Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[Wookie]

The customer I wanted was fine, and well fed. The customer I didn't want wanted to complain. Sadly, the customer I wanted was a dying breed, and I was unable/unwilling to reinvent myself.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

The customer I wanted was fine, and well fed. The customer I didn't want wanted to complain. Sadly, the customer I wanted was a dying breed, and I was unable/unwilling to reinvent myself.

That is a tough task. The times are a changin’ (I should write a song, I think it would be a hit).

 

[runsongas]

then you better start swimming, or you'll sink like a stone

 

[mdb]

I think, just like a high end steak house, you put it out there. Who you are, and what you do.

Those interested come and have a nice dinner.

 

[Wookie]

I think, just like a high end steak house, you put it out there. Who you are, and what you do.

Those interested come and have a nice dinner.

Agreed, we were more like a nice vegan restaurant in coal country.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Actually, Vegans were easy. They weren't picky, they just wouldn't eat meat. As I had a chef, he had no problems with making vegan meals to accompany us carnivores. As long as they weren't "Separate Galley" type vegans. Or no leather vegans. But they don't dive, I guess.

No, the pain was the gluten free brownie eater or the shrimp scarfing vegetarian. I can't tell you how many times a nice veggie pasta or the gluten free dinner rolls sat lonely and neglected on the sideboard while my "Gluten free" ate their weight in fresh baked dinner rolls, or my vegetarian went plowing through the shrimp.

So I made it easy. If you requested a special diet, we charged an extra fee. Again, Vegans were easy, so they just got meals served to them. Vegetarians were $50, and Gluten free were $100. Kosher and vegan were allowed to bring their own chow if they preferred, and true vegans and kosher can't eat with utensils that have touched the "unclean". That put an end to the gluten free and shrimp eating vegetarians.

!!!LOL!!!
You wouldn’t have to worry about me, I would have just scarfed everything in sight!
I have some family that are “vegan” and “gluten free”. It should be “glutton” free but that’s not the case.
Whenever I have a family barbeque and the slow smoked baby backs and the rubbed prime tri tip comes out some how they forget about all that.
And yeah, the brie gets wiped out pretty quick too.

I got a pretty good laugh at your food comments, Thanks for the great posts!

 

[tursiops]

Many of us have now been following this interesting thread for 3 weeks. There have been a large number of constructive recommendations made.

If all you do is use the shop to examine and try on gear, only to make all your purchases online, you can't expect that shop to thrive. Spending just a little more, rather than always saving the last dollar, may end up being a wise investment. There will always be some reasons that we will continue to need a good dive shop

Way back in post #351 I suggested a "showroom" model I'd read about that didn't sell gear, it just showed it. I found an article about it. The retail stores that don't care if you buy anything
Except for instant gratification, social aspects, and occasionally some good advice and info, gear sales by a LDS are so 20th century.

 

[MichaelMc]

we were more like a nice vegan restaurant in coal country

I love vegan restaurants. I’m glad my ‘kin’ were good food guests. I hope to be on a boat of your’s someday.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Eric Sedletzky

Did you think this thread would be so popular? It hit a chord

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Hi @Eric Sedletzky

Did you think this thread would be so popular? It hit a chord

Well, all the issues with LDS’s is quite a dilemma.
We need them to some degree, but then we don’t, at least not like we used to.
I think the only way they stand a chance is if name brand gear got completely (internally) deregulated. It would be a total throat cutting food fight at first, but eventually all the chips would fall into their places.
Shops also need to look at what they can do that the internet can not, and concentrate on that.

I’ve been self employed for almost 25 years. I’m in the sign business primarily and watched how digital sign making took over the industry. I was always a hand letterer and I refused to change with the times. I’ve had to reinvent myself 5 times over to stay alive. I watched all the other sign shops switch and the prices fall. After a while they all were fighting over scraps for pennies on the dollar for what they used to get. The idea was that they would make it up in volume, but all the sign shops fired all their hand painters, and all those hand painters went out and got machines. Meanwhile, I stayed put. I’m still hand lettering and always seemed to find my market. Now hand painters are extremely rare and I can get 3 times the money for what they get in vinyl. I’m considered an “artist” now. The vinyl shops now hire me to go out and paint their awnings and stucco walls because they can’t do it. In my area (wine country) there are a lot of hoity toity businesses that want unique stuff and I can do stuff that the digital shops can’t do like antiqued unusual imperfect hand made signs that would be impossible digitally. They can have all the boring stuff anyway like the el cheapo chinese restaurant plain signs and banners.

Dive shops need to figure out something similar that the internet can’t do. They shouldn’t be trying to compete with it. Except for gear, the manufacturers need to stop their draconian policies with small dive shops, it’s not fair.