Disgusting Dive Shop

[Squishy]

Hi all!
Just had to share something with you and see if this is as uncommon as I hope it is... I discovered a dive shop near my home town when I was back visiting relatives. I was kind of excited because it gave me another option for getting air fills and equipment. I stopped in the shop and was shocked to find the place was filthy. Equipment was laying all over the floor and you had to step over and around it just to move through the shop. Everything was covered in dirt. Not dust... dirt. The glass counter top had between 1/4 and 1 inch of dirt depending on which end you were looking at. It was obvious that this it had been this way for a very long time. This shop has been in business for at least 25 or 30 years.

I don't expect dive shops to be fancy, but I do expect them to be clean and orderly. I can't imagine taking lessons from a shop that was in this poor of condition. It would really make me worry about the condition of their rental equipment, whether they change the filters on the compressor, etc. I said hello to the person working there and he did not respond. He did say goodbye when I left the shop after I said goodbye to him.

I guess I was really shocked at the condition. The dive shops I have been in up until now have been organized and clean. I wish I had taken pictures of this shop. I can't really do justice to how bad it was in this post.

This was a NAUI shop. Do you think that they would want to know about this or would they really not care. Are there standards for dive shops that they need to follow to retain their status as a certified training location?

Thanks,
-Mike-

 

[Gombessa]

It's not the norm, but it's also not unheard of. You should check out one of the shops around here - it looks like it was boarded up and condemned years ago, and I swear there's a bench seat ripped out of an old truck lying around. It's a great, no-nonsense shop though.

 

[Doc]

Sounds like it might be ideal... Just like restaurants that you'd be scared to walk into, sometimes you'll get the best food.

Now, after go get your undies unbunched and re-measure that 1/4" to 1" of dirt (sounds more like a roof cave-in to me), go and take a look at the compressor set up... after all- you didn't come there to eat breakfast, did you? Filters are a cute question, but there's a little more to it beyond that. Most compressor guys, at least the good ones, are stone deaf. Comes with the job.

Look that machine over carefully, especially take a look at the position for the air intake, ask them questions. You'll still likely have no idea, but if you pay attention, you'll gain some knowledge each time you ask a shop about their set-up.

The certifying agency will likely not care~ they're not into housekeeping. Looking at the backrooms of most any shop- thank heavens for that, we're losing too many every day already.

Look at dirty cases as an un-mined hunting ground. Got some of my best stuff by asking to see that thing hidden in the back. "Dig it out yourself if you want to see it" is the answer you're hoping for. Have cash and be decisive.

Understand that most Dive Shops are not run by retail merchant personalities. They are operated by guys who like diving and for whatever reason, thought a dive shop would be... hell, I can't imagine what they were thinking. We are getting too used to MallWart, forgetting the really fun stores of old~ like camera shops, hobby shops, and here we go- dive shops. In all of these places, not so long ago, cigars used to be common in the afternoons.

I knew one shop that didn't have a broom- they just opened the doors and chased the debris out with long hoses and 3000 psi.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Hi all!
Just had to share something with you and see if this is as uncommon as I hope it is... I discovered a dive shop near my home town when I was back visiting relatives. I was kind of excited because it gave me another option for getting air fills and equipment. I stopped in the shop and was shocked to find the place was filthy. Equipment was laying all over the floor and you had to step over and around it just to move through the shop. Everything was covered in dirt. Not dust... dirt. The glass counter top had between 1/4 and 1 inch of dirt depending on which end you were looking at. It was obvious that this it had been this way for a very long time. This shop has been in business for at least 25 or 30 years.

I don't expect dive shops to be fancy, but I do expect them to be clean and orderly. I can't imagine taking lessons from a shop that was in this poor of condition. It would really make me worry about the condition of their rental equipment, whether they change the filters on the compressor, etc. I said hello to the person working there and he did not respond. He did say goodbye when I left the shop after I said goodbye to him.

I guess I was really shocked at the condition. The dive shops I have been in up until now have been organized and clean. I wish I had taken pictures of this shop. I can't really do justice to how bad it was in this post.

This was a NAUI shop. Do you think that they would want to know about this or would they really not care. Are there standards for dive shops that they need to follow to retain their status as a certified training location?

Thanks,
-Mike-

I guess that is the problem with training the Maid to dive.....never see her again.

I can say that that I have never seen a place in disrepair like you describe but some are very cluttered (not dirty) with trying to get as much product as possible out for sale. I try to judge a shop by the people I talk to (employees) at first rather than what I see (or do not see). If I saw what you saw though, I am certain all I would hear from the employee is "Hey Mister why are you running away?"

 

[ReefHound]

I don't think I've ever seen "1 inch of dirt" on anything in my entire life. Sounds like hysterical exaggeration to me. How would you know it is glass?

 

[ligersandtions]

An inch of dirt may be an exaggeration, but I would have had the same reaction as you. I don't mind if a place is cluttered or a little messy, but to have dirt and such (assuming it really is not just a layer of dust) is a little much for me. I'm not the cleanest or neatest person, but I do value when people at least show they're trying.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I can think of one shop in our area that would fit that description.

Oddly, they train some damn fine divers ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Nemrod]

Where there bugs in the dirt, any chickens on the counter, pigs in the compressor closet, a bucket for a restroom, oh, that was my place, you never mind about that inch of dirt, that ain't nothing compared to what is inside my compressor. I usually used to spritz the compressor filter, back when it had one, with beer so as to cover up the chicken odor. No one ever complained until now when you came along. ;/ N

 

[captain]

Places like that sometimes hold hidden treasures

 

[freediver]

Places like that sometimes hold hidden treasures

I think what he's suggesting here is to take a metal detector back with you and see what's beneath that inch of dirt!