Is PADI popular because it's cute?

[Brian Sharpe]

...... Pavlov rules.

 

[RonFrank]

PADI is the largest certification agency in the world. They got that way through marketing, advertising, working with the LDS's, and providing a good training experience at a reasonable cost. I doubt the acronym has much to do with the success, rather the effort put in by the folks running the show.

I chose to certify though PADI however mainly because they were the closest, and most widely recognized certification agency. I would have had to go out of my way to certify through NAUI for example.

I believe it's the individual instructors that make PADI what it is, but that is true with any diving certification. There are good and bad PADI instructors, and there are good and bad instructors working for other agencies. So IMO pick the instructor, not the agency unless you have an agenda that requires one over another, but then still base your decision on the instructor(s).

 

[NudeDiver]

What does this have to do with the purpose of this subforum?

I was trying to get info from PADI staff....thought the "questions for certification agencies" forum was the place to do that.

 

[Phishie]

As a new Diver, I went with PADI because

A) That was the only one the place I was at offered.
B) I thought PADI was the ONLY Scuba certification group.

I didn't know other certification groups even existed until I started reading ScubaBoard. It's like asking people why they run Windows on their computer. The majority of people out there just take what's offered to them and don't even know other operating systems exist.

 

[Walter]

I chose to certify though PADI however mainly because they were the closest, and most widely recognized certification agency.

But they aren't the most widely recognized agency.

I believe it's the individual instructors that make PADI what it is, but that is true with any diving certification.

PADI is responsible for what it is. They write their own standards, they set the rules under which their instructors are required to operate.

There are good and bad PADI instructors, and there are good and bad instructors working for other agencies.

True, but that's not usually a factor. A Big Mac in California is the same Big Mac you'll get in Florida. That's pretty much true with PADI classes. I'm sure there are rare McDonalds that make their Big Macs to a higher quality than most, but don't expect them to be easy to find. The same holds true for PADI classes.

 

[Nemrod]

Do you think that a good deal of PADI's popularity is because of its cute name? PADI. Paddy. Sounds like Paddington Bear - or a sweet old Scottish or Irish guy. "Come dive with PADI my laddie!" It's all cute and cuddly. Whereas, something like NAUI or TDI or SSI or XYZ or whatever is just so dorky. What do you think? Is this theory complete BS or do you think maybe there is something to it?

No, they are popular because you can walk in with a check and walk out certified with a free tank banger.

N

 

[NudeDiver]

No, they are popular because you can walk in with a check and walk out certified with a free tank banger.

Hey, I didn't get any free tank banger!!! What a rip off ):

 

[Hoomi]

Hey! I didn't get my free tank-banger!

(Just a quick snarky comment before I go back to watching the obligatory PADI-whacking)

 

[ScubaJeff123]

Very interesting topic.....PADI sounds like daddy....meaning PADI will take care of you....

 

[Rhone Man]

Never underestimate the power of good branding. Puerto Rico couldn't persaude tourists to come there for their gangsters to mug, so they renamed a bunch of their islands the "Spanish Virgin Islands", and hey presto, the fun loving criminals are all in Rolexes again.

Personally, I think PADI's success is all down to that logo of the diver carrying the torch rather than the cute name (word association: PADI = drunken Irishman?). I only took the open water course so I could discover how to carry a lighted flame underwater. Still haven't mastered it.