ScubaScott
Guest
RichLockyer:Absolutely. This is always forgotten by those who cry the loudest about people buying from LP and Ebay.
Guess what... it's a free market, and a free market will always find the best VALUE... perhaps not the best price.
Value includes:
1 - Price
2 - Convenience
3 - Service
1 - The LDS cannot compete based on price... the Internet will blow him away every time. If he DOES try to compete based on price, he's not going to be running a dive shop for very long.
Prices need to be reasonable, but I'm perfectly willing to pay 10% or 20% more if....
2 - ...the item I want is in stock and not a dusty demo that's older than Jaques. Many of us are "Mr. Instant Gratification" who will pay extra for 2nd day delivery for an item that we may not use for a month. This money CAN be diverted to the LDS, but the LDS needs to be well stocked OR needs to be able to get the item into the shop nearly as quickly as an internet supplier can provide it. Padding the estimate makes for a happy customer. Don't tell him it'll be there in two days when you know it's going to be a week. Tell him it'll be 10 days, then he will be very happy when you call after 5 or 6.
3 - Service? This is an area where the internet cannot hope to compete against the LDS. The problem is, lumped into the "service" category is also "attitude". I've been browsing dive shops and have overheard attitude being given to a customer on the phone. No money spent, no return visit.
Often the attitude stems from a customer who wants to do something themselves... they're inquiring about overhaul kits, or trying to hammer a price down, or whatever.
This is the time to show the service skills, instead of insulting the customer and driving them off.
"Oh wahhh... when I'm out of business, who are you going to get your VIP and air from?" Uhh... the guy who I'm getting them from today, and it isn't and won't be you.
Rich - Excellent post. I wish I could print it off and nail it to the front door of the only shop in town.....
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