Cheap PADI OW Certification

[horn34]

HI Horn,

No disrespect intended to either you or your friends, but are these local friends you are talking about truly local, or are they expats who live here? If they are local and have been here for years, then I too find it really hard to understand that they don't know a dozen or more people in the diving biz here to make their own connections and deals. To ask you, who doesn't even live here let alone work here, is odd to me.

But, with that said, I offer reduced rate to locals who want to get certified, but there are several conditions to it.

• They have to be flexible - they go out when my instructor has free time and they may not get the certification done in a week's time, it could be spread out over a few weeks.
• If they want to do open water dives by boat, then they have to pay the local rate for that, and only if there is space
• They have to purchase the e-learning or book on their own
• They have to pay the PADI certification fee (digital pic) and any hard costs for the course

I also offer complimentary certifications for young people wanting to learn and work up to divemaster, but there are conditions to that as well.

Thanks Christi. I appreciate that and I'll pass it on. And they are locals, not ex-pats.

I just talked to a friend in Playa and it turns out her cousin owns a dive shop in Cozumel, so they may be able to get a good rate through her.

 

[Christi]

Interesting that this almost requires semi-public reporting of profitability, i.e. the employees would be able to calculate what your profits are.

Not really - because it's a much more complex formula - it's not a straight forward 10%

 

[BRT]

Not really - because it's a much more complex formula - it's not a straight forward 10%

Which would mean that the employees don't know if they are being cheated or not. Can't have it both ways.

 

[eelnoraa]

I just can NOT believe a coz native, at DM level, can't figure out the training cost at coz, who/where offer the lowest rate, or who/where offer the best training, ... should be on his palm. If he needs to ask someone 3000miles away who may not even be in the industry, something is wrong here. The analogy would be like I am a car saleman for Ford and I want to buy a Ford SUV. I have to ask a friend in Hong Kong, whose is in finance industries to get a deal for me. Sounds crazy, right?

As for looking training, if I were to put my GF through OP so that we can dive together, I would put her through a good quality course instead of the lowest rate cost. DM should be well aware of this. If money is tight, save another month or two. But then if she can afford a set of gears, why not a proper OW class? The proper priority IMO should be good training and rental gears especially the BF is a DM working for a shop.

 

[Scuba Scott]

I've got a buddy that lives on Coz wanting to get his girlfriend certified. They're young and don't make much, so I figured I'd ask around for a low cost solution.

When I hear this question I wonder if that person will ever be able to afford actually diving after getting certified. SCUBA is not an inexpensive hobby. It can be less expensive than some other hobbies, like smoking, but you have to want it bad enough to afford it. If someone can't afford the going rate for certification then maybe they need to try something more affordable like snorkeling.
Want a low cost solution? I offer an excellent skin diving course and it is actually the better option for many people.

 

[ggunn]

If he needs to ask someone 3000miles away...

Actually, it's less than 1000 miles.

 

[noj3333]

Close - it's a little more complex than that - but that's the gist of it. And yes, this is what I had to pay lump sum - but there is more to it.

Above and beyond Utilidades, Social Security, paid vacations and annual Christmas bonus (aquinaldo), I started a retirement savings plan for my staff a couple of years ago. I match 20% of their monthly contribution. I don't manage the money, it is through Allianz and it is deducted from their checking accounts each month and I deposit a 20% match for them. And after having to visit a friend in the general public hospital here last week, I am now looking into private health insurance for my staff because I never want them to have to be "treated" at that general hospital.

Off topic I know...

@Christi this was interesting to read...

If I were you I'd add a little blurb to your website, explaining why your costs are what they are... Some consumers, me included, would rather spend their money with a moral business, then someone who's only goal is their bank account/ future/ bottom line...

If you're doing right by your employees, let people know!

 

[ggunn]

If you're doing right by your employees, make light of it!

Um, I'm not sure that's exactly what you meant to say...

 

[noj3333]

@ggunn... you are correct, ty!

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

For starters, PADI has five pool sessions and four open waters - to standards, that’s four days to complete including the knowledge reviews.

I

While I agree with most of your post, the above is just wrong. PADI standards state the following

"Student divers may participate in no more than three open water training dives in a single day, night or combination thereof."

This means the OWC can be done in two days although I prefer to teach it over the span of three days.