GrierHPharmD:
I shop at my LDS as well as the deep discounters and the internet (including ebay), and the one thing that you can get at an LDS that you can't on the net is a good cup of coffee and a half-hour's worth of conversation with other local divers.
Seriously, my LDS is a great meeting spot for divers that I wouldn't encounter otherwise, folks who don't show up on the net or at dive club meetings. I'd really like to see one of the local shops capitalize on this - set up a coffee bar, keep some dive videos running on the corner tube, and have plenty of impulse-buy items nearby - magazines, books, etc. The one place that they have a real advantage is in putting local divers together for conversation and, possibly, trip planning. By making the LDS a place to congregate, the shop owners create something that the internet can't. Too many of the shops still get into the shopworn LDS vs internet discussion. My take it that both offer advantages, and a diver with limited resources (read that as "a diver that also has a non-diving life") should capitalize on those advantages.
Hey Grier!
I'm with you all the way on that one buddy. I live on the prairies up here in Canada, and it takes a special kind of person to keep a dive store running for any length of time under these geographical conditions.
I dive out of the longest running dive shop in the city. In the winter, we have a 'Divers Social' every Saturday where divers can come in and get a cup of coffee, a doughnut, and some good diving conversation.
We also run a pool session every weekend in the winter to keep our skills up, and run Scuba Olympics, a fun way to stay in the water without the pool becoming menotenous (sp?).
For new divers, after every class, we head to the local coffee shop to talk about the class and anything else about diving to get the new students familar with the social aspects of diving and create excitement.
For the less financially fortunate divers starting out, our LDS often assists them by setting up a short term payment plan on equipment, and sometimes offers excellent deals on used rental equipment for the new diver. All of which are maintained and kept in flawless condition.
Also, you can stop in anytime during the day and grab a cup of joe and chat it up with the owner or whoever else might be hanging around the store. One of the ways our LDS stays in business is through commercial diving.
I would not think of buying anywhere else, including the internet. Our LDS will exchange problem equipment for a brand new one, no questions asked. I'd rather pay more for the service and warranty. Often, if you're a good customer, and a regular, some special deals and odd freebie are thrown your way.
Here's to the LDS' that keep the dive community running in areas like ours, without them, there would be no scuba diving industry in our locales.
