When PADI doesn't recognize PADI

[Diver0001]

I do believe I am allowed to comment on my shock that one PADI instructor would not accept the certification of another PADI instructor. I was told when I started PADI training that PADI was accepted all over the world.

I still believe that this may be a miscommunication. As I have explained multiple times on this thread, an instructor is required to conduct a skills assessment before commencing training for AOW. There seem to be several people on this this thread who do not see this an an option but This does not mean that the instructor does not recognize PADI (or PADI training). More than likely it means that the instructor is doing his job.

 

[chillyinCanada]

That said Diver0001, when does the evaluation have to be conducted in a pool? And why would it be $200 if it must be? Doesn't that seem a bit high just for some pool time when it is just the two of them and not a group of snorkelers?

 

[NAM001]

Tammy,

This seems to be a mixed bag of worms. On one hand the instructor has to make a living, on the other he has to minimize his liability exposure. I am not sure where you are but, could your instructor be operating under the premis that local waters exceed the min requirements of OW in some way. For instance currents, harsh thermoclines ect. If so he may be concerned that the ZERO TO HERO process you are asking for may turn to bite you and ultimately him. I would agree with him that 10 dives may not be enough for the local area diving. There are so many threads about what a OW should know to dive. I agree that pool dives should not count as dives. As such you have no dives other than class dives.

Locally we have lakes to dive in. There is not much difference between ow dives and aow dives. Most are ow (depth) dives. Could this be a case of "you can have a volkswagon to drive but not the farraii"? Could he also have waiting line for AOW students of his own OW training. He could be a take ownership kind of instructor and not a comercial one. There are probably several reasons for his denying your training request. Unless his classes are booked he is loosing revenue by not taking you. What isnt guessing is that you have no dive experience and it is an instructor's call with in limits. THEN AGAIN HE COULD BE JUST A JERK and you would be better off finding training elsewhere.

 

[Frosty]

I left out nothing, it was a very short conversation.
As I've repeatedly stated, I would be happy to do a checkout dive with him in any of the three quarries in our area. But I ain't paying over $200 for a pool session.
Read what I wrote carefully, all of it. I have been in the water with this instructor numerous times swimming and snorkeling. He taught me some good methods of underwater photography while snorkeling. I also free dive when I am doing photography (not as a sport), though I have never free dove with this instructor.
I do believe I am allowed to comment on my shock that one PADI instructor would not accept the certification of another PADI instructor. I was told when I started PADI training that PADI was accepted all over the world.
I think he is offering me a chance to separate my cash from my wallet, and insinuating that he is the only qualified PADI instructor in our area.est,
-Tim

Tim I'm sorry something must have gotten lost in translation.
The problem we have here with OUR conversation is we are seeing from different prospectives.
What i would ask of you is for you to come back to this thread once you have 20/50/100 dives under your belt and see if you still feel the same way each time.
im MORE than happy for you to go--SEE I TOLD YOU SO.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Kazbanz, we're not seeing this from two different perspectives. I said it repeatedly, I have no problem doing a checkout dive with any instructor who wants to make sure I know what I am doing when they are working with me for the first time. I can see the advantage of that for the both of us.

What I have a problem with is an instructor who tells me that since I did not get my PADI Open Water certification from him, and without even knowing who I got my PADI OW certification from, tells me I have to take a PADI Open Water Refresher course with him (even though I just finished my PADI Open Water certification), and I have to do a session in a pool with him (a pool that would cost me over $200 because I am not a member or eligible to be a member, and that is the pool he uses), before he will instruct me in the Advance Open Water course. If you somehow think that what he is suggesting is appropriate, then YES we do see this very differently. And 100 or more dives is not going to change how I see it, sorry.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Frosty]

Tim
then you have answered your own "question" then.
You believe he's trying to rip you off.
You believe he's wrong saying a different training 'company" within the PADI umbrella offers a different standard of training.
so On that basis it sounds like you are better sticking with your LDS and doing the AOW with them.
NOTHING anyone else says to you is going to convince you NOW that what he's saying is right.

 

[Colliam7]

I still believe that this may be a miscommunication. As I have explained multiple times on this thread, an instructor is required to conduct a skills assessment before commencing training for AOW.

There may be a mis-communication. But, I have to admit, the OP's statements suggest a close to verbatim recounting of what this instructor said:

I would have had to pay for a PADI OW refresher course, and rent pool time for what he said would be the required pool session, before we would even start the AOW. . . . His reply was that it didn't matter, he only accepts the OW certification of students he instructs himself.

Yes, an Instructor needs to perform a skills assessment before commencing the AOW class. That is not the issue - it can be done at the AOW dive site, for example. If the OP's recounting of the conversation is reasonably accurate, I continue to believe Jim's technical assessment is accurate.

 

[TMHeimer]

We keep going at it, but I still think the crux of this is just the money. And I agree with the OP that 100 dives won't change that. The rest of the discussions are just interesting.

 

[Timmyjoe]

One thing that Diver0001 and others have brought up on this thread is the pace of the PADI training in AOW and (I think) OW. I would have liked to go through the pool sessions MUCH slower in OW and have spent more time practicing the skills we were learning instead of just being "tested" on them and moving on to the next thing. I'm a huge believer in Practice, Practice, Practice, especially with something that is as enjoyable as scuba diving (and one of the reasons I jump in the pool any chance I get). Maybe PADI and dive shops wouldn't make any money if they took more time going through the certification courses, but I sure think it would make for safer divers.

Best,
-Tim

 

[T.C.]

Maybe PADI and dive shops wouldn't make any money if they took more time going through the certification courses, but I sure think it would make for safer divers.

Yes, it would.

But PADI is a business. They exist not to make diving safer, not to teach, not to go slower in class.

They exist to make money. If they can't; they may as well close up shop. And pushing from one skill to the other means more classes and easier certifications, bringing in more students and more money.