Rude, $-grubbing Local Dive Shops

[Stu S.]

The thing that turns me away is when dive stores don't tag or post the prices of items.

Example: I walked in to buy an underwater flashlight. The one I wanted is typically $80-90. There was one in the display case. The owner showed it to me and told me it was a good one. I agreed. Then I had to ask "how much?". He looked it up in a price book and said $144. I had to say sorry, that's more than I expected, more than I had for it.

The whole situation was uncomfortable, as the owner was hovering between disappointment and mild anger. I wanted to give the guy a sale, but didn't have over a hunderd bucks of "fun money".

It would have been easier if the price was on it in the first place.

 

[=C=]

I'm afraid I stopped reading at this point, as you had totally lost any sympathy I might have had for you.. Were you so naive not to realise that you would need equipment to dive? In what way was this a scam? I'm afraid your attitude is the problem and I'm totally with "24940". I doubt you'll find any shop catering for any elective equipment-intensive activity that will suit you. I'm sorry to say that if you came into my shop with that attitude I'd refuse to serve you.

I'm in this camp. The 99 dollar cert and having things "thrust" upon you is a bit of juvenile response. I'm sure nobody forced you into a dry suit either. Grow up. Say no.

When you returned to diving after past bad experience I think the most basic thought would be:

"I should probably meet the Yahoo that will be teaching this class."

And if I had problems in the past with rental gear I would ask:

"can i see your rental gear?"

 

[ADKdiver]

I have had some bad experiences with a few egomaniacs at lds’s before, but nothing like what you describe. I agree with some of the other posters have written, find an instructor that you have some kind of info on first. Word of mouth, SB, and asking around at the quarry or local dive site will save you a ton of aggravation. There are a lot of great instructors out there unfortunately they might not be the most convenient to you. For me I am willing to drive or spend additional time traveling for superior instruction, from people whom I have a good experience with.
As far as purchases go I buy most of my stuff online from SCUBA Toys, I have had great experiences with them and they are very friendly and can beat just about anyone’s price, and in this economy that is huge.

 

[Andy077]

The LDS that i got my OW cert through was kind of a shyster outfit as well. His entire business model is to get you into the shop as many times as possible and try to upsell everything. Example: our evening classroom training was about 50% a pitch for various trips and advanced classes he was selling. Also, he refused to sign the logbook after the dives were completed, made you come to the shop to sign it, then again to pick up the card, all the while telling you you need BCD, reg, everything. My checkout dives were 5 minutes of skill review, and then sat on the bottom while he dug up clams for himself. No returns in the shop for refund, only "store credit". The other dive shop in our area laughs when they say how they get all his repeat business.

 

[Hoomi]

The first fifteen minutes or so of our OW course was a shop tour, which was as much to show us the various styles and types of equipment available as anything. The course itself promoted the idea that owning our own gear is the better idea, but there was never any real "sales push" to try and get us to whip out the credit cards right then and there. Same with follow-on classes. There was a bit of discussion about them, and encouragement to find ones we all would find interesting, but no pressure to do so "right now".

So far, my impression is that our LDS is a "keeper". The sales people are helpful, and happy to point out the features and benefits of the product lines they carry, but they're not pushy. They understand budget constraints, and don't get snarky if we comment that we really can't afford right now to buy all-new, top of the line equipment. The instructors we've dealt with in classes have been knowledgable and easy to get along with, and our log books were signed off before we left that last night of class. The options for our open water cert dives were explained, and for those who were planning other trips to do so, the instructor asked about it earlier in the class and had the referrals ready before the final session.

From what I've seen, they have no problems booking up their excursions without "extorting" students by holding their logs or their certs hostage. They seem to offer nice dive trips at reasonable prices, so the local dive community enjoys signing up to go with them.

 

[deco_martini]

Going to the "$99 scuba" place is more a reflection of the person who picks price over everything and gets none of them.

I think thats incredibly myopic. I have no beef with my LDS, but omitting the true cost of getting trained is a common way to get people in the stores.

To the untrained diver with no experience, 99 dollars may sound reasonable and not too good to be true. I can't fault them for going into the store and finding out "oh yeah, its 99 dollars if you have your mask, fins, snorkle, if you don't have that, you need to buy it".

On one hand, it really is 99 bucks. But, its deceptve since someone who knows enough about scuba to know that they will have to buy their own equipment isn't the kinda of person who will fall for it.

 

[24940]

I think thats incredibly myopic. I have no beef with my LDS, but omitting the true cost of getting trained is a common way to get people in the stores.

To the untrained diver with no experience, 99 dollars may sound reasonable and not too good to be true. I can't fault them for going into the store and finding out "oh yeah, its 99 dollars if you have your mask, fins, snorkle, if you don't have that, you need to buy it".

On one hand, it really is 99 bucks. But, its deceptve since someone who knows enough about scuba to know that they will have to buy their own equipment isn't the kinda of person who will fall for it.

You realize they don't give you a car when you take driving lessons, right?

It's not like you pay the $99, then they drop the bomb on you.

 

[offthewall1]

A Good LDS does a few things:

1. Always greets you immediately (within 30 seconds) when you enter the store.
2. Has most everything in the store clearly priced... or can at least give you a price very quickly from their computer system.
3. Has a knowledgeable person working at all times - that can answer your questions without having to refer you to someone else who isn't there
4. Is clean and neat and makes shopping easy and fun
5. Has a computer on the showroom floor so you can internet price match right there on the spot and has a clear price matching policy posted
6. Is willing to let you try anything in the store before you buy it - no questions asked
7. Has things in stock, and does not have to order everything your looking for
8. Is able to fill your tanks on the spot - and doesn't have to tell you to come back later to pick them up
9. Treats you with respect true care and concern and is helpful.
10. If you're looking for something they don't sell, will 1. go out of their way to get it for you or 2. will tell you where to get it without trying to talk you into something else they sell (unless you ask)
11. Offer training from beginner to advanced technical and have the staff to provide training all the way through
12. Offer you opportunities to dive with them (their instructors and DM's) locally without expecting you to pay every single time you meet them there.

These are just 12 ways of knowing if your LDS is a good one... there are other ways as well. There is a value in everything - but the value of your dollar is a big part of it. Look for dive shops that are willing to give you great prices everyday without you having to ask for it. There are some that do this everyday... and they are not all only on the internet.

Happy diving - and happy shopping. Get off the couch... Explore Your World.

 

[deco_martini]

You realize they don't give you a car when you take driving lessons, right?

Actually, when I learned to drive they did provide the car. Most driving instruction establishments provide the automobile you do the active instruction in.

If what you meant to ask was "Do you realize that driving instructors don't give you a free car after you pass their class?" the answer is yes. However, that doesn't have a thing to do with this thread.

 

[Divrdug]

Kinda' kinky, but as long as everyone agreed. It wouldn't play in the Midwest, but you Easterners are edgy.

I'm just happy when they wear wet

rubber suits.

Tied her up. Yowzah. :cool2: You guys still married?

I wondered how many other guys been looking at that wetsuit.