Just finished my PADI Cert - you have GOT to be kidding me

[lmorin]

PADI shops are not "inspected" and there is no such thing as a "PADI inspector".

A PADI shop isn'r working for PADI and isn't a franchise or anything like that. They are simply PADI retail association members. There are some requirements but, in general, just about any full service dive shop with a retail location would meet those requirements. When first joining the PADI retail association the shop is required to provide photo or video documentation of the facilities and the surounding area but that's pretty much the end of anything that resembles an inspection. Just pay your $300/year (or whatever it is now) and you're in.

Maybe so, but after our AOW cert, our instructor verbalized a worry that PADI would examine her official records and discover the fact that our deep dive was over 100 ft. Not a great worry, but it was there. Led me to believe that there is some form of inspection process.

 

[Matt_NJ]

It certainly sounds outrageous to me. $130 to $180 will get you Padi certified in Tennessee, and that's with quality rental gear.

Yeah and a $160,000 in spring hill tenessee will get you a 3 bedroom 2 bath 1500sq ft. condo. In NY that's easily a 1.5-$2,000,000 venture. If you go by that markup the certification class should be $1,000+ for that cost of living difference........

If the class included all the dives and the rental gear then he got a great deal here in NY. If that was JUST the instruction and he had to pay extra for the gear and dives then it was probably not the best deal to be had, but still not "Shocking" for NY.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Maybe so, but after our AOW cert, our instructor verbalized a worry that PADI would examine her official records and discover the fact that our deep dive was over 100 ft. Not a great worry, but it was there. Led me to believe that there is some form of inspection process.

PADI does not routinely have access to a shop or an instructors records. In a QA invenstigation they might request specific information or in the case of an insurance claim there are obligations to cooporate with the insurance company and the PADI legal department.

PADI does send out questionairs to students, though, fishing for hints that standards violations are taking place. It's been a long time since I've seen any of those questionairs but questions like "How many dives did you do?" or How deep did you go on your deep dive?" are the types of questions that I would expect to see.

 

[Skeeter1097]

Here in S. Fl. it is about $400 and up to $500. Class, gear, boat,and c-card. I can see that price.
S. Fl. boat in the open ocean. viz grate and you see things.
Tenn. mud, cat fish, 2 to 5 ft. viz $200.

 

[rthensley]

You can find inexpensive or expensive classes in most places. I was looking into doing an OW class on vacation this year. I found a place in central Florida that does the class for $139. I also found two other places in Florida that do the class for $179.

 

[rockjock3]

Yea, I can see $550 as outrageous. In Hawaii it runs about $350-400 (crewpack, cert fees, rental gear and tanks.). You can get it for $200 here, but at those places you then have to add all the above listed stuff, so going price is $350-400, which ever way you go, here.

 

[muddiver]

Ok, I don't know what you are all whining about. I paid $1800 for the quarter that I took my Advanced Open Water at the university. The gear was older than my dad, but it functioned correctly (didn't need a weight belt in the pool either with the hard back pack and steel tank). That didn't include the rental needed to do the open water dive. Oh, did I mention there was a swim test to get into the class?

$550 all inclusive is a pretty good deal. The condition of the gear depends on the idealogy of the shop. There is a shop here that I like get my air fills at that is totally instruction and club cenered. I don't think any of there rental gear is newer than ten years old. Now accross town is the big box chain store that changes all there rentals every year because they are equipment sales oriented. They couldn't teach their way out of a wet paper bag with a chain saw.

So it all depends.

 

[jsado]

$550 included classtime, pooltime, book, dvd's, forms, binder, rental of gear (bc, regs, wetsuit), ow dives. I had to supply fins, boots, weights, belt, mask and snorkel. And if I didn't have that, it was available to rent.

 

[rahuck]

Would really like to know the name of the store.....

 

[Scared Silly]

Who cares how much was paid for the class. What should be of concern is the quality of the class and whether the equipment supplied was substandard and posed a hazard to the students.

My suggestion is to just call PADI and talk to some in their QA department. Express your concerns and go from the there.