WHY Dive shops make you Feel GUILTY ???

[divad]

I was told the long story of how important LDS are and that people like me are going to put them out of business

Hopefully sooner than later.

 

[The Kraken]

PF,
"I do not listen to a scuba merchant that does not dive and does not know how a piece of gear works uw."

. . . good luck on purchasing your next automobile! You'll probably have a difficult time finding a salesperson that can explain, correctly, the operation of electronic fuel injection.

With an attitude like that, man would never have gone into space, among other things.

 

[pilot fish]

How can you know the difference??

I personally know of a shop that hired someone as a salesperson who had never dived before. This person did eventually certify. But meanwhile.... this person knew the right words and was successfully able to sell gear for the store.

How is this better than knowing what you want to buy, pricing it, finding out what the best buy is (accounting for service and availability) from an online dealer who may or may not have certified divers actually making the sale??

Sorry PF - I don't buy your arguement.

I'm sure that does exist but I think that would be the exception, not the general rule. If an experienced diver came in to buy gear I'm sure they could tell the depth of that salesperson's knowledge.

How is it better than knowing what you want to buy? If you know what you want then that is fine, but when you are a new diver you need advice and that advice should, I feel, come from another diver. Again, what and where you buy depends on your comfort level. I don't feel comfortable buying life support gear that MAY be grey market, MAY be slightly used, MAY be sold by a salesperson that knows didley about diving and MAY not have a mfg warranty.

 

[jonnythan]

The only reason for having the person selling the consumer a piece of gear be a certified diver is the consumer is too uncomfortable making choices for him/herself.

 

[Kim]

I don't get this. PF are you saying that if a sales person can dive they are to be trusted? Aren't they going to try to sell you what they have regardless of what is actually best for you? Maybe I just believe that sales people are there to make a sale - not necessarily look after my best interests.

 

[Snowbear]

I don't feel comfortable buying life support gear that...
... MAY be sold by a salesperson that knows didley about diving...

Tell me, PF - How is my example above of an LDS employee (non-diver or brand new diver or even an "experienced" diver with 30 dives who's going through the LDS's DM program ~ take your pick) who has been taught the right words to say in order to promote and sell whatever gear the store carries any different than an online salesperson doing the same thing?

 

[kidspot]

...asked where did you purchase that equipment from. I said I bought it online, OH. Hold on, I have to ask the owner something. He came back and told me that thier insurance would not cover me using equipment not purchased at the store. We got into a long debate and I was told the long story of how important LDS are and that people like me are going to put them out of business, then what am I going to do...

ouch - I got the same speech at a dive shop in Lahaina, he refused to sell me equipment because I had gotten most of my rig online - I never went back and none of my friends do either (who are new divers and buying gear now) Fortunately I found another shop that has a much better grasp on how to keep/gain customers and I frequently recommend them to other divers - I'm taking my first class with them next week, partly so I can see what their classes are like in the hopes of being able to recommend them knowledgably also... Sad how a business will slit their own throat just because you are not a 100% exclusive customer - what other business can operate that way and stay in business?

Tim

 

[pilot fish]

I don't get this. PF are you saying that if a sales person can dive they are to be trusted? Aren't they going to try to sell you what they have regardless of what is actually best for you? Maybe I just believe that sales people are there to make a sale - not necessarily look after my best interests.

No, I'm saying that if a person is a diver he is more apt to know how gear works, knows what it's like at depth.I guess I've been lucky in that the divers at my LDS have steered me away from unnecessary gear on a few occassions.

 

[Deep Sea Alan]

Well Said Paul,

Alan

 

[divad]

when you are a new diver you need advice and that advice should, I feel, come from another diver.

That's right, you need advice from another diver who is your friend, knows what he is talking about, and DOESN'T work for a dive shop. After you decide what you want, it doesn't matter what monkey rings it up. I was lucky. I instinctively backed away from my certifying LDS's hard-sell and have zero regrets about that. No Cochran Commander for me, boo-hoo.