PADI temp card question

[Quero]

I hope somebody sends the owners the link to this thread! I also hope the owners make up for the mis-step somehow--offer some freebie (like a no-cost pool PPB course?) to show the dissatisfied student that they are serious about rebuilding the shattered trust in their customer relations....

 

[FIST]

I would be satisfied if they just submitted everything before I get to the keys. I'm sure a week of diving will make me get over alot of this. But a week in the keys not being able to dive with the gf will not be a good thing.

 

[redacted]

Hopefully you paid by CC. If the cert is not waiting for you when you get to the keys, do a charge back and repeat the course there slo you can get some diving in.

 

[nimoh]

Hopefully you paid by CC. If the cert is not waiting for you when you get to the keys, do a charge back and repeat the course there slo you can get some diving in.

The credit card company would not do a charge back since the service paid for was actually provided, unless you are suggesting that the card is worth several hundred dollars, and comes with free training.

 

[Frosty]

FIST--have you contacted your local PADI branch? Incidently I've never heard of a temp card not being issued at completion of course

 

[Hawkwood]

I checked for FIST at his request and at 7:00 p.m. (MST) there was still nothing in the system.

Not a good situation.

 

[FIST]

I haven't. It has been said on here and I have found online that PADI standard is that everything be submitted within 7 days after completion of all the requirements, so I figure I will give it at least that. I will be in the keys by then so if we miss out on diving because of this I will be calling PADI with a quickness.

 

[Colliam7]

Colliam7, I think the OP said that he had told his instructor this all needed to be done by the 11th. It's the 9th. Maybe we could hold off lynching the shop just yet?

Sorry, I don't really agree. The point of the original post is that the OP thinks he - actually his gf - is getting a 'run around'. The issue is not that it needed to be done by the 11th - actually it needed to be done BEFORE the 11th, according to the OP - rather that it is was supposed / promised to be done 'the next day', and wasn't. Frankly, the temporary card should be provided immediately - that is the point of a 'temporary card'. It is not that difficult. In reality, yes, the PADI standards are that the card should be provided within 7 days. And, the course was finished Sunday, and the email with the copy of the temporary card had not been received by Thursday. So, the shop is still within the 7 day window. And, perhaps PADI would stick with that standard as a response. But, this is really poor customer service. According to the OP, the gf was told the card would be provided by email 'the next day'. Admittedly, we have only one side of that communication. But, according to that one side, the card was supposed to be done / provided by the 6th. And, I don't know about anyone else, but if I am leaving for a trip to the Keys on a Saturday (e.g. the 11th), I am generally more focused on getting ready to leave on that morning, and I am usually not online checking for a belated email with my temporary card, that wa supposed to be provided 5 days before.

That situation would be an anomaly for our shop, irrespective of whether we use PIC Online, or paper PICs. Paper PICs - the student gets the card either at the time of completion (the usual case), or within 2 days (we schedule the wrap-up for group OW courses on the Tuesday evening after the Sunday completion - UNLESS the student tells us in advance that they have a deadline, in which case we provide it immediately after certification). At the latest, if we use a PIC Online, it is provided within 24 hours by email.

I process all the PICs at our shop, and you know, sometimes things get in the way.

Such as? Seriously, what things 'get in the way'? That doesn't really cut it for the student, does it? As an instructor, I have an obligation to get the temporary card to the student as soon after the completion of the course as possible. If there is an issue with the PIC Online - connectivity, hardware failure, etc. - we have a supply of temporary paper cards which we can readily issue. Do you really think that 'things get in the way' is a reassuring explanation to a student who has just finished a certification course, and has a timeline, that has already been made clear to the instructor? Providing a temporary card to a student - who has already indicated they have a deadline - is simply not rocket science. But, I acknowledge the point that there may be delays. If there is an expected delay, the Instructor should have said, 'You will get the card by email on Friday, the day before you leave.'

If I can't do a PIC Online, right after (with 24 hours of completing) a course, for whatever reason, I will do a paper PIC and provide the card.

And in this case, it's entirely possible that TPTB have a plan to meet this student's needs within his timeframe.

OK, fair enough. But, given the vague and unhelpful responses the OP (or the gf) has apparently received, it is also quite possible that there is no plan.

 

[Karibelle]

I shall make PIC processing my top priority from now on!

Definitely agree that the instructor AND shop have done a poor job in setting and meeting expectations.

To the OP, I hope it works out in the end. Good luck to you.

kari

 

[James R]

If I were your instructor and you called me with this issue, I would have you email me a photo of her, go to padi website, buy a pic online, and process her certification. I could then immediately print her temp card. The shop could pay me back for the pic. Her real card would be in the mail box when you return.