No one talking about Wallin's closing?

[Peter_C]

Huh? You lost me there... next time tell me the story when both of us have had a few beers okey?

I only found out about it last night

Don't worry I keep the hooker under cover. Plus I am not usually the one tossing the hooker out.

 

[norbs007]

Just got the email too... sad indeed.

 

[Jak Crow]

Was the store really not doing that well that they don't want to move to a new location?

 

[vvortex3]

I have been to Wallins on several occaisions and had mixed experiences. I have never had a bad experience with any classroom or scuba instructor at Wallins. To the contrary, every classroom experience I have had there was very professional and enjoyable. That said, every single sales interaction i've had with this shop was utterly unpleasant. The salespeople were too full of themselves and concerned with store policies to actually be effective at sales. You all know who I'm talking about. I found myself not wanting to purchase any gear here. The only reason I continued to purchase equipment from them was that the shop was well stocked and had relatively competitive prices. Things would have probably went much better if the salespeople were more friendly and the shop had more customer-friendly policies. I suppose all of this business will now spill over to the smaller shops which, in my opinion, are a bit more deserving.

 

[johol545]

I really hope I'll get my regulators, which I handed in for overhaul two weeks ago, back before they close!

 

[Jak Crow]

I'd hope so too.

 

[Jak Crow]

What? You mean those types of dive shop employees that give you a snooty attitude because you dare enter their store as an informed customer, knowing what you want and how much you want to pay? No idea what you're talking about.

I have been to Wallins on several occaisions and had mixed experiences. I have never had a bad experience with any classroom or scuba instructor at Wallins. To the contrary, every classroom experience I have had there was very professional and enjoyable. That said, every single sales interaction i've had with this shop was utterly unpleasant. The salespeople were too full of themselves and concerned with store policies to actually be effective at sales. You all know who I'm talking about. I found myself not wanting to purchase any gear here. The only reason I continued to purchase equipment from them was that the shop was well stocked and had relatively competitive prices. Things would have probably went much better if the salespeople were more friendly and the shop had more customer-friendly policies. I suppose all of this business will now spill over to the smaller shops which, in my opinion, are a bit more deserving.

 

[Adobo]

I have been to Wallins on several occaisions and had mixed experiences. I have never had a bad experience with any classroom or scuba instructor at Wallins. To the contrary, every classroom experience I have had there was very professional and enjoyable. That said, every single sales interaction i've had with this shop was utterly unpleasant. The salespeople were too full of themselves and concerned with store policies to actually be effective at sales. You all know who I'm talking about. I found myself not wanting to purchase any gear here. The only reason I continued to purchase equipment from them was that the shop was well stocked and had relatively competitive prices. Things would have probably went much better if the salespeople were more friendly and the shop had more customer-friendly policies. I suppose all of this business will now spill over to the smaller shops which, in my opinion, are a bit more deserving.

Whatever their shortcomings, Wallin's was around for a long time. They served a lot of customers over the years. Presumably, many of those customers had positive experiences and were repeat customers. I assume this to be the case given that they were around so long. If they were truly awful to everyone, they would have closed down a long time ago.So I think it is fair to say that while some are not fans of Wallin's there are many members of our dive community who will have lost their primary dive shop.

As it is now, there are no dive shops in the Peninsula between San Mateo and San Jose/Santa Clara. Wallin's may not have been perfect but for many, they were convenient. We'll see if a better option pops up to fill in the void created by Wallin's going out of business.

 

[Adobo]

Was the store really not doing that well that they don't want to move to a new location?

In my opinion, the biggest asset Wallin's had was the on-site pool. That made them a great choice for people looking to get open water certified. Since the pool is not portable...

 

[Hepcat62]

In my opinion, the biggest asset Wallin's had was the on-site pool. That made them a great choice for people looking to get open water certified. Since the pool is not portable...

^^^ This. There's a lot more that I could say, but I'd much rather just remind everybody to come to the sale tomorrow and get some good deals.

Maybe once everything is all wrapped up and the shop is truly no more I'll start saying some of that other stuff. There were some things brewing instruction-wise at Wallin's - some really good and some not so good - and a discussion of that in the context of other bay area shops and what new Norcal divers want/need might be really interesting.