The Great local dive shop vs. online debate

[medical1]

Hay we agree :banana:

Question: How do you find a quality independant instructor other then hiring them privately if they work for a LDS.

At least here in FL most instructors are tied in with a LDS and the LDS sales of equipment. My last DM works for a LDS but I hired him for private lessons & paid for the privladge. Was well worth the money.

Also looked at GUE but they are in Miami so a 6 hour dive for training is a little out of the question ;-0

Any suggestions since I have all my own equipment - don't need more sales - just more training.

 

[MikeFerrara]

medical1,

I posted a list of questions you might want to ask a peospective instructor in that thread about what questions you shouls ask. There are others you could come up with but those are what came off the top of my head. Some are specific to an OW class but not all. It's like finding a good anything though and I don't know if there's a foolproof method.

I think the important thing is to make an effort to find a good instructor as apposed to just going to the closest or cheapest shop. If divers did that then shops would have to try to sell classes on the basis of quality rather than speed and price.

I've said this before...In all the time I've been teaching, I've never had any one ask anything other than how much and how long. Recently there was one acception. He is a firemen who was planning on joining the local dive team. He became worried when the department insisted that he take his OW training at a specific shop which wasn't in the area and it was a weekend class. After talking with me he decided to take our class and pay for it himself.

 

[Otter]

jonnythan once bubbled...


Then... what? I won't cry about that.

You might when we all line up at your house to use your compressor.....=-)

 

[Ron Brandt]

Price should be negotiated. I agree. The thing is that you have to support your LDC or it ends up going out of business... then what?

Just ask Mike F about that or another guy I did my IDC with who started a store in Thunder Bay , Ont. three years ago.

The retail end and physical store are closed with a note on the website indicating to purchase through an online site.

This is a trend that has been discussed on another thread .

23 years ago when I started I bought my BC mail order as well as my tanks. Still have them and are functional.

I did buy my reg through the local store and personal gear was purchased used from a friend that was upgrading.Still have the fins and are now for student use.

Please support the store you will need them for tank fills and to buy your exposure protection.

I have a different type of store and is just in the early start up stages.Only time will tell.

Ron

 

[scubajoe]

They do have a warranty but try and get your gear repaired when you are in Cayman. I had trouble with an Oceanic reg there a few years ago. I took it to a LDS on Grand Cayman, the big pink one. I had my half of the warranty card in my logbook and they jumped right on it. Not so sure if it would have worked like that had I purchased it at LP. Oceanic, Scuba Pro and some of the other manufacturers don't warranty gear purchased online.
I may be different but my gear has never malfuntioned between dives. Only when I am using it. No time to send it off. I keep my gear well maintained and have the annuals done, sometimes more then annually. But stuff happens.
I'll admit I've bought dive stuff on line, stickers, pins and t-shirts but nothing my life may depend on.

Joe

 

[KrisB]

medical1 once bubbled...
Dealer price for 4 or more $25.00 (Less if bought in quantity) / LDS $75 (Another dive shop wanted $95) / Markup 200% +

Minor correction... that's actually 66% markup. (the markup of $50 accounts for 66% of the $75 price tag). This is how most retailers like to look at things.

 

[KrisB]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...

We haven't ever had a %200 markup on anything. Certainly none of the equipment manufacturers build that much into their MSRP. A zeagle ranger costs me $340. MSRP is $679. There just isn't any way any shop could survive selling them for $389. Aside from that though Zeagle does restrict what the shop can sell for.

Other businesses do... what makes a dive shop so special?

Look at the computer industry -- if they can make $10 on a $300 item it's a bloody miracle.

 

[KrisB]

MAGELLAN once bubbled...
Be honest with your LDS. Nobody beats Leisure Pro as far as I've been able to tell, so put the shopping cart togethor and print out the results.

Well, I've been quoted CA$1700 (by two separate LDS's within range of me) for items that would cost US$1150 to get from LP. US$1150 = CA$1725. *shrug*

 

[KrisB]

MikeFerrara once bubbled...


I've worked at this for a long time. The problem as I see it is that one minute a person has no interest in diving and the next they see a picture in a magazine. They book a trip two weeks out and then their on the phone wanting to be certified before friday. You have about thirty seconds to educate some one who could care less. It's funny, the only question any prospective students ever ask is how much and how long. Never, not even once in hundreds of students has any one ever tried to find out if I'm a good instructor. I could kill six a month and nobody would give a hoot. Define educate in that context. I've had people bring their kids to me. they still only ask how much and how long.

How do they tell if you're a good instructor? What questions do they ask without being impolite (like asking "so... how many students have you killed?")?

Our world is so used to certification meaning something. "Oh... you're a P.Eng.? Well, design me a bridge!" or "Oh... you're a C.A.? Well, I'll bring all my accounting needs to you." So... if you're a PADI (to pick on the largest) shop and PADI certified instructor and award PADI certifications, then you're standing there with PADI's reputation. And, they do a very good job of making that spit-polish shiny when it comes to the general public.

At that point, we're left with the business standards: how much and how long. All businesses deal with these questions -- when can you deliver (i.e. when will I have my c-card) and how much do I have to pay you for it.

 

[Genesis]

This is known in negotiating parlance as "the power of legitimacy".

It suggests that perhaps - just perhaps - those who believe that the current standards bite and are insufficient, AND who are also instructors, perhaps need to form a new agency - and do their marketing.

I suspect that it would not take long - with a video camera or three - to really stir the pot. And with the Padi .v. Diverlink debacle behind PADI (along with a nice legal bill as a reminder of their folly) there's a good chance you wouldn't be (directly) attacked for doing it.