This statement bothered (and bothers) me and I'd like to hear other people's thoughts.I would highly recommend him or one of the other club instructors over a shop class.
I'm an independent instructor who is "affiliated" with one LDS and "affiliated" with an instructor group which is NOT affiliated with an LDS. I am also a member of two dive clubs.
When I teach an Open Water Class, the students just get me as their instructor. How they got to me is, I believe, irrelevant as to what they are going to learn or how I am going to teach them. It just doesn't matter if the class is held at the Dive Shop or in my Basement or at the student's home. What they get is the same.
I happen to like working with an LDS for several reasons, including more staff to help out (and to bounce ideas off of), easier access to a pool and I don't have to provide students with gear. I do hear stories about how shops won't give the instructors the time to teach the class properly -- but that has not been an issue for me. If that were to become an issue, I hope (and believe) I'd have the integrity to "Just Say No" and refuse to teach under conditions I felt weren't proper or sufficient.
Of the instructors I know, whether working for an LDS or by themselves, the important thing is that THEY decide what and how to teach.
So, should you take your Open Water Class through an LDS or from an Independent? That really depends on the instructor. What do you think?