I actually asked this question of the owner of my LDS yesterday.
We often talk here about diver retention in the sport, as though it were something desirable. But, from the point of view of a shop owner, how much good is a continuing diver? Once you've gotten past the point of the OW class and maybe AOW and a couple of specialties, bought all your gear, and settled down to active diving, you don't buy much. It's a little here and a little there, and some fills. I doubt it adds much to the bottom line of the average shop; in fact, they may spend MORE tending to their continuing divers than they regain from purchases.
So I wondered, since there are a fair number of shop owners that post here, what your view of your active diving customers is? What good are we?
We often talk here about diver retention in the sport, as though it were something desirable. But, from the point of view of a shop owner, how much good is a continuing diver? Once you've gotten past the point of the OW class and maybe AOW and a couple of specialties, bought all your gear, and settled down to active diving, you don't buy much. It's a little here and a little there, and some fills. I doubt it adds much to the bottom line of the average shop; in fact, they may spend MORE tending to their continuing divers than they regain from purchases.
So I wondered, since there are a fair number of shop owners that post here, what your view of your active diving customers is? What good are we?