PADI Beyond Master Scuba Diver

[Jcp2]

Here I did loose you entirely.
Also I am a professor, at the University of Parma, Italy.
Teaching is not a business, it is a mission!
For me, it is really strange that an academic can endorse so enthusiastically the PADI commitment to hook divers, with the main goal of squeezing money from them.
Do you think that this is also the goal for universities?
Do they exist, since more than 1000 years, for the main purpose of squeezing money from our students?

In America, the answer is more likely than not to be YES.

 

[nippurmagnum]

So PADI is allowing this "5-star" certification to be floated as a trial balloon at one shop to see if there is any money in it . . . Yeah, that sounds like PADI. (MOD EDIT)

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

To be fair, I think PADI's marketing machine should be studied at B-schools. You have to give them credit that they are very effective at it. Value is another story.....

 

[Efka76]

So PADI is allowing this "5-star" certification to be floated as a trial balloon at one shop to see if there is any money in it . . . Yeah, that sounds like PADI.

Yes, that's the case. If this model gains popularity, I guess PADI will officially announce it This is on more way for generating additional revenues with almost zero effort from its side.

 

[Angelo Farina]

In America, the answer is more likely than not to be YES.

Terribly sad. Happy to teach here...

 

[nippurmagnum]

To be fair, I think PADI's marketing machine should be studied at B-schools. You have to give them credit that they are very effective at it.

Except for the fact that they are steadily losing their customer base.

 

[drrich2]

So, what is your view to this program?

Ain’t biting. I’m holding out for Shaolin Diver. And they teach us to strike that climactic pose from The Karate Kid when we giant stride in off a boat.

 

[mcohen1021]

MOD EDIT

So PADI is allowing this "5-star" certification to be floated as a trial balloon at one shop to see if there is any money in it . . . Yeah, that sounds like PADI. Mod Edit.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I let my 'active' DM cert go inactive almost 20 yrs ago, I saw the light long ago

 

[Manatee Diver]

Ain’t biting. I’m holding out for Shaolin Diver. And they teach us to strike that climactic pose from The Karate Kid when we giant stride in off a boat.

Shaolin Kung Fu and Karate Kid...

 

[TheRealScubaSteve]

I'm far from a PADI lover because of their business model, but to be fair it really boils down to the instructor. My two PADI certs are OW and Rescue and in both I had phenomenal instructors and learned a great deal. Obviously there's probably some bias for my first, but my Advanced certification from another agency I learned some but really felt like I was missing out. The difference? An enthusiastic and eager instructor wanting to share vs. a lazy one.