Scuba Lessons Jax expelled from PADI--students left in the lurch

[The Chairman]

Personally, I thought it was a gutsy letter and I don't see how you can blame PADI in this. First off, if they offered compensation, they would have admitted guilt. Any subsequent injury or fatality would use that very thing against them. Secondly, when you go to the Chevy dealership and their service department screws up your car, your beef isn't with Chevy: it's with the dealership.

 

[Wookie]

Personally, I thought it was a gutsy letter and I don't see how you can blame PADI in this. First off, if they offered compensation, they would have admitted guilt. Any subsequent injury or fatality would use that very thing against them. Secondly, when you go to the Chevy dealership and their service department screws up your car, your beef isn't with Chevy: it's with the dealership.

When the dealership you bought your Chevy at is closed because they didn't follow their dealer agreement, who services your Chevy?

I don't blame PADI. They could have done a far better job. They actively chose not to excel. It's not the first time they chose profit over excellence. They answer to the shareholders, and not to their customers, so it's all good, but they should not be offended (and they aren't) when someone calls them Put Another Dollar In. They shrug it off. The only entity hurt when they do this is the entire industry.

[sarchasm]But I know you can't see that, that's why you are such a PADI fanboy and teach PADI classes on the knees.//[sarchasm]

 

[kelemvor]

I think it was a pretty poor response from the agency as well. They should have at least offered to cover the "PADI" costs i.e. a new card and training materials, and perhaps split the cost with victims on the training time. That's what I would think is the best interest of PADI's customers (the divers). It's not like PADI is hurting for money, and such a gesture would likely not even be noticeable on their balance sheets.

I guess those things just aren't part of the path to $800 million.

 

[Rred]

" your beef isn't with Chevy: it's with the dealership."
Except, Chevy stands behind the brand AND all the franchises they've sold and allowed to be affiliated with it. They know that as far as the customer is concerned, there was a problem with their "Chevy", and since they went to an authorized dealer...they expect Chevy to be involved with that. (Same for any automaker.)
It is not uncommon, for instance, when a car fails in a big way and it is not far out of warranty (but it IS out of warranty) for the auto maker to say they'll pick up half the cost of repairs, or they'll pick up the cost of the new engine, for the customer to just pay dealer labor on the job.
If I had gone to a dive shop that had big PADI logos up, and the shop messed up? Sure, I'd expect PADI to step up and at least say "We'll absorb half the loss, finish at any other PADI facility" or even "Finish at any PADI facility, we'll work with them and just charge you for the exam or dive." SOMETHING. Some accommodation, that shows the owner of the brand (PADI) isn't just licensing it out to anyone without attention.
The former head of LLBean once said that it was easier and more cost effective for them to be generous with warranty claims, and keep happy customers, than it was to spend the same money every year trying to recruit new customers. Because a happy customer might be with them for the next (40?) years.

 

[Wookie]

The former head of LLBean once said that it was easier and more cost effective for them to be generous with warranty claims, and keep happy customers, than it was to spend the same money every year trying to recruit new customers. Because a happy customer might be with them for the next (40?) years.

I shopped at LLBean every Christmas eve from when I could walk to when I was 17. That was gram and grandpa's gifts to us kids, a shopping trip to LLBean on Christmas Eve. The whole day at their house was spent enjoying family instead of whining about what you got vs. what someone else got. Point is, I don't get my sporting goods anywhere else.

When I ran a liveaboard, we enjoyed an 80% previous customer rate. Because as I learned from LLBean and many other businesses, if you take care of your customer, they will come back over and over.

 

[boulderjohn]

You all do realize that there is o reason for PADI to offer the student a discount on the cost of course materials because the students should already have the course materials. PADI cannot give them the certifications because the students did not do the course as designed and so did not meet the standards.

 

[boulderjohn]

Except, Chevy stands behind the brand AND all the franchises they've sold and allowed to be affiliated with it. They know that as far as the customer is concerned, there was a problem with their "Chevy", and since they went to an authorized dealer...they expect Chevy to be involved with that. (Same for any automaker.)
It is not uncommon, for instance, when a car fails in a big way and it is not far out of warranty (but it IS out of warranty) for the auto maker to say they'll pick up half the cost of repairs, or they'll pick up the cost of the new engine, for the customer to just pay dealer labor on the job.

Both my sister and I had major problems with our Chrysler products years ago, and we discovered that the dealers who did the required maintenance for our vehicles (two different dealers in two different states) had essentially not done the work that they had charged us for. There were other irregularities. We had both been thoroughly cheated by the dealers. We both contacted Chrysler about it, and Chrysler said it was 100% a problem between us and the dealers, and they were not going to do anything.

I later had a similar problem with a Toyota dealership cheating on repairs. We reported to Toyota, and as a result, I suppose the dealer got some kind of internal downgrading for their service. We got absolutely nothing.

 

[The Chairman]

When the dealership you bought your Chevy at is closed because they didn't follow their dealer agreement, who services your Chevy?

Another dealership, but I still have to pay. If the first dealership defrauded me, why would I expect the second dealership or even Chevy to compensate me? No, I have to seek recompense from the owners.

 

[Yancey M]

But IIRC that dude wasn't issuing PADI cards or representing himself as a PADI instructor. He was issuing his own cards and using PADI training materials. But I may have it wrong. I slept in my own bed last night, and no where near a Holiday Inn.

From what I saw he was using their materials and the issuing fake PADI cards to his customers.

Florida Dive Center Accused Of Issuing Fake Certifications • Scuba Diver Life

 

[Wookie]

You all do realize that there is o reason for PADI to offer the student a discount on the cost of course materials because the students should already have the course materials. PADI cannot give them the certifications because the students did not do the course as designed and so did not meet the standards.

Actually, we don't know what standards were violated. This was a groupon. I expect the easiest way to violate standards was to use some old books they had laying around the shop

But what PADI said was: "We strongly urge that you discontinue all diving activities until you have taken part in an additional diver training course to ensure that you are a competent and safe diver. This can be accomplished by contacting a local PADI Dive Center and taking part in a refresher course, such as ReActivate or Scuba Review, or retaking the PADI Open Water Diver course." And then they go on to suggest that taking a continuing ed course would also be adequate, leading me to believe that this diver already has a card of some sort, leaving PADI (the issuer of the card) open to liability in the event that some bad thing happens to the inadequately trained diver while diving.

So PADI recognizes that the training didn't meet standards, they signal that the diver needs more training, and that they should run right out and buy some. As I stated before, this is only nominally PADIs fault (they issued a card based on faulty knowledge). But PADI could have chosen to step up and have an excellent solution (Go to your nearest PADI dive center, register with PADI, and have a competent instructor evaluate your skills, all on our dime), come up with a course of action (If your skills are found to be lacking, we suggest the following course of action and we will supply your training materials for free!!, which costs them nothing), and the liability is resolved, the diver has been excellently managed, and the other dive shop (who was bitching about the groupon in the first place) had a chance to convert a pissed off customer.

Instead PADI took a very short-sighted route. Just like always.

John, you and I will never see eye to eye on why PADI chooses not to be excellent. I understand that. I don't know why, because I believe you are an excellent instructor, and I believe I am an excellent dive operator. But I don't believe PADI, which we are both members in good standing, is excellent. It's like they have some corporate culture of mediocrity. Or maybe we just all see excellence in a different light.