Rolling Eyes at LDS

[Jupiter31]

I found there are almost always 3 sides to every story - and the truth is often in the middle - read the "Whine and Cheeze" forum - you will see this board is no exception to that rule.

I love it when the "bitchee" responds

 

[ocala diver]

WOW! I am so shocked to read your post! I have been a customer of Big Johns for about 9 years. Do you know that with 14 locations they have never had an accident in more than 20+ years. THey are totally comitted to excellence in Dive training. Big John certified me in the old deerfield location and my family and I followed him to the new shop. I have been particularly pleased with his ability to work with children as his commitment to safety is well above other dive shops. In fact, I had John and his team certify a group of my heavy hitting clients and even had them do the training dives off my yacht. These guys are professional Dive Instructors not dive bums.

One thing I will say is that if you were looking to dictate "how it was going to be" to big John then you were sadly mistaken. He will work with you on anything to make your experience great but he won't be told how to do it. He will educate, guide and suggest items that will make your experience better but he will follow the rules at all cost.

I would say you took your parkland attitude in there and got completly blown out. As for the pricing..... I have always comparison shopped and Big John has never let me down. I think they have a "won't be undersold" policy across the board but I have never seen prices lower than SCUBA NETWORKS probably because they have large buying power.

Frankly, I think that if you want to be treated "SPECIAL" then you should act special. Customer service experiences are generally a lot like a mirror. You probably got what you reflected. You probably acted poorly and found out that just does not fly. Who ever said the "customer was always right".... must have been a rude customer....

I was certified through Johns shop as well when I lived in Coconut Creek. Actually, Dennis Lutz was my instructor. I bought my equipment from them and got a pretty good deal on a full Mares outfit compared to what some other local shops had. Never had a problem with John and referred a few of my friends to his shop. Their prices were usually the best around and service was fine, imho.

To get back on topic my LDS, one of two in the area, kind of pissed me off on my first visit to them. As I said, all my gear is Mares (Orbiter reg, Proton octo, Surveyor Nitrox comp, Vector Platinum bc and Volo fins) and when the guy at the LDS asked what kind of gear I had while dropping off 6 tanks to be vis'd/hydro'd, he gave me somewhat of a snotty attitude. He told me he didn't like Mares because they're hard to get parts from since they're a French company, lol.

He kept going on and on about how good Sherwood, Aqualung and Oceanic products are, basically everything he happens to carry in the shop. Wow, what a shocker. He went on to tell me he'd give me a good deal on a Sherwood reg if I wanted to trade my gear in. I bluntly told him that I was perfectly happy with my gear and that I wasn't about to get rid of it anytime soon. After that, he seemed to act a little nicer and was quite helpful and asked me if I wanted to join their dive club, which I did.

 

[Slonda828]

The funny part about that is that Mares is Italian. I love it when people in dive shops pretend to be educated. Their name means "the sea" in Italian.

 

[scubafanatic]

It's not a threat. If you don't have anyplace to get air fills, you can either buy a compressor or hope you can talk your local gas supplier into filling your tanks. Many aren't too cooperative, since they don't want to bother with breathing gas.

Terry

......so now it appears we're talking about 'blackmail' here......or maybe it's like the creatures from the movie 'Alien', where you don't dare risk killing one, as their 'blood' dissolves everything in sight...the perfect defense mechanism....so the LDS says, 'don't you dare risk buying elsewhere (ie the WWW) or I might go out of business (die) and then you'll be screwed!

 

[Web Monkey]

......so now it appears we're talking about 'blackmail' here......or maybe it's like the creatures from the movie 'Alien', where you don't dare risk killing one, as their 'blood' dissolves everything in sight...the perfect defense mechanism....so the LDS says, 'don't you dare risk buying elsewhere (ie the WWW) or I might go out of business (die) and then you'll be screwed!

You don't need to be so dramatic. It's not a threat. It's the physics of money.

If your local shop can't afford to stay open, they'll close. Just like you don't owe them anything, they don't owe you either.

If they close, you'll have to go somewhere else. For people living in places like Florida, it's not a big deal, since you can't swing a golf club without hitting a dive shop.

For people in other areas, it's a really big deal, since there may be nowhere "else" to go.

Terry

 

[piikki]

For people in other areas, it's a really big deal, since there may be nowhere "else" to go.

I hear you on that.

I rolled my eyes again. Begun diving after a long dry period, and had to hear a loooong whine when I bargained that I could pick up my tanks in three days instead of four. I dropped my tanks off for regular fills, just a few tanks, couple for nitrox, few for air. No vizzes, nothing, just fills. How demanding a customer am I, not giving more time to perform this special task. *sigh*
(PS. Shop is open 10 hrs a day)

 

[Web Monkey]

I hear you on that.

I rolled my eyes again. Begun diving after a long dry period, and had to hear a loooong whine when I bargained that I could pick up my tanks in three days instead of four. I dropped my tanks off for regular fills, just a few tanks, couple for nitrox, few for air. No vizzes, nothing, just fills. How demanding a customer am I, not giving more time to perform this special task. *sigh*
(PS. Shop is open 10 hrs a day)

Unfortunately, if he doesn't have any nearby competitors, you're either stuck with what you have, or need to find some money and a place for a compressor.

Terry

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

Hmmmmm...trying to figure this process out.....tanks come in the door....quick look for a sticker & hydro date....whip is attached.....tank fills while customer chats ( or maybe even shops!) and customer is handed filled tank to head out the door. Are we doing something wrong here??

 

[Jupiter31]

Does not sound like it - but many of your competitors are b/c shops are going out of business all the time, or complaining of low profitability

'Cmon - don't you feel some of the LDS' should not be in business - some folks have zero people skills and make the simple hard -
I'm lucky b/c I live in S. FL and can say "next" if I get pissed off, or something annoys me about a particular LDS - in fact, it happend today.

If I lived in S. Dakota, obviously my options would be more limited.

 

[ocala diver]

The funny part about that is that Mares is Italian. I love it when people in dive shops pretend to be educated. Their name means "the sea" in Italian.

Exactly, I didn't even bother to correct him, just let him go on about the brands he happens to carry being so good. That's why I told him I was happy with my gear until I need to replace it, then he calmed down the sales pitch. lol