AikiDiver,
Sorry if I seem to have put you on the spot. That was not my intent. I do believe that the shops involved in this should be brought to light. Since you have named the instructor for the agency I think it is fair to ask where this training was given (what shop) so that area divers can avoid this predatory type sales environment. Given your story I would probably avoid all SSI shops. I’m well aware the majority of shops are involved in the business for love of the sport. The pressures of overhead and payroll drive many shops to make concessions to the business side of the operation. These tactics are just some of the horrors of this industry. IMHO MARP pricing policies that the gov’t allows to persist in spite of the Sherman Act are another example of the corruption of the industry. Local shops like to complain of the competition of online resellers yet if you look at nearly all online resellers they are also brick and mortar shops that have grown and addresses the issue of the internet productively. Any shop that asks you to pay extra so they can stay in business is just fleecing it’s customers! Like any other business they need to continually reevaluate it’s business model and make adjustments to remain competitive and off it’s customers the products and services they need.