Dive shops vs BSAC-style club diving
- Thread starter lowviz
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If a club is providing a service for non-members their running a commercial business. Nothing to do with making a profit or just covering costs. They would also need commercial insurance for the compressor, and follow HSE rules.
drrich2
Contributor
Any thoughts on how the realities of business are for mainstream dive shops in the U.K. vs. what we see in the U.S.? Seems like the typical stereotype here is a Mom and Pop operation struggling to get by the face of stiff price & selection competition from online vendors. There are exceptions; Divers Direct, Leisure Pro, etc...
Perhaps there's no difference. I'm asking because the interplay of clubs (or potential clubs) with local dive shops seems to be regarded as an issue.
Richard.
Perhaps there's no difference. I'm asking because the interplay of clubs (or potential clubs) with local dive shops seems to be regarded as an issue.
Richard.
A lot of what was said about BASC clubs is true for our local non-profit clubs in Finland too.
I suspect the answer (why fills are not sold/made available to non-members) may be what it is for our our club: we are a not-for-profit organization, therefore we cannot sell goods or services. We are allowed to train members of the club and to charge a fee (paid to the club, not any individul members) that roughly represents the cost training and issuing a card for that student.
Sometimes we do small chores as a club such as cleaning swimming beaches or finding mooring weights, tie lines onto a sunken snowmobile, even cleaning out greenhouses. In these cases the involved party can pay a support fee, rather like a "thank you" gift to the club. The club will pay to train instructors and upkeep their 1stAid schooling, but instructors receive no compensation for training students (expenses are OK, things like petrol, lunch). As an instructor or assistant instructor training is something you do as a club member for the good of the club. I am our club's treasurer and our insurance cost outside of policies for equipment, premises, boats and trailers is less than $200 per year. A whole different world from what it would cost somewhere with more litigation. If any of us would even take the risk of teaching, running a compressor, mixing gases, etc. in a more litigous environment.
Mustard Dave
Contributor
Where I live (3 hours drive to a decent coastal dive site), there are two dive shops in close proximity. One has made a success from online sales, but also have a very good shop you can visit. Another seems to do okay from sales, but their main income stream seems to be servicing cylinders, which includes a number of commercial clients as well as recreational divers. Sales seems to be the way to make money, as there is bugger all in teaching courses, unless you are one of the elite technical instructors. You get a few shops in popular dive locations, but I expect most of their business comes from air fills and sales of the odd bits and bobs that divers break at an inconvenient moment. I think it would be extremely difficult to set up a profitable dive shop from scratch.
Yeah, the issue is not getting gear. It's getting affordable insurance.
Can you get me contact info for your local club's insurance agent? If you can, please PM it to me!
Mustard Dave
Contributor
What about the thousands of rugby clubs and masonic lodges etc. that hire out their club houses for private functions? We do the same with our club house, and also, we regularly run speaker presentations that are open to non-members. The primary aim is to entice new members, but we make a few quid over the bar at the same time.
Commercial insurance for the compressor is not neccesarily a problem, nor is complying with regulations; our compressor set up is fully compliant with the Pressure Equipment Regs etc.
If they're hiring out then they need a entertainment or/and a drinks licence from the local authorities. There are dive clubs with their own bars, which are run as a separate business that make donations (pay profits) to the club. There is no obstacle to a club becoming a commercial entity or even a charity, as BSAC International do to BSAC.
Historically, clubs in the U.K. have used Sports Council (funded by the Lottery) to purchase Capital assets. My own club got funding for 3 portable compressors so we could explore the Scottish West coast, and provide gas at training events.
Overseas BSAC branches have to work within the legal structure of the country they've in.
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