Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[mdb]

The movie theaters that want to stay in business are keeping up. These theaters have nice motorized reclining seats. You can't see anyone in a higher or lower row. Seats are assigned like a concert. They use something like 50 channel surround sound (really), the seats move and vibrate with the action (optionally) and the screens make movie screens from 10 years ago seem like a home theater setup. Many modern theaters offer good food, full liquor, and some even have waitresses so you don't have to carry armloads of stuff to your seat.

Modern theaters really do offer stuff you can't get at home without spending a hundred thousand bucks on setting up.

Just like dive shops (or any other business in the world), theaters must adapt to what is currently modern in order to survive.

Nice post kelemvor:

I will be looking for a theater like that close to Ann Arbor.

We have a old style one screen theatre downtown, it is sometimes fun for a mid day early movie
with the Grandkids.

Most of the time it is netflixs and streaming movies at home.

 

[KevinNM]

Not anymore: a usable OBD scanner can be had for under a hundred bucks these days.

The tool to reprogram the computer isn’t. And a whole lot of things require that, so your home repair ends with a $75 trip to the dealer to reflash your vehicle.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Apples to Oranges. To service and maintain vehicles of today would require thousands upon thousands of dollars of equipment. Just not practical at all.

Well, not entirely true. It depends on the vehicle. I bought a $100 diagnostic plug in tester from O’Reilly Auto Parts for when my check engine light goes on. Every modern vehicle has a universal plug under the dash somewhere usually under the steering wheel area.
I just simply plug in my module which allows me to see why it went on and I will know exactly what to fix or replace. Once it was a Nox sensor in front of the cat converter - an easy swap out 10 min and $125 for the part. Another time it was an intake air filter not flowing well. Most of the time it’s a misfire on one of the cylinders which could mean the plugs need to he changed. Even not replacing the gas cap well can set off the check engine light. If I was to have to go to the dealer or a mechanic every time it went off it would be at least $150 a pop and the hassle of going there. I can also reset the light myself now with my tester. I spent $100 and saved myself thousands. Also, there is a ton of info out there on websites and on you tube for DIY auto service and troublshooting for those that like to understand and work on their own stuff.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

The movie theaters that want to stay in business are keeping up. These theaters have nice motorized reclining seats. You can't see anyone in a higher or lower row. Seats are assigned like a concert. They use something like 50 channel surround sound (really), the seats move and vibrate with the action (optionally) and the screens make movie screens from 10 years ago seem like a home theater setup. Many modern theaters offer good food, full liquor, and some even have waitresses so you don't have to carry armloads of stuff to your seat.

Modern theaters really do offer stuff you can't get at home without spending a hundred thousand bucks on setting up.

Just like dive shops (or any other business in the world), theaters must adapt to what is currently modern in order to survive.

And they manage to stay in business even though most movies suck. My girlfriend wants to go to the movies just for the popcorn.

Tom Scott of Underwhere? Charters in Brockville, Ontario told me a story about Dan Humble's business acumen as far back as elementary school. Dan would go to a plant that made the sticks of gum we'd get in baseball and football cards. You could purchase a package of gum there for 25 cents. Dan would buy a pack, take it to school, and charge kids 25 cents a stick for the gum minus the trading cards. I can remember purchasing football cards just for the gum. If I had been born a Canadian, I'd probably still be in hoc to Dan.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

The tool to reprogram the computer isn’t. And a whole lot of things require that, so your home repair ends with a $75 trip to the dealer to reflash your vehicle.

If the tester doesn’t have a reset option then many times after the repair has been made most vehicles will reset after a certain number of cycles. A cycle is powering up the system then shutting it off. They can be from 12 to 36 cycles. This can also be manually achieved by turning the key on and off untill the computer has been satisfied that the problem no longer exists.

 

[DevonDiver]

Not just that, but what tthis has shown the majority of customers will prioritize cheap over good. It’s a race to the bottom because that’s what ‘the market’ wants.

But.we must remember:

1. Most don't understand what "good" is.

2. Their instructors side-step student incompetency upon certification with the classic "you need to gain experience" excuse.

3. Agencies promote the fictitious notion that all courses must be of an equal (high) standard.

4. Nobody "breaks standards", they just interpret them astoundingly low.

5. Bare minimum standards are the near universal norm... and students are told that "a course IS 4 dives long"... the "minimum" is always omitted... creating the notion of pre-set, attendance only classes.

6. People believe they're paying for a "licence", not for a syllabus of training for which they get certified once it's all mastered.

7. Agency QA only considers the skill standards, never the total diving competency upon certification.

8. Agencies are filling dive shop walls with "certificates of excellence" to reward volume sales.

9. Agencies are sending out "Elite Instructor" recognitions to reward volume sales.

10. Agencies are promoting "5-Star Resorts" based on volume sales and cash paid.

So how can we blame the consumer who walks into agency awarded 5-Star Dive Resort, sees many "Certificates of Excellence" on the walls, starts class with an "Elite Instructor".... scrapes through all standards required skills according to the pre-informed timescale/schedule... and is told on graduation that it's "normal to need more experience" before their buoyancy/comfort/near-panic etc will get improve....

Consumers aren't cheap... they're hoodwinked...

 

[KevinNM]

But.we must remember:

1. Most don't understand what "good" is.

2. Their instructors side-step student in competency on certification with the classic "you need to gain experience" excuse.

3. Agencies promote the fictitious notion that all courses must be of an equal (high) standard.

4. Nobody "breaks standards", they just interpret them astoundingly low.

5. Bare minimum standards are the near universal norm... and students are told that "a course IS 4 dives long"... the "minimum" is always omitted... creating the notion of pre-set, attendance only classes.

6. People believe they're paying for a "licence", not for a syllabus of training for which they get certified once it's all mastered.

7. Agency QA only considers the skill standards, never the total diving competency upon certification.

8. Agencies are filling dive shop walls with "certificates of excellence" to reward volume sales.

9. Agencies are sending out "Elite Instructor" recognitions to reward volume sales.

10. Agencies are promoting "5-Star Resorts" based on volume sales and cash paid.

So how can we blame the consumer who walks into agency awarded 5-Star Dive Resort, sees many "Certificates of Excellence" on the walls, starts class with an "Elite Instructor".... scrapes through all standards required skills according to the pre-informed timescale/schedule... and is told on graduation that it's "normal to need more experience" before their buoyancy/comfort/near-panic etc will get improve....

Consumers aren't cheap... they're hoodwinked...

Well, sure. People choose the cheapest airline ticket from the major US airlines with justifiable confidence that what they are trading is money for comfort and time, as their safety is pretty much a given no matter what they choose. All major US airlines are incredibly safe, if you get on the plane you will get off the plane, and 99.99% of the time it will be where you expected to get off the plane and 99% at roughly the time when you expected to get off the plane.

I am not at all sure non-divers understand the implications of their choices of dive training. They are not all comparably assured of the outcome, and the agencies see to make a lot of effort to ensure that non-divers cannot easily determine that there is a difference.

 

[DevonDiver]

Well, sure. People choose the cheapest airline ticket from the major US airlines with justifiable confidence that what they are trading is money for comfort and time, as their safety is pretty much a given no matter what they choose. All major US airlines are incredibly safe.

People understand the cost-value calculation when deciding between Economy Class and Business Class. They'll choose accordingly.

How do people choose between two "5-Star Dive Centres", both awarded "Certificates of Excellence", both employing "Elite Instructors" who both teach "according to standards" and offer a course of equal duration and dives?

And what if the comparison was against a dive shop that DIDN'T have a 5-Star rating, and DIDN'T have any awards for excellence, and DIDN'T employ Elite Instructors, and claimed they taught to standards... but took more precious time and charged more for it?

Why would anyone choose a SEEMINGLY lesser school, at more time and cost?

That'd seem like paying more for an Economy Class airline seat than a Business Class ticket....

That is exactly how BIG agencies reward BIG dive shops who turnover BIG volume and make the agency BIG money....

 

[runsongas]

Except to a lot of new students, the fast/cheap ow class offers plenty of value. They just want to look at stuff underwater safely while on vacation, trim and skill be damned.

Same as why lots of people fly low cost carriers with cramped seating. They are willing to put up with it to save 50 bucks because they just want to get to their destination.

 

[DevonDiver]

.. to a lot of new students.... trim and skill be damned.

There's Course Directors... and a whole of instructors... who don't understand what trim and skill really are.

How would anyone expect a person not even yet enrolled on a class to understand what those things are, and how they relate to the value of a diving course?

This is not the fault of the consumer.

Yes.. there'll be a demographic that'll choose whatever is cheapest and not care or consider. But there are also naturally other demographics that'd choose 'better', or 'best'.

But none of those demographics gets the honest information it needs... the opposite... there's a big damned system pointing consumers towards whatever shop is churning through the most certifications and profiting the agency best.