Being Banned from a Dive Shop..

[Fishkiller]

I have a problem with being honest,

While at a dive shop talking with a friend who works there, things got busy and while I was standing around a lady asked me about a BC for her younger children, we chated a bit then I told her that I shouldn't mention another shop but was going to buy a different brand for my son as Dive Rite has a childs program that if you buy a Transpac II DR will upgrade the sizes free until the age of 16. There also was a dive shop about a mile away that carried that brand. The lady then asked me what I used and I told her MARES which the shop we were in is a dealer and I am quite happy with it and happy with the service provided etc...

Today I stopped by the shop again to pick a diving video up from my friend and was given a real talking to by the "Manager" about how the dive industry is small and word gets around, this lady evidentally went to the other shop and spent a very large sum of money and the Owner, well put me on his black list. My friend understood that I was only being human by helping but not helping the store was worse.

Now the other shop which I like alot and consider them to be my LDS of choice isn't the ultimate dive shop(close) but also isn't the only shop I visit and do business with and when asked a question will answer quite honest.

Do I feel bad? Yes among which, there is one less place I can visit and talk to divers about diving. Could I write about how the owner has driven away more repeat customers, how listening to what people have said about the owner is true. Could I bad mouth the dive shop? (I guess I just did) There are still good people working there and nice service.

Now that that has been said I wonder have any of you been banned??

 

[Scuba446]

Hi,
Thats unfortunate and I have recently gone thru a similar thing with a LDS who is raping their students with hidden charges, selling gear at full MSRP, and doing all kinds of sleazy sales-related gimmicks.

LDS have been ripping off buyers for years, selling at inflated prices and taking advantage of consumers.

Now, thats the majority of them - there ARE still some honest, ethical LDS around that treat their customers like gold.

Until then, looks like Cyber space are going to be how divers buy their gear.

 

[AllenG]

If I understand all the facets of your posting:

1. The manager believes that additional information re product options will unacceptably increase the likelihood of a customer ultimately shoping elsewhere.

2. Since the customer apparently found greater value at the other LDS than his, the manager apparently believes that a customer should be willing to purchase something of lesser value from him simply because of the privilege of standing in his (the manager's) store.

3. The manager doesn't understand that part of the value of LDS shopping (compared to Internet or mail order) is being able to talk with other divers (NOT JUST LDS staff) seeking their input, which, to the manager's apparent distress, may sometimes lead a customer elsewhere.

4. The manager apparently believes that it's better to lose an avid customer (i.e., Fishkiller, who probably already spends $$ on gear) than to ensure that diving is a sufficiently affordable experience such that young divers stay active with the sport.

All this leads me to conclude that you should thank your lucky stars that this boorishly inept manager has banished you. I have never heard of any store of any type that banned a customer other than when (1) the potential customer was found to have shoplifted; or (2) the manager was displaying/manifesting some form of bigotry.

The dive industry has so many factors threatening its viability. One can only hope that this manager gets fired or wises up before he does any more damage to the industry. You consistenly refer to this individual as the "manager" and I am wondering then if someone else is the store owner. Perhaps you would afford the owner the courtesy of feedback on his errant manager? As a business owner, I would have wanted and indeed appreciated the feedback, lest my company end up in Chapter 11 etc.

 

[devilfish]

First of all "Miracle on 34th St" gets one in to a lot of trouble in the dive industry.
Second of all, most dive shop owners, not all and I didn't say "YOU", are poor business people.

 

[Scottri]

I am banned from one local shop because they took months to get my wife's C-card from SSI. I called SSI and he had never put in the paper work. This was over 6 months. I finally wrote a formal letter to SSI and found out he had done this with several people. He lied to me on several occassions telling me that SSI hadn't processed the paper work, that his son hadn't sent it in until "last week" and many other BS stories. SSI got on him about it and he banned me from his shop. I still walk in there from time to time just to watch the look on his face. He won't bug me if there are people in the store but I just laugh. It's funny because where I live the dive community is pretty small and I often am in a position to recommend shops for classes and gear and I must have turned 25 people away from his shop. I figure his attitude has cost him thousands. Oh well. The industry is better off without him. I have had arrogant staff, in fact there is one local shop that I won't do business with until the current guy behind the counter is gone. He does the hard sell every time I walk in the door. He bad mouths every brand of gear he doesn't sell and talks trash about the other shops. I know most of the shop owners and like them and don't appreciate his attitude.


Scott

 

[Scuba446]

Interesting....might this be in the Syracuse, NY area?

 

[Fishkiller]

Originally posted by AllenG
If I understand all the facets of your posting:

1. TRUE
2. The Manager is my friend. The Owner is somewhere else.
3. The store policy is that you don;t have to go anywhere else
4. The Owner believes that you can make more money off the new divers before they learn of other dive shops


I would have to say my friend is caught in the middle a good friend and manager working for a bad owner

 

[trymixdiver]

I dont think u should feel bad!

It was your honest opinion and you cant be faulted for that.

Andy

 

[ScubaBurt]

Man, after reading of all of the problems with your LDS, I guess I should give my LDS owner/manager a big hug the next chance I get. When Flo and I started diving we dealt with another LDS in our town. We had some problems and concerns with them, but we were new in the dive world and didn't know any better. A diver friend suggested we talk to his LDS for advice on our problems. We drove to their shop and they gave us sound advice and about an hours worth of pointers for free(we didn't purchase anything). When we went back to the other LDS and suggested the pointers, they agreed with them and demanded we tell them who told us this. Our question was, why they didn't tell us? Their reply was we weren't advanced enough yet to know that information. We were talking about ways to clear mask correctly, how to locate lost regulator, etc. This was not advanced stuff. Then the last straw was we couldn't get our checkout dives because of scheduling problems. Needlessly to say we went back to the friend's dive shop did our checkout dives and have dealt with them ever since. They are true diver friends. Their prices are a little higher than a mail order discount shop or the internet, however, I can't get air fills from mail order or the internet. Additional certifications(scheduled to meet your schedule, even nightsand weekends. They started this for the police, and fire and rescue. They now extend to all divers.), regulator service, trying equipment in their pool before buying, and just diver discussion. All these are hard to receive via internet. I don't mind paying more for the benefit of having a reputable LDS at my service. For all these reasons and many more I will stay with my LDS for my major $$$ purchases. Here's to you Burlington Dive Center!!

 

[Welshman]

i think the responses here confirm the statistic that if as a customer you are badly served you are about 10 times more likely to pass on your bad experience to another than when you are well served.

I work in a service industry - accounting/tax firm - and the message I preach to our staff is that client service is the key to success and that within reason they have to practice WIT - "whatever it takes". The same fundamentals of good business practice apply just as much to any LDS.