Aesthetics in a dive shop?

[Linedog]

Being a fiber optic tech by trade, I like all things very neat and orderly. My LDS is very clean, well lit and picked up, things get a little outa whack when there are 50 or so tanks to be filled and the same amount waiting to be picked up, but that's in the back also.

 

[Wookie]

First off, I want 2 or more easy chairs with a mini fridge and snacks. I want this out in the retail area so I can comfortably watch what's going on. I'll bring my own beer, and let it be known that there will be happy hour from 5-7 or whenever, call it divers social hour if you like. I want the shop to have the compressor on premises, I want to see it. I want to know that some numbers written on the compressor are changing now and again, I want to see the current air test under glass near the fill station. I want them to have one of every size and color of their most popular brand, and one of each size of the second brand. I want them to offer premium shipping on special orders. I'm not into antiques, so I have no desire to see a dusty display case full of rotting rubber. A Desco mark V turned into a lamp is always nice, but then, I'd be upset that someone turned a mark V into a lamp. I don't want some crusty guy telling me stories of back in the day, when ships were wood and men were iron, I have plenty of my own, I want to hear why I should go to Truk or the quarry on the next dive trip. I don't necessarily want them to stock every trinket, but I want them to have a good enough relationship with Trident or A-Plus or McNett or whomever that I can get what I want without waiting for a stocking order.

I want the dive shop salesperson to be smarter than I am about what he's selling. That's number 1.

 

[a-marshal]

Neat and clean are very important to me..if the shop can't invest the small amount of time in keeping the place clean and tidy what else are they skimping on? Decor is also somewhat important if the place looks like the owners don't care why should I?

 

[Hawkwood]

...
I want the dive shop salesperson to be smarter than I am about what he's selling. That's number 1.

...and to tell me when they are not or not pretend they are.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
But I wonder how much that kind of thing matters to anyone else? Since it's still true that over two thirds of divers are men, perhaps it doesn't MATTER all that much if a place looks like a garage where some teenager is tinkering with a hot rod?

For a rough analogy, over two thirds of home improvement store customers have traditionally been men, yet it's been said by industry observers that Lowe's outmaneuvered Home Depot by making their stores more attractive to women.

 

[eelnoraa]

not necessary fancy lighting, new carpet .., but clean and organized to me is a good indication of how well the shop is run. Shops with gears everywhere, parts everywhere, just imagine you are bringing in gear service, that just might be where your regulator, tanks are.

I kind of understand why a lot of shop has a overall "old" feeling to it. Just image what salt water can do to anything. Even if you remodel a shop nicely, it will only take a short time for all the look old.

 

[ajduplessis]

A recent survey on SB (at least from my point of view) is to determine if scuba is an experience or an adventure. For me scuba is an experience and walking into store is about that experience. Call me heteosexual but a clean, well lit, cheerfull/thoughtfull environment will share some of my $$$. Service and the way you represent it goes a long way.

 

[freewillie]

I like dive shops that are organized. I don't pay attention to the lighting, color, or floor. I do pay attention to how the equipment is laid out and presented. Do the racks look organized and are they hanging neatly. Are the books stacked in the racks neatly. Are the accessories stacked so I can find what I want quickly and easily. I also pay attention to the prices, are they competitive to others nearby and how willing are they to cut a deal with me. I can look like a clean garage like my friend who is a neat freak, it just can't look like a dirty garage like mine.

 

[captain]

I really do like the grubby, dirty, old dive locker shops manned by a crusty old dude with lots of stories. You never know what you'll find in some of these shops. But that's because I'm a grubby, dirty, crusty old dude with lots of stories.

A family of mom, dad and teenage daughter who are looking into scuba diving for the first time are going to feel very different and they probably won't care about how much heliox the crusty old dude has blended in his life. All things being equal, they will go for the clean, neat store. In some markets it won't matter but in markets with lots of dive shops where competition is intense, those things will make the difference as to who gets the customer.

My favorite dive store has been around for 60+ years. It is a combination dive store, hardware store, hunting and fishing store and marine supply store. They have shelves of old parts and pieces from years gone by. I have scrounged enough parts from them to assemble two US Divers double hose regulators, rebuild old valves, etc.

 

[shoredivr]

Clean is good. A welcoming atmosphere is good too.
Edd Sorenson's Cave Adventures is a great garage-feel store (as of 2010, only time I've been there, when it was in his garage).
My favorite store/training centre up here in Canada is Tech Diver in Mallorytown on the St Lawrence River run by Dan Humble. Lots of everything you'd need for diving up here, absolutely excellent blending/fill station…..air fills are in the actual garage of the house, and O2 and He are in separate sheds in the back. The store itself is well lit. Dive Tech Training Centre - Home Page