WHY Dive shops make you Feel GUILTY ???

[RonFrank]

This is actually VERY annoying, and bad for business. However many of the do this. Mine not so much, but they KNOW that I purchased most of my gear elsewhere. Being the smart LDS they are, while I'm sure they would rather I purchased with them, they realize that I'v dropped close to a grand on training so far, and that is business.

It get's even more interesting for the instructors/Divemasters.... They sometimes put a full court press on them, and will not allow them to teach in gear that they don't sell.

In any event, I think LDS's should charge what they feel they need to charge, however any dive shop that gives the customer grief over equipment purchases is looking to go down (no pun inteneded ). IMO if they are NOT going to compete on price they BETTER compete on service, and giving thier client base grief over equpment purchases is NOT a good way to gain customer base.

It seems with all the Good deals floating around Nowadays on-line to buy Gear its hard to Support Your local Dive shop.

I do enjoy my shop to a certain point Yes ......

However every time I am looking to buy something in the Shop, It seems that they Put the Full Press on me and I mean Hard.

I dont mind supporting my local dive shop However I dont want to feel Guilty if I look over there Items and Decide to Buy elsewhere and then when I dive with them I feel so Guilty.

WHY do Dive Shope"s DO THIS ???????

Any Inputt on this Matter.


Mrstein

 

[pgdive]

I hope this doesn't turn into another 20 page long LDS vs. online discussion.

Dive shops overall need to change, but it's going to take time. The days of people buying from them simply because they exist are gone. Some owners will realize this and some will go out of business.

We are a fairly new store and I was worried when we opened up that we were going to have to compete purely on price. I am in my 30's and I am fully aware of the impact the internet has on peoples buying habits. Hell there’s a lot of things that I routinely buy online.

However the first time that I accompanied one of our regular customers (who is on this board and is now a DM for us) over to the pool to try and out a BP and wings that he had gotten somewhere else (We didn't carry them at the time). I realized that what I was doing had value, and that it was going to have a positive effect on this customer for the long term.

Since then I have identified lots things that we can do, from free refreshers, in store seminars and guided shore dives, to having a very liberal return policy, that will serve the people that support us. I think in doing this we even the equation between buying from our LDS vs online. I guess only time will tell if I'm right.

Just my 2 cents

Paul

 

[Stirling]

My experience with LDS here and afar is that they are run by cavemen businessmen. They go out of their way to make me feel unwelcome, are a tad rude, etc. Irrespective of them selling dive equipment, toys or tires, they don't earn my business.

I've run into a few like that, and I avoid them, too. But in the end, you have to deal with somebody, and the relation between a diver and *some* LDS is basically symbiotic - neither can really get along without the other, and neither can really afford to drive the other one away.

And let's have a reality check here - the LDS owner's desire to take some of our money in exchange for a product is no more reprehensible than the diver's desire to have the product and keep more money in his or her pocket. Neither the diver nor the LDS is necessarily any greedier than the other; it's just a business transaction, and each side has a reason for wanting to get a little more in relation to what they give up.

I will try to buy everything that I can from the LDS that I want to deal with - even when it means asking them to order something for me that I could just as easily order for myself. If they carry a line of products that I don't have on my wish list, I will at least take a serious look at what they do carry and ask myself if I couldn't be happy with the products they carry; I won't buy something that doesn't suit my needs, but I will be as flexible as I can be to support a business that helps me in other ways. There's more to creating and supporting a community of divers than selling gear, and if the LDS I like goes out of business, I may have to go do business with one of those people I don't like.

 

[divad]

Dive shops don't make anyone feel guilty. Why do you feel guilty? Stop being weak.

 

[Firefyter]

Since then I have identified lots things that we can do, from free refreshers, in store seminars and guided shore dives, to having a very liberal return policy, that will serve the people that support us. I think in doing this we even the equation between buying from our LDS vs online. I guess only time will tell if I'm right.

Just my 2 cents

Paul

Outstanding! This is exactly what it takes to even the equation. I don't really have an LDS, the nearest ones are 1-1/2 hours away, but if I did, I would definitely trade with one like yours. Keep up the good work, and good luck.

 

[gchapman]

My experience with LDS here and afar is that they are run by cavemen businessmen.
They go out of their way to make me feel unwelcome, are a tad rude, etc.

Irrespective of them selling dive equipment, toys or tires, they don't earn my business.

Just to counterbalance that with the other side of the spectrum - I'm quite fond of the dive shop I'm currently doing business with. Friendly, and on a first name basis - even after I disappear for a while. They know I research my purchases both online and within the local dive community. I've never been pressured into picking up whatever they need to unload. I was even allowed to borrow a few different brands of drysuits while I was trying to decide what would work best for me. I feel that the premium I pay for not shopping exclusively online is made up for in both the convienience, access to knowledge, courtesy, and other 'perks' of being a regular customer.

Perhaps I'm lucky in that I live in a region where competition is so intense that a dive shop that doesn't exhibit those qualities usually won't survive.

-- greg

 

[scubasean]

Was there a free store organized dive scheduled the weekend after you bought your equipment, where an instructor was on hand to help you get your weighting just right.

<snip>

These are all things that we do everyday that cost the shop money but give added value to the customer. I tend to think of it as a simple math equation. If the price is less online and the customer service in the store sucks than buy online, there is no reason to buy in the store. If however the price is $50 less online but the store spends hours with you answering your questions and taking you to the pool to try gear before you buy it, then buy it from the shop.

Paul

Wow...I must go to the wrong shops...I've not seen much of what you list, esp. the item I quoted above...

well...maybe I'm assuming...you didn't say the instructor (who generally gets paid through the store, but doesn't get paid BY the store) was free...

I agree that if the store helps you for "hours" and lets you try it in the pool...buy it from the store...

If you don't need the help, plenty of online places will suit your needs...

 

[RonFrank]

Dive shops don't make anyone feel guilty. Why do you feel guilty? Stop being weak.

Obviously they DO or this post would never have been made. I understand why you are saying, however... what? People who do NOT feel guilty when their LDS questions outside purchases could be described as Narcissistic. RU suggesting that is weak?

Hmmm, not sure I'd agree with that. As LDS's are MORE than just a retail shop (they teach and educate) it's understandable that students would feel guilty when their mentors question where they purchase gear.

 

[garyfotodiver]

I went into one of the Chicago-area LDs's to purchase a 2-gage console. The salesclerk asked me why I wanted to kill myself. His reasoning was that anyone who wouldn't use a dive computer wanted to kill himself. I listened to his shpiel and, needless to say, I didn't make a purchase. I bought what I required somewhere else.

I spoke to the LDS owner and she, of course, was upset, asked who the salesclerk was, etc.,etc. This LDS does not get my business anymore.

It is a competitive world out there and those who do not compete will not survive.

 

[kidspot]

The LDS can charge more because like 7-11 they are a "convenience" store - you don't have to wait for your merchandise to arrive. That said, when I am looking for a new piece of gear I will frequently take what I found it for online (including shipping) and ask if they can get close to the same price. If they can they get my business ( a few dollars more is fine for the "convenience") frequently they will tell me they cannot order something (like when I wanted a 22" LP hose) and other times it's just too much trouble for them to order something in (like AL80's). Today I went in and told the owner I was looking at picking up 2 modular valves, they will cost me $150 for both after shipping, if he can get them for me close to that price, then he has my business, if not at least he had the opportunity to compete - it's called the "free market".

I have no problem ordering life support equipment online, the thing that I find hardest to buy online is merchandise that is size relavent - ie wetsuits, boots, fins, mask etc.. though I've successfully ordered most of those online also... The "convenience" of trying things on in the store means they can charge a bit more than online vendors and still be very competetive. Service is worth something, just not 100% markup...IMO.

Tim