Do you offer "specials"

[Wookie]

And if you do, how do you deal with those that didn't get the special price. I've never offered specials, because the few times I tried, everyone else came back and wanted the discount too, and when I didn't give it to them, they poisoned the entire boat. For instance, I gave a couple of couples a 2 for 1 and the rest of the group heard about it while on the boat (folks love to brag about how they got a better deal than the next guy). Pretty soon, I had 25 folks crowded in the wheelhouse asking for refunds and leaving with a pissed off attitude, taking it out on the crew in the tip basket. I also feel that offering specials often leads to folks hanging on till the last minute to book, hoping for that special. And no, it isn't worth it to fill those bunks if I'm not making any money on them. It's way better to cancel a trip than to add wear and tear for no profit.

So I don't offer specials, but it seems that everyone else in the industry does. I've seen divers say that anyone who pays rack rate is stupid, but that's all I offer is rack rate. What do other "little guys" do?

 

[The Chairman]

Don't give them a special, let them win a contest. Contrived? Sure. Who's to argue with you?

 

[toddthecat]

Don't hand out specials to certain people. Advertise them and be sure to put it time limits with which they can be used as well as a statement that says special pricing is only valid for those who book trips/place orders/etc during the promotional period. You know, all the fine print stuff. If people don't get that, refer to the fine print. If they still have problems, there's a door they can go through. Be sure to remind them to avoid having the door hit them on the way out. I hate having ass-prints on my door.

 

[supergaijin]

They are the bane of our existance! The hotel that we are associated with wants (partly) to advertise as all-inclusive- the problem is that they don't really understand what that means.

However we have created a 10-dive package (pre-booked and pre-paid.) THe hoops we have to jump through to get the money upfront is aggravating to say the least. Then there is weather concerns, or someone is tired so immediately they don't want the package anymore... but want say 7 dives at the 10-dive package price.... and get pissed when they don't receive it.

I do like the 'contest' idea though!

 

[Quero]

I offer returning customer discounts for both courses and trips, and I try to offer professional courtesy discounts whenever I can. Sometimes it depends on the contract rates I've got with the boat operators (that fine print often says I cannot sell below their published price). We have lots of last-minute-fill-the-boat discounts here, as well as pay-in-full-at-time-of-booking discounts, and I always pass these on to customers, even when they're only offered for direct bookings (in other words, even if I have to pay an undiscounted contract rate to the operator). I have also done things like offer free equipment rental in lieu of a discount, especially if I have to honor a contract to sell a trip at a stipulated rate. If they don't need gear, sometimes I'll offer free nitrox and just pay the op for the nitrox package myself rather than charging the customer for it. Those are all ways I've got of rewarding my own customers for coming back to me and for cementing a new customer relationship.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I think you should only offer specials to instructors who will keep their mouth shut about it and really need to get away to somewhere warm. .

I humbly volunteer to be the first guinea pig for this new program.

 

[akdeepdiver]

I try to offer professional courtesy discounts whenever I can.

I will do the same thing, but usually if its only quid pro quo since I work primarily with dive shops and not individual customers. My reasoning for this was from a previous dive shop customer. They insisted that I should give them a discount for their shop tanks being tested, yet always refused to give me a courtesy discount when I was buying equipment from them because they insisted that their profit margin was just too thin. I just cant abide by that attitude. I feel that a discount for professionals is a courtesy and not a right.

 

[Quero]

When I give this discount, it's typically for visiting dive pros, and they are usually not in a position to "give back". But I think it pays off in the long run anyway, since I get a few customers from their FaceBook postings or maybe they'll send me somebody. I've rarely had anybody refuse to give me a professional courtesy discount, and I have to say those times have been in Hawaii! How can it be that only in Hawaii the margins are so slim?

 

[Wookie]

When I give this discount, it's typically for visiting dive pros, and they are usually not in a position to "give back". But I think it pays off in the long run anyway, since I get a few customers from their FaceBook postings or maybe they'll send me somebody. I've rarely had anybody refuse to give me a professional courtesy discount, and I have to say those times have been in Hawaii! How can it be that only in Hawaii the margins are so slim?

I have no issue with professional courtesy discounts, I do not ask for them when in a dive shop (the whole asking for something special leaves a bad taste in my mouth), but gratefully accept it when offered. I prefer to take dive professionals for free, especially if they are in a position to go, write up an honest trip report, and have an audience for it.

I've found that it's sometimes hard to give away a dive trip. If someone is paying for it, they schedule the time, buy airfare, make sure they are on the boat on time. When I give a trip away, or attempt to give a trip away, 9 times out of 10 the intended recipient doesn't show up. A free trip just isn't worth anything. That's why it's free.

 

[The Chairman]

When I give a trip away, or attempt to give a trip away, 9 times out of 10 the intended recipient doesn't show up.

Every now and then they show up only to have to drive away.