LDS: Point of Pain

[bluewatertoy]

don't laught ...... several of our dive boats have started requireing a 2nd light on all night dives. Several of us have gone to the Dollar Store where we purchase a regulator 2 AA light for a $1 as our second light ..... yes if floods but it continue to work .... after the dive we throw it away ..... once again it's not our primarly light but a backup. I often take a $1 light with me even durning day dives so I can shine it into holes in the reef to see what's there.

Do you also get your fills at the local garage just to save a dollar.
Where do you throw the lights away when they don't work anymore?
Hopefully I am not with you when I need some air your octopus may just be a toy.

 

[farrakhan]

Because there are two frames of mind regarding LDS and nothing anybody says or does will not change minds this is all I will add:

I was once a believer that LDS were a complete waste of time for retail items. Sure they were needed for training, air, boat dives, servicing and numerous other necessities to a diver I also thought there was no way I would pay rediculous markups to make a LDS owner rich.

That was until I opened up my own LDS. Anyone here who would like to see a financial breakdown of my costs and spendings and weigh that against my actual profits send me a PM and I'd be happy to show you, once I subtract my overheads from the money I take in, how little a LDS makes.

I am one of the "good guys" in the industry though, I look after my loyal customers, and provide remarkable customer service. The thing that really upsets me is no matter how well you look after some people though, they still buy on the internet for fractions cheaper then what I offer, and still expect the same customer service.

Believe me when I say, before you buy on the net, get aquanted with your LDS owner, build a repoir and buy your gear from them. If your LDS owner is like me, before long the Customer Service you receive form him/her will be worth every extra penny you spent in the shop rather then the net.

I charge RRP on all products with a VIP system where as the more somebody spends with me the higher thier discount level goes.

Also earlier in the thread I noticed one ownerwho refused servicing from an internet bought set of regs, and a reply from somebody flaminging him for doing so. I am very much in agreement with the LDS owner. If someone walks into my store who I know to have bought the gear on the net and walks in expecting a servicing, I'd do the exact same thing.

Wake uppeople, do you really think a dive center makes money on $8 airfills. Since when has it been wrong to work for a living and expect to come out at the end of the day ahead. Do all the people here that critisise LDS'S work in industries that don't put a markup on product or thier services. LDS come and go, and it's usually the people who expect to make a heap of money that are the first to go. Me I'm happy to pay my morgage, put food on the table, and dive everyday.

 

[jbisjim]

She bought a light for you. Be happy that she didn't raise cain about how $30 or $40 is a waste of money because you dont REALLY need it, blah blah blah.......

Wow that sounds familiar

 

[tonyd63]

So Tony, if I understand this right, you refused to service a potential paying customer's regulator because he had bought his regulator at a price less than you would have sold it to him. So after losing out on the sale to another retailer who's price you could not compete with by a $75.00 difference, you turned down another $50.00 or more worth of service income to punish his decision. Had you provided the service, you might well have had another customer for quite some time.

Please let us know where your shop is. That way we should all be able to keep an eye out for some good bargains at your "going out of business sale".

Keep your day job.

Well, the shop is in Weeki Wachee Fl, and has been for over 10 years now, and will be another 10. It happens to be that I knew this customer very well. Let me say this. He is the type of customer that goes to a motorcycle dealership because he needs a new rear tire. After seeing what the price of the tires are, I watched this man take a pocket knife out of his pocket, and start carving tread into a tire of a motorcycle tire.
This was the same man.
So there is more to the story. I was trying to make a point! I'm sure you are limited on diving knowledge. After all, us dive operators are the ones who spend between $8000 and 25,000 on compressors, membrains for continious blend mixing, air storage, filters, replacement cartriges, oil, air tests, compressor maintenance in general. Now I remind you. This is for a ( I charge 5.00 for a tank of air.) I know allot of people are paying only 3.00 Do you look for the 2.00 tank fills? I'm sure if every diver out there had to buy a compressor, the crying would stop. Did I mention the He and the 02 storage or the liability insurance for the school & shop? So in RE: to keeping a day job, well.... it's been my day job for many years and will continue to be due to the love of the underwater world. It's the lack of intelligence of the individuals you deal with on a daily basis that have no clue of what it costs to run a dive operation, and really think the air is free. For those individuals that want it all as cheap as it gets I say....(Maybe scuba diving is to expensive for you, and you should take up bowling........

Sincerely,
Tony "D"

 

[scubatoys]

So there is more to the story. I was trying to make a point! I'm sure you are limited on diving knowledge.

Hmmmm... Interesting approach. I usually don't try to insult and attack potential customers... and who knows, the person you are addressing may have 6000 dives and be a course director...

But then again Tony, "I'm sure you are limited on Business knowledge". See I figured, if I have customers who are making complaints or comments about how I run my business, perhaps instead of attacking them, or insuating they don't know what they are talking about, I stop and listen to their comments. Then I try to see are they justified, is it what I'm really doing, or a perception of what I'm doing that bothered them. How can I address their issues, and turn this guy into a life time customer that will also refer all his friends to me, his co-workers, family.

As my dad told me... "Make a customer not a sale. If you have enough customers, you'll never have to worry about how many sales you are getting".

So there Tony, I've give you business advice that is worth a lot more than anything in your store... so next time a customer comes in and you want to tell them you won't service their gear because the bought it on the net, instead, say, "Ok... great, I'll have that for you on Tuesday, and if you'd like, you can use a free tank of air to check out the fine work I do when I'm done!"

See go figure, happy customer, in your store now... comes back on Tuesday, takes tank of air, comes back to return it on Thursday... 3 times hanging in the store, seeing what a "nice" guy you are and how you care about your customers... gee... maybe he buys something.

There you go... worth more than a free tank of air... and I gave it away... and won't even charge you for the service.

 

[Derek S]

As my dad told me... "Make a customer not a sale. If you have enough customers, you'll never have to worry about how many sales you are getting".

Your father was a pretty smart cookie. :14:

 

[oversea]

This thread seems to be very worried about the LDS' wallet and not the divers. I buy alot from my dive shop, the service is decent but the prices are high. I am at the point in which I need to buy another reg. Its 400 at LP and 900 at LDS. What does one do there? I would like to buy from my lds but thats alot. I understand the suppliers hit him with a min retail price minus 10% but its 500 more out of my pocket and for what a 20.00 bag of parts which becomes void if not serviced yearly? Its just as tough to be the customer.

 

[The Kraken]

Quod erat demonstratum . . .

 

[jbisjim]

Well Said Larry,

As a retail store owner, (not a dive shop) we preach

"Make a customer not a sale. If you have enough customers, you'll never have to worry about how many sales you are getting".

We service all customers who grace our doors, even though we may not carry the specific their specific product. Many times those cusotmers return. Word of mouth is some of the best advertising you can have and it brings in good cusotmers. my 2cents

P.s. Larry I love my new shirt.

 

[scubatoys]

Your father was a pretty smart cookie. :14:

Yea... still is. He's 84 now, and still throws out his arm chair business advice all the time...

"You make money earning interest, not paying it."
"Cash is King"
"You get a thousand chances to underexpand your business... you only get to overexpand once."


and one of my favorites:

"If you can tell the difference between good scotch and bad scotch... there's a possiblilty you're drinking a bit too much scotch."