first we lose the canadian rep....now this ??

[rick00001967]

Dear SSI Dive Centers and Professionals,
I have decided to resign my role as Director of Education for Scuba Schools International. My last day with the company will be Friday, May 16th. This has been a very difficult decision for me to make. However, an opportunity has presented itself that I felt I just couldn't pass up as it will greatly benefit me and my family.
I will always look back with affection, satisfaction and pride at what we as a company have been able to accomplish during my tenure. I hope that I leave the industry stronger than when I entered it over 25 years ago. As I'm sure many of you can relate, diving will always hold a special place in my heart.
I appreciate having the chance to work with each and every one of you and wish you all the best in the coming years.
Best regards,
Watson L DeVore

 

[tstormdiver]

Sounding more & more like a full house cleaning.

 

[clint@uniquescuba.com]

Hmmm, I know Watson from way back...good guy. I'm sorry to see what is happening at SSI as I have several good friends there.

 

[cb5150]

Hmmm, I know Watson from way back...good guy. I'm sorry to see what is happening at SSI as I have several good friends there.

Care to elaborate?

---------- Post added May 14th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ----------

Sounding more & more like a full house cleaning.

Someone leaves and it's a "full house cleaning"? Companies get bought out every single day and employees move on every day. Even if it is a "house cleaning", is that a bad thing...is it a good thing??

The scuba industry seems to be floundering...maybe its time for some new blood.
Maybe not.
What the hell do I know?

 

[rick00001967]

who knows how things are going behind closed doors at ssi. the main problem seems to be the uncertainty that comes with any new ownership of a company. nobody knows if things will stay the same or change (for better or worse). and we all know that most people who have had long term positions at a company hate change of any kind.
i know for us up here it was a real slap in the face loosing our canadian ssi rep. there was never a more dedicated and loyal member of that company i can you that. the man lived and breathed ssi. i am assuming they decided the work needed to support the canadian dealers could be done more efficiently out of the u.s.

 

[Diver0001]

Care to elaborate?

Mares bought SSI and they'll probably end up stripping it bare of any actual value it had. Mares has a reputation of taking over companies and then ruining them.

R..

 

[cb5150]

Interesting views. Personally, I like change. It keeps people on their toes.

I learned of the merger late last year and have yet to see anything, positive or negative, that seem to affect the average diver.


I'll leave the worrying to you guys. I'm headed to the ocean.

 

[emoreira]

Mares bought SSI and they'll probably end up stripping it bare of any actual value it had. Mares has a reputation of taking over companies and then ruining them.

R..

Dacor ?

 

[Diver0001]

You're only allowed to mention Da<cough>cor covertly....

I really don't know what happend to Dacor.... if it blew up in their face or if they really just bought it for some patent that they had and then twisted it's neck to get them out of the market..... either way, the result was the same.

As for SSI, I don't think it was a coincidence that Head bought SSI. After all, SSI is the only agency that ties training to shops so that's an obvious way for Mares to elbow some of the competition out of a fair number of retail shops. I figure SSI shops will be forced into becoming exclusive Mares dealers and the sole future of SSI will be to facilitate the sales of Mares gear.

If that means they'll screw up the curriculum or not remains to be seen but I think any aspirations SSI ever had of becoming a world class player in scuba training will be difficult to achieve when their main function as a Head company is to stop certain shops from selling ... say... aqualung products.

I'm sure Head will invest in SSI but it will be in things like re-writing the books so that every photo and every video, every paragraph in the training that mentions gear specifically references a Mares product. The investment will all be in marketing.

R..

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Or maybe he just got an offer he couldn't refuse. And not the kind my people (Italians) normally think of when they hear that. Someone may have offered him a butt load of money and it was better for him and his family.