Post-pandemic comeback? Not yet! The dive industry is still crashing.

[Nick_Radov]

Why isn't there a single brand you can trust with proper quality assurance?

The lack of real quality assurance and the absence of consistency in the quality of the experience at locations operating under the same brand makes this so-called "industry" a joke and fuels our colossal dropout rate.

Do the training agencies and equipment manufacturers not dispatch "secret shoppers" to local dive shops to verify that their brands are being represented in a high quality manner? Maybe the industry is too small and fragmented for that to be cost effective?

 

[Beau Holden]

I would like to see Walmart move into the dive industry

And I would never dive again. If there is one company I completely despise it is Walmart.

 

[Cert1967]

I fully agree with the dive industry's need for improved customer service. In fact, it's crucial and was badly needed about 30 years ago.

The lack of leadership and vision is at the top.

The 3 dive centers that you mentioned with horrible customer service... They are affiliated with a training agency, right? They display a brand logo on their door or somewhere. Why aren't the scuba brands (mainly training agencies but also dive gear manufacturers) interested in protecting the value of their brand by ensuring proper customer service at locations authorized to use their brand?

What's the point of having a brand if it means nothing?

As a consumer, when I go to a McDonald's, I know the type of food they will have on the menu and the price range. But when I go to a Brand ABC dive training center, I have no idea what I'll get. None whatsoever. It means nothing. (Yes, I know the difference between a franchisee and an affiliate, etc. The concept remains.)

A preliminary look at survey results we haven't published yet indicates a near consensus on the following:

• Between two dive instructors associated with the same training agency, the quality of the training provided is often significantly different.
• Between two dive centers associated with the same training agency, the quality of the service provided is often significantly different.

That's a no-brainer. So... Why isn't there a single brand you can trust with proper quality assurance?

The lack of real quality assurance and the absence of consistency in the quality of the experience at locations operating under the same brand makes this so-called "industry" a joke and fuels our colossal dropout rate.

One day, somebody will have the vision & leadership to jump on this opportunity to establish a trustworthy brand within the dive industry. That brand will have value.

If this were to occur you would need massive consolidation of the industry

Think national sporting good chains, as an example

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Can’t wait for those great value regulators.

Costco did that. I remember seeing one of those 3 week kiosk/booths and they had all IST stuff.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Do the training agencies and equipment manufacturers not dispatch "secret shoppers" to local dive shops to verify that their brands are being represented in a high quality manner? Maybe the industry is too small and fragmented for that to be cost effective?

The industry is way too small for a lot of stuff to happen. That’s part of the problem and always has been.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

If this were to occur you would need massive consolidation of the industry

Think national sporting good chains, as an example

Sport Chalet (a Southern Ca based sporting goods retailer) tried to put a dive shop within all of their larger sports stores. The owner was a die hard diver and insisted that every one of their 15 or so stores had a scuba department. They sold everything from basketballs to ski gear and everything in between.
The problem they had was they couldn’t staff the dive shop/counter with anybody knowledgable or who could do air fills. They would pull someone out of the hiking or the weight lifting department to fill in in the dive shop and it didn’t work.
Sport Chalet finally folded, not because of the dive shop, but just overall they couldn’t compete with all the other factors in big retail. Very unfortunate.

 

[azstinger11]

Sport Chalet (a Southern Ca based sporting goods retailer) tried to put a dive shop within all of their larger sports stores. The owner was a die hard diver and insisted that every one of their 15 or so stores had a scuba department. They sold everything from basketballs to ski gear and everything in between.
The problem they had was they couldn’t staff the dive shop/counter with anybody knowledgable or who could do air fills. They would pull someone out of the hiking or the weight lifting department to fill in in the dive shop and it didn’t work.
Sport Chalet finally folded, not because of the dive shop, but just overall they couldn’t compete with all the other factors in big retail. Very unfortunate.

One by us had a two story dive tank so you could watch divers from the thick glass windows on the “ground” floor. Also did Christmas photos with Santa in the pool.

 

[SlugLife]

Some history buffs love wreck diving, which is fine, but many people view a wreck's value in its role as an artificial reef...otherwise, wreck diving looks suspiciously like walking around a junkyard.

Hah, I'm the same way. I mean, a few wrecks are kinda neat, but most of them I have absolutely zero interest.

I fully agree with the dive industry's need for improved customer service. In fact, it's crucial and was badly needed about 30 years ago.

The lack of leadership and vision is at the top.

The 3 dive centers that you mentioned with horrible customer service... They are affiliated with a training agency, right? They display a brand logo on their door or somewhere. Why aren't the scuba brands (mainly training agencies but also dive gear manufacturers) interested in protecting the value of their brand by ensuring proper customer service at locations authorized to use their brand?

What's the point of having a brand if it means nothing?

As a consumer, when I go to a McDonald's, I know the type of food they will have on the menu and the price range. But when I go to a Brand ABC dive training center, I have no idea what I'll get. None whatsoever. It means nothing. (Yes, I know the difference between a franchisee and an affiliate, etc. The concept remains.)

A preliminary look at survey results we haven't published yet indicates a near consensus on the following:

• Between two dive instructors associated with the same training agency, the quality of the training provided is often significantly different.
• Between two dive centers associated with the same training agency, the quality of the service provided is often significantly different.

That's a no-brainer. So... Why isn't there a single brand you can trust with proper quality assurance?

The lack of real quality assurance and the absence of consistency in the quality of the experience at locations operating under the same brand makes this so-called "industry" a joke and fuels our colossal dropout rate.

One day, somebody will have the vision & leadership to jump on this opportunity to establish a trustworthy brand within the dive industry. That brand will have value.

Another massive problem is the training agencies. They produce some of the most awful boring material, it's not updated frequently, and it's can be a significant percentage of the cost of the class itself. For example, the videos that come with the online materials seem like they were made by the same people who make driver-safety courses.

By contrast, look at the videos on SideMounting.com, they're engaging, interesting, technical, to the point, and easy to watch. If we were to see a revitalization of the scuba-industry, I'd like to see more people like the sidemounting.com guys. Specialist instructors who are experts in their sub-fields, the kind of people you'd even travel to take their classes.

 

[Cthippo]

I would like to see Walmart move into the dive industry. Prices would plummet and Scuba would be resurrected.

Walmart IS in the dive business, at least with their online marketplace...

Robot or human?

I haven't bought from them, but I do get gear from Amazon and eBay.

 

[VikingDives]

The standard scuba industry “high volume low quality” business model (instructors, shops, mainstream agencies and manufacturers all alike) has been failing for ages. However, I do believe the low volume high quality operators and manufacturers are thriving. Those passionate enough and willing and able to put in the resources to have a higher level experience will never fade away.

However, being able to cater to that crowd takes a huge investment, both in time and money. It doesn’t happen over night and requires a lot of sacrifice. Many of the shops and instructors I’ve seen struggle have usually not invested resources in seeking higher quality training or continued education for themselves. They look for the next cheap and easy thing that their sales and agency reps say they will be able to profit off quickly (like cheap rebreathers with fast tracked instructor training), and then wonder why that is the same type of customer they get.

It’s scary to tell a student “no you’re not ready yet”, raising training fees and making courses longer to improve quality, knowing they may well walk out and choose a cheaper easier option. But that’s what it takes to secure high quality customers and turn profit with lower overhead.

I don’t think the industry shrinking is really a bad thing as long as it’s the passionate customers, retailers, instructors, agencies and manufacturers that remain.

I could not agree more. The best part of running a high-quality, low volume business is retention. My shop retains almost every student we teach, because they get through open water, they enjoying diving. In the two years I've had my business, I can't think of a single OW student that hasn't purchased equipment or another course... It's a no-brainer to me. High-quality training solves the retention problem that most shops have.

With equipment, I try to find the right gear for the person, even if that means losing a sale. I'd much rather lose a sale than trust and confidence.

It is far easier to keep an existing customer than it is to find a new one.