Make Good Money as a Scuba Instructor

[Zagnut]

Captdave,

Now that's an approach that you didn't include in your earlier posts. You should have started with that info, then we might not have had all the ruckus. Oh well, ruckus makes for good reading.
Anyhows, the corporate angle is one I hadn't thought of. Many corporations purchase timeshares in exotic places for their employees to use while on their vacations and things of that nature. It is a "perk" to entice better quality employees. I guess your approach could be used by a corporation as a similar tactic. Often when corporations do this type of thing, they don't mind spending more money than necessary because it ultimately ends up as a tax write off anyways seein' as how it is seen as investing the money back into the company. I don't even think you would need alot of "kajonies". You would just need some decent salesmanship skills and know who to target. The IT industry seems like it would be a good start. Target the yuppie types. At least once that industry pulls out of it's recession. They may not be as likely to go for it now, than they would have been when the IT stocks were riding high. They might if it were a tax shelter and all although, I doubt that their industry is having trouble hiring good employees right now.

 

[captdave]

You guys sure can get a laugh out of me sometimes.Good humor always helps. Wow what a hard drive?
To zagnut. I think your tax angle idea is really good. I hadn't thought of that. Lets add it to the plan. There is nothing wrong with being a scuba instructor bum and traveling from exotic place to exotic place and living from paycheck to paycheck..If that's what you want. I think what I am talking about is making scuba instruction into a real job..

Any more good ideas out there ?

 

[Power Scuba]

After reading some of his posts I feel like the old days when I came home after a hard night of drinking, plopped down in the couch with the TV on, and fix-stared at the thing without the energy to change the channel nor even really knowing what I was looking at. Coming out of the daze an hour or more later realizing that it was an INFOMERCIAL I had been staring at, all the while being hammered with the hypnotic, psuedo-charasmatic host who promised riches untold. A draining feeling to be sure! Would it work, who knows? Does the attempt leave most of those trying with that emtpy, helpless, frustrated feeling of just being had? I suspect so.

Bill
Bill@pwrvideo.com
http://www.pwrvideo.com

 

[bash]

While I acknowledge the principal of 'caveat emptor' (buyer beware) I feel betrayed by my local dive shop, which has taken a similar money-harvesting approach to me-the-customer.

As a new diver I was trying to find out about the world of diving (the gear I need, my options for purchasing comfortable equipment, the range of diving opportunities available, the social 'norms' for divers). The owner of my LDS fed me unbalanced information in the interests of snaffling my dollar.

It was like brainwashing a baby.

(It is interesting to note that this thread originally started out as a discussion on ethics.)

In a business where people-skills are so important (see the thread on 'what makes a good instructor') the long-term success of a diving business is a matter of loyalty. If you fire a staff member for providing honest advice to a paying customer, then you aren't being loyal to your customer. It doesn't take long for the customer to learn the value - or lack of value- of being loyal to such a shop (I speak from experience).

If you want to be ethical in the diving-business, think about how loyalty to the customer and return-business are linked.

Still, I have to acknowledge that my diveshop owner has a right to make a buck, the law is riddled with 'caveat emptor' (so I've been warned)..... and I have the right to take my buck to another dive shop.

-bash

 

[neil]

Deja vu all over again!
A few years ago, I answered an ad in the NAUI magazine "Sources". There was only a phone number and a line that said: "make a bazillion bucks teaching diving". So I call the number (Hawaii) and talk to a guy, named Dave I believe, who wanted to share his secrets with me. I've been a saleman, this guy was GOOD. He sends me a floppy with some more sales pitch on it and an offer to sell me the password for the rest, so I can have the complete plan laid out in detail. Only $500! He actually followed up with a number of calls to me before giving up. Capt. Dave, where's the punchline? I sincerely doubt that Dave is the Linus Torvalds of the scuba world.

Neil

 

[captdave]

To the basher and Neil. I guess you really do not know what loyalty is. You really do not know what you have missed by spending your money elsewhere. You are one of those type of customers I don't want in my shop. Get Out!!!

What you don't realize is that by supporting your LDS loyally then you begin to get more benefits than walking into the next shop for a better price. I love you guys cause I can undercut my competetor and I don't have to spend any time training you and taking care of what we call in the business (BABY DIVERS)

Had you had the loyalty factor your LDS you started with would have realized this fact and you would have received a lot of extra attention, more training than the minimum, special sale prices just for you and many other perks, A loyal customer is a friend we care about. .Now you don't get crap.

Think about how we make money in this business: Not in giving you training,we loose money most of the time..If we can make it up in the equipment sale then we can go on. With customers like you we go broke---So again I say to you Get out of my shop.. Eventually you will loose at everyshop as they soon learn you aren't worth the bother.
It because of customers like you I have had to put up a website to get the sale of scuba equipment at discount prices..I don't have to talk to you, I don't have to train you, and this way I can take the business away from my competetors. I now can spend the extra time really training my loyal customers.

Again I repeat if any of my staff send any customer to another shop then they are unethical and they wil be fired on the Spot!

I don't want to piss you off but I am pissed of by this stupid attitude..

 

[joewr]

CaptDave,

And I have the solution:

1. Close your shop so you do not have to deal with disloyal customers anymore.

2. Visit some hi-tech nerdy companies and put together about, say, 10 one-week-long dive trips for 10-12 of their employees for $3000 per person.

3. Make all the travel reservations and hotel reservations for them, but be sure to book them into coach class on some third world flag carrier; of course, you will meet them there after a first class flight to the destination.

4. Put them up 3 or 4 to a room in a decent resort; of course, you will have a suite.

5. Convince the resort to let you use its pool and conference room for free since you will fill up 40 of their rooms a year.

6. Sit back and watch the money roll in as these nerds crawl over each other to get in on your course...and give you lots of word of mouth advertising.

7. And you will not ever have to deal with that bane of capitalism: the customer. (Of course, you will have to dream up a new word for the nerdy guys. I have a suggestion:sucker )

Joewr...bowing to the wisdom of a new age Andrew Carnagie

 

[Lost Yooper]

Looks like ya finally hit it, Joe!

 

[captdave]

You guys just love to crack me up. HA HA HA HA

My facts are true although delivered rather courseley to get a reaction. Here is the bottom line.

All scuba shops rate there customers. And of course the customer is always greeted with warm open arms and asked to come dive with us. "You will hear the term" We would love to have you come dive with us" While in the mind they are saying that so and so took his open water lessons from us and bought all of his gear from the shop down the street and the internet.

That is how I treat my customers with niceness and bull****. But the fact that still remains the same that customer will never get any type of consideration and extra help in their development. We will take their money but we will not consider them a good customer.

On the otherhand a customer who bought all his gear and takes all his training will get the extra mile in service and concern.. Better training, better position on the dive boat. the best of the hotel rooms. friendship, concern,etc. When we have a close out they get called and e mailed way before the rest of the slobs do....They have paid us for it. Guys like you just don't get it and never will.

This goes back a couple of generations that you tech heads don't remember.. Your parents and their parents used to shop at the same butcher shop and the same gas staion even when they could get the meat and gas cheaper at the bigger stores. Why do you think they did it. Simple they got something more from the shop that guys like you don't want to understand because you have grown up in the walmart generation....You are price motivated and thats ok.
The people in my business plan are also price motivated but they will pay more for the services because they perceive more.

All of the Tech companies are on their ass because they have confused customer loyalty vs customer service vs price. It cost money to provide customer service..Cheap ain't gonna get it...

It really is guys like you that have hurt the scuba industry but it has cost you and you will never know it because that LDS you screwed over with still great you with smiles.

In this forum I can tell you like it is cause you aren't my customer and I never expect you to be. Maybe I will get the idea to some others out there that there is usually a reason for a higher price other than trying to rip you off....

 

[neil]

Originally posted by captdave


To the basher and Neil. I guess you really do not know what loyalty is. You really do not know what you have missed by spending your money elsewhere. You are one of those type of customers I don't want in my shop. Get Out!!!

What you don't realize is that by supporting your LDS loyally then you begin to get more benefits than walking into the next shop for a better price. I love you guys cause I can undercut my competetor and I don't have to spend any time training you and taking care of what we call in the business (BABY DIVERS)

Had you had the loyalty factor your LDS you started with would have realized this fact and you would have received a lot of extra attention, more training than the minimum, special sale prices just for you and many other perks, A loyal customer is a friend we care about. .Now you don't get crap.

Think about how we make money in this business: Not in giving you training,we loose money most of the time..If we can make it up in the equipment sale then we can go on. With customers like you we go broke---So again I say to you Get out of my shop.. Eventually you will loose at everyshop as they soon learn you aren't worth the bother.
It because of customers like you I have had to put up a website to get the sale of scuba equipment at discount prices..I don't have to talk to you, I don't have to train you, and this way I can take the business away from my competetors. I now can spend the extra time really training my loyal customers.

Again I repeat if any of my staff send any customer to another shop then they are unethical and they wil be fired on the Spot!

I don't want to piss you off but I am pissed of by this stupid attitude..

Capt. Dave,
I read this post a few times, and at the risk of seeming dense, I have not the slightest idea of what you are talking about! Are you saying that I should be loyal to a dive shop no matter what their prices because they trained me? You don't want me in your store, but you'll fire your help if they send me elsewhere? What did I say to make you believe I am ANY kind of customer? You're rambling, dude.
On the "to-be-fair" side, your marketing ideas are sound, but not new as already pointed out. The amount of energy and personality needed to be successful at what you purport to do is beyond what most folks have, or can muster. You my friend, are a HARD salesman, and that doesn't work as well as it used to, what with tons of info on the internet.
As far as direct marketing goes, my understanding is that a 1-2% reply rate is good. You have to cover a lot of ground with direct marketing to get any meaningful results, and that's expensive.
As I've said, I've seen this stuff before. Yeah, there's no doubt someong really doing it, maybe you. Why don't you post a copy of last years' W2 for us? Love to see it. Well, now I'M rambling!
Neil