Posted by JRM on June 12, 2001 at 11:27:47:
In Reply to: market share is king in a capitalistic society posted by RaiderKarl on June 12, 2001 at 10:08:24:
OK, I gotta jump in here. Before really getting going, here's a few caveats...
1. I am PADI certified. I frequent a PADI shop. It's the only real game in this lousy excuse for a town I'll be in until next week (when the ranch closes escrow, keeping the fingers crossed).
2. I am a relative newcomer into the SCUBA game, having been certified for about a year. I also do a lot of freediving (more often than not).
3. I believe there is no substitute for experience.
now engaging rant mode...
>"Lets not pick on Mike Cane. The truth is, this is all about disillusionment. Thats a personal experience, so we should leave it at that."
I disagree. This isn't about MHK's personal disagreement with PADI (PADI isn't a person), or even with Karl Shreeves (though he has one). This is about experienced divers cringing at the declining standards of training. PADI is leading that charge. You can start their instructor school at 60 dives. 60! I've got a handful more than that, and I still have to concentrate on keeping my bouyancy adjusted properly. I'm still learning to be a decent buddy. And I consider myself as one who learns exceptionally quickly, and I feel very comfortable in the water. Not to sound too conceited, but I humbly consider myself above average. Even so, I have *NO* business even starting a "leadership" program. But PADI says people like me are qualified to be SCUBA instructors. A confirmed bachelor friend of mine spouts this mantraL "Get 'em young; treat 'em bad; tell 'em nothing." PADI uses the same model for developing leaders. "Get 'em young:" Instructors begin their IDC before they really have a chance to see the inherent problems in the system. Fresh from graduating, and still filled with the invincibility common to divers in their first few years. "Treat 'em bad:" Well, not so much here. PADI bends over backwards with patches and crap that looks good, but then we look into the fiscal side. Ahhhh. Follow the money. "Tell 'em nothing:" Now this is classic PADI. Pick up any PADI material, and at least every other page is a full page, full colour add espousing their own virtues. The PADI propaganda machine is amazing, and it inculcates a sense of "family" among the participants reminiscent of the cosa nostra. It isn't that PADI divers are told nothing so much as they are barraged by so much pro-PADI "nothing" that any reality is lost in the torrent. I myself am deluded by PADI propaganda, from magazines to email to credit card offers. But none of it was any use when my primary blew out at depth.
>"It seems to me that the root of the entire problem of disillusionment is not about PADI, but is rather the responsibility of either the Garden of Eden story or else the American Revolution, if
>you go back to the source of the real problem.
>In other words, the Garden of Eden story tells us, either mythologically or religiously, depending on your persuation, that humankind is on his or her own, left to fend for themselves by the
>God of Heaven. [give me a break, I had to start somewhere in this analysis.]
>This is followed then by a few thousand years of history and then by the American Revolution from the English Crown, which tells us that Capitalism will be the ruler of America and of
>American Government."
The American Revolution had very little to due with capitalism. And the story of the Garden is about the fall of man, who said anything about being alone? That section is so fraught with peril it does not even deserve rebuttal.
>"Under Capitalism, it is "market share" that is king, not God nor the English crown. PADI has accomplished that. You can join PADI or you can fight PADI, but either way you have to
>reacon with PADI because it is there, like Mt. Everest.
>I have chosen to join them, and to make them better, if I can. I care about people."
Capitalism is an economic system. Like all economic systems it has strengths and weaknesses. "Market share" isn't king under capitalism. Profit is. Under pure capitalism, profit is the impetus. It is the quest for profit that drives PADI. Super simplified, profit is income minus cost. There are two ways to maximize it. Increase income, and decrease cost. I would love if a SCUBA agency could greatly increase their income, as long as they didn't cut the "costs" unreasonably. Classes are too long, and cost too much. Cut them. Decent learning materials are expensive. Cut them. Time is valuable. Cut it. In-water experience costs. Cut it. Instructor and leader training costs. Cut it. Personally, I see a trend (pun intended). I love the quote from GUE (I'm paraphrasing here...) "Low cost training is often inferior, and thus not a good value." Common sense, no? I can't wait to start my GUE training. As soon as the stars align properly, I'll be there.
>"Mike Kane cares about people too, obviously, or he would not be idealistic. Same concern. Different result."
I speak only for myself, not for MHK nor you.
>"By the way, on a more serious note, as if that last note did not seem serious enough, once you certify as a D/M or A/I or OWSI, your insurance covers you whether it be with PADI,
>NAUI, SSI, etc. Instructors are under scrutiny and pressure to cross-certify, which is not very hard, but none of the other levels infra to OWSI is pressured to do so. Seems like it doesnt
>really matter then who you certified with originally."
Insurance won't cover you for gross negligence. I think that some of the things I've seen and heard ill prepared and trained "leaders" borders on that (IANAL). I certainly think that the first several accidents from the new TekRek program are going to be under serious scrutiny. And don't think that PADI is going to come riding to the rescue if there's an accident. Remember that whole bit about cost above. Lawsuits are expensive. If they can cut their losses by hanging you out to dry, well, better bring the lotion, cause your gonna get chapped.
I don't see much pressure on instructors to cross certify, except the exodus away from PADI.
>"Capitalism influences scuba because it is definitely another way to make a buck. That is precisely what Jacques Cousteau discovered shortly after inventing his demand regulator, when
>he sent several of his AquaLungs to SoCal for sale. No certifications back in those days, just Cousteau's own Rule #1: Dont hold your breath while using it."
Do we really need to delve into the whole "who invented SCUBA" stuff? No, again, not worthy.
Sorry about the length of the post. But I think that there are some serious issues here. And I for one am upset that I wasn't able to go through the training administered in decades past. While I try to make up for it on my own, there is no substitute. Although somewhat humerous, I had a real mask R&R drill during a PADI class. I was following the instructor a little too closely, and stuck my head in his fins. He promptly kicked off my mask (also knocking me silly). Real world experience, I tell 'ya.
Due an archive search for "baked potato(e)" to get a few of my earlier rants on similar subjects.
JRM