PADI Pro, Brenda Van Gestel and her husband, Martin, were living in Curacao when they purchased Mangamar Dive Center, of Murcia, Spain, which was originally an SSI store. Upon purchase, they instantly changed it to PADI. “We were living on the island and mentioned to the dive shop that we had just sold our restaurant and the owner said he was selling his dive center. When we found out the price, we said, ‘Sold!’ But, we faced some challenges to get it set up how we envisioned. PADI has been instrumental in helping with this.”
Learn How Brenda Gained Success with PADI, and You Can, Too!
Q: What business challenge did you face?
Quality Training Standards
A: I’ve been a PADI store owner since 2000. I bought a dive shop when I was only a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver in Curacao. I went through training quickly to become a PADI Instructor. The course was a lot harder than I expected, but it’s worth it because with PADI we gained expectations for high quality and standards. Then, I became a PADI Course Director to earn the designation for our store as a PADI Five Star CDC facility. After that we had a dive center in Costa Rica and now in Spain. Of the three dive centers, the most challenging has been this current one in Spain. We’ve had to adapt to the language and culture. The biggest challenge we have is the culture of diving mentality in this area and helping to elevate the overall training standards. The store we purchased was affiliated with a different training agency. Just by utilizing PADI and upholding the training system process, it’s turning around little by little.
Q: What was your concern in switching to PADI?
A: I had no concerns!
Q: How did PADI help you solve the problem?
Publicity & Generating New Business
A: Even though I didn’t ask PADI for much help, our Regional Manager spent time at our facility. We knew from experience PADI has the biggest market share and best promotion. Within three months of purchasing this dive center, we were easily able to crossover to PADI.
Q: How is it working now?
People Seek Us Out Because We are PADI
A: We are a few months in and still have a lot of challenges with boat operations and staffing. But we have a lot of people who come in and say, “I want to get my PADI”. We are one of the only PADI dive centers in the area amongst other non-PADI shops. Some people tell us they came in because they saw our big PADI flags and window wraps. We’re making progress.
~ Brenda Van Gestel, Owner, Mangamar, Spain
Q: What’s your advice to others facing a similar challenge?
You’ll Get the Support You Need to Thrive
A: It’s not an easy lifestyle to own your own dive center. There’s a lot of planning happening behind the scenes. Our personal connections with PADI have helped us for the past 23 years. I’ve always appreciated the support from PADI. When I ask for something I usually get it. I can reach out to my Regional Manager via WhatsApp and get an answer within minutes. It’s that level of support that makes a difference in our operation.
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