I agree! I was recommended by a friend of mine to a GUE instructor with a whole list of certification and 40 years under his belt. I would not think twice to reach him if budget wasn't a concern.
Pay lots of attention to word of mouth.
Most divers never accumulate enough experience in their whole lives to understand what good training is or isn't. They will probably think that what they have learned is fine, and they will tend to think that those instructors with a sort of "passion/love" and good charm are excellent. But if you remember the 3 points I mentioned in a previous post, this factor is only one of those you need to consider (the third one). You still need to ensure the instructor is a good diver and a capable teacher, the former one being the hardest thing to understand without extensive diving experience.
GUE instructors are almost surely high-quality divers since this agency is one of the few with very strict quality control. However, this does not guarantee that the instructor is an excellent teacher and that his personality is the right one for you - you should have a chat with the teacher to understand his style and personality. The biggest variation in teaching style I have seen within GUE is about how structured is the course:
1 - some instructors follow a very rigid schema and ensure you get very efficiently all the content of the course
2 - some instructors allow more flexibility and tend to answer even questions that go beyond the content
None of the above is good or bad, it really depends on you (I prefer 2, some of my friends prefer 1). On top of that, usually, more experienced instructors tend to run smoother courses providing even more knowledge (yes, you feel the difference between Mario Arena and the new young Tech-1 instructor), although overall their courses will leave you well equipped with anything you need for your dives.
On top of that, you should at least not dislike the instructor (personality-fit factor), and it is even better if you get along very well.
In case you want to search for other instructors, be aware that despite GUE having such a good quality control, it is enforced only during courses and on instructors. This means that a GUE-trained diver who is an instructor for another agency is not necessarily a good diver (many divers get training and then don't exercise anymore). With agencies that enforce less strict quality control (e.g. PADI), you really need to find your way to verify if the instructor is a capable diver or not, and this could be difficult for a person without experience since "you don't know what you don't know." This is where knowing some insiders can help you identify the right instructor for you. Just to be clear, there are exceptional instructors with any agency.
