Supporting your LDS exclusively?

[Thors Spirit]

As we all know scuba diving is an expensive sport... As a result I shop the internet and several of the LDS for the best deals on equipment. When the LDS I went to to get ceritified found out I had shopped elsewhere besides his shop he flipped out and said if I don't exclusively purchase from him he is either going to double my class rates or ban me from his shop. Has anyone else ran into this? How do you feel about shopping elsewhere besides your LDS?

 

[NJDiverMark]

Um no. Sounds like you need to find a new lds.

 

[NJDiverMark]

I've bought things from all over. Internet, lds. They know customers want the best bang for the buck. Hell they even try their best to give me a cheaper price if I find one. That lds is gonna wind up going out of business if they treat customers like that.

 

[Wookie]

I know that many LDSs are feeling the pinch, but empty threats and crap like that are going to make them feel it more. If you care enough still, calmly and rationally tell the shop owner that you've bought your training from him, and you've chosen to make equipment purchases from various sources. When he entered into a contract with you to teach you to dive, if he didn't clearly state that all equipment must be bought from him for the consideration of a reduced tuition fee for the course, well, then he needs to uphold the contract at the price you had agreed upon.

If a diver shows up at my boat wearing split fins and a spare air, I can't arbitrarily raise my fee for passage just because I decide that divers in split fins or using spare airs aren't as good as divers wearing Halcyon gear and diving DIR rig.

If your LDS owner becomes stubborn and mule headed, thank him for his time, and let him know exactly how you would like your tuition refunded. Be sure to tell him that you intend to become a diver, and that you'll live in his area for the next ___ years in the future. You're sorry you won't be welcome in his shop anymore, because you're sure you would enjoy taking advantage of all of the things his shop has to offer, including air fills, travel, and future last minute equipment needs just before you join him at the quarry for a BBQ weekend that he has planned to thank all of his students for keeping his shop alive in these hard economic times.

Man. You've bought gear and you're taking lessons. That LDS owner is a fool. Most of the work has already been done.

 

[Mayor]

You might not think this in the beginning but over time the shop will become the center of your diving world. Classes, trips, service, and gear are just the surface. If you try and bond with a shop you will find a gateway to the diving world. Many types of divers meet there who are taking many different paths. Maybe just being a vacation diver is all you ever want but local diving just about anywhere is very cool. You might even want to help with classes or become one of those tech style divers. Your LDS might not have all the answers but they can guide you in the right direction. Who knows but the LDS opened my eyes so I support them as much as I can. With out them I would still be a OW diver with a very low skill level and not even know I was unsafe.

Find a new shop and invest in them and they will in you.

 

[Akimbo]

You need to find a new LDS quickly since this jerk won’t be around long. The cat is out of the ether so all retailers must learn to compete in ways the Internet can’t; like with personal service. People look for fair value, not just the lowest price. Coercion is not good salesmanship or an added value service.

 

[RU4SKUBA]

The territorial LDS owners have forgotten one very important point...

The money you save buying significantly cheaper gear online can be spent in their dive shop on training, dive excursions, maintenance, and air fills. This is their opportunity to market to you and if they're gouging, they have to understand that stubbornly sticking to their retail price will cost them some of your business.

Philosophically, its no use drowning someone in debt --to purchase gear at MSRP-- so as to prevent them from being able to afford the actual diving part of the equation.

Several years ago I bought a high-end regulator online and saved over $200 on the purchase. Afterwards my LDS gave me serious grief about it while I was spending that extra $200 on dive training AT THEIR SHOP and it was the last time I ever entered the store. From that point on, I drove over 100 miles to the nearest LDS for maintenance and training.

 

[tbone1004]

sounds like a royal a$$hole. I don't deal with the diveshops around here. My "Local" dive shop is either an hour or 3 hours away, and even that is only for certain things. Most of my purchases come from my "local" shop in Marianna, FL, Philly, or Indiana. There are like 6 shops in Raleigh, which is absurd and how they all expect to stay in business is beyond me because they aren't price matching anything or even each other. Can't do that any more. I'm lucky because I work with a university for most of my training, so don't have to worry about class rates, but even if he doubles your class rates, if you save $300 on regulators, $200 on a BC or even more if you shop around, then it's not worth it, and find a new shop.
FWIW Divers Supply in Marietta may be a good choice for you. I have had AWESOME luck with them on stuff when I've needed it and the guys in Charlotte at least are really cool to work with. Price match EVERYTHING and are good divers.

 

[redacted]

Since you are SSI trained and the closest SSI shop to Hiram is The Dive Shop, your scuba professionals offering superior education, travel and equipment. I'm guessing this is your shop. That is a surprising attitude for a shop that is part of a small chain. In any event, it appears to be a shop that is totally focused on their best interest and has absolutely no concern for your best interest. You have plenty of options in the NW Atlanta area. See if you can find a good shop to deal with when you actually need an LDS. You could explain to the old shop that you will no longer be doing any business with them and you will advise others of your experience with them. But it is unlikely to do any good. Hopefully, someday, the new owners will do a better job.

 

[scubafanatic]

It's unfortunate when a brand new diver gets an early (and very offputting) introduction into dive industry politics, and as you gain more experience (and shop) at different dive shops you will get an 'education' in the differing personalities of your local assorted dive shops. You will have to learn the hard way (just like most divers learn about dive gear the hard way and waste a bunch of $ buying ill-fitting/wrong gear before they zero in on something that works out in the real world) which shops are more 'open'-customer friendly versus the jealous/possessive types that will consider you a traitor if you don't use them as your sole source of training/gear.

Personally, I have a zero-tolerance policy with respect to the 'possessive' dive shops, if I get pushback on that front, I move on to another shop and never darken their doorway again. Now I'm realistic, dive shops aren't charities and need to make $ just like everyone else, so I know no dive shop is going to be crazy about me buying elsewhere......but there are shops that appreciate getting at least SOME of my $, versus pissing me off and never getting ANY of my $, plus I use local dive shops for fills/hydros/training/gear servicing-inspection/trips/last minute supplies...and at least a % of my ongoing new gear purchase budget.

Also, a word to the wise, try to spread your purchases around so you establish multiple dive shop relationships....in the 10 yrs since I've been certified, I've seen a lot of dive shops go out of business, do all your business at one dive shop and if it fails, all the goodwill you thought you were building goes out the window and you get to start all over with another dive shop from scratch!