Skipraha:
Call me naive. Feel free to flame away, but this is just the thoughts of one of probably many disgrunted customers in this industry.
A thought from someone who sells technology and tech services - Sometimes prices are a little higher than what a customer could find elsewhere. There are customers who shop around and hit you with a laundry list of questions to which you need to supply comptent and confident answers to. More often than not though, they are looking for you to provide the solution to the problem with minimal explaination and maximum convenience. Peoples justifications for purchasing from a shop vary widely from "supporting the local guy" to "convenience, knowlege, and accessability to products NOW and not next week".
My customers like me because I am here and now instantly providing the answer to their problem. A shop locally fills that same need for nearly all their customers. My shop fulfills this need. The few things I have not purchased from them were out of a necessity to be fulfilled... and another shop had what I needed. Problem solved, I moved on, enjoyed my dives with my new/replaced equipment.
What have I ordered? A small dive knife, blunt nose double edge, serated on one side and has a line cutting notch in the blade. My shop, and others, have all the nice pretty pointy ones for sticking fish in the head! That doesnt make a good pry tool, though I do look manly macho with a short sword stapped to my thigh! Case in point, the shop didnt have it, I wanted it because I percieve a need for it, I found it and bought it.
Will I order again? Sure, for things that I dont have to try on. I like it done right, and more importantly, done right the first time. The more time I spend correcting a problem, the less time I have to enjoy doing other things. My LDS has that same theory thus a great customer/LDS relationship.
