Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[mdb]

It’s huge!
I heard 55’ on some waves, the surfers are saying it’s too treacherous right now to even be in the water.

My son told me that this AM.

Even the "big wave" surfers are not going out.

 

[Jonny Wishbone]

All of us older divers are the kids who used to go outside and play. We were hands on. Now the new generation has very little interest in outside play. They want air conditioning and video games. You get a younger person today that has a fairly new car and he or she doesn't have much left over of a paycheck after a car payment and insurance. I remember when air fills were $3.00 now they are $7.00 at the same dive shop.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Not free, the same as many other consumer dive shows these days, fewer
distributors/manufacturers. Mostly travel, training and trinkets. You can buy all that
online.

But you get to hold it in your hands first. There is some value in that.

I went to my first full DEMA show in November. For me, it was incredibly useful as a future dive op owner. I made a lot of connections, mostly through a friend who is fairly well connected, but also on my own. Some of the seminars I attended were really great, and better than the articles that were published based on them later. Will I go every year? Probably not as I have limited vacation. Eventually it will be diminishing returns, but for now as a new guy, it has been great. Lots of learning in after hours conversations. I heard that there was a significant uptick in business. More people allegedly booked/ordered/etc significantly more than in the past few DEMAs.

I’d like to go to the Long Beach show to see what I can learn.

I think we can all agree that changes are needed to have a healthy industry. Getting younger generations involved in ways that appeal to them are key.

 

[muzikbiz22]

Free?

Not free, but fun !!! Long Beach (i live "down the street") ) is a great hang. Frank, if you come out (and I'm in town, etc), I'll be happy to pick you up at the airport, buy you a beer, etc.

 

[Wookie]

I used to send Staff to Long beach. I've never had the pleasure.

 

[rmssetc]

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.

Yep, that would make it easy for me too. I'm certainly not saying that a shrimp-eating 'vegetarian' is being a fair customer, but as a vegetarian, I wouldn't pay a premium to be your customer, particularly when my meal (shrimp-free-pasta) costs you less in raw materials and labor.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I think we can all agree that changes are needed to have a healthy industry. Getting younger generations involved in ways that appeal to them are key.

I think a “healthy” industry doesn’t always mean a “bigger” industry.
If there were 5 dive shops in a certain town that were all barely making it, and three of the worst ones went out, the remaining two would be healthier.
If there are too many manufacturers of a certain piece of gear and they all are starving, I think if some of them went out it would make the remaining ones healthier. What will be the determining factors are quality of product, price point, and customer service.

It’s kind of the 100 cows on 100 acres analogy. If they are going hungry then one of two things needs to happen. Either they need more acreage, or there needs to be less cows.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I think a “healthy” industry doesn’t always mean a “bigger” industry.
If there were 5 dive shops in a certain town that were all barely making it, and three of the worst ones went out, the remaining two would be healthier.

Agreed 100%. Raising the bar on ow/try scuba training so that people don’t kill coral will make the industry shrink. And I think that is a good thing.

 

[Wookie]

Yep, that would make it easy for me too. I'm certainly not saying that a shrimp-eating 'vegetarian' is being a fair customer, but as a vegetarian, I wouldn't pay a premium to be your customer, particularly when my meal (shrimp-free-pasta) costs you less in raw materials and labor.

You remind me how happy I am to be out of the business. Thank you. As stated, I was unwillingness mg to make changes.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I wouldn't pay a premium to be your customer, particularly when my meal (shrimp-free-pasta) costs you less in raw materials and labor.

That's not exactly fair. While shrimp-free pasta may be cheaper than a steak, one additional steak (to the X number already on the grill) is not more labor than the pasta. There's the whole timing aspect of cooking to have things ready at the same time. Frank had a system. I'd be happy to have been a customer, and just bring my own stuff. I always bring my own food anyway. Too much meat makes me sick. At the most, I'd ask Frank if I can throw some fish on the grill (or skewers of vegetables, etc.).

There's a cost to segmentation of which many people are simply not aware.