What you dislike most....?

[LandoCalarusso]

I am wondering what divers dislike most about the diving industry in general. What changes would people like to see or have, to better serve our fellow divers, employees, and instructors? (Charter boats, dive shops, internet, tank fills, classes, or any other services people would perfer)

Please give any feedback or ideas that you would like to offer...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Mostly just the Walmart approach to dive training. I see no reason why we have to so routinely turn out new divers who know barely enough to kick the crap out of the reefs, worry the crap out of their dive buddies, and scare the crap out of themselves.

Dive training should not be treated as primarily a "loss leader" to get people into shops to buy expensive dive equipment ... that just promotes the "minimal standards" approach in an effort to reduce costs.

I'd like to see dive equipment sales and dive training be completely separate businesses ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[knowone]

The I might try that, on a whim people, that have dictated how the industry is
and are quite capable or not of progressing further and improving
as they wish.

Except for those walking along Glenferrie Rd.

 

[tbone1004]

$$$
The surcharge for scuba equipment is stupid
If I didn't teach at school, I'd have to pay $16 per bottle for EAN30, or $8 for air. So $32 to fill my bottles with EAN30 regardless of if I have 2000psi or 200 psi. That's highway robbery. For $40 I can go fill those bottles from empty with 30/30

Regulator repair kits are another stupid surcharge, O-rings and teflon seats aren't that expensive.

 

[TSandM]

Bob has a good point, but I will add that I really, really dislike the politics and nastiness that occurs between dive shops. I like the fact that I can walk into any tack shop in Seattle and be welcomed, no matter where else I have been or bought something. I wish dive shops were more cooperative, because all of them would be pleasanter places to spend time were that so.

(I also wish they could afford inventory.)

 

[Garrobo]

Other than the 4-hour flight to Lauderdale, (though interesting some times if I have an cooperating, talk-it-up fellow traveler) and the two-hour drive to the Upper Keys (and back) I don't really notice anything that bothers me much about diving. Some complain about the people in the LDS being less than friendly, others about the cost or service price of gear but I couldn't care less. I'm out there to dive not to rate an employee's personality or compare prices. I mean, how often are you buying gear anyway. The stuff lasts for years. Hell, I've often spent more on a weekend drunk in Mexico or a few days in Las Vegas than a full set of dive gear would set me back and got exactly zero out of it. As far as I am concerned the "Walmart approach" to dive training has helped the dive industry more than it could possibly have hurt it. Anything which will get people interesting in diving and in the water is OK by me. And I doubt seriously if ANY dive shop could remain in business with dive training only. They have to sell new gear to the new diver to exist.

 

[Insta-Gator]

It's even worse than the Walmart approach. It's like the Hallmark "promote another holiday for card giving" approach. I'm sure that dive education centers / shops on the coast probably do a much better job of truly educating students at every level. Inland shops "seem" to survive solely on moving gear. They get you in for "another card" and wear on you to buy some new fin or what ever. Also, speaking of survival, why would an industry encourage people to advance to DM or instructor when so many are apparently barely eking out a living or working for free to "gain the experience?" It must be a truly dog-eat-dog industry to work in. (outside looking in perspective.)

 

[fjpatrum]

I would have to say there are a couple of factors I think pretty much suck. I agree that dive shops should be able to survive on classes. That said, I took as long as I did to get certified because I couldn't commit the time and money it used to take to get certified 15 years ago. So in that regard I think the "walmart approach" has benefited at least me. Without the shop I took my classes at hawking gear, I doubt they could have survived and they did nearly weekly trips by van to Mexico to dive. For shops that don't have such nice local options for diving, where are they supposed to make their money? People like me won't pay more for classes until we know better and, as is so often said here, we don't know what we don't know.

The markup on gear is a bit ridiculous, but considering the % total cost of gear versus most people's diving trips I see that as kind of a wash. For those that dive locally of course, it's an annoying expense that is a barrier to entry in the sport. I've got a lot of expensive hobbies and adding gear costs make it that much more difficult to start new ones, or continue participating if gear costs are continuous. (Not that I think diving gear needs replacing that often...)

I haven't had any real issue with shops bitching about where I got my gear and why didn't I buy with them. I've gotten some nasty looks and slightly inferior (but not bad) service when I mentioned I bought all my gear used, but nothing really bad. If a shop ever does that I will tell them immediately they just lost my business permanently and anyone else whom I can convince not to shop there.

 

[tyesai]

I'd like to see more girls that look the ones in the magazines.

 

[NightForce]

I would have probably bought every single piece of dive equipment I own from my local dive shop, because I actually believe in supporting my local economy. But...... business is business and as a customer I do not take well to piss poor attitude and I will not put up with any store making me feel threatened just because I did not purchase from their store. When my wife and I was in the stage of buying mask fins and snorkel my wife wanted specific colors for her gear. She is a woman and colors matter to her so I am not going to tell her no, if she wants a color so be it. Well our shop was refusing to even to try and get her what she wanted they made us feel as if we better buy what they have in stock, end of story. My wife bought her mask and snorkel at a shop down the road because they met her requirements as a customer. Our shop that we were to get our training from gave me a very bad attitude about it. And that sealed their fate with me. You mean to tell me that the cost of a stupid cheap as* snorkel is worth jeopardizing potentially thousands of dollars worth of business. All I can say is I have completely outfitted myself with a full dive kit and the only items purchased from that shop other than training was my mask fins and snorkel. My wife has only bought her fins from that shop. It all worked out for me in the end because I would have been the diver carrying every tank banger/scuba gadget from that shop had Scuba Board not help save me.