Chip trained me back in 2001. Great instructor. Very thorough.
The Dive Shop itself, hasn't dealt with the transition in the dive industry very well. The last person I referred there ran anyway in sticker shock and asked me "why do I need to buy a wetsuit to get certified?". I was downright embarrassed for having referred them. It turned them off to diving altogether.
Gear purchases are where brick and mortar stores make their money. The internet means less gear sales for many shops for certified divers. The first and last time a training shop may be able to sell you gear, is during your training (many people train, checkout, but never dive again). So the answer of course, is to require a full kit and wetsuit to train in the only 15 foot indoor pool in greater Memphis.
I wonder if this is one of those big picture issues where the focus on milking trainees missed the bigger picture of growing your potential customer base. Well, duh.