Help Dealing With My LDS

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Hard times are no excuse to screw your customers. You tell them how things are upfront, you keep the promises you make, and if per chance you cannot then you explain and apologize. This shop could well be losing a $500 sale in the future over a $10 piece of plastic today.

I agree completely. Please take a look at how I ended my post.
 
Hard times are no excuse to screw your customers. You tell them how things are upfront, you keep the promises you make, and if per chance you cannot then you explain and apologize. This shop could well be losing a $500 sale in the future over a $10 piece of plastic today.

You hit the nail right on the head....


I think if the shop had been up front and said "In order to sell this to you at a decent price, I need to wait another week or two to add some other things to the order. Otherwise I have to pay a special order fee for just one item".

It's the telling the customer one thing, then not ordering it for several weeks straight that is the issue.


What size do you need? I have several that i've taken off because i don't like them. If i have the size you need, you're more than welcome to it for just a shipping charge. PM if you're interested.

Yeah... I've got one also she can have. But the shipping costs would prob be higher than what she paid for it at her LDS.
 
UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with my LDS and asked if my tank boot was in. I was put on hold while they checked. A different person picked up the phone (the owner I think) and told me that it was not ordered, it's been 3 weeks at this point. He did apologize and offered me a tank boot that is on a floor model tank. I'll be taking the floor model tank boot but I'm really turned off by this shop and maybe other shops. They're always nice but this is ridiculous. I wonder why they just didn't offer me the floor model boot to begin with. I've dealt with many small businesses that are similar in structure to a dive shop and rarely have experienced this type of service. Okay I'm done venting.

Thanks to all for your input. While I'd rather support a local business I think I'll be doing business with online dealers, at least for a little bit.
 
UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with my LDS and asked if my tank boot was in. I was put on hold while they checked. A different person picked up the phone (the owner I think) and told me that it was not ordered, it's been 3 weeks at this point. He did apologize and offered me a tank boot that is on a floor model tank. I'll be taking the floor model tank boot but I'm really turned off by this shop and maybe other shops. They're always nice but this is ridiculous. I wonder why they just didn't offer me the floor model boot to begin with. I've dealt with many small businesses that are similar in structure to a dive shop and rarely have experienced this type of service. Okay I'm done venting.

Thanks to all for your input. While I'd rather support a local business I think I'll be doing business with online dealers, at least for a little bit.

He should have offered you the floor model the first time around. The last time I needed a tank boot, the shop was out of them so the owner sold me the floor model for a buck or two less than a new one. Then he got out his notebook and added tank boots to his next order list.
 
I would've gladly paid full price for a floor model tank boot.
Kinda funny after I got back to work with the tank boot I noticed it's for a rounded bottom tank and mine is flat. So now I have to go back tomorrow to swap it out. Should have looked while I was still there.
 
My motto is: "If you have to order it, I can order it myself". It's not out of malice, or disappointment, or spite. It's just easier and usually faster. I don't hold it against the retailer.

I learned the hard way too.
 
If they are ordering it from any of their tank suppliers, they probally have to meet a minimum order, thats most likley the case, they shuold be honest with you and most people understand. They probally cannot order just one boot they have to add it in with a larger order.
 
My motto is: "If you have to order it, I can order it myself". It's not out of malice, or disappointment, or spite. It's just easier and usually faster. I don't hold it against the retailer.

Sadly, this really is true, although I have on some occasions gone to the owner of my LDS and offered him the opportunity to order something for me, if he can match the online price plus shipping, and sometimes he can.

Every brick and mortar shop I have patronized has, at one time or another, made lame excuses about why something isn't in when they said it would be. In some cases, I'm quite sure it's because the item wasn't ordered at all. In others, it may even have been for the reason I was given. But it is really hard for them to keep everything in inventory - inventory costs cash to acquire and costs money to hold, and most of the shops I've seen have minimal inventory, and often only sample specimens.
 

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