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Im glad I have been reading this board otherwise I would have been totally shocked by what just happened.
Im very new to the sport of scuba. I just recently finished the confined water portion of my ow class. i am doing my checkout dives next weekend.
i can already tell that i am going to love this. therfore, i am leaning toward purchasing my gear. i would love to be able to buy locally but simply will not get bent over the counter on pricing.
Anyway, I just called a local shop to inquire about their pricing. I asked the gentleman that answered if they carried scuba pro regulators. I just wanted to get an idea how much higer they would be at the shop. I was really expecting to get a yes we do or sorry, we dont carry scuba pro.
What i got was a no because we dont carry low quality gear. You only find top of the line gear in my store. He proceeded to tell me why scuba pro sucked and why what he carried was the best in the industry. This went on for a couple of minutes at least.
I just simply asked him if he carried scuba pro regulators. At least by reading some of the comments here i was not totally floored by what he was saying. I just let him finish his rant, laughed at him said thanks and goodbye. But geez why would any business act that way.
Needless to say, Im not looking forward to purchasing gear at all. i would rather go haggle with a car salesman than deal with this.
Picking a good dive shop is as important as picking the right equipment, and getting the right training! Your local dive shop can tell you where to go, hook you up with new dive buddies, give you advanced training, advice, pointers, and dive conditions.
If you don't have a good feeling about a shop, don't go there. Try to find another shop where you feel comfortable with the employees and policies. You'll be glad you did.
Rocky Top,
Buying quality gear is not really all that daunting. In general stick with brand names that are well known. Check out all the various gear sections here on scubaboard for each thing you decide to buy. You will find plenty of info on all of it. Of course you will plenty of opinions as to what is the best or highest quality just like you got over the phone with that LDS. That's stuff you can pretty much ignore. Don't get too wrapped up in the "....its life support equipment" issue. The real life support equipment is located within your skull.
As noted by alexis finding a shop that meets your needs is important so shop around for that as well.
NAUI Instructor PSI Cylinder Inspector
Buoyancy control specialist
Buoyancy Control and Breathing Control are conjoined twins that cannot be seperated without both dying---Uncle Pug
Just out of interest, what were his reasons for calling ScubaPro gear bad?
I remember years ago when SP regs were considered the Rolls Royce of regs, I have used SP regs in the past for cave and trimix diving, and while not my favorite, they have been around forever.....
This in my mind is a highly respected company within the industry.
im not sure what the guys problem was. he mentioned 3 brands he carries. i remember him saying oceanic and 2 others whic i dont recall. one of them started with a t. he said that brand was basically designed by folks that used to work at SP and left because they wanted to create the best equipment available.
he siad that is exactly what they have done, so he refers to this brand as scuba pro done right. that is when i laughed and said goodbye.
Funny you should mention a car salesman. I wont mention the company but I was looking at a new car and met with the same guy several times. Each time he would ask me what other cars I had looked at and was interested in. Each time he always said something like...thats a good car...what about it did you like specifically?? NEVER did he cut the competition. Finally one day he did the same thing and I just stopped and told him my experience in sales and I appreciated his kind of attitude. He was floored.
Also....I hate when I ask someone in a store where something is. That def implies I havent found it and have no idea where to look.....so.....just dont say it is two or three isles over....TAKE ME THERE>
I was looking for something weird one day in a grocery store and that just happened. Some kid had a box open stocking a shelf and he stopped and took me where he thought it was....nope...took me to another possible place...nope. Went and got his manager.....they didnt carry the brand. But I thanked him and told him THAT was customer service.
Sorry...nothing to do with regs.....man what some down time at the office will do.
rich
A legitimate adventure has no predetermined outcome. - Chatterton
A flawlessly working rebreather is almost as dangerous as a completely unreliable unit since reliability encourages complacency. - Howard Hall stating the Richard Pyle Paradox
Decompression algorithms are akin to measuring with a micrometer, marking with chalk and cutting with an ax. - Rick Murchison
I got the same thing (regarding a different brand) from my LDS. Plus a lecture on what I am missing by not diving locally (which I can get from the comfort of my home computer, if I so desire )
I left feeling dirty (and I used to sell used cars), and probably will not go back...
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In general stick with brand names that are well known. Check out all the various gear sections here on scubaboard for each thing you decide to buy. You will find plenty of info on all of it. Of course you will plenty of opinions as to what is the best or highest quality just like you got over the phone with that LDS. That's stuff you can pretty much ignore. Don't get too wrapped up in the "....its life support equipment" issue. The real life support equipment is located within your skull.
Originally Posted by MikeFerrara
