If it was before the TD then the fee was to an independent dealer or vender who was simply conducting a "training class" There were no Panasonic ran certification classes before the TD systems wih the exception of the actual
KXT 336 PBX.
The very reason that most of the KXTA 624 systems you see that look like crap is because anyone can buy them as well as the fact that these are very often sold as "plug & play" over the internet.
If you feel you know the TD systems well enough to sell and service them but don't want to get certified, (as you can't now anyway)
you could have always bought them from an internet dealer and resold them.
Granted, the prices are not as low as you would get from a vendor but if your only concerned with one or two a year that would have been the way to go.
I and many other certified dealers never felt that the TD systems should have been sold over the internet but Panasonic opted to go for the sales and as long as these internet companies offered Tech. support they let it go.
It's all a mute point now as the TD isn't for long and may be gone by the end of the year.
Hal, you have to remember, as long as there are customers who shop solely by price there will always be hacks and trunk slammers to accomodate them.
When I 1st started I would cringe at having to clean up wiring or straighten out programming after a hack or a slammer but now I look at as another way to pay the bills.
The customer is amazed to see what the install should have looked like in the 1st place whether it's a small 3X8 on a backboard or a 200 or 300 port system in a rack.
Some customers just learn the hard way.