Just ordered new tanks - anything to note?

[Belzelbub]

Yeah I'm in the same boat...I also ticked off my LDS owner so now I drive a little farther.

I feel for you guys. However, just because we can’t throw a brick without hitting a dive shop doesn’t mean we don’t want to throw a brick at some of those dive shops. Just don’t have to drive as far to avoid a bad shop. Though there are many more shops in my county, there are 2-3 that I will actually spend money in. Just so happens that I drive by a couple other shops on the way to those.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Yeah I'm in the same boat...I also ticked off my LDS owner so now I drive a little farther.

I feel for you Midwest divers. I was one for a decade. Fills were a royal PITA. Shops use them as a weapon. They really do. Thankfully a couple of buddies eventually bought a compressor, set of bank bottles and setup a small fill station including banked nitrox. That was awesome.

Here in South FL it's heaven. In the North Broward/Palm Beach County area (Pompano north to Jupiter) where I am I have at least 8 places to get fills that I can think of and the total is probably closer to a dozen as I'm sure there are some I've forgotten.

 

[Still Kicking]

From the other side of the fence, dive shops exist to make money. The horror! They are not there to be your best friend or cater to every customer's wildest whim.

Having said that, many dive shop employees/owners don't know enough about the business they are in and make up policies that have little basis in fact.

It's a two-way street.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

From the other side of the fence, dive shops exist to make money. The horror! They are not there to be your best friend or cater to every customer's wildest whim.

Having said that, many dive shop employees/owners don't know enough about the business they are in and make up policies that have little basis in fact.

It's a two-way street.

Meh. Want to make money? Maybe don’t cater pretty much exclusively to people that are going to do an OW class, go dive somewhere tropical once, and then never come back.

Literally every dive shop owner that I’ve interacted with in this area has one or more additional stream of income. Ex. Other full-time or part-time job, military retirement, spouse has a full-time job, etc.

One shop owner (cool/good guy) freely admitted that he didn’t start the shop & dive op. to make money. He views it as a hobby.

We’re talking about businesses that were setup to essentially entertain and sustain a hobby. If they break even...that’s just super. That is the attitude with which they are run. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s a bad thing.

Ideally, yes.

 

[Manatee Diver]

From the other side of the fence, dive shops exist to make money. The horror! They are not there to be your best friend or cater to every customer's wildest whim.

Then you don't get my money. CCDS probably has gotten more of my money than any other shop, as that is where I get most of my fills, and all of my LP85s. Why would I buy LP85s locally if you aren't going to fill them properly?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I will reward good shops. They have to earn my business however. Since moving south I've given more and more of my business to Force-E. They are a great shop with 3 locations, a customer loyalty program that allows me to earn cash bonuses for all the money I spend and most importantly ... they know how to service and fill tanks. I get VIPs & fills while I wait, my HP tanks are filled to 3600-3800 consistently, my LP tanks are filled to 3000, and they sell electronic fill cards at a very competitive price. As a result I get Nitrox for what most of you up north pay for an air fill. As a result I've started buying more equipment from them as well vs online. In the last couple of years I've bought a GoPro 8, new Legend reg, 5mm wetsuit, 3mm wetsuit, hooded vest, and all manner of small items. They also service all of my tanks and regs.

Good shops earn and keep customer loyalty. They don't use fills as a weapon.

 

[Still Kicking]

Then you don't get my money. CCDS probably has gotten more of my money than any other shop, as that is where I get most of my fills, and all of my LP85s. Why would I buy LP85s locally if you aren't going to fill them properly?

Are you talking about filling tanks properly to working pressure and topping them off when they cool? Of course, that's basic. If you expect us to violate DOT/CGA standards for cave fills, we will survive without your money.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Are you talking about filling tanks properly to working pressure and topping them off when they cool? Of course, that's basic. If you expect us to violate DOT/CGA standards for cave fills, we will survive without your money.

Strange because it is the local dive shops that always complain about declining business.

 

[Still Kicking]

Literally every dive shop owner that I’ve interacted with in this area has one or more additional stream of income. Ex. Other full-time or part-time job, military retirement, spouse has a full-time job, etc.

One shop owner (cool/good guy) freely admitted that he didn’t start the shop & dive op. to make money. He views it as a hobby.

A vanity project and a sustainable business are two different things.

 

[Andy_Mason]

I feel for you Midwest divers. I was one for a decade. Fills were a royal PITA. Shops use them as a weapon. They really do. Thankfully a couple of buddies eventually bought a compressor, set of bank bottles and setup a small fill station including banked nitrox. That was awesome.

Here in South FL it's heaven. In the North Broward/Palm Beach County area (Pompano north to Jupiter) where I am I have at least 8 places to get fills that I can think of and the total is probably closer to a dozen as I'm sure there are some I've forgotten.

You're right about that. I frequently feel like Oliver Twist humbly approaching my LDS owner with empty tanks...."please sir can I have some more?" ... expecting the same response that Oliver got. So much so that I've started shopping for a compressor.