Nice rant Matt. Point made.
Customers are only interested in quality, price, and service. Fail on any of these and the customer is going to walk whether its brick & mortar or a cyber store. There are Dive Shops and On-Line Vendors alike on my scratch list.
Geeezzzz I tried a $400 BC on at the LDS today and got an offer for a pool demo. Am I gonna feel guilty if I go buy the same one somewhere else or a lower priced model? Nope. He offered the demo with no conditions. I will feel no more guilty than taking a test drive in a car at a dealership and getting a better deal on the same car somewhere else. I bet you'll find most people on here have done that buying a car and didn't give it a second thought or draw a parallel. Did you ever have to pay the wages of the salesman, the gas, or a rental fee on a test drive? No! Its a cost of doing business.
The LDS gets the first shot at selling me. Apparently you gave this guy a shot too. However, I will give the LDS the courtesy of matching the deal. Something missing from your story that probably really bent the dude out of shape more than anything. Maybe you should have given him a shot at matching the downgrade on the hogarth harness set up just as a courtesy. You might have missed a potential better deal or, if he went nuts then, Dad might have spent his $140 or less somewhere else and saved you both the long trip this weekend. Like you, I'll go a few extra bucks if the service and convenience makes up for it on the price tag. Things like regs fall in that category with warranty and annual service.
The guy should have been more interested in knowing why he didn't get your business and what it will take to bring it back, even if it meant asking you with a big grin to please give him a chance to match the other guy next time and tell you what he could do that the other guy can't do. Then he might have sold you a tank, kept a customer, and cut his loss a bit on the pool time.
I dropped over $4K last year in scuba gear and lessons between 3 LDSs last summer and fall. Less than a year later I'm back as a dad helping his son get trained and outfitted. And since he's footing a good chunk of the bill, we'll go cut the best deal to get him wet and keep him safe. BTW his kid brother has a graduation present due next year. Good observation on the sales potential missed. Shame this guy wasn't thinking ahead.
You appear to have a bright future in marketing.
Good luck in college and safe diving