Padi Fees

[Mustard Dave]

Since when are BSAC 'free' ?

BSAC levy an annual membership fee. They dont profit from c-cards.

PADI profit from c-cards.
They don't levy an annual membership fee.

BSAC isn't free, and nobody says they are. My £56 covers my monthly magazine, my liability insurance, and covers the expenses required to run a diving club. PADI is not a diving club.

 

[diversteve]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

watch the agency bashing if you want to continue to post here...

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[mdb]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

watch the agency bashing if you want to continue to post here...

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I do not think anyone is "bashing" just commenting based on experience.

 

[DevonDiver]

BSAC isn't free, and nobody says they are. My £56 covers.... .

It covers cost price replacement cards.

 

[Mustard Dave]

It covers cost price replacement cards.

Do you understand what 'cost price' means? If they are supplied at cost, why would it need to be subsidised by the membership?

 

[ljpm]

Issuing a replacement card is not as trivial as you'd believe. If it was only a database lookup, it would be simple but it's more than often not something else. People forget to use a middle initial, enter their birthdays incorrectly and so on. This invariably results in a call to the agency who have to spend time researching the card. Time and organization costs money. I assure you that when an agency does revenue planning for the next financial period, they don't use "replacement cards" as a strategic source of planned revenue. OTOH they have to budget for x number of CSRs to handle all those calls. It's a service -plain and simple. If you lose your card and want a new one, it's going to cost you $$. Get used to it.

It is a simple DB look up. How do I know, because I did it on line. They don't even have an employee look it up. You have to look it up yourself.

I never complained about having to pay. I expected to pay. I just did not expect to pay so much. If I apply on line I look up my name in the database. I enter my address. The computer on their end then prints and posts the card. Seems like it shouldn't cost more than $1-$2/card including post. I would consider $10 to be a reasonable price. $52 is obscene.

And yes, Padi has the right to charge whatever they want. And I have the right to complain about it. I also have the right to refuse to purchase their product. I am also going to be extremely more critical of anything I purchase from Padi in the future. But again, they can charge as much as they want. That doesn't mean I will pay that price. It does mean I trust Padi less. It does mean that, whenever possible, I will look for an alternative. There is a reason most companies treat things like replacement cards as a great opportunity for demonstrating good customer service. Go ahead Padi charge whatever you like.

As for the all the people defending Padi Instructors, I never complained about the prices paid to instructors.
As for people defending Padi course prices, I didn't complain about them either. (at least not in this thread).

 

[cerich]

I don't think that any agency looks at replacement card pricing as gouging. Their cost basis and margin calculation is based on what they sell to their dive centers a replacement c card. The LDS/dive center wants to make money when they get involved, so the retail price of a replacement c card is set to allow the LDS the markup they demand. Then, so as to not undercut their true customer base (the LDS/dive center) the agencies sell the replacement cards directly to end users at the price that LDS does. The extra money is a "bonus"...not what they based the pricing on.

 

[tursiops]

There is a reason most companies treat things like replacement cards as a great opportunity for demonstrating good customer service.

I thought it had been established in this thread that most agencies charge nearly the same for a replacement card. While you are continuing to quote $52, please remember that is CDN $, and the other prices being quoted are USD. At 52 CND, you are getting a bargain.

 

[tridacna]

I think that it's time to stop feeding the troll. 158 posts to explain corporate profit motive and why customer service costs money. About 157 too many.

Enough of this back and forth self indulgent twaddle.

 

[ljpm]

I thought it had been established in this thread that most agencies charge nearly the same for a replacement card. While you are continuing to quote $52, please remember that is CDN $, and the other prices being quoted are USD. At 52 CND, you are getting a bargain.

Did I say most DIVE companies. I thought I was pretty clear when I said most ---- companies.
So they all do it. You know what I always tell my kids... If all your friends jumped off a bridge..... Just because they all do it doesn't mean it is right.

And you'll have to excuse me if I don't think that $52 CDN is a great deal for a piece of plastic. I prefer not to bend over.