grantwiscour
Contributor
He's got a good shop there in SM. We use them when diving in the area. Always friendly and helpful.
We have a handful of good shops here in DFW.
We have a handful of good shops here in DFW.
What's your best local dive shop like?
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dytis-sm
Contributor
We have a few in the area but I choose two because:
- I get the right answers to most of my questions (Scubaboard covers the rest ;-) )
- They can price items competitively so I do not have to scour the Internet for everything
- Provide excellent service and support
I think we are fortunate to have several choices in the area and that is probably the reason that most shops along the Los Angeles coastline are pretty good and you can find pretty much everything you need within a 20-30 mile radius
- I get the right answers to most of my questions (Scubaboard covers the rest ;-) )
- They can price items competitively so I do not have to scour the Internet for everything
- Provide excellent service and support
I think we are fortunate to have several choices in the area and that is probably the reason that most shops along the Los Angeles coastline are pretty good and you can find pretty much everything you need within a 20-30 mile radius
Finding a good dive shop is like finding a good instructor, it does not matter what gear they sell as in what what agency the instructor teaches, if they are good you will return.
In Dubai we lost a couple of good dive shops over the past few years having been taken over by one particular company that is well known for churning out OW divers who have no buoyancy control and swim in a vertical position. That said I still go back to one shop previously known as Scuba Dubai because they kept all the same technical staff there who service my gear, as well as fill and service my tanks etc.
It would not be the first time I have walked into their workshop and spent an hour chatting with their technical manager, a guy who is basically a walking encyclopaedia of diving. I have spent more money on new/used tanks and servicing etc than what I have bought in the main retail area.
A few days ago I was checking a shop in the UK where I will be visiting fairly soon for a ScubaPro Mk 25 DIN first stage with S600 second stage. They do not have a Mk25 with DIN fitting, so the person I was on the chat line with tried to sell me an Atomic T3 which is around three times the price, needless to say I just logged off.
I am sure some dive shops get p!ssed off when time wasters come in to try on gear and then buy online, but I am sure many of them drive customers away by not being friendly and trying to rip them off.
I have found a shop about 25 miles from where my mum lives who now have two Mk25s + S600 second stages ready for me to collect when I go over next weekend and they are throwing in two additional second stage octopus for free (although I don't need them, but I'll take them anyway), for less than the price of the first dive shop I checked.
In Dubai we lost a couple of good dive shops over the past few years having been taken over by one particular company that is well known for churning out OW divers who have no buoyancy control and swim in a vertical position. That said I still go back to one shop previously known as Scuba Dubai because they kept all the same technical staff there who service my gear, as well as fill and service my tanks etc.
It would not be the first time I have walked into their workshop and spent an hour chatting with their technical manager, a guy who is basically a walking encyclopaedia of diving. I have spent more money on new/used tanks and servicing etc than what I have bought in the main retail area.
A few days ago I was checking a shop in the UK where I will be visiting fairly soon for a ScubaPro Mk 25 DIN first stage with S600 second stage. They do not have a Mk25 with DIN fitting, so the person I was on the chat line with tried to sell me an Atomic T3 which is around three times the price, needless to say I just logged off.
I am sure some dive shops get p!ssed off when time wasters come in to try on gear and then buy online, but I am sure many of them drive customers away by not being friendly and trying to rip them off.
I have found a shop about 25 miles from where my mum lives who now have two Mk25s + S600 second stages ready for me to collect when I go over next weekend and they are throwing in two additional second stage octopus for free (although I don't need them, but I'll take them anyway), for less than the price of the first dive shop I checked.
skullmancan
Registered
my local dive shop is lake hickory scuba and marina whats unique about them is they arnt just a dive shop they are a full fleged marina with boat slips and gas pumps they offer classes for diving on site they offer bait and fishing they best part is you can go out and do your checkout dives there with out having to drive anywhere knowing that gas is expencive these days the service that lake hickory scuba and marina is by far the best they treat you like family
mat4ov
Registered
What really sold me on my dive shop is the attitude they have toward everything. These guys just love diving and love sharing the experience with others. When I took my OW class one of the questions they asked me was what I wanted to do with diving and since then have made specific recommendations based on my personal goals. The dive club is active and I've found some good buddies through it.
One of the biggest things, though, is how they approach problems. When I ordered my drysuit I had chosen the color to be black and red (it matched some of my other gear) and when it came in it was all black. The owner of the shop apologized (he had forgotten I had ordered a different color when he was checking in the shipment) and offered to re-order it in the correct color combination. I didn't want to wait and it really wasn't that big a deal to me anyway, so I accepted it as is. Even though I was ok with the color, the owner gave me a discount on the new fins I was also picking up. He's also given me a couple of free classes, several free air fills, and because my wife just took her nitrox class with him he's giving her free nitrox for a year.
With all of this I used to wonder how he made any money, but I soon realized there's nowhere else I'd even think of going and I've referred several others here as well. This shop understands if you treat people with respect and you approach business with a customer-centric manner then it'll pay off in the end. Sure enough these guys are always busy (even in winter months) and they have a loyalty like no other business I've seen.
One of the biggest things, though, is how they approach problems. When I ordered my drysuit I had chosen the color to be black and red (it matched some of my other gear) and when it came in it was all black. The owner of the shop apologized (he had forgotten I had ordered a different color when he was checking in the shipment) and offered to re-order it in the correct color combination. I didn't want to wait and it really wasn't that big a deal to me anyway, so I accepted it as is. Even though I was ok with the color, the owner gave me a discount on the new fins I was also picking up. He's also given me a couple of free classes, several free air fills, and because my wife just took her nitrox class with him he's giving her free nitrox for a year.
With all of this I used to wonder how he made any money, but I soon realized there's nowhere else I'd even think of going and I've referred several others here as well. This shop understands if you treat people with respect and you approach business with a customer-centric manner then it'll pay off in the end. Sure enough these guys are always busy (even in winter months) and they have a loyalty like no other business I've seen.
FM1520
Contributor
We have quite a few shops here in San Diego and most are pretty good - competition makes a big difference.
- I really don't like sales pressure
- good air fills, meaning at the service pressure or a bit more
- reliable and fast repair and service (regardless of where I bought it)
since the main reason I go into a dive shop is to get air if the air is priced low, I get good fills at the right pressure and they are fast then I'm much more likely to buy from them if I need anything.
- I really don't like sales pressure
- good air fills, meaning at the service pressure or a bit more
- reliable and fast repair and service (regardless of where I bought it)
since the main reason I go into a dive shop is to get air if the air is priced low, I get good fills at the right pressure and they are fast then I'm much more likely to buy from them if I need anything.
I don't have just 1 favorite LDS, but rather I have favorites for different reasons.
The one near my house (Stuart Scuba) is convenient, great prices on tanks, and carries more technical gear, which means they also service these brands.
For fills, I like to stop by a shop in Jupiter (Scuba Works) near the boats that always gives a nice fill. They also have a ton of steel rental tanks, but I have my own now. They open early enough to swing by prior to boat departures and late enough to swing by after. Their gear is a little more expensive, but they always seems to have obscure repair kits and parts for those unexpected repairs.
When diving BHB, you can't beat the shop just prior to the bridge (Force-E) for last minute things and sponsored night dives. They even have an employee stick around the park til 10pm to collect rental equipment so you don't have to return it the next day. They also have a frequent event stamp card that once filled gives you a $50 credit towards anything in the store, and the free night dives qualify for a stamp.
All 3 have friendly employees and instructors. 2 of 3 know me by name. I swung by Stuart Scuba at lunch today to sign up for a boat trip and because of a comment I made on Facebook, they knew I was coming and had my name on the passenger list already. I didn't expect them to do this since I hadn't paid yet, but they see me all the time and didn't want the boat to fill without me, which was a real possibility since it's a 6 pack.
Then I have my favorite boats
The one near my house (Stuart Scuba) is convenient, great prices on tanks, and carries more technical gear, which means they also service these brands.
For fills, I like to stop by a shop in Jupiter (Scuba Works) near the boats that always gives a nice fill. They also have a ton of steel rental tanks, but I have my own now. They open early enough to swing by prior to boat departures and late enough to swing by after. Their gear is a little more expensive, but they always seems to have obscure repair kits and parts for those unexpected repairs.
When diving BHB, you can't beat the shop just prior to the bridge (Force-E) for last minute things and sponsored night dives. They even have an employee stick around the park til 10pm to collect rental equipment so you don't have to return it the next day. They also have a frequent event stamp card that once filled gives you a $50 credit towards anything in the store, and the free night dives qualify for a stamp.
All 3 have friendly employees and instructors. 2 of 3 know me by name. I swung by Stuart Scuba at lunch today to sign up for a boat trip and because of a comment I made on Facebook, they knew I was coming and had my name on the passenger list already. I didn't expect them to do this since I hadn't paid yet, but they see me all the time and didn't want the boat to fill without me, which was a real possibility since it's a 6 pack.
Then I have my favorite boats
DogDiver
Contributor
Amigos Fort White Dive Center
24/7. Fill your own cylinders to what ever psi your comfortable with. All dive gear and fills use a touch screen computer honor system.
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industrious95
Contributor
I think a lot of LDS owners are miserable because they got into it because they like to dive, and are now stuck wasting their weekends taking us to the quarry for testing.
The LDS I use now is fantastic. I bought all my gear elsewhere before I moved into his town. He treats me as good as any customer could ask to be treated. My Steel tanks failed VIP because of rust and he couldn't tumble them clean. He went out and bought some kind of funky brush to scrape the rust off the inside of the tank. After spending several hours making sure my tank was acceptable, he only charged me for the VIP and a tumble.
The first time I went to him, we were doing a dive in a tidal river nearby and the zipper broke on my wetsuit. We had half an hour until slack tide, and he gave me a rental suit and said "Go do your dive and you can pay me when you get back."
So, some dive shops are great and worth every penny they charge, even if that mask is $10 more than you can get it on the web.
Steel tanks for $50? I bet the metal value when they fail hydro is higher than that...
The LDS I use now is fantastic. I bought all my gear elsewhere before I moved into his town. He treats me as good as any customer could ask to be treated. My Steel tanks failed VIP because of rust and he couldn't tumble them clean. He went out and bought some kind of funky brush to scrape the rust off the inside of the tank. After spending several hours making sure my tank was acceptable, he only charged me for the VIP and a tumble.
The first time I went to him, we were doing a dive in a tidal river nearby and the zipper broke on my wetsuit. We had half an hour until slack tide, and he gave me a rental suit and said "Go do your dive and you can pay me when you get back."
So, some dive shops are great and worth every penny they charge, even if that mask is $10 more than you can get it on the web.
Steel tanks for $50? I bet the metal value when they fail hydro is higher than that...
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