WHY Dive shops make you Feel GUILTY ???

[Cobra852]

My LDS experience:

When I'm looking for a piece of Dive gear I tend to research it to death before purchasing and by then I know where to get the best price. The LDS that's closest to me has a very limited selection and this selection has never matched my needs/wants.

Most recently when I was purchaseing my dive computer I spoke with an employee who advised me that they only sold one type of computer and the price was $600.00. I asked her if she could compare this $600.00 computer to the one I was interested in purchaseing ($289 Scubatoys btw) she opened a pamphlet for the computer and just pointed at it. She was unable to provide me with benifits etc. for the much more expensive computer. She said that they had carried the Atmos 2 but had stopped. When questioned why she responded because this one is better. When asked to be more specific her response was "because this one is better". Well she didn't get my business that day.

I try to be supportive but when they don't carry what I need/want and aren't willing to show me why the product they sell is better what choice am I left with?


Ohh did I mention that when I told her I'd be doing more research she became defensive and accused me of shopping there so that I could purchase on-line. Btw I was the only person in the shop so I wasn't keeping her from other customers I was just giving her the oportunity to sell me something I wanted. How a shop can expect to compete with these types of employees is beyond me.

 

[jcm996]

It must be nice to be able to pick and choose LDS. I have one 2 miles from my house the next is 35. So if the one 2 miles away goes out of business. I have to speand 1hour driving to get my tank filled.

My LDS has 2 employee's. Mike and his wife. There are no salesmen or anything like that. Most days at 3:30-4pm you can find 2-8 of us local divers sitting around the shop, not buying anything. But planning dives for the next weekend or something. The other thing is quality of service. I ordered a new hood and the company sent the wrong one. So I wouldn't miss a dive i planned Mike gave me his personal drysuit hood, because he does not carry any in stock. He had 5 brand new wetsuit hoods on the rack and has a few rental wet suit hoods he could have given me one of. But he gave me his dry suit hood. I could have ordered a hood online for 1/2 the price. But then where would I go to plan dives and see what else is going on?

So I guess my point is, it all depends on what your dive shop does for you above and beyond "sales". The dive shop that is 35 miles away is only interested in you stopping and buying stuff, there is no area to sit and BS, rentals are due back at exactly 5pm the next day or on Saturday because they are not open Sundays.

I will admit I have bought some stuff online for less, but I also try to balance out what I spend at my LDS. If I can only save say $30 or less. I'll buy it at my LDS. But I also try to take 1 course every 2-3 months, which I'm guessing is 75% profit for him.

If your LDS is just a place to buy stuff and get your tanks filled. I feel sorry for you. If it is like mine where you can go, get a soda out of the fridge, sit and talk with other divers for a few hours and never be asked to buy a thing. Then you know what a real dive shop should be and know the owner is a true diver that loves the sport and is not just in it to make money. (Besides Mike has a full time job also).

 

[papps953]

Some dive shops obviously understand the direction of the new business economy and some don't. My LDS charges $450 for open water certification. You are required to buy your boots, gloves, and hood. They charge MSRP for their items. I was told if I buy all my gear from them they'll knock 10% off.

Another LDS not too far away charges $250 for open water certification. You are also required to buy boots, gloves, and hood. I've heard their prices are much more reasonable.

Dive shops that don't adapt will go the way of the buggy whip. Those that do can thrive.

Bill

 

[Six Feet Under]

I have two local shops that I patronize, the place I got certified through and the one I use now for any further training.

First shop has friendly employees, I pre-paid for my PADI open water class during their annual tent sale two years ago and got it for about $80 or $100 off. Bought my first BC, my second AL80, dive flag, fins, boots, 3mm wetsuit, etc. through them. Used them exclusively for air fills for quite a while when all I had was AL80s with yoke valves and was only interested in recreational diving.

Now I use the other shop a few miles down the road because they're more oriented to technical diving, which is the route I decided to take. I did my AOW training through them, get the majority of my air fills from them now that I use HP steel doubles, and I've bought random gear from them (prescription mask, wet notes, books, and I'll probably purchase a computer through them if I can get them close to the online price for a Petrel once I finish my cave class and save up that money.

I'll still go back to shop #1 for anti-fog rub (somehow they are the only place I've been that carries my favorite kind) and the occasional fill. I've been meaning to call them and ask if they would let me use their pool for a set dollar rate per hour to practice skills since my neighbor's pool was about 51 degrees when I checked last week...

 

[RJP]

I wonder if the OP got over the guilt he experienced when he started this thread... TEN YEARS AGO!

 

[TMHeimer]

We have to tell people not to resurrect these old threads. When I joined in '07 I didn't know this either and brought back 10 or 20! THAT wasn't very well received! Heck, I wasn't OW cert. until 6 months after this thread started.

 

[Bob DBF]

I wonder if the OP got over the guilt he experienced when he started this thread... TEN YEARS AGO!

I don't know if he got over it or quit diving because of it, since his last activity was in 2006.

Some of the zombie threads are quite interesting, not this one in particular, but some.


Bob

 

[dmoore19]

10 years later and nothing has changed. SSDD.

Lots of predictions that the crooked dive shops will close their doors. 10 years later you would think they would all be closed by now but I guess maybe not.