WHAT!! you didn't buy from me!!!!!

[jbm]

King Kong Matt once bubbled...



My point in the previous thread is that, in my humble opinion, our difference in attitudes is as much responsible for our differce in experiences at the local LDS as anything else.

 

[TCDiver1]

Northeastwrecks once bubbled...


Real Simple. Great Service, nice people, assembled to my specifications by people I trust. Add in a pleasant atmosphere, great return policy (those rare times that it has been needed) and a great group of dive buddies. Finally, access at all hours and free delivery to my house by the owner if it comes to that.

And to answer your question. No. If I ask to try something on or to test drive a vehicle, it is because I'm interested in buying from the person or store.

One thing to add that my LDS does for most long term customers .... after hours air fills .... 90% of the time he will drop what he is doing and come to the store to fill your tanks if asked.

Give it up NE, to some people, value is only the cheapest price. They're just jealous they don't have the people skills or the LDS to develop good relations with. Too bad really.

 

[King Kong Matt]

yknot once bubbled...
What are your LDS's doing to fend off internet competition?

My dive shop has a weekly dive program...sort of like a built-in club.

Every week of the year (and again we are in Boston, MA) they go out diving. Some weeks its on a shore dive, sometimes they rent one of the many boats in the area.

Basically, they are really doing a good job of trying to make sure they build a cohesive community around the shop. It works out great. My buddy cancels? I can always go out with the shop and I can always be confident that I will be under the supervision of someone more experienced than I am.

It gives a whole new meaning to the words "continuing education". After I got certified, I basically continued to dive with the shop (and the same instructors who certified me) for the next couple of months. Was my Open Water certification more expensive than those at some other shops? Yes, but again, I felt that at the end of the "basic open water" phase of my education, because of this program, I had something like 20-25 dives under instructor supervision. So was the increased cost of certification worth it? In the big picture yes.

 

[FredT]

yknot once bubbled...
In respects to LDS's in Florida, why do you think the service and prices are so poor? I would think that with so much competition someone would have emerged as a local standout.

FL is primarily a tourist diving state, as a result a good chunk of the change the LDS there sees is coming from "out of town" folks.

The LDS when I started diving (there were only 2 in the state of OK then) worked on standard "western rules". These are described below.

The incidence of a$$holes in businesness seems to decrease as one departs the heavily populated areas, across all business lines. Part of this is that any one business , in say Carter County Montana, has exactly ONE bad deal in it's life cycle. If ONE customer departs the store feeling screwed the word gets out over the next hour or two to the rest of the 2 or 3 thousand people in the county (it's a pretty spread out county). That one bad deal is going to be the business' last deal in the county! The reputation for fair dealing is all the business has to build on. Once that is lost there is generally no recovery, unless the screwed customer can somehow be mollifed well enough to spread the NEW information.

In a larger town that cycle can take several bad deals to develop and in a city the terminal point of no customers walking in at all can take decades.

In a tourist area the business gets new pigeons in every day, many of whom will not return anyway. Maximizing the $s removed from every tourist's wallet each visit is the name of the game. The honest shop will remain and prosper for decades. Even the goniffs can make a good living for several years, then they'll sell out to a REAL pigeon after the reputation of the business is destroyed.


BTW I used Carter County, Montana as an example simply because my mom's folks live there and in Fallon County just north of it. I was once recoginzed as "Betty May's boy" in the hardware store in Ekalaka after not visiting the area for over 10 years, and I'd aged from 10 to 21 during those years. Good memories and grudges both live a long time in little isolated towns. If looking for Ekalaka first find Baker (even the "big city" of Baker is not on many maps), then go south a while. Access to the area from the south is still pretty much non-existant.

FT

 

[o2scuba]

Genesis said
"Airlines are legendary for lying to their customers about the cause of delays.

They do it out of the profit motive - a little-known fact (which is going away as the paper ticket disappears) is that you can endorse a ticket over to ANY airline, and if it is on the same route, they can recover from the issuer the face value!

So, here you are in Chicago, with a flight due to leave for LA. Its on United. They KNOW they have a mechanical problem with the plane and it will be an hour late leaving - if it leaves at all.

Two concourses over, American has a flight going to LA 30 minutes later.

Now, as the United Gate agent, do you tell the truth, and have me, as the customer, turn around and walk down the two concourses, fly standby on the American plane - and have your company EAT the price of my ticket? Remember, that really didn't cost your company anything (you didn't take me anywhere if that happens), but you WILL have to fork up the money to American.

Or you can lie. You can tell me the plane is boarding "in 15 minutes", and that they are just about done solving the problem.

If you do that, and I buy it, I sit there and wait. The American flight departs. You now have my stuck in a box, and even if the plane NEVER leaves the ground, you have my money."

I thought we were talking about diving here???

I've heard that it can be dangerous to argue with airline personell within 24 hours of diving.

As one who flies stand-by quite a bit, I think I'd rather be with United in this case. At least you WILL be on the next one. Rather than "endorsing" your ticket to another company who may just keep you in stand-by for a couple of days. (much too long to go without your medicine)Stand by these days s*cks. People flying on later flights are allowed to stand by for earlier ones, not to mention the overbookings and upgrade allowances. Many are selling 1st class upgrades for dirt, just 45 minutes before the flight. End result, I end up in coach
;-0

Hey man, really tho. What may help the stress, I suggest a lovely herbal enema. Somehow I bet YOUR LDS would be willing to help you with that

Finally something for free!


Sorry everyone, I couldn't resist

 

[Genesis]

talking about poor customer service - lying to customers, misleading customers, generally treating people with money in their hand like they OWE YOU something (rather than that you ought to be SERVING them in exchange for that money)

The airlines could write the book on how NOT to engender customer loyalty.

 

[ElectricZombie]

Genesis once bubbled...
I had a so-called "vendor" try that kind of bullying tactic on me - exactly once.

I have a photocopy of a six-figure check, which I deposited and cashed, for my trouble.

I wouldn't mind hearing the story behind this if you don't mind sharing.

I've had some of the same problems you described with the LDS and can relate to the whole situation...alot of "Oh, where did you get that?" questions. Pisses me off, none of their business.

 

[neil]

Genesis once bubbled...
i
Show me a DUI dealer, for example, that will eat a drysuit that THEY measured you for but doesn't fit right - and who will put that policy in writing before you place your order. You can't find one. Why? Because DUI's policy is that its not THEIR problem even if their agent does the measuring.

I was fitted at DEMA for a drysuit. It fit like crap. I called DUI and they said have your rep look at it. I said, "how about I drive to your factory and have YOU look at it?" They said ok. The head of design saw me in it, said, and I quote, "that doesn't fit you, let us have it back". A couple of weeks later I had a proper fitting suit. Your turn.

 

[Phil TK]

Genesis once bubbled...


The airlines could write the book on how NOT to engender customer loyalty.

That book would have a large chapter on Garuda Indonesia Airlines I reckon.
Years ago I flew them from London Heathrow to Jakarta. I arrived at London and they calmly announced a 9 hour delay! -'a crew member stuck in traffic in Bombay' FFS! but imagine how much better I felt when by way of compensation they gave me a coupon for 1 cup of coffee (instant) and a croissant of my choice.
Fortunately Heathrow has a good real ale bar so I compensated myself in there instead (hic). I tried very very hard to throw up on their aircraft when it did arrive, but just got bad heartburn trying.


Don't use that airline

Phil TK

 

[Northeastwrecks]

neil once bubbled...


I was fitted at DEMA for a drysuit. It fit like crap. I called DUI and they said have your rep look at it. I said, "how about I drive to your factory and have YOU look at it?" They said ok. The head of design saw me in it, said, and I quote, "that doesn't fit you, let us have it back". A couple of weeks later I had a proper fitting suit. Your turn.

Stop interrupting Krazy Karl the Konsumer Krusader with facts. You'll give him a headache.

Let me guess. You were polite and assertive. You didn't give them a canned rant that put them in a mood to call the local mental hospital. They responded with good results.

Go figure.