Tell Dive Store Owners How You Feel

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I am new to diving but have always felt very comfortable going into my LSD. The staff are very knowledgeable and are not shy about offering several options. They sell Deep Sea Supply, OxyCheq, Aqua Lung, ScubaPro,Mares, Bare and Halcyon.......that I am aware of. The few things I have ordered have been in and ready to pick up in 6-7 days. Don't know about tank fills and inspections (don't own) but I can say when I took in a reg set, that I had purchased elsewhere (new) they checked it over for me at no cost. In fact they even gave me a pat on the back and told me I had gotten a very good deal. I have been nothing but happy with their selection, service and attitudes and will continue to give them my business.
 
I am new to diving but have always felt very comfortable going into my LSD. The staff are very knowledgeable and are not shy about offering several options. They sell Deep Sea Supply, OxyCheq, Aqua Lung, ScubaPro,Mares, Bare and Halcyon.......that I am aware of. The few things I have ordered have been in and ready to pick up in 6-7 days. Don't know about tank fills and inspections (don't own) but I can say when I took in a reg set, that I had purchased elsewhere (new) they checked it over for me at no cost. In fact they even gave me a pat on the back and told me I had gotten a very good deal. I have been nothing but happy with their selection, service and attitudes and will continue to give them my business.

I need a dive shop with LSD :)
 
Now that's embarrassing! :dork2:
 
I am also a new diver and I do like my LDS.
They have a well stocked store with many different brands. They are also a pretty old shop having opened in the 70's. They have taken to the online store as well so they maintain both an online and a brick and mortor.
I have attended some get togethers from a couple of other LDS's in the area and I can see that the "opinion" of those other shops is that my LDS is more about selling than it is about diving. That seemed to me to be a turn off. Maybe because I felt loyalty to the other LDS, but also because I do not like when a business bad mouths another for their own gain. It comes from an insecurity

Besides that, it has not been my experience. I had NO selling attempted to me during my certification classes. It was all business. (the business of learning to dive...) And... The instructor is also a sales person in the dive shop.

Now once I completed my OW certification, I did come in looking for equipment and I did end up buying most of my gear through them and through him. This was mostly because I respected him and what he had taught me and if he can make something of the commision, good for him! It was well earned.

Now I go in mostly for air fills. They are done while I wait, usually in a matter of a few minutes. In the mean time, I have some nice small talk and exchange stories. All in all, I really enjoy going to my LDS. It is always a nice experience.

I had also talked to them about buying used tanks. Basically my instructor had told me if I could get steel 80's for 100 or less, that would be a pretty good deal. I ended up buying two, from the original owner, for 180. They were two months from hydro and needed a visual on both of them. I took them in and just got them hydro'd anyways. When I got them back, they have a new 5 year hydro date and the vis on both of them for a little over 60 bucks total. I saw someone else in this thread mention getting a hydro and then still needing a visual? The visual comes with the hydro here.

Bottom line, I look forward to going to my LDS.

Keith
 
Best dive shoP for selection and attitude I've been in: DiveTech in Mallorytown, Ontario.

I'm very happy with my LDS, they do lots of little things to make life easier for a frequent diver, like get things serviced on time, order in what I need if it's not in stock, and are always friendly.

Biggest beefs with the dive shops: stop badmouthing your competition, don't dis my gear choices, and for the love of Pete why do you Not charge by the cubic foot of gas?!!! It is a real pizz off to pay for a complete fill when you only topped up my tanks.

Biggest beefs with dive manufacturers: why do you demand shops only carry your brand? I can walk into a grocery store and buy many different brands, change your antiquated business models.
 
My biggest annoyance with dive shops: fills.

I've never liked the idea of paying for "fills". I want to pay by the cubic foot. When filling up your car with fuel, do you pay by the unit or do you pay by the "tank"?

I also hate it when dive shops demand that I put silly stickers on my tanks to get them filled with nitrox. They're my cylinders...and if you want me to put huge nitrox bands on them just so I can get them filled with nitrox, I'll walk out of your shop in a heartbeat.
 
My biggest annoyance with dive shops: fills.

I've never liked the idea of paying for "fills". I want to pay by the cubic foot. When filling up your car with fuel, do you pay by the unit or do you pay by the "tank"?

I also hate it when dive shops demand that I put silly stickers on my tanks to get them filled with nitrox. They're my cylinders...and if you want me to put huge nitrox bands on them just so I can get them filled with nitrox, I'll walk out of your shop in a heartbeat.

I buy gas by the tank for my wife's car. The only time she let's me drive it is completely empty.:D
 
My biggest annoyance with dive shops: fills.

I've never liked the idea of paying for "fills". I want to pay by the cubic foot. When filling up your car with fuel, do you pay by the unit or do you pay by the "tank"?

I also hate it when dive shops demand that I put silly stickers on my tanks to get them filled with nitrox. They're my cylinders...and if you want me to put huge nitrox bands on them just so I can get them filled with nitrox, I'll walk out of your shop in a heartbeat.

I'm guessing you walk out of a lot of shops.

flots.
 
I'm guessing you walk out of a lot of shops.

flots.

Nope...just one so far. Walked out with a set of double AL80s on my back, and went to a shop a bit further away that has great customer service, and gives me exactly the fills I want.
 
Then again, there is Amigos in Fort White, Florida. Open air dive shop behind an old single wide trailer on a small country road in the middle of nowhere- and one of the best tech diving shops on the planet. Get fills at 3 am on the honor system if you care to. A very unique business model, and quite successful. Nothing like it. Amigos Dive Center: Nitrox, Oxygen and Trimix Fills
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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