PADI has been sold to another investment group. Thoughts?

[Pedro Burrito]

Regarding the sale, no one seems to grasp the fact that PADI was already owned by a private equity firm: What is My Business Worth | Capital for My Business | SEP | Former Portfolio

What makes Lincolnshire Management any better, or worse, than Seidler Equity? Lincolnshire Management Firm Profile

 

[Diver0001]

Really? Please elaborate? What kind of inside information do you have to make such a ridiculous statement?

Let me ask you this. Do you see PADI or anyone getting special treatment on here because of one thing or another? I don't... Making donations to the legal defense fund, being a supporter, sponsor, business sponsor, banner advertiser, whatever, doesn't give anyone any special treatment, other than having their username in Red, and some other perks which you can find clearly listed in our site info...

One can only surmise that either you simply don't understand the concepts, or you're just jealous of something?

I can confirm this. I was a moderator on scubabord for some time and I can confirm that interventions by the scubaboard staff are done based upon what what is said and *never* based upon "who you are". The suggestion that board policies could be bought is far from the truth.

R..

 

[Wookie]

Not sure if it is the training agencies, dive centers or instructors, but somebody is not doing a very good job in the scuba industry. The retention rate is horrific! Personally, I do feel the attempts at making scuba certs available in an afternoon, dumbing down the course and quickie courses are at the core of the problem. And from what i have seen this is coming from PADI

This is something that was only mentioned once in this 9 page discussion, and I believe it´s one of the three key elements. I feel ashamed I overlooked it. Retention in this industry is horrific, I completely agree. Again, when you push more "dive pros" than actual divers, you generate retention problems. When courses are about quick and dirty, not actually expanding knowledge and thus interest, this is what happens. This is not "everything that´s wrong with scuba should be pinned on PADI", but there is a portion of responsibility here that needs to be addressed by PADI and all cert agencies, or as an industry. PADI, being the most successful of the agencies, becomes the forerunner of criticism.

Look further up. The BOD of DEMA (sorry, I don't mean to be on a "Kick DEMA when they are stupid kick" in this thread) is made up of SCUBA dinosaurs who want the same fast return on their buck that they got in the 80's. My humble opinion is that PADI is not leading the charge to lower standards, DEMA is (with many certification agencies jumping on the "less is more" bandwagon). With DEMA leading the charge for lowering standards, training agencies have no choice but to follow suit to stay competitive. If DEMA would lead the charge for "More is more", I think you'd see the training agencies, insurance companies, and dive operators breath a sigh of relief.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Not sure if it is the training agencies, dive centers or instructors, but somebody is not doing a very good job in the scuba industry. The retention rate is horrific! Personally, I do feel the attempts at making scuba certs available in an afternoon, dumbing down the course and quickie courses are at the core of the problem. And from what i have seen this is coming from PADI

So far my con ed rate is right around 85%. Granted I do teach small classes. Last year I taught no OW classes and none so far this year. But I issued something like 30 certs last year. Two of those were not previous students of mine. The rest were all divers I had taught in another class that came back for more training. Not because they needed it but because they wanted it. I have students this year who I have taught before and others I have not who are coming because they know how I run classes.

If I had run my OW classes the way I see some run I doubt I would have as many return students. And it's not just about skills. It;s about getting them enthused about diving and diving locally so that they stay sharp and really get to enjoy it. I see courses run that appear to not focus on con ed. I don't but at the same time I don't teach a course so people can then leave the area to dive. If they are taught to see the great stuff in local spots and not treated like there is nothing to see they will keep diving locally.

How many times I have shaken my head when hearing an instructor tell a student on checkouts to not pay attention to the low viz and cooler temps since they will be diving in Mexico or Bonaire or wherever. Instead of getting them pumped about diving in general they shoot themselves in the foot by training them to go away.

I have yet to many agencies take out a large ad showing divers having fun in a quarry with green water, muddy ramps into the water, and shivering while looking for a bush or tree to pee behind. But the fact is a lot of diving takes place in just such conditions. And may of us have a lot of fun doing it and in many cases become better divers because we do. I would like to see the entire industry, not just PADI but all agencies and manufacturers, spend as much ad money on this type of diving as they do the exotic locations. Personally I'd bet that we see a real increase in business if the public were informed that you don't need to spend thousands to get some great dives in.

I've talked to people who are shocked that we even dive in SW Pa, Ohio, and WVa. That changing would be good for all of us. Then we'd likely see people come back for more training. Not because they had to but because they want to. If you give them a comprehensive course my findings are that they are more confident in their skills and spend more time developing them until they reach a point where they want to expand. Then they come back to get that training. They don't get scared or turned off by a bad experience due to lack of knowledge or skills on their first dives away from an instructor.

If only someone would lead the way in doing that. And if the biggest guy did the others would follow.

 

[USFpsychDiver]

As a relatively new and non-professional diver I greatly appreciate the experience of professional divers with the certifying agencies and from divers who were around when dirt was new. The historical perspective is interesting, and I wish I knew more. The fact that the NAUI president is not a diver doesn't change the basic premise that a non-profit puts is members first and a for-profit puts its shareholders first; this isn't an indictment of the for-profit system, just stating my preference in choosing a certifying agency. While it is a nice thought that a for-profit company that puts out a shabby product will fail, those who believe that haven't studied marketing.

Personally, I've taken 6 courses, 5 from NAUI certified instructors (3 different instructors, 2 at one shop, 1 an independent instructor) and one from a PADI instructor. All the classes from the NAUI instructors were fine-to-good; the PADI course (rescue) has been abysmal (10 weeks after the pool session neither the shop nor the instructor has been able to schedule the OW sessions). Now I don't believe this has anything to do with the agency and has everything to do with the shop, but I have no expectation that PADI will be able to help me with this issue; they have no incentive to take any action against the shop or instructor (neither would any of the other agencies).

Anyway, I think it'd be great fun to hear the inside story of the folks that got pissed at NAUI and formed PADI and what happened after that to turn it in to the best marketing engine in the scuba world today.

 

[Paulmal]

Have fun getting your card once you complete it, I have done several courses with padi and it has taken a long time to get my card. Some times it was the instructor but others it was PADI.

 

[The Chairman]

Have fun getting your card once you complete it, I have done several courses with padi and it has taken a long time to get my card. Some times it was the instructor but others it was PADI.

Unless you're out of the Country, PADI processes your card within minutes of getting it. Their system is pretty amazing. If it's out of the US and not for Japan, they run a batch once a week. Japan has it's own office that does this. They are immensely proud of their turn around time and rightly so. There's no doubt in my mind that the instructor is almost always the weak link here.

 

[rigdiver]

Anyway, I think it'd be great fun to hear the inside story of the folks that got pissed at NAUI and formed PADI and what happened after that to turn it in to the best marketing engine in the scuba world today.

NAUI cancelled an ITC that pissed of some mid-west guys. They/He said PADI was formed to pay attention to the inner USA/not on ocean folks that needed to dive. When trying to come up with a name Cronin stated it must have "Professional" in it. PADI was "hosted" by US Divers with free office space and staff. They were set up originally as a non-profit with members, only the members/Inst's were never told they had a right to vote. Find an old Undercurrent from Sept. '85 or google Don Dibble vs PADI. You will have no respect for brand P when you know the truth.

 

[The Chairman]

I Googled and didn't come up with much.

 

[vladimir]

Yes, I read it. It is a socialist rant. I much prefer the more sympathetic (and realistic) appraisal of Mitt Romney's private equity past recently published in The Economist:
Mitt Romney

Great post, wrong link. That article is about his chances in the election, more or less, not Bain.

Regarding the sale, no one seems to grasp the fact that PADI was already owned by a private equity firm

It has been mentioned a few times in the thread already.