EVE

Struggling to find the time to work on management ideas to make your business more profitable?

Too busy managing all these tasks to take the time out to work on the business marketing?

Do you want the company to manage itself more efficiently so you can spend your valuable time on ensuring customer satisfaction and revenue generation?

EVE is the PADI software of choice for the discerning dive store owner; a complete business management system, designed exclusively for the management of PADI dive centers and resorts, EVE saves you time, makes you money, keeps you organized and generally makes running your business simpler than you would have thought possible.

Over the coming months PADI International Ltd and ISSYS will conduct several webinars highlighting the benefits and functionality of EVE / EVE Online, and we would like to invite you to join us.

IMPORTANT .. Please select your preferred dates below – different topics covered in each seminar, so why not register for all of them now!

We look forward to bringing together both existing users and those new to EVE to share experiences and ideas. Also by asking questions of each other we will develop our EVE use and understanding.

Register for a session now by clicking a date below:

Thu, Oct 22, 2009 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM GMT

Thu, Nov 26, 2009 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM GMT

Wed, Dec 23, 2009 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM GMT

Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration

with information you need to join the Webinar.

System Requirements

PC-based attendees

Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees

Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

PADI Online Shop

Have you visited our new online shop yet?

You can browse our entire product range online and purchase at your usual pricing level – simply click the “Shop Online” link at the top of the Pros Area homepage.

Remember to check back often too, because the new products section and Specialty of the Month material offers are updated regularly.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the online shop, please contact us: sales@padi.co.uk

Take Control of Your Customer Service

Quality customer service is your competitive edge. Everyone can have similar products or services, but what they can’t replicate is your people, how they treat your customers, and how your customers feel when they are doing business with you.

The best way to develop your customers is to take care of the people who take care of your customers. Businesses have to care about their people both internally and externally. When the people who work for you feel valued, they will make the customer feel valued. This builds customer loyalty.

If you aren’t treating your internal people right and they don’t feel valued, they might pass that same negative attitude on to your customers. It’s the attitude of, “Why would you want to shop here? Do you even know what goes on beyond closed doors?”

Leaders who are serious about creating a culture of exceptional service start by getting everyone on the same page, believing fi rst that service is important. Make sure everyone in your business knows customer service is part of their job, even if they aren’t interacting directly with your external customers. Walk the talk. You have to say it’s important, but also act like it. As a business leader, how do you treat others? Leaders have to be great role models.

You can lose customers when there’s inconsistency. When some people at your company are great to work with and others are not, customers get frustrated. Don’t allow inconsistency internally, either. Don’t say quality of service is important and only measure your personnel by the number of calls made. You have to have measurement tools, but balance those tools against the level of service your people are providing.

What does good customer service look like? What does it feel like? And what does it mean for your business? You need to define it for your people. You also need to have incentives and reward programs. For any behavior you want people to exemplify, you have to reward it.
You don’t want people who work for you to think you don’t care what they have to say.

Encourage them to listen, and make it a safe place for them to speak up when they see something that isn’t working. Give your people credit when they fix or improve something. Ownership builds trust. If people on your team have that trust, why would they ever want to jump ship and go someplace else? This is a much better outcome than what I call “quit and stay,” when people show up, but they are dead meat. When your internal people aren’t happy, they will tell everyone about it.

What do you want your customers to know? For us, service is about caring about others. We established the slogan I CARE. When you know someone cares about you, you have that trust and loyalty, and you are willing to forgive them if something goes wrong.

Constantly measure and evaluate how you are doing. You can’t just do a yearly survey and think you will capture it all. Gather data and measure the service internally as well as externally.

Most companies fail not in their attempts to be Innovative or creative
Most fail because they undervalue the importance of Professional selling And Customer Care

European Shark Week 2009

European Shark Week, 10-18 October, is a unique opportunity for European Union citizens and shark advocates around the world to demonstrate their support for shark conservation and effect change.

This year, Project AWARE Foundation and Shark Alliance Partners are going back to governments for follow-up action under the EU Shark Plan, most importantly, improvements to the finning ban and quotas of zero for especially threatened shark species.

Why Sign Your Support?

Europe houses some of the world’s largest shark fishing fleets. Strong plans of action here effect global species conservation.

Sign the shark petition: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish

Share this Page with your family and friends.

Download the paper version of the petition and collect signatures in your school, dive center, or place of work: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish

Hold an event to help celebrate sharks. This could be a presentation, Kid’s activity such as an art contest, shark speciality course, or an information stand. Project AWARE looks forward to receiving your best stories and event photos.

You voice counts. The European Shark Week 2008 saw the collection of more than 100,000 signatures on a Shark Plan petition for EU Fisheries Ministers. The Ministers have since issued a strong response that highlights the plight of sharks and calls for prompt strengthening of the EU finning ban. Indeed, the Ministers’ words reflect the concerns of a growing number of EU citizens expressed through European Shark Week.

Predator turned prey - Turning the Tide for Sharks
 Most European shark populations are declining from overfishing. One-third are threatened with extinction. The EU ban on “finning” – slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea – is among the world’s weakest.

Hope lies with the new Shark Plan, adopted by the European Commission thanks in large part to support from many of you. The Plan sets the stage for vast improvements in EU shark policies, including the finning ban. Its success depends on collaboration and action by EU Fisheries Ministers and the European Commission. These fishery managers need encouragement from the European public to follow through on the Plan’s initiatives and truly safeguard sharks.

New Login Colour Screens For PADI eLearners

The login page for eLearning Students has been changed to add a shade of pink.

 

It can sometimes be confusing which URL to use when logging into the PADI eLearning system as a PADI Dive Centre, so the screens have been changed slightly to indicate if you are accessing through the correct portal.

 

Therefore:  ALL Blue = store admin login site, BLUE W/PINK = student login site.

The portal link through which you should access the PADI eLearning system as a PADI Dive Centre is:

http://elearning.padi.com/ 

Students will still gain access to the PADI eLearning system through the student login at:

http://www.padi.com/elearning

PADI Scuba Tune-Up Guidebook Now Shipping

This newly-revised Scuba Tune-Up Guidebook (rev 08/09) allows your student to quickly and effectively review scuba diving fundamentals.


The self-directed learning format has been preserved in the new version - but the layout has been simplified. Each quick quiz assessment covers a different area of dive theory. safety, problem management, etc. Correct answers allow the student to finish the book quickly.Incorrect answers direct students to an explanation of the concept. For example, a student who cannot answer, "What are the five steps in a pre-dive safety check?" will be directed to read a section on the steps of BWRAF and the importance of each.

The new version includes:
•an expanded discussion of computer diving
•eRDPML use
•and an optional review section for diving with Enriched Air Nitrox

PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online Now Available

The most popular PADI Specialty course - Enriched Air Diver – is now available online. With the PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online, your divers complete the knowledge development portion of the course on their own time and at their convenience. This innovative new program also provides a dive-computer only option, which simplifies the teaching process and gets your divers in the water sooner using enriched air. It also provides an opportunity for you to increase your dive computer sales.

The PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online is priced at $195 US for divers and you'll receive $120 for each eLearner affiliating with your store through a link on your web page or through padi.com.

What's In It For You?

The ability to earn additional revenue by satisfying divers looking to complete the practical application sessions - dive planning, gas analysis, fill procedures, etc. – at their own pace. You can also meet the needs of divers looking to complete the optional, but recommended, open water dives.

This convenient teaching methodology uses proven PADI eLearning® principles along with the same sound instructional design. It's convenient for your divers and can lead to even more equipment sales.

Even better customer service. The 2009 PADI Certified Diver Survey showed that more than 80 percent of respondents had either already enrolled in a PADI Enriched Air Diver course or plan to take it in the future. The PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online makes it easy for student divers to act on their intentions.

How Do I get Started?

Contact Steve (steve.cook@padi.co.uk +44 (0) 117 300 7320) or Carol (carol.giles@padi.co.uk +44 (0) 117 300 7318) to get the updated Enriched Air Diver Instructor Guide (product no.70244).

All PADI Dive Centers and Resorts that have issued PADI Enriched Air Diver certifications within the past 24 months are automatically included in the PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online system. They will also appear on the Dive Shop Locator at padi.com as a PADI Enriched Air Diver course provider. To add or remove your facility from this list, log on to the PADI Pros' Site with your store login, go to the PADI eLearning section, click on the PADI eLearning Course Offering Selector Tool and select or deselect the online courses you offer.

Please note that once you deselect a course, consumers will not be able to affiliate with your store when signing up for that specific PADI eLearning course.

 

The PADI eLearning Course Offering Selector Tool Make sure you use the PADI eLearning Course Offering Selector Tool to change or update your course and language offerings for all PADI eLearning courses - not just the new Enriched Air Diver Course Online. Go to the Pros' Site at padi.com today.

How does the online course work?

The PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online follows the PADI eLearning format used in the successful PADI Open Water Diver Course Online and PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course Online.

Student divers complete all knowledge development online. This includes an active slide presentation with supporting voiceover, photos, diagrams and links to associated video clips. Text from the manual appears in context and divers have access to an online version after completing the course.

Divers complete exercises and the knowledge review. The PADI eLearning system provides assessment, feedback and remediation.

After completing all components of the online course, student divers sit the new version of the PADI Enriched Air Diver exam. The system scores the exam, provides remediation and administers a retest for those requiring it.

Similar to the PADI Open Water Diver Course Online, divers confirm learning and retention by completing a quick review (the quiz, answer sheet and answer key are available for download from the PADI Pros' Site) in person with their instructor. Divers should also print out and bring their eRecords to their instructor at this time.

Divers complete the practical applications — dive planning, gas analysis, fill procedures, etc. — and the optional, but recommended, open water dives as usual. That means it's easy to integrate online student divers with those taking the course using a traditional approach.

With the PADI Enriched Air Diver Course Online, you have the chance to earn income, increase equipment sales, give your divers a great reason to get back in the water and much more. Don't miss this exciting opportunity.

Employment Opportunity at PADI International Ltd

The Training & Quality Management Department at PADI International Ltd currently has an opening for an Educational Consultant. The position is based in Bristol, England and entails acting as a direct link with PADI members to assist with the understanding of PADI training programmes, standards and philosophy, while helping to maintain the integrity of PADI programmes through the administration of the PADI Quality Management process. Applicants need to hold, at a minimum, a PADI Master Instructor rating and should have experience in staffing a number of PADI Instructor Development Courses.

With the current development focus on our technical programmes, it would be very advantageous for an applicant to also hold a technical diving instructor rating.

Applicants should be fluent in English – bilingual skills in other European languages, Arabic or Russian would also be desirable. Finally, all applicants will need to have the legal right to live and work in the UK, and be willing and able to relocate to Bristol.

If you are interested in this position, please forward your current resume with a covering letter/email to Neil Fishburne, Group Manager – Training, Quality Management and Member Services. The closing date for applications is October 9th, 2009.

New Products For PADI Open Water Diver Course Computer Option

PADI Members can now take advantage of a new PADI Open Water Diver course training option - teaching dive computer use instead of, or in addition to, the RDP.

Two new tools - How to Use and Choose Dive Computers and the PADI Dive Computer Simulator can help you teach this option.

 

The 44-page, full color How to Use and Choose Dive Computers is a companion guide for PADI Instructors to use in conjunction with standard training materials when teaching the computer option of the PADI Open Water Diver course. This book includes topics such as the basics of dive computers, choosing a dive computer based on numerous criteria and general guidelines on using the computer before, during and after dive activities.

Another learning tool is the new PADI Dive Computer Simulator. It allows your student divers to watch how a generic dive computer behaves as they run through virtual dives with various depths and bottom times.

Dive Computer Simulator Features:

• Tutorials run example dive profiles while providing instruction about specific aspects of computer diving.
• Shows divers what to expect from a predive NDL scroll, square and multilevel dives - both single and repetitive and the effects of surface intervals on repetitive dive times.
• Covers what to do during conditions such as failed computers or emergency decompression.

Products:

• Crew-Pak with How to Use and Choose Dive Computers (product no. 60335)
• Crew-Pak with multimedia DVD (product no. 60347)

These products will be available by the end of the year. Look out in PADI Publications for details on availability. You can also benefit from substantial savings on purchases by always discussing your requirements with your Product Consultants here at the PIL offices.  Discussing your purchases with them first will ensure you do not miss out on any savings or earnings opportunities over the year.

Business Quick Review - Back to Basics

Once your business has been running for a while you may be inclined to let things continue to run as they are.  However, now is not the time to sit back and wait for the harvest, it's actually time to plan again.

After the early stages of setting up your business, you should regularly review your progress, identify how you can make the most of the market position you have established and decide where to take your business next. 

Revisiting and updating your business plan with your new strategy in mind and make sure you introduce the developments you have noted is a great way to start this process.