It starts with www and when I order something it is dirt cheap and I get a discount and it comes in a couple of days to my door.
N <----"my" lds is the internet
N <----"my" lds is the internet
What makes a successful dive shop?
- Thread starter jlbdiver
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
I'm with you, James. I have been known to pay a bit more for things, in order to buy them from Northwest Sports Divers. They're good people, and I put my money where my mouth is.
Good dive shop is no different to any other good shop. It must stock products people want to buy and sell them at prices people can afford and want to pay. That's pretty much all i want from any shop, dive or otherwise.
traumadiver
Contributor
The dive shop I got my initial OW training at has got to be my favorite LDS. Why you ask? From the minute I walked into the door, I felt like family. It didnt feel like, "I am a diver with 20 years of experience and a billion dives and you are nobody to me." I have seen that at times with other dive shops. When I came back to them a year later to dive with them, they remembered me by name, and invited me to party with them after diving, that is service. Cliques also bother me. I like the family thing but I dont like to feel that if I am not in that dive shops "circle" I will get outcasted.
Of course training is big on my list too. Since I am a new diver I want the best training my money can get me. Some dive shops give you the bare bones minimum just to get by. Sure it meets standard, but I feel so much better when my instructor takes the time to relate personal stories or tricks of the trade that are not covered.
Safety is huge as well for obvious reasons. I understand that I have been trained to a standard but it feels alot better when the DM or staff takes that extra time to make sure my gear is set up right or that I understand the dive plan. Gives me a bit of security.
As far as gear goes, I really dont buy a lot of my gear through LDS. I buy online like so many others. I do support my local dive shop and buy the smaller stuff though. Lets face it, we all have to survive.
As said in earlier posts it really all comes down to one thing...customer service. If a diver leaves a dive feeling that the staff took care of them, they will come back, even if they puked thier brains out over the rail.
Of course training is big on my list too. Since I am a new diver I want the best training my money can get me. Some dive shops give you the bare bones minimum just to get by. Sure it meets standard, but I feel so much better when my instructor takes the time to relate personal stories or tricks of the trade that are not covered.
Safety is huge as well for obvious reasons. I understand that I have been trained to a standard but it feels alot better when the DM or staff takes that extra time to make sure my gear is set up right or that I understand the dive plan. Gives me a bit of security.
As far as gear goes, I really dont buy a lot of my gear through LDS. I buy online like so many others. I do support my local dive shop and buy the smaller stuff though. Lets face it, we all have to survive.
As said in earlier posts it really all comes down to one thing...customer service. If a diver leaves a dive feeling that the staff took care of them, they will come back, even if they puked thier brains out over the rail.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
That's easy.
They can start with a friendly smile and hello.
For the regular customers that spend or have spent lots of money throw them 10 or 15% discount. That isn't going to kill them. Something like a discount card would work to keep people coming back. The more you spend the better prices you get.
Good fat fills with clean air. A compressor that isn't "down" more times that it's operating. They could start banking nitrox while their at it since they seem to like selling the course.
Carry stuff that experienced divers want, not a bunch of entry level stuff that they sell to their open water divers.
Make it welcome for people to come by and shoot the bull just because they happened to be in the area, not an attitude like "If you're not going to buy something then leave". People like to run into friends at the dive shop and chew the rag around the filling station. You never know they might even buy something that they need. If people don't feel welcome they'll just stop showing up.
Host some fun dives once in a while.
When someone special orders something they shouldn't wait to order it until they have a bunch of stuff to get from that one supplier. They should order it right away and get it moving regardless of the shipping. That's called customer service. Nobody want's to wait two months for something.
None of the shops in my town have been able to get a clue, so I mostly shop on the internet. I would buy from them more but they don't have the stuff I want, except for air, and sometimes not even that. And their attitudes suck.
There's another shop I go to now in a neighboring town that is friendly and has some stuff I can use, but for the most part they are a cookie cutter dive shop.
They can start with a friendly smile and hello.
For the regular customers that spend or have spent lots of money throw them 10 or 15% discount. That isn't going to kill them. Something like a discount card would work to keep people coming back. The more you spend the better prices you get.
Good fat fills with clean air. A compressor that isn't "down" more times that it's operating. They could start banking nitrox while their at it since they seem to like selling the course.
Carry stuff that experienced divers want, not a bunch of entry level stuff that they sell to their open water divers.
Make it welcome for people to come by and shoot the bull just because they happened to be in the area, not an attitude like "If you're not going to buy something then leave". People like to run into friends at the dive shop and chew the rag around the filling station. You never know they might even buy something that they need. If people don't feel welcome they'll just stop showing up.
Host some fun dives once in a while.
When someone special orders something they shouldn't wait to order it until they have a bunch of stuff to get from that one supplier. They should order it right away and get it moving regardless of the shipping. That's called customer service. Nobody want's to wait two months for something.
None of the shops in my town have been able to get a clue, so I mostly shop on the internet. I would buy from them more but they don't have the stuff I want, except for air, and sometimes not even that. And their attitudes suck.
There's another shop I go to now in a neighboring town that is friendly and has some stuff I can use, but for the most part they are a cookie cutter dive shop.
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
Great comments. I appreciate the honest remarks. I don't buy a lot of gear online unless I can't get it local shop. Here in the Chicago area there are a lot of shops to choose from. Some seem to get it, are welcoming, orderly and well stocked. A few are cramped with crap laying on the floor or whatever. I like to support the local guy as long, as most of you have said, you get treated fairly, if not it's like anything else I go elsewhere. Thanks again.
mikemill
Contributor
I go to my LDS for the following reasons:
- Good service. If I'm looking around for something I can be sure that one of the employees will come up and ask if I need any help. And they'll do this even if I tell them I'm not planning on buying anything that day.
- Nice people that are willing to share their knowledge with you.
- Good size store with plenty of selection*
There is another dive shop that is right next to the water where I dive. They seem to know what niche they fill and do it well. A lot of people use them for air fills and they seem to give good fills. They have some gear though I don't know how much they sell. But they have apparel, souvenirs, etc. In addition they have a lot of "replacement" type stuff. I was able to go in and get some batteries for my dive light. I don't know how many people use them as a regular LDS but as an onsite save-a-dive shop they fill the role well.
*: I do want to see how they react when I ask if they'll order me a drysuit that they don't normally carry but that I know they are an authorized dealer for
- Good service. If I'm looking around for something I can be sure that one of the employees will come up and ask if I need any help. And they'll do this even if I tell them I'm not planning on buying anything that day.
- Nice people that are willing to share their knowledge with you.
- Good size store with plenty of selection*
There is another dive shop that is right next to the water where I dive. They seem to know what niche they fill and do it well. A lot of people use them for air fills and they seem to give good fills. They have some gear though I don't know how much they sell. But they have apparel, souvenirs, etc. In addition they have a lot of "replacement" type stuff. I was able to go in and get some batteries for my dive light. I don't know how many people use them as a regular LDS but as an onsite save-a-dive shop they fill the role well.
*: I do want to see how they react when I ask if they'll order me a drysuit that they don't normally carry but that I know they are an authorized dealer for
Imagine a shop that delivers your full tanks to your door. We had that. Those guys would drop them off on the way home from the shop. They had all sizes of steel tanks for rent, too. To top it off, they sold Dive Rite, Atomic, and had XS Scuba for those on a budget.
Sound like the combination for success? Well... you need location. Our little town is not big enough or rich enough to support a dive shop. They were great guys, but did not last two years.
Sound like the combination for success? Well... you need location. Our little town is not big enough or rich enough to support a dive shop. They were great guys, but did not last two years.
- Messages
- 6,921
- Reaction score
- 25
- # of dives
- I just don't log dives
Friendly people, excellent equipment service, well-stocked shop, great local boat dives, trips and cookouts, wide range of classes.
Also, initially it was "good advice" on gear. I can get a ton of advice on the internet but (no offense intended) it's mostly useless.
Someone says "what kind of <whatever> should I get" and there are 30 different responses from people that own some brand or other and think everybody should get the same one. However this is mostly meaningless, since if I bought <x> on someone's recommendation and didn't like it, someone else would invariably pop up and say "<x> is crap, you should have bought <y>." When I was getting started and still buying gear, I'd ask the LDS what they recommend and so far every single item has been pretty much perfect for me. And in cases where I bought something that I thought I wanted and actually hated, they took it back without question.
Fast, excellent service is also high on my list. If my reg needs service, I can drop it off one day and pick it up the next if necessary. If my tank needs a hydro or VIP and they can't get to it immediately, they'll give me a loaner. When my SmartCom was recalled, they gave me an Alladin as loaner.
This is why they're still in business after 50+ years.
Terry
dry is why
Registered
Similar threads
