Okay, shameless plug time. I'm going to try very hard to be fair even considering my employer here, so please no harsh flames.
First off, background. I've been working in this biz for 30 years. I'm not some new guy working at that "internet place". I have my experience, obviously in the LDS (although, we at scuba.com ARE an LDS for this area, as are our authorized online competitors in theirs), for equipment manufacturers on the technical side of things, as an instructor and course director for multiple training agencies and doing pretty much everything here at Scuba.com at one time or another. NONE of this is meant to impress anybody. Heck, it doesn't even impress me. Just laying the groundwork that I'm not some schlub with a keyboard and too much time on my hands.
Okay, to address some of the discussion I saw here. First off, you folks supporting your LDS, you have my thanks! Seriously. While I do everything I can here to help people with any aspect of scuba they have questions or needs with, if it wasn't for that dive shop you passed on the way to work twice a day for the past 4 years or something similar, you'd probably not have had scuba prickling away at the back of your mind. For many they taught your class, or you hung out with a diver friend who needed to swing by the shop and you were curious and went along. Our industry and the survival of this company is as equally as dependant upon the LDS to a certain extent as the LDS is on us. This is the information age, and we along with our other online competitors/peers, put a lot of information at the consumers fingertips. And information we have. (sameless plug time) I can't think of another LDS who can offer its customers 2 Course Directors on staff, every person you work with regarding gear being at the very least an Open Water Instructor, a travel agent, former manufacturers reps of various types, a commercial diver and former technical support director for major manufacturers on its regular staff. If the person you are speaking to doesn't have your answer there is a very strong chance that the guy very near by does.
Next, I already sort of alluded to. We, along with our Authorized Dealer online peers/competitors are an LDS. To be an authorized dealer for many if not most of the equipment manufacturers, you agree to offer a store front, teach classes, offer air fills, do repairs and maintain the manufacturers warranties. So, while we may not be local for many of you in terms of driving up and dropping in, we are still a local dive shop servicing the greater Orange County, LA, San Diego area. And for the rest of you literally around the globe we are no more than a keystroke or a phone call away.
I saw mention of gear repair and servicing. If you live outside the area and need it tomorrow, you need to go see the guy up the street or across town. But, we have a complete service and repair department and 3 fully trained and authorized repair technicians on staff (one of whom used to be the person working at an equipment manufacturer who's job it was to teach seminars and certify technicians - You can't get closer to the top than that!) that are qualified to fix just about every single piece of scuba gear on the planet. That's not to say we have the equipment here to fix the more obscure repair such as leaky bcds or torn suits, but you can most definately send in your equipment for service and repair and have it handled by capable hands. The advantage to this? You don't have to go to the local shop to pick it up when it is done. We'll send it back to your doorstep for you!
Somebody else mentioned air fills. And while the truth of the matter is that far and away the vast majority of them are going to come from your local dive shop, it is in no way the ONLY way to get air. There was a time when I couldn't possibly believe anybody in their right mind would buy their own compressor, let alone have me ship it to them. I seriously thought that was a severe case of more money than brains. And as it turns out, I was the shorsighted one there. We sell compressors on a very regular basis to people putting them in their garage, boat, and for the back of their pick up truck. We sell them to dive clubs and dive teams, and I've personally sold 2 to other dive shops who's owners are friends of mine around the country. So, do you NEED the LDS for air? No. Is it more convenient. I guess that's up to the individual.
Fit you in gear? Again, welcome to the maturing of the information age. With the help of the engineers at the various scuba equipment manufacturers it is easier today for me to fit you in the right piece of gear than ever before without ever setting eyes on you. The silicone skirts on masks have made it where just about every mask fits just about every face well enough to give you a very satisfying dive. That's not always 100%, but even for those with a facial feature like smile lines, crow's feet around the eyes, or larger than average brows or noses, the information exists to make sure we put you into the correct piece of gear. Wetsuits and bcds? Again, so long as the consumer is honest with us in their sizing, the sizing charts the manufacturers give us are very accurate once you get familliar with the intricacies of each line. The blends of neoprene and nylon are now so forgiving that it can be quite easy to fit you correctly on the very first try. And as many who have dealt with me have found, I have a lot less trouble today, over the phone or email fitting you in a suit than I ever did face to face in a store.
Instruction used to be the bane of the online retailer, but slowly the training agencies are being dragged into the 21st Century. Albiet not without a LOT of kicking, screaming and crying about it. For some time you've been able to take the classroom portion of your dive course in the convenience of your home. CDRom and DVD courses have been around for years. My 20 year old daughter took her course using a CDRom 10 years ago! In fact, she so enjoyed it she took at about 3 times just for the heck of it. When was the last time ANY of you sat through all of your instructor's lectures and presentations more than once by choice? Not until she'd finished it did she join dad in the pool and then do her check dives on a vacation. She was literally the average scuba student for that type of course at the time. Your basic referral student. Today, you can finally even do your coursework online directly with a training agency! Yes, you still need your LDS or independent instructor as I saw mentioned previously to finish your confined and open water work, and there will never be a way to get around that, but there is a lot you can still accomplish with the help of your online authorized dealer.
What it all boils down to is your own personal values and opinion. There is no right or wrong answer. Do I think I am better equipped to take care of you than any other dealer in the country? Of course I do. That's what competition and business is all about. But in the end every single one of these companies is owned by a person. Somebody in business to make you their customer and keep you happy and coming back. Each authorized dealer you deal with works hard to be honest and give you the best service they can. My job is to give you every bit of information I can and let you make an informed decision from there.
Happy Diving everybody!!!
Bob
