I don't want to wade into this too deep, but here I go. IMHO,
@ahcalde one of the things your friend really needs to consider is class contact hours and the time involved to develop a diver, plus what the outcomes of the course are and how many other students will be in the class.
A GUE Rec 1 class is a minimum of 5 days (and it is usually 6). It includes 10 "pool sessions" and 6 check-out dives over 40 contact hours. It also includes rescue training and nitrox use in the program and they have a maximum 4:1 ratio for students to instructor in the class.
The GUE standards can be found here
https://www.gue.com/files/Standards_and_Procedures/GUE-Standards-v9.2.pdf, section 2.1.3 is the rec 1 standard.
GUE Rec 1 also includes some rescue training and nitrox use, so consider their program as the same as scuba diver + rescue + nitrox.
Other agencies do not require that level of input and contact in the beginning program. Unfortunately, I can drive up and down A1A in Broward county and find dive shops that will turn out a certified diver in 3 days in classes with up to 8 students in them. In the race to the bottom, those shops maximize students and minimize contact times with the student, and let's be honest for a minute, most of those people that graduate from one of those programs are uncomfortable in the water.
The only non-GUE agency that also includes some rescue training in their basic program is NAUI. Everyone else is probably going to skip it.
So when we're talking straight costs, the reason a Rec 1 class is ~3 times the amount of the local shops is because you're getting more training time, with more direct instructor interaction due to reduced ratios, and additional material in the program.
At the end of the day the value proposition is about instructor time, knowledge, experience, and outcomes. Ask your friend what a full week of work is worth to him at his day job, now throw in the expenses of liability insurance, professional membership fees, equipment wear and tear, and travel and he may realize $1500 isn't that outrageous for a Rec 1 class. The "but that's crazy expensive" mindset is actually the main reason I don't teach recreational courses - my time has a value and I try to give everything into my classes, but if I told someone they would need to pay me a minimum of $1500 for a week of my life they'd probably just go to the random shop down the road anyway.
Is it possible for someone to become a diver in 3 days? Maybe. I've done it a few times in 1:1 sessions with people that had already been heavily involved in aquatics for years. But those were rare and I've really never been happy with that and I'd say it really should only be reserved for situations with 1:1 or 2:1 ratios.
Ok, on to my personal recommendations. I've watched Landon at Aqui teach several times, mostly more advanced stuff (deep diver, etc). I would have no qualms about sending someone to him for those classes, but I am not sure what he does for OW training in terms of time/energy (no offense Landon, I just don't know what your OW program is like). Dave Ochs at Aqua Safari would be my top recommendation for non-GUE recreational training, but beware, he charges $2000 a person, but there's a reason he charges that.
