why so mean..

[fnfalman]

My LDS only asks of me to give them a chance to price an item out for me before I make the purchase. There are times when they simply can't touch the other shop or online place and they told me to go ahead and buy what's best for me. I have an awesome LDS, and that's why I'd pay a bit extra just to buy gears off them instead of pinching down to the last penny.

If and when your online whatchamacallit malfunction and while you wait for "warranty" work done by said online seller, what are you going to do if you want to go diving? My LDS would give me free rental of gears if any of the stuff I purchase from them were to malfunction and holding me up from making a dive.

 

[Golgothan]

Indifferent would better describe the first LDS I went to, after spending about 15-20 minutes checking out the store I started asking the common questions about how much, when, and where I could begin lessons, and that was met with a few "yeah, uh....here" as he handed me a sheet of paper with a list of prices, when I asked how difficult the sport was it was met with a few grunts and an unenthusiastic "uh....depends".
Apparently I had over taxed his ability to articulate the sport of diving, or peeked his interest of a potential paying customer.
I finally found a dive instructor who had a great sense of pride in his craft/sport, and still enjoyed teaching and talking about diving, and through him I found the shops that still put effort into customer service and seem to genuinely care about their customers.

 

[psychocabbage]

Around here, there are several dive shops that act this exact way.

For instance:
Wife was trying to get back into SCUBA. Was living paycheck to paycheck and got a deal online. Took the reg, console and computer in to get it checked out. Local Scuba shop tells her that its junk and asks if she bought it online. Then they refuse to even touch it.

Fast forward. Her mother had gone to a scuba shop (same one as above) and purchased a high end suunto computer. She takes it in to the shop where we were taking classes. The woman owner there looks at it and says this is junk! (cause she doesnt carry the brand) and her husband walks in, sees it and say "Wow! This is a nice one!" obviously impressed. All she wanted is a battery change.


End result is the same. Dive shops treat people who have shopped elsewhere like crap and its uncalled for.

When I ran bicycle shops we didnt ridicule you for going online and buying a bike through mail order. We were more than happy to assemble it, build your wheels or whatever you needed. We like seeing varied brands. We had seen 25+ yr old bikes and never thought "Where did you get this" We just think "Neat! Cant wait to fix it and ride it!"

There needs to be a change in mentality if they want to survive.

I am at the point where I am getting our reg service manuals so I can do it all myself.

 

[Sas]

Simplified story... didn't buy my BC or regs from either shop but did spend what I would consider a good amount of money at each of them. The first, didn't like the "brand" I purchased and continued to treat me like I betrayed them. My new favorite LDS didn't care where I bought my stuff, they were quite happy to help me in every way a good shop should help a customer. It's all in the attitude... and guess who I will recommend from now on?

Yea I have experienced both sides of LDSs like this. The store where I did my OW would be really nasty about people who bought elsewhere. One other customer bought a computer from Leisurepro but it broke and they would tell other people behind his back and mock him about it. When I bought my drysuit elsewhere (a brand they did not carry, I didn't like their drysuit brands) the owner sent me an email saying I'd been ripped off at the other store and he could have gotten it for me $500 cheaper. Though, the funny thing was he had gotten the wrong price for my suit and thought I had paid $700 more than I had so I wrote back telling him that $500 less was still $200 more than what I paid for it Most of their gear is double what I can get prices from online and usually a fair bit more than local stores too (i.e. Uwatec computer $1600 there, $700 Leisurepro; wetsuit $200 there on sale ($300 normally), $150 at another local store; Scubapro BC $1200 there, $500ish Leisurepro) so it is impossible to justify that kind of price difference. Another time he tried to charge me "at least $95 but likely a lot more" to look into a problem with my regulators that I already knew to be a five minute check (thanks to advice from diving friends and also Scubaboard). Another time he told me I couldn't bring a friend who was not a club member to the same site where he was running a night course even though the site is a public beach and I wasn't going to be diving with them! He'd send out newsletters about the evils of online shopping and so on. *ANY* bit of gear he did not sell he would say was rubbish.

I guess it is quite funny in hindsight the vitriol and I should have left the shop club earlier but it was hard as I had many friends there and I also liked my instructor a lot. The shop I go to now mostly (I tend to go to a few) says they love the internet and they have their own online store. I get recommended to buy products online when they cannot compete on price and I often get discounts, like with my BP/W I got the cambands half price and he discounted the BP as well. There is zero pressure to buy stuff from them and the owner has been happy to loan out gear for me to try or just borrow if I have needed something like an extra tank for the day, or a doubles wing. I got my regulator checked for free and he has helped me fix problems in my drysuit for free also. As a result I will end up spending a lot more there than I ever did at the other store and I have also recommended many friends to use that store as well.

 

[John_B]

What, didn't you realize it was your obligation to keep them in business?

 

[tc]

I understand that perfectly......so how much are check-out fees?

Normally most shops charge right about $1 more than the amount of money you saved by purchasng online instead of at the LDS.



Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Jupiter31]

Indifferent would better describe the first LDS I went to, after spending about 15-20 minutes checking out the store I started asking the common questions about how much, when, and where I could begin lessons, and that was met with a few "yeah, uh....here" as he handed me a sheet of paper with a list of prices, when I asked how difficult the sport was it was met with a few grunts and an unenthusiastic "uh....depends".
Apparently I had over taxed his ability to articulate the sport of diving, or peeked his interest of a potential paying customer.
I finally found a dive instructor who had a great sense of pride in his craft/sport, and still enjoyed teaching and talking about diving, and through him I found the shops that still put effort into customer service and seem to genuinely care about their customers.

I've never understood why those with more introverted personalities get in a career (or have a job for that matter) where public contact is critical, and a modicum of sales ability is necessary.

At the very least, since OW classes present the BEST opportunity for an LDS to sell major eq, he should have been happy to see you - and no excuse not to impart a little enthusiaum about the sport.

And no excuses - "He's the tech" or "He just fills the tanks" DOES NOT MATTER; HE IS THE FACE THE CUSTOMER SEES AND IF HE DOES NOT HAVE THE PERSONALTY FOR IT SHOULD NOT BE THERE.

Most LDS' bitch about how bad business is and how the e commerce sellers suck - the genius in your post - and no idea if he was the owner (if so even worse) - lost the opportunity of a customer for life and a 4 figure sale. Just b/c he was Dumb!

 

[gene02]

I'm in a very competitive business and tell customer on a regular basis that I can't compete with the quote they have; that is just business.These LDS that act like I owe them will not get my money. If a company wants my hard earned dollars they have to earn them because if they don't someone else will.

 

[Indian Valley Scuba]

It never ceases to amaze me how short-sighted some dive shop owners and managers are with regards to customers buying gear elsewhere.

Here if someone walks in the door with a pile of gear that they bought at Leisure Pro and asks for help putting it together, or a used regulator that they'd like checked out, we say, with a sincere smile, "Sure...bring it over here to the service counter". And we'll hellp put it together, or throw that regulator up on the flowbench for an analysis, the whole time engaging that customer (or visitor, as the case may be) in good conversation on positive topics. And we'll never bad mouth the place they bought it, or how they aquired it.

Even better, when it's all together or bench-checked and OK, we'll say thanks for letting us help you with that, and how else might we be of service. The cost for that assembly or bench testing is....check this out....zero.

Wait a minute, you say, are you a special kind of stupid? Why not verbally and financially abuse that customer - he did, in fact, let someone else profit from that sale and not you.

Well, let's see.....first, the sale has been made, so there is no sense crying over spilled milk, you missed it, for whatever reason, but you missed it. It's gone; let it go. Second, do you run advertisements, or maintain a website, or exhibit at tradeshows? And we do this why? To bring divers into our store! And does it cost money to do this? Yes of course. So now you have someone walk into your store, with gear they bought elsewhere. Well the first thing you might do is thank them, cause they walked in your door! And now, it's your chance to make a very positive and lasting impression, much unlike some of those that have been posted in this thread. Good feelings are yours to give and the potential for return is tremendous. Giving the customer a hard time only reinforces his desire to NOT come back in your shop and give you any business.

The same holds true when someone is standing in front of your counter with the price quote from
Leisure Pro or Scuba.com....if they can buy it for this amount from them, why won't you sell it to them to match that price? Is it over your actual cost? Will you lose 'real' money if you match that price? No, and will you satisfy (and keep ) that customer? Probably. If you refuse to meet that quoted price, for whatever excuse you may offer, then you are only reinforcing the fact that buying on the internet can really save them money, so they should do it more often.

So you do the math.......customers walking in your door? Good. A chance to make a positive and lasting impression on someone, especially while you are helping them out? Gooder! An opportunity to keep that person from running home and getting his credit card out while his computer is booting up for him to make his next purchase? Goodest!

Hope this sheds a little different view on the topic, and perhaps serves to help some of the shop owners and managers here have a slightly higher appreciation for that person that walks in the door, with or without a bag from Liesure Pro in their hands.

 

[Graeme Tolton]

It's amazing.. it is the same story everywhere! Just last year, I got the lecture of a lifetime from the owner of the shop that I originally did my OW with over a piece of gear that I had bought online. I had previously had a good relationship with this shop. Now, I would go out of my way to buy gear at places other than said LDS. "You can't buy air online" he says. While this may be true, you won't get the same attitude online or at a lower priced competitor. Just a week ago, I was in another LDS, talking with the manager. (I always feel like I am being pumped for information on where I buy stuff!!!) However, his response to me telling him where this item came from was telling me that their prices were very competitive and next time, I should talk to him. Well, next time, I will talk to him.

As far as getting gear serviced... When you buy a car from your neighbor, your local dealership's service department won't shun you for having bought the car from your neighbor. They will be happy to have your business.