Many years ago, I was with a shop that had a dynamic owner. The owner was quite the marketer/promoter and I had no problem with that.
I went on many trips with them and often shared a room with the owner. Eventually, I started to become somewhat disenchanted as I noticed the practice of some bait and switch and various other irregularities. I started traveling more on my own and less with the shop, though I also still dove with them too. I had believed myself to be a genuine friend of the owner, which was my big mistake. After returning home from a trip that the owner had completely screwed up, whether through incompetence or the propensity to slice off more and more, I received an email telling me that due to a miscalculation on the owner's part, I owed another $20. After buying hundreds of dollars of gear and thousands of dollars on trips and supporting the shop in many other ways, that was it for me. The owner got the $20 and then I left the shop, never to return nor say another good word.
Such a shame that the owner hadn't used those dynamic powers for good but instead, courted each new "revenue stream" as the new good friend, until they twigged or another "new revenue stream" walked into the shop.
In the end, the shop screwed everybody over, leaving in the dark and skipped the country with everyone's goods and money. Both suppliers and purchasers waiting on paid orders were all left holding the proverbial bag.
The owner had skills that could have turned the shop into a huge successful enterprise but apparently, the energy and big ideas weren't adequate for a swindler and a thief.
But I digress.
I went on many trips with them and often shared a room with the owner. Eventually, I started to become somewhat disenchanted as I noticed the practice of some bait and switch and various other irregularities. I started traveling more on my own and less with the shop, though I also still dove with them too. I had believed myself to be a genuine friend of the owner, which was my big mistake. After returning home from a trip that the owner had completely screwed up, whether through incompetence or the propensity to slice off more and more, I received an email telling me that due to a miscalculation on the owner's part, I owed another $20. After buying hundreds of dollars of gear and thousands of dollars on trips and supporting the shop in many other ways, that was it for me. The owner got the $20 and then I left the shop, never to return nor say another good word.
Such a shame that the owner hadn't used those dynamic powers for good but instead, courted each new "revenue stream" as the new good friend, until they twigged or another "new revenue stream" walked into the shop.
In the end, the shop screwed everybody over, leaving in the dark and skipped the country with everyone's goods and money. Both suppliers and purchasers waiting on paid orders were all left holding the proverbial bag.
The owner had skills that could have turned the shop into a huge successful enterprise but apparently, the energy and big ideas weren't adequate for a swindler and a thief.
But I digress.