This is the primary Q & A from the first PADI On Tour meetings conducted in Sweden and Norway. Q & A from the meetings in Denmark and Finland will soon be posted.
To ensure you are kept informed as to the answers to the questions your colleagues asked; we have below put together a short Q&A section. But if you have a question not answered below please feel free to contact me.
Q. Will the office in Gothenburg be open for the rest of 2011?
A. Yes. Although behind the scenes, the three offices that will make up PADI EMEA (PADI Europe, PADI Nordic and PADI International Ltd) will work towards a single identity, the office in Gothenburg with its present staff will continue to service your needs throughout the year.
Q. In regards to things like industry relations, meetings with government officials and local legislation will PADI EMEA have local representation to champion our causes?
A. Yes. Trond Skaare, Han’s (Olle) Olsson, Mox Moberg and Immi Wallin who have represented your interests while working for PADI Nordic will continue to work on your behalf as employees of PADI EMEA.
Q. Although the majority of Nordic members speak English well, will we be able to communicate with EMEA in the Nordic Language?
A. Yes. Apart from continuing to have as full members of staff the individuals named above, several other positions within EMEA will be filled with Nordic language speaking staff members.
Q. Will communicating with the new EMEA office be more expensive for Nordic Members?
A. No. Our intention is by 2012 to have in place a phone system that enables PADI Members phoning the EMEA office from the Nordic countries to pay the local call charge while EMEA will pick up the bill for the international side of the call.
Q. Will communicating by Skype and placing orders on line through the PADI eShop be an option when Nordic Members are a part of EMEA?
A. Yes. All EMEA Members will be able to take advantage of this technology. Allowing you to place your orders at a time that is convenient to you.
Q. Will the pricing of Nordic language PADI Products be inline with those of other languages?
A. Yes. There will be one price list and one product catalogue used by all PADI Members in the EMEA service area.
Q. What currency will I be paying for product in 2012?
A. Euro.
Q. Will the VAT (Valued added Tax) we presently pay increase?
A. No. In a worse care scenario you will pay the same but there is a chance it will go down.
Q. Will the cost of shipping go up?
A. Preliminary trials have indicated that this will not happen. This is due to the combined buying power of such a large single dispatching warehouse.
Q. In the Nordic region we are used to being invoiced for the products we purchase. Will this continue under EMEA?
A. Yes. We will honour any payment agreement that is presently in place through the Gothenburg office.,
Q. Presently in-cooperated into our PADI Membership we enjoy a liability protection insurance police negotiated by PADI. Will this continue under EMEA?
A. This is something we are working on now. Our intention is to be able to provide you with the same policy or one comparable in price and coverage with the one you presently enjoy. We will be able to give you more information closer to renewal time.
Q. Under EMEA will we be a part of the global Marketing campaigns enjoyed by PADI Members in larger offices?
A. Yes. One of the many advantages of combining the resources of the three offices is to be able to work as one strong global marketing unit. This will enable us to target divers who gain their PADI qualifications outside of the Nordic territory but live within Scandinavia. Another initiative PADI Centres in the Nordic territory will enjoy in 2012 will be the “Hot Leads” programme. This programme enables PADI to give our centres the contact details of thousands of Nordic holiday makers returning home after taking a PADI Discover Scuba Diving experience aboard.
Q. What from a marketing point of view do you see the strength of EMEA?
A. Working as one single identity EMEA will have tremendous opportunities to work with Equipment Manufacturers, Publications, and industry partners. We can organise acquisition campaigns that covers divers as far apart as Greenland in the North, South Africa in the South, Vladivostok in the East and the Azores in the West. From a Marketers view point this is a very exciting time
Q. Can we expect more PADI Materials translated into the Nordic languages?
A. Yes. When PADI Materials are identified for translation in the EMEA service territory the Nordic language will follow the same procedure for translation as the German, French, Italian and other languages in the territory.
Q. Will there be any problems with the combining of three offices?
A. We are human and can not guarantee that there will not be small hick-ups during the amalgamation of three service offices. We have given our selves over a year to complete the task and our goal is to complete the merger as seamlessly as possible to the membership. If we get it right all you will see are the advantages of being part of the biggest single PADI office in the world.
