Padi question

[lawofgravity]

Seasons greetings to all underwater humanoids,

Okay, here's my story. For years now, I've wanted to learn how to dive. Finally, this year, I've sucked it up and decided to go for it. I figured a nice one week trip to the Caribbean to learn how to dive would be perfect. I did some web searches, and blimey, as cheap as $159 for owc in Utila, to $425 in the Caymans. I decided to get certified here in Vancouver for $270 CDN, which works out to around $170 US. My question is, why hasn't Padi standardized pricing for all their courses? Is it simply a matter of competition driving prices down, or are some dive ops out to screw dumb tourists out of every last cent they have?

lawofgravity

 

[richhagelin]

yes

 

[Drew Sailbum]

PADI sells the course materials to its members instructors as well as dive centers and resorts. The individual or business offering the course sets the price. PADI has no say in the matter.

So what's with the price differences? You'll have to understand that the business model the course provider uses helps determine price.

Many shops in the US and Canada use training as a loss leader. The idea is to offer training at a price which may actually be a monetary loss for the shop. In exchange, many aspiring divers come through their doors and buy masks, fins, snorkles, BCDs, Regs, wetsuits, dive computers, and all of that other expensive dive stuff.

Some shops in more tropical locales do not sell much gear. They sell dive services primarily such as day trips and instruction. Courses are usually priced to at least break even, or actually make a profit.

Some shops (in tropical or temperate climes) play another pricing strategy of advertising a low course price which covers only instruction. There may be additional "fees" for books and course materials, for use of a pool for training, for air fills, for access to a site to perform open water dives, etc...

I work at a tropical shop, and an open water course costs $500 USD, and includes everything needed to complete the course including all gear rental and books. Before working here, I have charged over $700 USD for a private one-on-one open water course for executives which required scheduling multiple sessions with little advanced notice. I also charged $200 USD per head for an open water course for a small group that had access to a private pool for training.

So, a lot goes into pricing a course. Only the instructor or shop offering the course can calculate all the variables.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Padi has no say in what a shop or instructor charges for a class. Most shops use OW classes as a loss leader. They are used to create a market for equipment. Additionally there can be major differences between one class and another. In theory all PADI are tought to the samr minimum standards. However, in our area while most shops provide about 6 hours in the pool we are at 15 hours. When my students get to OW they are horizontal and neutral. They understanf the mechanics of trim and the process for getting their. You won't find this in any PADI book and most instructors these days don't include it in the course. The reason is it takes time and energy and results in a more costly class. If you certify less students you sell less equipment. The OW class is used to "hook them".

If your looking to buy a card there are cheap enough ones available. If you want to learn to dive research the instructor and the shop. There are divers and there are DIVERS. There are instructors and there are INSTRUCTORS. My advice is interview the instructor find out what a good diver should look like in the water and view the instructor in the water (preferably teaching)before deciding to do a class with them. Ask to sit in on various parts of the class. Don't wait until a month before a trip to look for a class. If students were as choosy about dive instructors as they are about their cloths, shoes or their cell phone service many shops and instructors would close tomarrow.

 

[DiverBuoy]

In the local So Cal area a leading Sports Dept store with a dive department in every store is offering $79.97 Open Water class (includes Tuition and Certification Fee - Student Pack, Rentals and Boat fee not included) . Clearly this is a loss for them because they pay their instructors more than that per student.

 

[MikeFerrara]

DiverBuoy once bubbled...
In the local So Cal area a leading Sports Dept store with a dive department in every store is offering $79.97 Open Water class (includes Tuition and Certification Fee - Student Pack, Rentals and Boat fee not included) . Clearly this is a loss for them because they pay their instructors more than that per student.

And this...PADI needs to do something about. I'll bet money that I wouldn't need to watch many of these classes before I saw standards violations or at least something less than student mastery of skills. I say in public that a store like this is not doing a decent job of teaching. This is the kind of stuff that sickens me to a point that is beyond words.

 

[Hal Iotis]

is well known in So Cal dive circles. As in "look out, here comes another Sport C***** diver!" Next time you book a boat trip to the Channel Islands, be sure to inquire whether any of their classes will be aboard. You do not want to be there...

 

[BlueWaterDiving]

:upset: I'm a private instructor that has a hard time with all of those lowball shops. All they want is to sell gear. I teach diving no gear,. I will tell you what to buy. But most I teach scuba.

Hope every body has a great Christmas,

 

[jbd]

humble opinion but I think tha classes as a loss leader to garner equipment sales is an outdated idea and a poor business practice.

The new student, in this day and age, simply takes the cheap course and then promptly gets on line and buys their gear from LeisurePro et al or ebay. Leaves the shop doing the loss leader class holding the bag.

Charge what the class is worth--it should be of value to the student and it should be of value to the shop/instructor.

Then sell the gear for what its worth---again it should be of value to both parties involved.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Actually for the shops that play the game by selling the big name junk and teaching a very fast class the model works very well. There are shops making money by earning the rest of us the reputation of not knowing anything about diving, being liars and cheats. The money is in selling cheap junk to lots of un suspecting beginners. There is no money in developing real expertise and providing real services to the the few serious divers. This model represents no end to costs and little demand.