Rescue Class Bad Experience Because Of Agency

[planodiver]

After taking all PADI classes, I decided to take the Rescue class at a shop where I buy most of my stuff. They are affiliated with NAUI. What I got instead of my first nights class was every negative acronym for PADI, the corporate history of PADI and the ways PADI is inferior to NAUI. Pretty much every sentence started with "if you had taken a NAUI class you would have learned". Then he went on to give me his diatribe on how I would need to go back and take the NAUI Master Diver class. He pointed out that even though the NAUI poster in his room showed Master Diver coming after Rescue that was not the order they are actually taught.

I contacted the shop owner who was most apologetic and refunded my money. In 9 classes I have taken a PADI instructor has never said a negative thing about any other agency. I realize this guy was just being a jerk. Has anyone experienced any of this crossing agencies? I have already signed up for PADI Rescue class next month.

 

[Diver0001]

I contacted the shop owner who was most apologetic and refunded my money. In 9 classes I have taken a PADI instructor has never said a negative thing about any other agency. I realize this guy was just being a jerk. Has anyone experienced any of this crossing agencies? I have already signed up for PADI Rescue class next month.

Everyone believes that the home team plays the best football and some people are more fanatical about it than others.

Personally I don't think it's very professional for anyone selling a product to focus more on what's wrong with the competition than what's right with their own thing. One of the cable companies where I live does that. All of their TV advertisement is geared toward telling consumers how bad their competition is, but so far in several years of advertising they have yet to say a SINGLE thing about what's right with their own product.... and guess what. They keep losing market share. Go figure.

R..

 

[WheelsUSN]

If you really feel strongly about it you can report the instructor to NAUI. I think an argument could be made that he violated the portion of the NAUI Instructor Code of Ethics that states:

The NAUI Instructor is pledged to promote “Dive Safety Through Education.” In fulfilling this obligation, the instructor shall:
instruct objectively, without favoritism or granting special advantage or placing special requirements, and not expose the student to prejudice, embarrassment or disparagement.

I don't know if the NAUI Board of Directors would do anything about your complaint but the instructor definitely reflects poorly on the organization.

 

[Wookie]

I am a PADI instructor, and I teach PADI classes. With that said, I believe NAUI has a superior product. Not in terms of training materials, or in terms of course content, but in the philosophy of NAUI and of PADI. Yes, there are some NAUI shops out there, but NAUI is typically taught at colleges and Universities and in places where lots of time (like a semester) can be spent drilling the information into your head. PADI, on the other hand, works very hard to bring scuba to the masses, and work very hard at providing the shortest course possible consistent with the standards of the program.

I am not a NAUI instructor, but I don't know of any agency that teaches Master Diver before Rescue.

This situation speaks to the professionality of the instructor as well as the shop. The instructor in question needs a little more seasoning before being allowed to interact with students. The shop owner, however, seems like a class act. It hurts to refund a customer, especially for something like that. I hope you can find it in yourself to give them another chance somewhere down the road.

 

[They call me Tater]

FYI. I took PADI course in college. 14 weeks@ 3 hours/week.

 

[Wookie]

FYI. I took PADI course in college. 14 weeks@ 3 hours/week.

Sounds like you got the good kind.

 

[cannon fodder]

I have a PADI OW and a NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver, the NAUI instructors only comparison to PADI was that they had better marketing.

 

[diver 85]

FYI. I took PADI course in college. 14 weeks@ 3 hours/week.

You did not get 'sniffed by'......I'm thinking a lot today are, but I have no facts to back that statement up, just a gut feeling.....

 

[tc]

It's too bad that you got stuck with someone who was more interested in griping than in actually teaching the course.

Check around and I'm sure you'll find an instructor for the course that won't waste your time that way, the rescue course is worthwhile whichever agency you take it from.

it's unfortunate when an instructor heads down that path. It's also unfortunate when an entire agency gets the blame for one poorly performing instructor.

 

[Flyingkayak17]

After taking all PADI classes, I decided to take the Rescue class at a shop where I buy most of my stuff. They are affiliated with NAUI. What I got instead of my first nights class was every negative acronym for PADI, the corporate history of PADI and the ways PADI is inferior to NAUI. Pretty much every sentence started with "if you had taken a NAUI class you would have learned". Then he went on to give me his diatribe on how I would need to go back and take the NAUI Master Diver class. He pointed out that even though the NAUI poster in his room showed Master Diver coming after Rescue that was not the order they are actually taught.

I contacted the shop owner who was most apologetic and refunded my money. In 9 classes I have taken a PADI instructor has never said a negative thing about any other agency. I realize this guy was just being a jerk. Has anyone experienced any of this crossing agencies? I have already signed up for PADI Rescue class next month.

Wow, thats sad to hear. I also use two dive shops. One is PADI, the other NAUI. Im fortunate that each shop owner is intelligent and respectful enough to compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of each program. My opinion? The instructor is the one who makes the difference. Im lucky that I have many dive shops around me and I could "interview" different instructors as I visited the shops. It was a tough choice because we've got some great instructors in my area which left for some tough decisions regarding my dive training.

Bottom line? I'm glad this didn't discourage you from completing the rescue course. I just finished my rescue diver (PADI). It was humbling. Just when I thought I was a good diver I was introduced to another skill set that is even tougher to master. We worked our butts off. We were whipped at the end of the day. There are so many great things that I learned in this course that will help me and those that I dive with.

Good luck and enjoy the class. I sure did.