WHY Dive shops make you Feel GUILTY ???

[ZoCrowes255]

I work in a dive shop and have for about five years now so there are two sides to this. If you go into a shop and use their employees to help you pick out a product and then buy it elsewhere that is not right. I have let a person try my backplate setup (which they had never even heard of before I talked to them) and then they went online and purchased it. That is not right! It's a disservice to me and the people I work for.

I would say that most of the people I talk to about buying gear buy it from me. We try to give them incentives to buy from us even if we can't match the price dollar for dollar of an internet store. We give out free annual services, throw in extra pieces of merchandise for free, free classes; whatever I can do to keep a customer happy I will.

Even if they go online and buy their BC or computer that does not mean I will be a jerk to them. It just means I have to make my shop that much more attractive when they go to buy their regulator.

 

[jeffreyd]

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They should act like that one story in the thirties (no longer remember its name)

Wasn't that Miracle on 34th ST.

 

[pilot fish]

What Grateful diver said is true, and that is a huge reason the industry is not growing if not the main reason.
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.

Now if the dive shops got along and acted in the same manner many more people would be diving but instead we look like a group misinformed people who do dangerous things for fun.
Cheers

That's a good point. Isn't that the case with a lot of business though? It is, no doubt, the case with online scuba dealers too, I would imagine. Oddly enough, I once called ScubaNetwork, not known for thier charm, and they didn't have what I was looking for but gave me the name of two other dive shops to try.

The store I think you are thinking of was either B Altman's on 34th, not longer in business, or Lord & Taylor on 5th and 38th

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I work in a dive shop and have for about five years now so there are two sides to this.

There are way more than two sides ... every shop, every online retailer, every employee, is an individual. Ultimately, regardless of who you choose to do business with, the quality of service you get depends on the individual ... not whether they work at a brick-n-mortar business or an online one.

And, as a consumer, it's up to you to educate yourself on your purchases, rather than relying on an employee of a business who's trying to sell you something to do it for you.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[pilot fish]

All well and good if you can trust what they tell you.

Try this little experiment ... walk into three different dive shops, each of which competes against the other two, and each of which sells different lines of gear.

After asking each of the three the exact same questions regarding specific types of gear, let us know how comfortable you were with their responses.

These people may be divers ... but first and foremost, it's their job to sell you gear. And most times they will EACH try to convince you that they sell only the best, and the other shop's stuff is unreliable.

Whether you purchase online or at an LDS, you should never rely solely on the information provided by the employees of the business when making your purchasing decisions. I know way too many divers who have made poor purchasing choices ... and regretted it later ... because they went with what the shop employee told them they should buy.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I think you might be right, but the same thing could be said for online dealers. While it's true that a diver could sell you someting that is not the best piece of gear, I would imagine it's less likely then a faceless Internet voice that is just a merchant, not a diver. If a guy is standing before me and says, I use this gear, I dive with it, I see his credentials as a diver, LDS do not hire uncertified divers to sell gear, I'm more apt to listen to him than an Internet merchant on the phone that doesn't vis from vase.

 

[jonnythan]

I think you might be right, but the same thing could be said for online dealers. While it's true that a diver could sell you someting that is not the best piece of gear, I would imagine it's less likely then a faceless Internet voice that is just a merchant, not a diver. If a guy is standing before me and says, I use this gear, I dive with it, I see his credentials as a diver, LDS do not hire uncertified divers to sell gear, I'm more apt to listen to him than an Internet merchant on the phone that doesn't vis from vase.

Perhaps the answer is not to rely on a salesman to tell you what to buy...

 

[pilot fish]

I work in a dive shop and have for about five years now so there are two sides to this. If you go into a shop and use their employees to help you pick out a product and then buy it elsewhere that is not right. I have let a person try my backplate setup (which they had never even heard of before I talked to them) and then they went online and purchased it. That is not right! It's a disservice to me and the people I work for.

I would say that most of the people I talk to about buying gear buy it from me. We try to give them incentives to buy from us even if we can't match the price dollar for dollar of an internet store. We give out free annual services, throw in extra pieces of merchandise for free, free classes; whatever I can do to keep a customer happy I will.

Even if they go online and buy their BC or computer that does not mean I will be a jerk to them. It just means I have to make my shop that much more attractive when they go to buy their regulator.

I agree, that is major unfair.

 

[Jim Ernst]

a dive buddy of mine and i used to have the same problem with our LDS, and we were pushed and shoved consistantly, and then i also got taken to the BANK, and then we also felt guilty and out of place when we would dive with them, and our favorite instuctor works there, that made it hard to even do our classes there, in the end, the dive buddy introduced me to a new area LDS and we are now treated like gods, and they go WAY out there way to take great care of us, so i say you need to find a new LDS

 

[pilot fish]

Perhaps the answer is not to rely on a salesman to tell you what to buy...

Words to live by, Jonnythan

 

[jonnythan]

Words to live by, Jonnythan

Indeed. So we should get our information from divers that are not actively trying to sell us something, and then go to a third party to buy the gear we have already decided on. Therefore, we don't want the person we're actually buying the gear from to give us advice. This is what you're saying, correct?

Ergo, the person actually exchanging goods for cash doesn't even have to be a diver in order to provide the expected retail experience.

I like the way you think, Pilot Fish.