Greg - 8/08/2013 12:46 PM
Dive shop reputations aside, switching agencies does seem to involve some sort of financial incentive. In switching to SSI, a dive shop is free to train instructors without fear of that instructor starting to teach independently, thereby losing potential students. SSI also doesn’t charge a fee to obtain the e-cards, where PADI charges like $35.
But in general, I’m still not convinced that a dive shop should be affiliated with any one particular agency. I would prefer my dive shop to be "agency neutral". As a student, it would be cool to remain loyal to my local dive shop, while having the easy ability to take classes from PADI, SSI and NAUI instructors. I guess I’m just dreaming of a world where everyone gets along and we all just go diving, without all the politics.