Dive Shop Etiquette

[doctormike]

Sure, if you like the shop, you should give them your business in terms of gear, air fills (if you dive locally), trips, etc... And like any good business, they should be grateful that you spend money with them, appreciate your continued business and work to maintain that relationship. But by no means do you "owe" anyone anything because you started with one shop. Sometimes, other considerations may make it necessary to go elsewhere (e.g. they don't have a trip that suits your schedule or carry gear that you need). You aren't getting married, you are buying dive gear, training and travel! On the other hand, I do agree that it's bad form to pick their brains about gear that they do carry and then buy it online...

I personally think that a dive club is a better way to build a local network of diving friends than a dive shop. This way, you have a lot more flexibility in that you can take your friends to whatever trip works best for everyone, you can socialize between dives, etc... Yes, I know that some shops also run clubs, but I always worry about the conflict of interest - the shop owner wants to build and maintain his or her business, that can affect the tone of the club. Not that they shouldn't promote their own interests, but I think that it's better if the club is a no-commerce zone. That's the way we do it with our club, and we give a lot of dive business to the local vendors as well!

 

[Skittl1321]

They were just very friendly and welcoming, and everybody seems interested in helping new divers and making sure that everybody is having fun.

I know what you mean- I really like the people at our shop, so I wouldn't want to offend them. How about asking the owner (or whomever) "Hey- I noticed all your trips coming up are full. What do you recommend that I do to get in the water now! Do you know if another shop has trips planned? Or if there is a way to connect with some other divers?"

(I would actually just ask about the other shop. I know ours has a cooperative relationship with another shop in the state.)

 

[SeaCobra]

In a truly professional dive shop you won't have anything to worry about. I keep the charter schedules of several shops handy, just for this reason. If my charters are full and someone calls I can direct them to a reputable place that has openings. Its a win-win for us all.

You might try asking for their suggestion, as in -'gee, your trip is full, but I really wanna go diving, what do you suggest I do?'.

 

[00wabbit]

Definitely let them know you are interested in trips. Sometimes people have personal issues and have to back out and sell their seats at the last minute.
Let them know you are interested so they can call you if it happens.

 

[iluvtheocean]

In a truly professional dive shop you won't have anything to worry about. I keep the charter schedules of several shops handy, just for this reason. If my charters are full and someone calls I can direct them to a reputable place that has openings. Its a win-win for us all.

You might try asking for their suggestion, as in -'gee, your trip is full, but I really wanna go diving, what do you suggest I do?'.

and this is an good example of why we prefer certain dive shops It's an example of good customer service. What gear you would purchase at the shop depends on many factors, but a shop like that is one you would recommend to friends, etc. There are several shops in N and S florida that tend to get recommended on here due to their customer service.

 

[mselenaous]

Some shops can be "funny" about things like this. Why don't you talk to your shop and see what they think.

Yes in some communities the shops can be rivals and sometimes make you feel like the kid who bounces holidays between divorced parents and can't talk about one parent to the other without evoking war.

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Oh and don't mention some of the big on-line shop names in their presence. A few old schoolers blame the internet for their own failures and even go ballistic at the mention of Scuba.com and others, rather than embrace the internet as their ally. It's good to do your research on features, prices, etc but do give your LDS brick and mortars the benefit of a quote and consider their value-added services.

Shops and as an extension their "clubs" have their own "personalities"...some like hunting, some very open and scale all activities to the :newbie: , some a photo/video centric :uwphotographer:, others techie. And you may find groups that dive with common interests: Girls, Christian, LGBT, etc.

Go dive with as many as you can and get to know them. As you dive more, your skill level and interests will change. What one shop focuses on now may not be of as much interest to you in a year.

 

[BDSC]

You might be able to even find a trip right here on ScubaBoard. Lord knows we love to dive.

I go along with what Pete said. A lot of shops will post their trips right here and you can check them out. I know at least twice a year a bunch of friends and myself will get together and go diving. Sometimes I will post our trips on here because I alwasy enjoy meeting folks from SB so I can put a face to an avatar! And as a bonus, as a group we earn free spots and such just like the shops but we share that value over everyones cost. So we all get to go at a nice discount and you don't pay full price so to speak. As an example, next year our group is going to the Socorro Islands on the Rocio Del Mar and instead of paying $3295 (list price), we are all going for $2795! That's a $500 discount!!!

 

[diver_dj]

Definitely remain loyal to them if you really like them, but don't let your loyalty deprive you of other opportunities. You're the one who loses if you insist on only utilizing one place even when they can't meet all of your needs as a customer.

Right now you want to go on a trip and they can't meet your needs because their trips are full, so don't be afraid to find one somewhere else. Same goes for classes - just because they don't offer it when you want it doesn't mean you can't take it elsewhere. Put yourself first.

 

[bluejaykaren]

I work at a Marina that rents boats. A new boat rental opened up and my boss made the comment after a few weeks that they had not called her. She said that when she moved her fleet of boats here, she called all the other marinas and introduced herself and asked if they would send any over flow to her and that she would do the same. It seems that before she came to town the others didn't cooperate with each other much. She said that after she called them a few times and asked if they had a boat to rent because she was full and she had a customer was looking for a boat, they started doing the same for us. It is a win win but so many businesses don't get that. Not only that but when a customer comes in and I say sorry I have rented all of ours but I will call around and try to find them one, they always say they will recommend us to their friends because we are so nice to do that for them. Once again a win win. When I was in Grand Cayman we had not booked the Kittiwake but we ended up with some free time. I called around and everyone I called was booked. We were diving at the Cracked Conch and I asked them. Olin said that he could find us a boat. He made 2 calls and made it happen. I wrote a good review for him on trip advisor. Win Win. Why don't more businesses get that?

 

[redacted]

For some shops and customers, the relationship is more like a marriage than a business; so sending them elsewhere might not work.