OK,
I'm trying to get a feel for what YOU, a diver, would like to see, or NOT to see, in your local dive shop. What would you consider the ultimate dive shop to frequent?
Here's some of what I'd like to see and what I don't like.
Cleanliness: Training and service areas must be neat and tidy. A bench with junk piled a mile high doesn't give me a warm feeling about leaving my regulators for service. And boxes and junk piled in the training area don't do much for me either. I think a neat and clean training area is important and shows a level of professionalism. Needs to have some modern technology as well. Same goes for the bathroom. If I'm grossed out as a guy what would the lady customers think?
Store policies posted and adhered to: Don't change policies and prices on the fly. You have to be upfront on this stuff right away. If you charge $20.00 for pool time one week you can't make it $40.00 another week just because you don't have a class to offset the price. Better yet, a pool "in shop" would be the way to go. You would just have to offset the cost of maintenace, insurance etc. with classes and then be able to offer free pool time for club members, testing new purchases etc.
Internet: OK we all know about the LDS versus Internet saga. No need to rehash it here. What about a shop that has a section for dealer purchases, regs, BC's and service and another "Internet" section separate from the "dealer" section? In the Internet section you offer items you are able to sell over the Internet without dealer price restrictions (price fixing). In other words you have your Internet website and the store section is just your "wharehouse" of those items. Customers can can come in and pick them up, browse them from an in store terminal etc. Just like some of the other "grey marketers" out there are doing. You're upfront about the policies and give the customer a choice. Other stores are already doing this in some way. Can the 2 sales channels co-exist in store?
A "real" dive club. Just a club for divers to get together, mingle, share photos. Maybe a website tied to the store, (a url) for the club and members get club email addresses etc. Mailing lists, setup local dive trips and just charge a small fee to offset any store costs? Free lunches or dinners every now and then for club members.
Training: What have you seen that you don't like? Would you be willing to pay more for quality training? I mean, more time spent on you to help with problems versus getting "slammed" through OW? Would you like to see specially designed classes to help you become the divers that we all envy? You know, streamlined, confident, excellent buoyancy control?
Just some of my thoughts.
I'm trying to get a feel for what YOU, a diver, would like to see, or NOT to see, in your local dive shop. What would you consider the ultimate dive shop to frequent?
Here's some of what I'd like to see and what I don't like.
Cleanliness: Training and service areas must be neat and tidy. A bench with junk piled a mile high doesn't give me a warm feeling about leaving my regulators for service. And boxes and junk piled in the training area don't do much for me either. I think a neat and clean training area is important and shows a level of professionalism. Needs to have some modern technology as well. Same goes for the bathroom. If I'm grossed out as a guy what would the lady customers think?
Store policies posted and adhered to: Don't change policies and prices on the fly. You have to be upfront on this stuff right away. If you charge $20.00 for pool time one week you can't make it $40.00 another week just because you don't have a class to offset the price. Better yet, a pool "in shop" would be the way to go. You would just have to offset the cost of maintenace, insurance etc. with classes and then be able to offer free pool time for club members, testing new purchases etc.
Internet: OK we all know about the LDS versus Internet saga. No need to rehash it here. What about a shop that has a section for dealer purchases, regs, BC's and service and another "Internet" section separate from the "dealer" section? In the Internet section you offer items you are able to sell over the Internet without dealer price restrictions (price fixing). In other words you have your Internet website and the store section is just your "wharehouse" of those items. Customers can can come in and pick them up, browse them from an in store terminal etc. Just like some of the other "grey marketers" out there are doing. You're upfront about the policies and give the customer a choice. Other stores are already doing this in some way. Can the 2 sales channels co-exist in store?
A "real" dive club. Just a club for divers to get together, mingle, share photos. Maybe a website tied to the store, (a url) for the club and members get club email addresses etc. Mailing lists, setup local dive trips and just charge a small fee to offset any store costs? Free lunches or dinners every now and then for club members.
Training: What have you seen that you don't like? Would you be willing to pay more for quality training? I mean, more time spent on you to help with problems versus getting "slammed" through OW? Would you like to see specially designed classes to help you become the divers that we all envy? You know, streamlined, confident, excellent buoyancy control?
Just some of my thoughts.
