[Guba]

I know a person who did the same "crash course" in Florida, and they have nothing but praise and glowing comments about the experience. I mention this only to say, "Why go halfway around the world?"

 

[Crowley]

I don't know what the OP's original complaint was about, although it has been mentioned previously in one of the threads in the Thailand forum

Their experience is not shared by me, nor any of the other instructors I know and work with in Thailand, nor indeed any of the instructors I have personally trained, or that have been trained by my colleagues and associates at any of the dive shops in Thailand.

I cannot comment on the individual case as no details have been forthcoming, but thousands of DMs and Instructors are trained in Thailand every year and many of them go on to enjoy great personal success in the dive industry, all over the world. Neither I, nor any of my colleagues has ever had a significant problem with PADI Asia-Pacific, their examiners, or senior staff. Whenever I have had a problem or query they have been responsive, courteous and forthcoming.

This is not a derogatory post - it's a simple statement of fact. I am very sorry that the OP feels he has been mistreated but as already stated, I have no information regarding the facts. To smear all of Thailand and PADI Asia Pacific is simply inappropriate.

Regards

C.

 

[Abbo]

I must thank Mauifish for a fascinating post. You appear to be of the opinion that the one-third of the human race who live in the Asia-Pacific area have low morals, and I'm intrigued about the causality: would that be caused by something genetic, such as the colour of their skin, or because they have suspiciously low income compared to yourself, or is it related to the geography? I understand that there are people who actually believe that there is a link between a person's star sign and their character, so I suppose I should not be surprised to come across people who believe that the geography of a person's abode decides their character and specificaly their morals.
In the Asia-Pacific region there are, what, two billion people? And you're tarring them ALL with the same brush. If I could give a little gratuitous advice, take your passport, and don't walk, RUN to the office that issued it: it's way too early for you to think about going overseas. You're going to have to work up to it incrementally.

Caveat emptor: do your homework before throwing a lot of your hard-earned cash at a diving course. There are going to be good shops and bad ones. You seem to think that you can tell teacher and whoever made you unhappy will get a spanking on your say-so. The regional governing body will need clearly documented evidence of wrongdoing before they act: they are not going to want to get involved in a he said/she said catfight. They are, very likely, bombarded by people who fail to make the grade and are angry that they are having to return home without getting their certification - not that this is what happened to you, but it is the kind of experience that is likely to make them reluctant to get involved unless there is a really clear case of wrongdoing.

 

[Busdiver]

This thread is going sideways fast.

 

[docmartin]

how do you know that you could not run into similar issues in the US or Europe?

 

[Zeeman]

Wow.. those Aussies at head office must have a hell of a friend list at their wedding parties - knowing all the "ole boys" in the Asian region would mean knowing tens of thousands of instructors - by name, clearly...

Z....

 

[Colliam7]

This thread is going sideways fast.

So, let’s try a little mid-course correction early on.

You appear to be of the opinion that the one-third of the human race who live in the Asia-Pacific area have low morals, and I'm intrigued about the causality: would that be caused by something genetic, such as the colour of their skin, or because they have suspiciously low income compared to yourself, or is it related to the geography?

The OP said NOTHING about this ‘one third of the human race’. ZIP, ZILCH, NADA. Read his post! He specifically expressed concerned about PADI Asia. Now, I know that PADI is big, but I wasn’t aware that the PADI Asia organization encompassed one third of the human race.

In the Asia-Pacific region there are, what, two billion people? And you're tarring them ALL with the same brush.

NO, he is not. Again, he said NOTHING to this effect. PLEASE, read his post and respond to it – not to what you think he was thinking, not to what you think his motives are. That simply dilutes the post and leads to the type of ‘he said/she said catfight’ that you even lament later in your own post.

They are, very likely, bombarded by people who fail to make the grade and are angry that they are having to return home without getting their certification - not that this is what happened to you, but it is the kind of experience that is likely to make them reluctant to get involved unless there is a really clear case of wrongdoing.

Very good points. I fully appreciate where you are coming from with regard to the not uncommon kinds of experiences that agencies have. This may even be one more example. But, it may not be. I would like to know a little more about the actual experience of the OP before presuming he is an ethnic bigot, a geographical elitist, or a sub-aquatic failure.

So, Mauifish, it would really help us all if you could share some of the specifics of the experience, in order for us to better understand why you have recommended that we avoid pro training through PADI Asia. Crowley is a regular SB contributor, and I have always found his posts to be thoughtful and objective, and he suggests your experience may not be the usual. Could you offer a little more insight regarding your experiences, so we can learn from them and hopefully avoid similar situations in the future?

 

[Bubble Junky]

I would like to know a little more about the actual experience of the OP before presuming he is an ethnic bigot, a geographical elitist, or a sub-aquatic failure.

Me too. It might be a bit strong to label the OP any of those three terms, but it can't be denied that one hell of a generalisation was made........

Guess what happens when you make your complaint with PADI Asia?
Well the good ole boys at the main office in Australia will have a talk with whom you are making the complaint against and seeing how they are all long time friends, have a laugh and tell you to "bugger" off. Any actual witnesses will not be relevant you see because they all know each other so well, viable witnesesses are not necesary.

......

 

[docmartin]

well, i think it's just a pointless post unless mauifish decides to describe what happened. in the absence of some detail the statement comes across as an unreasonably generalized condemnation. it also precludes any possibility for anyone at PADI Asia to address the accusation. as such it is unfair and has no educational value. i am not saying that mauifish does not have a legitimate complaint but if it's a secret than there is no point in posting.