PADI and technology (what’s the deal with e-cards?)

[RainPilot]

LOL. And how many millions of divers do you know around the world? Just sayin'

I know I know. The plural of anecdote is not data, but I do know from RAID HQ that they send next to no cards out. If it was that much of an issue I imagine the agency would know about it.

I do like a plastic card for sentimental reasons but that’s me.

 

[Primary]

Perhaps I should have added "Any Padi dive shop can perfectly check your certification online when internet is available". Better this way?

Pardon me for being blunt but as a shop employee, I am not going to take time away from sales (which keep the lights on and compressor running) to look up a PADI cert.

(Which name did you use when you got certified? Did you give a middle initial? Did you write your DOB in DMY format? You'd be surprised how many people don't know!)

If you don't have a C-card of some kind, be prepared to wait until things slow down so we can look you up.

 

[Ripley]

Pardon me for being blunt

Oh, don't worry. I don't perceive your answer as being blunt. On the contrary: I fully understand your point of view.
In only said "they can perfectly look it up..." as in: if really necessary.

 

[doctormike]

Hey, I'm as big a digital fanboy as anyone - don't get me started about dive logs. But there are some times when atoms are better than bits:

 

[shoredivr]

Now I have a question.
One week ago my son was pickpocketed, and in his wallet, among documents, credit cards, etc., there was also his PADI Jr-AOW card.
Whilst all the documents and credit cards were replaced for free, now PADI asks for something as 45 bucks for a new card. Luckily, I had a scan of the card, shown here:

View attachment 567023

So the question: do you think that he will ever get troubles not being able to show the plastic card, showing instead a print of the scan (or the image above on his smartphone)?

If this were me, I would black out the date of birth and name before posting on the internet.

 

[shoredivr]

My nitrox card is an e-card. I have to pay extra for a physical card which is SOOOO PADI!

Well, I had to pay for a plastic SSI ice diver card.

 

[Angelo Farina]

If this were me, I would black out the date of birth and name before posting on the internet.

I really do not see the risk. The original of this card is now in the hands of a criminal, who did steal my son's documents and credit cards pickpocketing his wallet...
The other documents are far more risky than a scuba diver c-card...

 

[rmssetc]

Pardon me for being blunt but as a shop employee, I am not going to take time away from sales (which keep the lights on and compressor running) to look up a PADI cert.

What shop did you say you worked in?

(Which name did you use when you got certified? Did you give a middle initial? Did you write your DOB in DMY format? You'd be surprised how many people don't know!)

If you don't have a C-card of some kind, be prepared to wait until things slow down so we can look you up.

I cannot imagine a situation when I'm in a shop, asking the sales representative to look up my PADI cert when I'm not also giving that shop a sale (ie., booking a dive with them). If your attitude is that I've got to wait while you make another sale, I'd dive with someone else.

(Sure, if John Q. Public, not a customer, cold-calls your shop to ask you to just look up their cert #, put them on hold until 5 minutes after next Tuesday...but who would really call a shop for that info?)

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

So a couple things. Plastic cards can be lost/stolen (when in wallet), phones can be lost/stolen/run out of batteries.

My policy when booking in advance is to provide proof of certification via email. I don't know what percentage of divers know which company they will dive with in advance, but this is an easy way to deal with this logistical item in advance, and hopefully all dive centers have some internet access, so they could download the images when it is slow (not practical when the boat leaves at 9 am, and you are there at 8:30am).

So the only time where card versus phone is an issue is spontaneous decisions to go diving and if the dive center doesn't have reliable/consistent internet access.

There's a concept in engineering in optimizing for the common case. That doesn't mean don't support the uncommon case(s), but streamline the most common. Do most people travel with smartphones, yes or no? Do they travel to places with internet access typically, yes or no?

Let's assume that there are no plastic cards anymore. How would one without a smartphone deal with that when diving spontaneously? Well, they could print out a copy of their certification and take that with them just in case.

 

[DeepSeaExplorer]

Plastic cards do have a finite lifespan. I used to keep some in my wallet so I could always get fills and go diving. After a decade, several of them started to crack. I took them out of my wallet and put them in plastic protectors. I wanted to see about getting replacements for some of them, but most want $50 a pop. I lost my Nitrox card several years ago, but instead of getting a replacement, I just show the next higher card. Some of them are getting so old, I wonder if I wait too long they won't be able to find me in their database anymore. I contacted NAUI about getting a replacement for my OW card from 1987 and they have no record of me. That's probably too long to expect anyone to keep records. I did see PADI shows all my cards on their website, maybe one day I'll breakdown and order new ones.