Tell Dive Store Owners How You Feel

[TraceMalin]

Training agencies often try to help dive store owners be more successful by providing professional journals, books, and videos designed top help the store owner provide better customer service and enjoy financial success. In my opinion, some, or even much of this "advice" helps the agency more than the shop owner. Also, in my experience, most shop owners do a very poor job of listening to their customers. Much like a parent doesn't listen to his child, even after the child is 30 years old and has an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business, dive shop owners remember the diver taking his open water class and can't quite grasp the fact that after a couple years or even decades of diving that diver might have a valid opinion or two.

I'd like to ask SBers to use this thread to tell dive shop owners what they like, what they don't like and how things could be done better to make visiting a dive center a more positive experience.

Some possible topics include:

1. How you feel about dive shops being affiliated with a specific agency? Would you prefer generic stores? Do you feel more comfortable or more alienated by agency branding?

2. How do you feel about education? Are the time frames for classes too long, too short or just right? Do you like having lots of specialties? Or, would you prefer less specialty education? Did seeing all the educational opportunities excite you or almost turn you off to diving?

3. Do you feel comfortable or a little nervous walking into a new shop? Why or why not? Are you happy or unhappy with your local shop? Do you go because you enjoy it or because they are "the only game in town" or have some form of emotional blackmail in place keeping you loyal out of fear?

4. What improvements can be made to the inventory? Too many choices? Too little choices? Too much fluff and not enough of what you need? Or, are you happy with the inventory? What products would you like to see taken off the shelves? What would you like to see carried in the store?

5. Do you think a dive shop should just sell scuba equipment? Or, would you like to see something else in the store as well? If so, what?

6. What kind of employee do you most want in the store? What kind of employee makes you want to go elsewhere?

7. Do you like going into the dive shop when the owner is there or do you try to only go when other employees are working?

8. What do you consider timely service on equipment? Do you think service prices are fair or a rip-off?

9. What about gas fills? Do you feel hassled when you need an air fill, nitrox fill, or trimix fill? Or, is this normally an enjoyable part of going diving? What do you like or don't like about getting fills? Does your shop charge by the fill or by the cubic foot? Would you rather pay by the fill or cubic foot? Do they fill the gases that you need or do you end up going elsewhere for different fills?

10. Anything else? This is a great opportunity to put it all out there.

Hopefully, this will grow into a very constructive and informative thread that a shop owner can read and hear the opinions of divers rather than what they are told divers want.

[Kryssa]

Some things that my husband and I were just talking about:

1. Hire employees that are knowledgeable about the store and diving. Try to keep a relatively permanent group of employees rather than college kids that just need a job for the semester.
2. Turn around time for basic service should be about 1-2 weeks for big shops and 2-3 weeks for small shops and keep a good inventory of commonly needed parts.
3. Stock batteries for the computers you sell.

[DandyDon]

My local store has so outgrown me. Well, I just don't buy much anymore, just service what I have mostly, but I drop in a few times a year. They stock only high end & pricey lines, and I guess that works for them better.

I took a couple of tanks for Viz inspections the other day, after having them hydroed. A man and two boys were looking for snorkel sets. She explained that they have the parts for custom packages, and would run $200-250 just for mask, snorkel and fins. I kept quiet, but I did my OW in my sporting goods store set ok. I guess they just don't want to compete at that level. I know they can't do volume business here on the high plains, so I guess they have to aim at high end, high markup.

They don't do Cozumel trips of course, or any others that can be easily done alone - just shoot for more complicated plans, but way pricey!

They were offering Nitrox classes only with dives, I guess to support the high costs, but they recently sent a newsletter offering class only Nitrox certifications for $250!

I can understand them charging more for hydro than what I paid at the Fire Extinguisher store, as they have to remove my valve & boot, keep up with my stuff, take the tanks over, then go get them, as well as shop overhead - but wow. I paid $25 for hydro, while they charge $65 "including needed valve rebuilding" (?), $25 for viz, $10 for fill. I can almost buy a new tank for that.

But I keep telling myself that they need to make a decent profit on a niche business 600 miles from the sea, and they do top quality while keeping the sport alive here - where others have failed.

[Thalassamania]

1. The ideal shop is just that, a shop, and leaves training to instructors who do not sell gear. I like it when I see a diversity of different agency programs being run out of a shop, but that is becoming rarer and rarer.

2. When there is a diversity of different agency programs being run out of a shop there is also, often, a diversity of schedules and content. That is also a good thing.

3. I am rarely comfortable walking into a new shop. Most shops today have an axe (often several axes) to grind and they wear it (them) on their sleeve.

4. Few shops have sufficient inventory, but I realize that inventory costs ... big time. I am seeing less and less of the little things that I was always buying, a little container of o-ring grease or an out of the ordinary slap strap, an assortment of weight-belts, belt parts, clips and such.

5. I prefer a dive shop that just sells dive gear. I find skis, tennis rackets, running gear, etc., distracting. Often shops are not large enough to have "departments" with dedicated personnel so you wind up trying to talk diving with a tennis maniac.

6. People who know this year's dive gear are who I want in the store.

7. Owners are often best.

8. Six day turnaround. Service prices are often a bit much.

9. I want standard fills right now ... a cup of coffee while I wait is nice. Custom blending I'd like tomorrow.

[Superlyte27]

I run a shop and contribute to another, so my view is a bit biased, but...

Not offering Nitrox is stupid.
Charging 100 bucks for hydro, vip, fill is stupid
Not having inventory for product lines you carry is stupid... people want to come in, buy, walk out with the gear they just bought, not wait 2 weeks for it.
Selling crap because it has the best markup is stupid (like Air2's or spare airs)
Thinking PADI is the only/best option is naive.... aka stupid.

Ok, that's all I got for now. If I think of any other unbiased, from the heart, real issues, (lol, I kid) I'll be back.

[MarkCriders]

Superlyte, that brings up a good question, "When you sell Nitrox, which certifications do you accept?(i.e. PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI, TDI)"

[Superlyte27]

Superlyte, that brings up a good question, "When you sell Nitrox, which certifications do you accept?(i.e. PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI, TDI)"

All of those you listed and more.

[chrpai]

I'd want to tell my dive shop owner, I understand you have a lot invested in your business and I want you to be successful, but I really need you to come up with a busness model and customer service attitude that actually serves my needs.

[bbarnett51]

I love my LDS but they lack inventory. Everything is aqua lung which I do prefer but I would like variety.

[Thalassamania]

Superlyte, that brings up a good question, "When you sell Nitrox, which certifications do you accept?(i.e. PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI, TDI)"

I love my LDS but they lack inventory. Everything is aqua lung which I do prefer but I would like variety.

You need to ask yourself, "Why is everything Aqualung?" Or for the other major offender, "Why is everything ScubaPro?" The presence of either (or for that matter both) brands as the only real offerings in an LDS speaks very loudy to me, I back out the door with my hand over my wallet.