KC_Scubabunny
Guest
Chris,
I have come late to his trend and have not read everyone else's comments but did read your initial post and most of your follow up posts which leads me to believe that things have gotten heated.
Here is my gut reaction....
The customer is always right. And even if the customer is wrong, it is the businesses responsiblity to make the customer feel like they are right.
My assessment is based on a few read between the line things. I can't believe your wife called three times to be told that her tanks were not filled and that was holding up the picking up of gear. A diveshop without tanks to rent is a no dive shop I would want to deal with. If I get the urge to pick up a tank and do a dive some lovely summer afternoon, I want a shop that has plenty of filled tanks on hand.
Secondly, they should never argue with you that fins don't come in a particular color, style or design. Everybody knows that if a customer saw it in a catalog then it at least bears investigating. I ordered a Citizen Hyperaqualand watch from a dive shop that was not even a citizen dealer. I told them I wanted it and they made it happen because I was a good customer and they were being customer friendly. If I had gone to Diver's Direct to order it, they may have lost a customer for other gear.
You asked for special accomodations by not doing your training on two consectutive weekends. This was a out of the norm request until they agreed to accomodate. Once they said they would work with you, then they should have followed through and done so. If they had been inflexible from the beginning they you would have realized the true nature of the shop and gone elsewhere. They billed themselves as customer friendly but were actually a wolf in sheeps clothing.
The final comment that I will make is about refund. The shop that I go through charges one price ($150) for the classroom, books, and confided water and an additional charge ($100) for the OW dives. This breakdown is given so that students who choose to do their pool training locally but end up as referal students for their open water (your eventual situation) know the cost of each element. I would have my spouse or a friend call and inquire with the shop for the cost of doing just the pool training and getting a referral for OW out of the country. This will give you an idea of what a fair refund should be since this is all the training you received.
My only other words of wisdom to you are, diving is far more wonderful that some of the so called "diving professionals" make it some days. I am sure that almost any diver that has been diving very long will tell you that they have had atleast one frustrating experience with a dive shop, boat operator or resort. Most of these people are not "business people" in the sense that we are used to dealing with. Most that I have been around are people who loved diving (at least in the beginning) and thought it would be better than their previous profession. This does not make them good business people or retail shop owners. Those of us who spend 50+ hours a week providing real customer service in other industries, tend to expect the same it our private business dealings whether it be a dry cleaners or a dive shop.
I my experience, this is an unreasonable expectation that leads to much personal frustration if you let it. My suggestion, find one good dive shop employee at a shop that you can tolerate and deal only with that person. In my LDS, I don't talk to the owner if I can possibly help it. He has an awesome college student who works for him that I try to deal with exclusively. My orders and expectations are always met.
Don't let this bad apple spoil your diving experience. Best wishes in your marriage also. My husband and I have been married 7 years, two as dive buddies and are expecting our first future diver in December. I would not let a bad LDS take away any of the memories or future dreams that I have of diving with my husband and child.
KC_Scubabunny
I have come late to his trend and have not read everyone else's comments but did read your initial post and most of your follow up posts which leads me to believe that things have gotten heated.
Here is my gut reaction....
The customer is always right. And even if the customer is wrong, it is the businesses responsiblity to make the customer feel like they are right.
My assessment is based on a few read between the line things. I can't believe your wife called three times to be told that her tanks were not filled and that was holding up the picking up of gear. A diveshop without tanks to rent is a no dive shop I would want to deal with. If I get the urge to pick up a tank and do a dive some lovely summer afternoon, I want a shop that has plenty of filled tanks on hand.
Secondly, they should never argue with you that fins don't come in a particular color, style or design. Everybody knows that if a customer saw it in a catalog then it at least bears investigating. I ordered a Citizen Hyperaqualand watch from a dive shop that was not even a citizen dealer. I told them I wanted it and they made it happen because I was a good customer and they were being customer friendly. If I had gone to Diver's Direct to order it, they may have lost a customer for other gear.
You asked for special accomodations by not doing your training on two consectutive weekends. This was a out of the norm request until they agreed to accomodate. Once they said they would work with you, then they should have followed through and done so. If they had been inflexible from the beginning they you would have realized the true nature of the shop and gone elsewhere. They billed themselves as customer friendly but were actually a wolf in sheeps clothing.
The final comment that I will make is about refund. The shop that I go through charges one price ($150) for the classroom, books, and confided water and an additional charge ($100) for the OW dives. This breakdown is given so that students who choose to do their pool training locally but end up as referal students for their open water (your eventual situation) know the cost of each element. I would have my spouse or a friend call and inquire with the shop for the cost of doing just the pool training and getting a referral for OW out of the country. This will give you an idea of what a fair refund should be since this is all the training you received.
My only other words of wisdom to you are, diving is far more wonderful that some of the so called "diving professionals" make it some days. I am sure that almost any diver that has been diving very long will tell you that they have had atleast one frustrating experience with a dive shop, boat operator or resort. Most of these people are not "business people" in the sense that we are used to dealing with. Most that I have been around are people who loved diving (at least in the beginning) and thought it would be better than their previous profession. This does not make them good business people or retail shop owners. Those of us who spend 50+ hours a week providing real customer service in other industries, tend to expect the same it our private business dealings whether it be a dry cleaners or a dive shop.
I my experience, this is an unreasonable expectation that leads to much personal frustration if you let it. My suggestion, find one good dive shop employee at a shop that you can tolerate and deal only with that person. In my LDS, I don't talk to the owner if I can possibly help it. He has an awesome college student who works for him that I try to deal with exclusively. My orders and expectations are always met.
Don't let this bad apple spoil your diving experience. Best wishes in your marriage also. My husband and I have been married 7 years, two as dive buddies and are expecting our first future diver in December. I would not let a bad LDS take away any of the memories or future dreams that I have of diving with my husband and child.
KC_Scubabunny 
Do you not think it possible to be able to tell a medium from a large set of exactly the same type of fins? You're not giving yourself very much credit.
