WHY Dive shops make you Feel GUILTY ???

[Buoyant1]

Truthfully ALL of the Diver's Direct stores I've been (3 of them KW, Dania, and Key Largo) in have been great! The staff knows what they're talking about, and is willing to help.

I was at the Dania Beach shop for their grand opening last July, and was just at the Key West shop last week.

 

[Hoosier]

You should be careful to say "ALL"
I had a chance to talk with the manager in Olranddo shop. She was horrible!.:monster:

Truthfully ALL of the Diver's Direct stores I've been (3 of them KW, Dania, and Key Largo) in have been great! The staff knows what they're talking about, and is willing to help.

I was at the Dania Beach shop for their grand opening last July, and was just at the Key West shop last week.

 

[jokeborn]

One LDS were I live was lecturing a few friends and me about using LDS. They stated "I don't care which one you use, just use the LDS." When my friend decided to buy an item in the area that he lived in (about 90 minutes north) the clerks wanted to know why he wouldn't support their LDS. Having been in sales before, guilt is a tactic, but it does tend to turn more people off than retain their business.

 

[Buoyant1]

Read my post..I said all the DD's I've been to which only includes KW, KL, and Dania. Never been to the other stores.

 

[ScubaSarus]

I cant agree more Jokeborn. More money is lost to dishonestry and bad sales tactics. Things are changing fast and the sales tactics need to change also.

 

[lairdb]

Point well made....value is more than dollars and cents. If all you desire or require is a box delivered to your door than price is the only factor.

Most folks expect more than just the 'box delivered on time' service.

Make that "most folks desire more". Many (I won't spark a rhetorical argument by saying "most") have found they can't even get "delivered on time" from their LDS, let alone more than that.

 

[kabluton]

When I first decided to get certified I didn't do the research I should have and picked the most convenient LDS I could. Boy, what a mistake that was! I quickly realized that with this particular shop, it was ALL about the money. They put the full court press on us about buying the gear (about $3000 worth up front) before I even realized whether or not I was even going to like diving.

They had this one poor fool (who couldn't even pass the basic swim test mind you) paying cash to the dive shop every week as he got paid. They had already suckered him in to buying his gear and he wasn't even close to being certified. In fact, if I had been the instructor, I would have told him to go get swimming lessons before coming back. But that's just me.

After seeing stuff like this for the length of our OW class I finally had a falling out with that particular shop because they wanted to gouge me on the checkout dives since I hadn't bought thousands of dollars worth of equipment from them.

To make a long story short, I cut my ties with them and found another LDS that was willing to take me to the same quarry for a quarter of the price and do my OW checkout dives. Needless to say I still deal with this shop and have never set foot back in the other one.

Do your research concerning your local shops. Word of mouth is a great way to find out which ones are good and which ones are bad. I want the good ones to stay in business but I am by no means obligated to pay twice as much for something I could easily find online.

 

[The Kraken]

Wanted to buy a Dive-Rite thigh pocket. There are 3 LDS's in my area which I frequent.
Well, I decided I'd support the LDS closest to my house and through which I took my D/M course even though one of the other shops had the item in stock. Even though the item was going to cost a little bit more and wasn't in stock I placed the order. Well, they forgot to place the order, so I had to buy it from the other LDS, but I did save $6.oo.

Wanted a thicker wet suit so I went to the same LDS. Didn't have the suit in stock so they'd have to order it. Was the same situation at the other LDS's, they'd have to order it. Now, by "supporting my local dive shop" I was going to have to pay about $38 more for the wetsuit that I was ordering. Placed the order. Waited 4 days . . . waited a week . . . waited 2 weeks. Asked the LDS what was going on with my wetsuit. It was THEN that they decided that it would be prudent to call the distributor. Seems the distributor had "misplaced" the order. The LDS asked me if I wanted them to place the order. Needless to say I was a bit irritated.

To that question I replied, and I quote, "No thanks, I'll just order it from Scuba Toys. They have them in stock and they're $38 cheaper and I don't have to pay 7% sales tax."

I think it had an impact upon them. At least I hope so.

 

[PhotoTJ]

Wolf eel once bubbled...

They should act like that one store in the thirties (no longer remember its name) The story is that a customer came into the store and a lady asked for a style of coat that they did not carry the sales person instead of trying to sell her a coat she did not want told her where to find her coat. Not only that he looked up the name and address for her. That salesman was fired because the manager watched this and thought they had just lost a sale. In fact the salesman had created a loyal client to the store for being so helpfull. He was later re-hired the manager was fired and they had a complete list of shops and what they offered to be able to give good advice and give the customer what they wanted. Sales went through the roof when nobody had money.

OK, wasn't this a scene in "Miracle on 34th Street"?

 

[lairdb]

OK, wasn't this a scene in "Miracle on 34th Street"?

This is the Stew Leonard's theory.

As to whether it has any effect on business, 'In 1992, Stew Leonard's earned an entry into The Guinness Book of World Records for having "the greatest sales per unit area of any single food store in the United States."' Also "For the fourth year in a row, Stew Leonard’s, a family-owned fresh food store with locations in Norwalk and Danbury, Conn. and Yonkers, N.Y., has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list."