Scubapro Regulators

[HARCPROP]

I AM NOW DIVEMASTERING WITH A SHOP THAT SUPPORTS SCUBAPRO AND HAVE BEEN ASKED ABOUT CHANGING FROM MY OCEANIC SET-UP. I NEED INPUT FROM EXPERIENCED SCUBAPRO USERS (25 FIRST STAGE AND 600 SECOND) ON PERFORMANCE, GOOD AND BAD. I HAVE USED THE SCUBAPRO TWICE NOW AND FOUND LITTLE DIFFERENCE OTHER THAN SCUBAPRO'S PISTON FIRST STAGE VS OCEANIC'S DIAPHRAM. BOTH SECOND STAGES SEEM TO WORK VERY SIMILAR THOUGH THE DELTA 3 BREATHES EASIER INVERTED.

 

[redacted]

But I would expect 'top-of-the-line' kits from any of the major mfgrs, including Oceanic to be almost indistinguishable from a performance standpoint. As long as they are providing this set-up as part of the job, you would be foolish to not take it.

OOH!! It's not free! They'll give you a discount but its still more expensive than online sources! So how much is this "JOB" worth to you?

 

[roakey]

Years ago to become a divemaster for a shop and I had to buy equipment that the shop carried in order to DM.

I look back and shake my head at what a sucker I was to do that.

It’s yet another ploy to separate you from your money. I assume the shop’s not paying you for anything. There are promises of discounts and such, but rarely anything specific. Especially if they make you buy all sorts of equipment then, once you’re “properly” equipped “promote” you to DM and THEN offer you discounts (now that you’ve bought everything expensive you need).

If they want you in their gear, tell them you’ll use their rental regulators during class. If they don’t like that (they won’t and will tell you that they’re plenty of DM wannabees in the wings if you don’t want to kowtow to their demands) they’ll have exposed their hand. It’s all about the money, and you’ll know that your shop is not above taking advantage of you. Do you want to work for someone like that?

Roak

 

[MNScuba]

You don't wear GAP clothes when you work at Old Navy either... The shop wants to promote what they sell. I can understand the shop wanting to do this, and in reality there probably are enough people willing to do it.

But...
Once certified, most new divers will probably turn to the internet to get gear or maybe not buy gear at all since most are pretty much 'vacation only' divers anyway.

And...
If you're gear is quality gear, then I'd hesitate on buying new gear just to work at the shop... If you need new gear anyway then it might be worth your while. From what I understand, there's not a whole lot of money to be made in the LDS world so you'll more than likely be working at the shop to help support your dive habit. If I worked at a dive shop I'd be broke!

 

[Genesis]

they can give it to you at their cost, and prove it with invoices.

If their cost is higher than you can buy it from LP, then buy it from LP instead. The shop should not care (unless they're lying with a fake invoice) since there's no profit to them in either event, and thus no profit lost.

I have no problem "advertising" something for a company I work for. But, if its a condition of the job, I should get it at cost - there's no reason for them to give it to me, but there's also no reason for me to PAY THEM to work there!

BTW I have a Mk25/S600 and like it a great deal. No problems with it breathing wet or strange in odd positions; its only "quirk" is that it has a funky noise on inhalation when iinverted AND turned to one side (a very odd position that you won't often experience); there is no effect on effort or breathing though - just a kinda odd noise component. It may just be moisture inside rattling around on the poppet.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Sadly, what little sales most diveshops have a re generated directly or indirectly by classes. For this reason retail can be a conflict of interest with teaching or DMing. I have very little in my store that I am not comfortable selling. The few items I still have that I don't tkink one should use I haven't been able to sell because I tell people what I think of it. That sounds dumb but when I have my salesmens hat on I have to sell a diver gear that I can live with when I have my instructor hat on. This is a real problem. I hate SP and don't sell it. If a DM uses it and likes it some student will pick up on that. Ouch I just lost my only sale for the month. Sounds bad huh. My solution is to use DM's with like tasts in diving and gear.

To help the shop you need to do more than dive in the gear they sell. You must use it because you want to use it. When a student asks why you use that gear you can tell them.

I opened a shop because I wanted to teach and couldn't stomach selling the crap other shops wanted me to sell for them. I started with a DM who hated dry suits and had old equipment of brands I would never sell. He also hated cold water and encouraged others to dive only when and where they could find warm water. He was great with people and loved to DM but he hurt me alot. I had to close the store on Sturdays so my wife could DM. Now I have DM's who want to put students in the equipment we sell, not so I make a sale but because they believe it is the best for the student.

If you want new gear try theirs. If you like it, buy it. If you feel good about recommending it to student then do it. If that doesn't work you may need to DM somewhere else.

Good DM's are even harder to find and keep than good instructors (because they don't get paid). We are trying to find a way to pay ours. unfortunately I am going broke just trying to cover most of their expenses. Our DM's are a cut way above most others and It could take years to replace them.

 

[wch]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...
I hate SP and don't sell it.

Is this a quality issue, a company issue, or something else?
Bill

 

[Conch]

As much as I would hate having the "buy what we sell" rule crammed down my throat, I would tend to dive what the dive shop sells. As long as I didn't have to pay retail prices. hehehe