Learn how YOU can make money from a ‘try before you buy’ event?
In this article we are going to look at why customers like to try things before they buy them and how you should be taking advantage of this. So what on earth More »
Bringing YOUR Training Bulletin to life
A panel of PADI Professionals and PADI Staff will be online to present information from the latest Training Bulletin, and answer questions you may have about implementation of standards changes.These live Training More »
EVE Templates – Our present to you
Over the past few months, we’ve been busily building some templates for EVE and storing them for EVE customers to use. Many current EVE users have been helping us with the beta More »
A beginners guide to WordPress (blogging) – Webinar
Most people know they should be blogging, or at least have a blog that someone is posting onto. As part of the PADI Business Academy you’ll learn more about the importance of More »
Category Archives: Training
Can’t get people to decide on a date for their holidays?
Then get them to vote on the most popular date…
Doodle.com is an online calendar system that allows you to set blocks of date for voting. Then your customers can view the dates provided and cast their votes for their preferences.
This makes it easier to organise groups of people and avoid having to relay backward and forwards between dates and customers. You can simply email a link to your customers and let them vote.
Take a look by heading over to www.doodle.com and making use of the free system, and check out our sample poll here: http://www.doodle.com/97cb6zxus2gafg8q
Why note use this to have customers vote on their prefered date for a ‘try before you buy event’.
Bringing YOUR Training Bulletin to life
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Get YOUR PADI t-shirt…
How do you get a PADI On Tour t-shirt? Well all you need to do is to book and attend one or more of the seminars below which we will be presenting live at the London International Dive Show (LIDS) 2012. You have a choice of:
- ‘Learn how to ‘blog’ to get more customers and courses‘. Did you know that business blogs have 55% more website visitors – that could be a lot of new divers for you!
- ‘Learn how to create engaging emails to promote diving‘. Did you know that over 100 trillion emails were sent last year. Do you want to learn how to make yours stand out and get them read?
- ‘How to use social media to engage your divers‘ Social media is word of mouth on DIGITAL STEROIDS! Are you ready to take advantage of this form of marketing?
- ‘Is your website working for you?’ - Learn what makes a website effective and how your website could be fine tuned to convert visitors to your site into divers.
By booking AND attending a seminar you will receive a new PADI On Tour 2012 t-shirt AND access to the PADI materials LIDS 2012 special offer – click ‘here‘ to find out more.
To book one a seat at one or more of the seminars (and don’t wait around as there are only 15 spaces per seminar) please click on the links below to book your spot:
Saturday 31/03/2012 – 11:45 ’Learn how to ‘blog’ to get more customers and courses’
Saturday 31/03/2012 – 14:30 ‘Learn how to create engaging emails to promote diving’
Sunday 01/04/2012 – 11:45 ‘How to use social media to engage your divers’
Sunday 01/04/2012 – 14:30 ‘Is your website working for you?’
* Only one PADI On Tour 2012 t-shirt per PADI member regardless of how many PADI appointments or seminars you book and attend at LIDS 2012
The first ever UK dive in a Hollis SMS 50 – Read it here
See the Hollis SMS 50 at a site near you, click here
Today, with the kind help of Hollis, I was honoured to be the first diver inUKwaters to take the new Hollis SMS 50 Sidemount rig for a dive (2 Dives to be precise). Having used the Hollis SMS 100 for over a year in a variety of environment, I can honestly say that I was really surprised at the evolution that has gone into this product, and how different it is from its predecessor, the SMS 100.
We arrived at Vobster, bright and early for gate opening at 8:30pm. As per usual,John Carlin(PADI Regional Manager) had beaten me to the car park in our usual Top Gear Challenge style drive acrossSomerset, also including a rolling McDonalds pit stop. I was greeted by the Oceanic / Hollis team and a superb array of technical and recreational equipment ready for customers to try during their day of diving.
The SMS 50 is far removed from the single and double bladder SMS100; it has now been streamlined, trimmed, and is a far more compact package than its triple digit counterpart. The rig now features an integrated trim pocket on the neck area, and integrated trim pouched in the kidney area of the wing. My previous SMS100 rig had these additions, but courtesy of XS Scuba weight pouches added to the webbing. They’re now redundant in the Hollis SMS 50.
Once adjusted, and rigged for my 7 litres steel sidemount kit, I added on a set of Hollis DC1 & 212 sidemount regulators to complete the package, and then hit the water for the firstUKdive with this setup.
I’ve been sidemount diving for a little while now, having sold my twin set and committed to this route. Getting into the water for the first time with the Hollis SMS 50 felt familiar; the harness felt taught and placed perfectly on my body, the bladder was unobtrusive, and provided enough buoyancy at the surface to don and doff cylinders. 
Sliding the two cylinders into the water and attaching them via bottom clip and bungee, and routing hoses was simple, with the SMS 50 having no protruding features that would cause difficulty in hose routing.
After a few minutes of familiarisation, and a few fumbling moments locating bungee that was not quite in the same position as the SMS 100, I was ready to head down.
Accompanying me on this dive was John Carlin, my counterpart UK PADI Regional Manager, who was rigged with his 12 litres twin set. We descended to 6 metres and I made my first adjustment to the equipment.
The bungee attached to this system comes in two parts, held to the back of the harness by a d-ring and a snap clip to the front. This was replaced immediately with a one piece bungee, straight across the back and bolt snapped at each end, allowing me to tension each cylinder neck, and ‘roll’ the cylinder tight at the bottom clip.
We dropped to 24 metres and carried out the dive with no drama. Finishing the adventure with a stop at 6m for several minutes whilst we relaxed and I doffed one of my cylinders and guided it in to the shallows for an easy exit.
The second dive on the rig was even better; the minor tweaks from the first dive now being homogenised into the setup, and everything becoming easier and more familiar.
So, my opinion? I think Hollis have hit a home run here; the Hollis stable now has two great steeds in it;
The SMS 100 for general introduction to sidemount diving (I’ve used it with a single 12 litre, back mounted; a twinset; and a set of aluminium 80s in warm water, and 7 litres steels in coldwater, dry suit and wet suit diving)
The Hollis SMS 50 is now a keener, and more tightly integrate brother to the SMS 100, with more specific features, a lower profile, and more compact package. Apart from the minor adjustments that most sidemount divers will make; a longer inflator to reach around my midriff being one! There is very little a sidemount diver or sidemount student is going to need to mess around with on this rig to get comfortable, efficient and enjoyable diving.
If the sign of a good piece of kit is that you shouldn’t notice it doing its job, then Hollis have done a great job here; I spent the day diving, forgetting that I had a harness and bladder on. I’m now waiting for these to arrive at Hollis dealers so that I can head out and get myself one for real.
