attaching hoses, can I do this or LDS?

[GreenDiverDown]

Shop 1: Hey Andy, good to see ya again. What do ya have there? Sure I can put them on but it is something that every diver should learn to do. Besides, it's simple... takes two minutes. Here let me show you how. What's that? You got it at LP? You know I can't guarantee that this baby is 100%. Carefull... not so tight. It's probably fine but I just can't say for sure without going thru it completely. We're not a service center for that brand but if you have any concerns you could take it over to Scuba World... they work on those. They might want to take a peek inside and check the intermediate and cracking pressures. They probably charge 20 bucks or so but it might be worth the piece of mind. Hey... looks good. Do you have a scuba tool? No? You might want to get one... they're very handy. Oh man... we should have put on some hose protectors! Oh, you don't have any. Grab those. Here, use this hose puller and spray a little silicone on there... those babies can be a *&^%$ to put on. When you get done you can through it on one of our tanks to see if it leaks. Yah... one second, Andy. OK... let's see... that's 24.95 for the scuba tool and the hose protectors are on the house. Hey... do you have a reg bag? Take a look at those over there. We have some nice mouth pieces right next to 'em if you want something a little more comfortable than what came with your reg.

 

[GreenDiverDown]

OK...

I didn't make you feel like a puke for buying on line. I didn't assume any laibility for working on a reg that I have know idea where it came from or what kind of shape it is in. I gave you some FREE instruction and advice as well as some bonus hose protectors... I didn't try to sell you anything that you didn't need. And I made a few bucks. Woohoo!

 

[miketsp]

Since we're carrying things to extremes for the sake of example, Rich, just how many hoses will you attach for nothing for strangers who bought elsewhere and aren't likely to spend any other money with you either before you say "enough!" I've got to do somethng to make money?
..snip..

It's still cheap advertising.
How much do you reckon a shop spends on flyers, direct mailing, adverts, just to get a single potential customer into the shop?
Probably a lot more than a few minutes labour cost.
If a diver walks into an LDS that's an opportunity not to be wasted.

As demonstrated clearly in some of the above posts.

If you start out thinking they "aren't likely to spend any other money with you" then you're in the wrong business or you don't know how to sell.

 

[halocline]

Most local dive shops stay in business only if they create a local community of divers and become a center of diving activity; that's their customer base. If a person walks into the dive shop, the attitude should be "what can I do to get this person diving with us" not "how can I punish this guy for buying something elsewhere." Every person that has an experience with that store is likely to tell 10 other divers about it at some point. If you owned a dive shop, would you rather I told 10 diving friends that you soaked me for $20, or helped me out when I needed it?

 

[GreenDiverDown]

Why don't you guys just learn how to put on your hoses, rather than expecting someone else to do it for free?

 

[H2Andy]

Shop 1: Hey Andy, good to see ya again. What do ya have there? Sure I can put them on but it is something that every diver should learn to do. Besides, it's simple... takes two minutes. Here let me show you how.

dude... *i* can change my hoses (please read the earlier parts of the thread)

but i love your attitude. that would be service in my book..... up to this point

after that, you're just getting cute and recouping your money selling me something i don't need (i change my hoses with a cheap spanner wrench ... never had a problem with overtigthening after asking about it on ScubaBoard -- free advise,
don't you know)

i will eventually figure this out, and there you go on my crap list



why is it that every LDS owner, seller, and tank monkey is so desperate to
prove they know so much more than poor Joe Diver ... i mean ... hello? that's
what i'm here for, to get help with something i don't understand...

congratulations! you know more than a scuba idiot. hope that feels good.

kiss my business goodbye



WAKE UP ALERT:

LDS's, you are competing with cheap on-line products, free online advice
(and in places like ScubaBoard SUPERB free online advice), and free dive and trip planning on-line. your customers don't need you for any of that.

wake up, guys. getting sulky and bit***ng at your customers ain't going to solve
your problem. if anything, it's making it worse.

 

[StewartG]

well... i guess this is business 101, but you get business ONE CUSTOMER AT A TIME,
right?

shop 1: yeah, i'll change the hose. it will take me a minute. where did you buy this?
why aren't you taking it there? you know, we had a special on these a while back,
could have set you up with a nice discount, and we do maintenance right here.

shop 2: that will be $25.00. you bought that on line? you're putting your life at risk.
and now you want me to work on your reg for you? you're lucky i can find time for you.


now ... which of those shops do you think i'll go back to?

which one has earned my business at this moment?

treat me like i'm a deadbeat for just showing up at your shop and i aint coming
back guys .... it really is that simple

the one thing you guys can smoke the internet on is service, advice, and friendly faces greeting you at the door.

and yet, why is it that most shops have no time for you, try to sell you what you don't need, and treat you like a bum if you show up with something you didn't buy there?

not smart

FANTASTIC advice!!! As a business owner, ANY business (not just an LDS), you should ALWAYS play to your strengths!!!

 

[BigBill]

When I bought my new SP regulator, my LDS put the hoses on. I was more than willing to do it, and have done it before with a backup gauge (on another reg from same LDS), but the instructor there was merely showing me how to assemble it. I guess you could call it good customer service. A wrench is not a new thing to my hands, but it was good either way!

 

[PerroneFord]

Ok,

Service defined. I went diving in cave country with a friend. Just up the street from the site is a cave diving store where a certain poster in this forum works! My friend buys some stuff, and "settles his bill". I ask what that was about, and he says well I have an account that I settle up. And I ask, you mean they don't just charge you at point of sale all the time? He says no.. we just settle up. I am flabbergasted. I purchase something piddly like some bungee and a boltsnap at my friends direction. The man behind the counter rings up my $4.00 purchase happily. We get fills and go diving. Later we stop back by. The same smiling man is at the counter. He remembers my name. I buy the first dive shirt I've ever owned. I didn't need it, but I was so impressed by the fact this guy remembered my name (and it's not easy) after meeting me ONCE, I bought something just to be a good customer.

A month later, my SPG broke the day before a trip. I called down, explained my problem, and they had one waiting behind the counter for me the next day when I arrived.

So now, when I am in town, I make a POINT to stop there, get my fills, and try to buy something if I can. I talk to all the shop folks (great folks) get the latest cave gossip, and generally shoot the ****. It's an LDS like you would not believe.

Incidentally, the man who was working the counter that first day was Rich Courtney. And that day his shop got a customer for life simply by his demeanor and professionalism. Rich, I'll never forget that. The second thing that makes this interesting is that I am not even a cave diver yet. Yet, this shop who services mostly cavers and could have an attitude about some lowly OW diver invading their shop, took exactly the opposite approach. So I gladly patronize the shop, and I send my friends there too when I know they are visiting cave country.

Other dive shops could well learn from how they do business. And if you want to see how to run a fill station effectively, I welcome anyone to watch these guys on any weekend morning. Running 5 or 6 fill whips, running the register, and making sure everyone gets the right tanks in proper order.

-P

 

[H2Andy]

i give all my loving and my money to the cave-country shops. they know how to earn it (i even go out of my way to split my business as evenly as i can with them)

wish some of the local shops would figure out what it's all about

:shakehead