Posted by MHK on August 08, 2001 at 15:08:31:
In Reply to: Re: Hey MHK - sugar vs. vinegar. What I mean is... posted by AADIVER on August 08, 2001 at 13:19:22:
Posted by AADIVER on August 08, 2001 at 13:19:22:
Unless I'm totally off base, I think all prospective students want the best quality instruction available, and when you put GUE and PADI side by side you'd have to be a terminal idiot not to realize the quality differences.
Frank,
When a customer walks into a dive shop for the first time and says I want to take a scuba class, do you really think the guy behind the counter is going to tell them that agency A is great and Agency B isn't???? He's going to tell them that whatever agency he happens to be teaching for is great.. Period, end of sentance..
PADI has quit effectively abrogated the marketing scheme and have developed quit a successful business model.. The model is simple, the make others unwitting accomplices..
Take for example the marriage between Sport Chalet and PADI.. The marketing dollars behind these two corporate giants is staggering.. Now look at how many ads PADI and Sport Chalet take out in Rodales, Skin Diver and California Diving News.. Look at the marketing, 5 star bonuses they offer to there counterparts..
Do you really think Dave Taylor at Rodales or Dale Scheckler at CDN will discuss in there magazines about the deterioration of the quality of training, and do so objectively???? Think of the revenue that would get tossed out the window..
Sport Chalet looks at PADI and says, *Hey, we just adopted the standards set by the *world leaders* * [ ie; there corporate butt is covered].. PADI looks to Sport Chalet and says, cha ching [ oops, sorry couldn't reesist] no they say * You have certified instructors and it is up to the individual instructor to evaluate each candidate and sign them off*..
Bingo, you have the classic corporate two step.. See Ford and Firestone for further evidence...
Frank, it all comes down to the bottom line and PADI has systematically exploited that by making other there co-conspirators, and controlling the flow of information vis -a- vis advertising dollars.. They were doing great until the internet scuba forums provided for direct information exchanges..
Later