Opinions sought from LDS owners

My daughter and I are going to sign up for OW training with a local LDS. The normal rates are $250 group and $475 private. I'm planning on booking a "semi-private" for the 2 of us as a group.

As LDS owners I am interested in your opinion of the following:

Since we're not going to actually have individual instructors and schedules I thought that it would be fair to approach the LDS owner and ask that we not pay the full $950 for two private lessons and pay full price for any gear we might buy or that we pay the full $950 and get some sort of discount on gear.

My point is that I do want to support my LDS, and understand that they have to cover their overheads beyond the internet stores, and that they provide a benefit ,etc,. I want to start and keep our relationship positively but I also want to save myself some dive money without being a ______. I guess you can tell that I already think that what I propose sounds fair - to both. What's your opinion?
Feel free to answer via PM if you wish your view to remain private.
Thanks

ps
Please folks, (and this is addressed to people who are not business owners) I'm NOT interested in replies of "let them earn my money"..."sink or swim", etc.

mods - sorry if this in in the wrong place...if so, please move

I will just say that everything is negotiable. Talk to the shops and see what they have to say. Personally, I would take the approach of "Here's what I would like to do, how's can we make it work?" I wouldn't start the conversation discussing price.

Richard

Think of it like this: You are going to a dealer with Ford money and want to buy a Cadillac. You get what you pay for.

rstofer:

I will just say that everything is negotiable.

Richard

Click to expand...

Point: do not buy equipment from the same person/people/instructor(s) from whom you purchase diving lessons.

You either undestand, or you don't.

One idea you could try: offer to pay the private rate for one of you and group rate for the other. Having private instruction obviously should cost more because you are paying for your own instructor. However, after the first person pays the $450, that instructor and any other overhead has already been taken care of. I can't see much more overhead for semi-private, so it would make sense to me that the second person could just pay the group rate and the dive shop would be better off than if they only trained the private person. If you are paying two private rates, I'd think you should be getting two instructors (which I doubt is the case). $350 each for semi-private: worth a shot.

I agree with Dan, but if you must ... I'd negotiate the whole deal with the shop since most shops make most of their money on gear ... negotiate your gear package, and then ask what I'll cost to train you both together outside of a regular class.

As the grandparent of a Junior Open Water Diver and the one who provides the funding for a herd of 4, I would also suggest you NOT take the course at the same time as your daughter. Although, you didn't say how old she is... Get your training first.

We did it this way: First, my son-in-law got certified in a group environment. After he was squared away, my grandson got his training in a one-on-one environment. Over the past 8 months, my son-in-law has done AOW, Rescue, Nitrox, Deep & Navigation (plus Equipment Specialist but that doesn't really count).

During the in-water exercises (confined and open), my son-in-law was in the water while the training was going on but he was not a recipient. I think this leaves the instructor completely free to concentrate on the youngster.

All of which has nothing to do with your original question but it does get you to a combined price and leaves your daughter getting the one-on-one training that is so important for kids.

Richard

Thalassamania:

I agree with Dan, but if you must ... I'd negotiate the whole deal with the shop since most shops make most of their money on gear ... negotiate your gear package, and then ask what I'll cost to train you both together outside of a regular class.

Click to expand...

I agree, be upfront, and negotiate the package, You will get a better deal the more you commit to, In our neck of the woods 10% disc is standard for a student, so you may want to start there, & combined with lessons...good luck, let us know how it goes

Thanks all.

I appreciate the help. I think ColdwaterChuck understands my thinking exactly and put it better than I did.
Unlike what I think Garrabo's understanding of my post was, I'm not trying to "get something for nothing", I'm trying to "get what I pay for" or more accurately "pay for what I get" -since I'm not figuring on a 1 instructor per student class. At the same time, rstofer makes a good point and it may be that individualized training would be best for my daughter (she's 12). If that's the case - I have no qualms about paying for that.

Well, you all have given me some good food for thought. As meierdierk requested, I'll post the results after our conversation tomorrow.

And what you are asking isn't outside common business practice. While my LDS is 3000 miles away from you, this is from their website regarding the pricing on private classes:

Materials and rental SCUBA Gear: $225/student
Instructor Fee:
1 student: $450
2 students: $375 ea.
3 students: $300 ea.
Plus an additional $40/hr for any time in excess of 8 hours.
Total: $225 + Instructor Fee

The other reason you want to start this conversation now is because it will give you insight to the LDS' attitude, it's "fairness factor". This will help you decide if this shop is a good choice of vendors. While I think my LDS is solid gold, I do know some shops that are made of less noble metals.