The cost of Padi

[ScubyDoo]

There is another alternative for all of you who think PADI is such a ripoff and lousy organization... Go Somewhere Else and Quit Complaining. You don't "HAVE" to do anything and I for one am getting fed up with all the constant complaining. If you don't like PADI, fine. Don't give them your money or your time.

There, now I feel better.

DITTO!!!

 

[Cacia]

wow, I thought brand X was harsh.

 

[storm1fishing]

There is another alternative for all of you who think PADI is such a ripoff and lousy organization... Go Somewhere Else and Quit Complaining. You don't "HAVE" to do anything and I for one am getting fed up with all the constant complaining. If you don't like PADI, fine. Don't give them your money or your time.

There, now I feel better.

Thats you off my xmas card list

Do you work for padi by any chance , no , of course not. Yeah right

Firstly , I have been with Padi for a while and do not complain about the training and other services that they provide.
The instructor that I was talking to is a personal friend of mine , and is not tied to any dive shop. He has had to buy the manual from DIVE SUPPLY in bangkok. The shop is known as probably the cheapest dive shop in bangkok , and the price increase is reflected at most dive shops throughout bangkok and thailand for that matter.
The reason that you need to buy the manual , is that the paperwork that gets sent back to padi is included in the book , so if you dont buy the book new , you have no paperwork to send back your course details. Sort of like , being held to ransom.

Secondly , we were just out on a fun dive , so not I nor anyone else was on the course , the subject just came up in a discussion. The information that he has was given to him by Padi in australia.

If I have got my facts wrong then Ill be the first to apologies to Padi , if not then I think Padi should start listening.

 

[alcina]

is that the paperwork that gets sent back to padi is included in the book , so if you dont buy the book new , you have no paperwork to send back your course details. Sort of like , being held to ransom.

That's not accurate. The Knowledge Reviews get held in the Student Record File by the instructor or dive centre. They do not go to PADI. The only thing that goes to PADI is the PIC - ours are pink at the moment. They are the little forms you fill out half of at the end of the course (instructor fills out the other half).

I would have thought that the materials were the same all through this area, but there may be expenses the dive center is attaching to the materials that are above and beyond PADIs prices. The Advanced manual has only gone up a teeny amount for 2006 so somewhere in your conversation something has gone amiss or someone has been misinformed.

 

[Obsessed?]

PADI allows the use of their logos and etc. by every dive isntructor, so I don\'t know what Catherine\'s friend is talking about, but that\'s not a true story (that they were told they had to pay to use the logos and etc.). I too am sick of all the complaining and PADI bashing, and there\'s an \"acronym\" for every dive org. For example: Not Another Undertrained Instructor and Scuba School Incomprehensible. I\'d rather pay my money to an orgaznization that actually supports me and provides value to me as an instructor. Vote with your feet and go somewhere else (as others have noted). Also, maybe if it was every dive instructor with multiple agency licenses or divers with 5000 dives and 20 years experience saying these things, but usually its the newbie diver parroting what they have \"heard\" from some disgruntled person or shop owner or instructor bound to another agency - I think it\'s kind of transparent....

 

[matts1w]

The instructor that I was talking to is a personal friend of mine, and is not tied to any dive shop. He has had to buy the manual from DIVE SUPPLY in bangkok...The reason that you need to buy the manual , is that the paperwork that gets sent back to padi is included in the book , so if you dont buy the book new , you have no paperwork to send back your course details. Sort of like , being held to ransom.

1. I could be wrong as the process may be different with PADI in Australia, but why can't the independent instructor buy his materials direct from PADI? With PADI Americas I can simply call them, drop my credit card number, and the materials show up at my door. The price I charge for them is up to me.

2. You do have to purchase that paperwork as it is actual documentation that you were provided and completed the academic requirements of the course, although it stays with your instructor for five years. The photocopying of knowledge reviews has been discussed a ton on Scubaboard on other threads. I personally think the Adventures in Diving manual is a great resouce to have.

 

[espenskogen]

Thats you off my xmas card list

Do you work for padi by any chance , no , of course not. Yeah right

Firstly , I have been with Padi for a while and do not complain about the training and other services that they provide.
The instructor that I was talking to is a personal friend of mine , and is not tied to any dive shop. He has had to buy the manual from DIVE SUPPLY in bangkok. The shop is known as probably the cheapest dive shop in bangkok , and the price increase is reflected at most dive shops throughout bangkok and thailand for that matter.
The reason that you need to buy the manual , is that the paperwork that gets sent back to padi is included in the book , so if you dont buy the book new , you have no paperwork to send back your course details. Sort of like , being held to ransom.

Secondly , we were just out on a fun dive , so not I nor anyone else was on the course , the subject just came up in a discussion. The information that he has was given to him by Padi in australia.

If I have got my facts wrong then Ill be the first to apologies to Padi , if not then I think Padi should start listening.

That is not quite true - The reason you have to buy the manual, is because a lot of dive centres around the world used 'library' copies to conduct the courses - These may have had their knowledge reviews filled out already, and it does not look professional to be handed a old rag of a book to conduct your course. Therefore Padi changed the standards, and now the students will need to own the manual for every course they do. The only exception is if a family (living on the same address) does the course - then you can share one manual.

Sure this makes the book publishing business more profitable for Padi - And the Diveshop. But the dive shop/ instructors have no choice in the matter - Padi has announced that they will be watching carefully the number of crew packs / manuals sold to each dive centre, compared to the number of certifications issued by each dive centre - And if the numbers don't add up, the instructor/centre will get QA'ed.

Having said that, the book prices are rightly only marginally increased, so if you're seeing prices doubling, I expect the Diveshop sees a business opportunity there.

E

 

[Wildcard]

Trying to rember exactly what had been talked about on this subject. Photo copying from the book, the KRs is a copy right infringment BUT having students write there answers on blank paper and keeping those is frowned upon by PADI but it meets there standards. Personally I would encourage everyone to own there own books just for review.
Also as a PADI pro we are entitled to use the PADI logo for advertising as long as it is in PADIs best intrest, that is your teaching PADI or are a PADI dive shop.
In the future, I can see PADI doing more online with the instructos reviewing on line KRs and sending in the PICs. PADI will charge for this service Im sure, they are a business after all.
If you don't like the way PADI is run, how about you start your own free dive org? See how well that works for ya......

 

[matts1w]

well, I have a friend who has certified a lot of divers over the years and he said that he got a phone call about taking their little logo off his website unless he paid for the use.

That seems so odd as there are tons and tons of different logos in the PADI Pros online area to include on one's course materials, website, etc... All are free to use as long as one is a current PADI instructor. Me thinks you have been misinformed.

 

[drew52]

Yip, removing the logo's seems odd. I have even been allowed to use the copy from the PADI website on my site and the logo's are freely available from the download area of the PADI pro site.

The reason people are now required to buy the books, from what I hear, is that there have been a few lawsuits lost due to people not receiving the books. People have asked how are they supposed to remember what was taught to them 5 years back if they have no reference book. I guess it has something to do with protecting themselves and those who work under their name.

Also the knowledge reviews no longer need to be kept by the instructor or dive centre but I guess thats not all that important to this thread...