Does anyone have an example of a dive shop/operation that closed down and people were surprised? Dive ops come and go. The good ones are generally made to shine by the contrast of their counterparts. It's generally apparent when a dive op is making bad business decisions and it perpetuates itself. I, personally, would love to support a LDS in New England. My experience is that the ones that exist are so busy protecting themselves that they fail every attempt at customer service. Nothing would make me happier than to be proven wrong. Until then, I'll continue on with "brick and mortar" shops that sell on-line at competitive prices.
Since 2005, these dive retailers, all close to my house, closed:
Florida Technical Scuba, Apopka FL closed. They had basic gear plus all the technical doubles and backplate gear. Big pool. Nitrox, too. Lasted a year. Great guys. Service was so good I could drop off four tanks for nitrox and they would deliver them to my front door, filled, no extra charge.
Then there was Diver's Direct, Orlando. Closed suddenly. A deluxe diving superstore that was so nice that non-divers wanted to go along on that trip. I got regulator service there, too.
Scuba Quest, Altamonte Springs, FL. They were around for years. I bought a tank and my BC from them. Gone.
Scuba Orlando, Casselberry FL had a picture of the owner as a diver in 1964. They were in business a long time. Gone.
Orange City Scuba. Seemed like the nicest people. They had a big sale, but assured my pal John that his regulator would be through service and he could pick it up. They closed and took it with them.
Dixie Sands Scuba. Sold the famous Atomic brand, and was in a well-off neighborhood. Closed. Maybe this one was not a surprize, as they were close to Diver's Direct. But, some folks really liked them.
Were any of these bad? Maybe one, but I won't tell you which. There were too many stores in the marketplace. It seems the Orlando area has the ability to support seven or eight dive stores and if a new one comes in, it may not last, or somebody else has to go.
I bought a lot of stuff from the first three on the list. I figued I'd pay a little more, but it would be better in the long run. Wrong.
Anyway, the one place that we all figure will close continues to hang in. It's easy to think that "nice" will prosper and "crummy" will fold. But... as retail customers, you don't have the accountant's view of how well the business is doing.