PADI Inadequacies

[Walter]

"But as far as standards go, they're all relatively equal."

Not even close.

 

[Rush]

Even though you made a resonable (ideal) recommendation by suggesting he go through his manual , some folks aren't going to pass up an opportunity to do some PADI bashing. It's the old "My agency can beat up your agency" babble. SIGH !

 

[DivePartner1]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
What kind of questions did you ask the shop before signing up for your class.

I'm sure you asked these...
How much?
What is the schedule?

But did you ask these?...
What is the teaching experience of the instructor?
What kind of experience do the assistants have?
How many assistants will there be?
How big is the class?
What kind of diving does the staff do outside of teaching?
What is your safety record like?
Why should I train with you?
How do you deal with a student who is having trouble?
Can I contact references?
Can I see the instructor and staff dive?
What additional training does the teaching staff have?

Trust me if you find some film of good divers and then watch the instructor and assistants you would learn plenty.

Thanks, Mike. This is the most constructive thing I've seen in this thread.

 

[Popeye]

Walter once bubbled...
"But as far as standards go, they're all relatively equal."

Not even close.

Can you share, or is it a big secret?

 

[Popeye]

MikeFerrara once bubbled... [...

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MikeFerrara once bubbled...
What kind of questions did you ask the shop before signing up for your class.

I'm sure you asked these...
How much?
What is the schedule?

But did you ask these?...
What is the teaching experience of the instructor?
What kind of experience do the assistants have?
How many assistants will there be?
How big is the class?
What kind of diving does the staff do outside of teaching?
What is your safety record like?
Why should I train with you?
How do you deal with a student who is having trouble?
Can I contact references?
Can I see the instructor and staff dive?
What additional training does the teaching staff have?

Trust me if you find some film of good divers and then watch the instructor and assistants you would learn plenty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DivePartner1 once bubbled...


Thanks, Mike. This is the most constructive thing I've seen in this thread.

They are excellent questions, but require a lot of insight for someone who knows absolutely nothing about diving yet.

Or different agencies.

Most people go to the place (LDS) most convenient to get to.


I have AOL for an ISP because the disc was in the computer box.

And I sure didn't know anything about ISPs.

 

[Big-t-2538]

Popeye once bubbled...


I have AOL for an ISP because the disc was in the computer box.

And I sure didn't know anything about ISPs.

AOL blows...I hope you've since changed or thought about it...that $h!t does horrid things to systems....sorry, I know I'm ff:

 

[MikeFerrara]

Popeye once bubbled...


They are excellent questions, but require a lot of insight for someone who knows absolutely nothing about diving yet.

Or different agencies.

Most people go to the place (LDS) most convenient to get to.


I have AOL for an ISP because the disc was in the computer box.

And I sure didn't know anything about ISPs.

I of course agree. And that is why we can peddle such absolute crap because students usually don't know the difference or even care. In fact it may be easier to peddle some of the junk the manufacturers want us to push with less knowlegable students. And...that's wat a shop needs to do to be successful.

Classes are often chosen by price alone. This rewards shops and instructors who do business a certain way. This is the very heart of the industry. The industries main focus is showing pretty fish to folks who know little about diving. All that seems to be required of training is teaching divers enough to survive while sight seeing under supervision. It doesn't take much in the way of training to do that. But, IMO, leading these underwater tourists to believe they are divers is a crime. The OW cards that are being issued should say Underwater Tourist NOT Open Water Diver.

In my opinion of course.

 

[Popeye]

Big-t-2538 once bubbled...


AOL blows...I hope you've since changed or thought about it...that $h!t does horrid things to systems....sorry, I know I'm ff:

Actually, not too off topic to make a point...

Like many divers sticking with agencies,

I stuck with AOL because it's the path of least resistance, and is more than adequate for my needs (I'm not the computer nerd I wish I was).

I made a switch from PADI to IANTD because I had an early interest in tek diving, but my new shop is primarily NAUI and I never gave it a second thought.

If PADI had offered advanced nitrox certs, I'd probobly have stuck with them.

It seems to me that most divers stick with their initial agency, at least through the basic certs.

 

[Jarhead]

joens once bubbled...
6 months is still nothing .A person who has only been diving 6 months has no business instructing .
joens

...that I can't agree with this statement.
In 6 months: a vacation diver "probably" won't get much experience.
BUT, someone with around divers 8 hours a day , 5 or 6 days a week (new dive operator/shop employee?) diving regularly (once, twice, or even three trips per week) can get considerable experience.

Jarhead

 

[Walter]

For those of you who wish to debate differences in agencies rather than discuss the topic of this thread, you'll find I've split this thread. You can continue your debate here http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20882

Enjoy.