Two Day Certification Course (PADI) ?
- Thread starter hambleto
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
That what i thought and for what its worth i agree. I have had similar experiences over the years. Some of your posts made it sound like you might be teaching a one weekend course. I didn't think you were.
MHK
Guest
That's about right and I charge $279 plus the books and if we go on a boat they pay for the boat as well. More often then not I'll go over to Casino Point and we'll do beach dives but sometimes we'll do boat dives..
As I said, they could very well get it cheaper elsewhere, but I put in a lot of time and I try to provide value in my classes so I refuse to do the 2 for 1 $67.77 special and compromise my class..
Hope that helps..
Later
Thx MHK.
I keep hearing about the two for one $67.77 special (interesting choice of a number by the way.) Not that it really matters but is that two OW classes for 67.77 or 67.77 each for two students?
Either way we don't have anything like that around these parts. Cheapest, complete OW class i have ever seen around here is about $275. Also the quickest class you will see around here is the two weekend class.
nt
MHK
Guest
We have a large chain of stores out here called Sport Chalet, I think they have 40 stores but I can't be certain of that number, but they are a complete sport merchandise store, everything from bikes, rollerblades, sneakers, camping gear, basketball, baseball, hockey and so forth. They also sell scuba but tend to go with the business model of training is a loss leader, just get students in the store and then sell them gear. Over this past summer, in conjunction with PADI, they beta tested a business plan of selling classes 2 for 1. They had a tremendous promotion on all of the radio stations, I'm told PADI spent over $200,000 on the marketing campaign. They charged $135.54 for 2 students, which essentially equaled $67.77 for each student. However double the students in the class meant double the students to sell gear to.. Obviously from an instructional standpoint the quality of the class is suspect, in my view. I personally witnessed one class that had 18 students kneeling on the floor doing skills with one instructor kneeling and facing all 18 students with another instructor and DM kneeling behind the class. They swim them out, they put all 18 of them on their knees and go down the line checking off skill after skill from the slate, once the required skills are done, they head home.. That's my problem with the faster and cheaper classes, they basically become an assembly line where you learn to breath underwater but learn little about scuba diving..
Hope that helps..
Later
While i have to agree this is not good and is something i would never do, i have to support PADI's right as a company in a free enterprise system, to put programs like this out. PADI and this Sport Chalet are taking the risk at what they are doing and they will reap the benefit or detriment of their actions.
People don't have to take this course, no one is making them take it. They take it primarily because it is cheaper and they are free to make the decision for themselves. It's the way the free world works in a lot of things, not just Scuba training. We are all guilty (if you can call it that) of looking for better deals to save money.
My hope is the same as yours, that people see the value in a more thorough course. If that happens, the 67.77 dollar deal goes away by itself.
However, i believe the system works pretty well at taking care of itself. With a cheap, fast OW course you would think more people will get hurt. Sooner or later its going to happen and the system (courts, attorneys, etc) is going to test the validity of PADI's program. You or i may not agree with their findings but the system has checks and balances that have gotten us this far so it works for me.
As a PADI instructor i will say i am losing faith in the direction PADI seems to be going when i see things like this. We don't have any Sport Chalets up here so we are a bit sheltered but i have seen other areas of concern. I recently found out about a former student who became a PADI instructor. This person, for various reasons, should not be left responsible for students, period. And somehow he got through an IDC and an IE. To say that i am disillusioned about this is an understatement.
People don't have to take this course, no one is making them take it. They take it primarily because it is cheaper and they are free to make the decision for themselves. It's the way the free world works in a lot of things, not just Scuba training. We are all guilty (if you can call it that) of looking for better deals to save money.
My hope is the same as yours, that people see the value in a more thorough course. If that happens, the 67.77 dollar deal goes away by itself.
However, i believe the system works pretty well at taking care of itself. With a cheap, fast OW course you would think more people will get hurt. Sooner or later its going to happen and the system (courts, attorneys, etc) is going to test the validity of PADI's program. You or i may not agree with their findings but the system has checks and balances that have gotten us this far so it works for me.
As a PADI instructor i will say i am losing faith in the direction PADI seems to be going when i see things like this. We don't have any Sport Chalets up here so we are a bit sheltered but i have seen other areas of concern. I recently found out about a former student who became a PADI instructor. This person, for various reasons, should not be left responsible for students, period. And somehow he got through an IDC and an IE. To say that i am disillusioned about this is an understatement.
Thank you all for your input and opinions. I apologize for bringing up the PADI vs. the diving community argument again. I too agree that PADI is out to make money and more divers. My only hope is that people who do take courses such as the two day course can see that they have to continue their education and practice. It seems to me that a lot of people I talk to (outside of scuba board) that are certified look at as, "I have a card, I can dive anywhere I want to". I whole heartedly believe that OW is just the beginning of diving, from there, one must practice, gain experience, and take more training.
Once again, thank you all for your input, and I apologize if I upset anyone with the thread.
Ben
Once again, thank you all for your input, and I apologize if I upset anyone with the thread.
Ben
Karl_in_Calif
Banned
Sport Chalet is rumored to be opening its first northern California store in the SF Bay Area soon, with scuba.
"It seems to me that a lot of people I talk to (outside of scuba board) that are certified look at as, "I have a card, I can dive anywhere I want to"."
Karl_in_Calif
Banned
For 9 dives, you should consider offering an Advanced Open Water certification as a combined OW-AOW program. In fact, you could even throw in a Nitrox rating with it as well, if as I suspect, you are also teaching the use of EAN32.
Similar threads
