How do dive shops treat new or would-be divers?

[divingyogini]

The bike industry is undergoing some changes and are trying to train bike shop staff to be more friendly to non-bicyclists. Walking into a bike shop, apparently many people feel like they don't belong to the "club", and encounter an us-vs-them mentality. There's a really good article about a new bike they're rolling out and how they're trying to change their entire sales approaches to greatly broaden the market: The Revolution Will Be Simplified - bicycling.com (Hint, skip down to the part about the bike guys going to Sephora - it is pretty interesting. I actually find the comment about how the people who don't bike consider the world of biking hyper competitive, which is probably the way a lot of people view the dive industry as well.)

When I first learned, 5 years ago, as I was taking my open water class, I was of course not familiar with lots of the jargon and in one shop in particular the kids working there would get very impatient if I didn't walk in knowing exactly what I wanted and ready to purchase within the first three minutes of walking in the door. Questions such as the difference between split and solid fins were met with eye rolls. Because I've learned a lot more about the lingo, I feel more confident in talking to dive shops, but I have encountered my share of "you're either a diver or you're not" mentality from some–though certainly not all–dive shops.

I heard a stat in my open water class that 90% of the people who take the class will never dive again. I don't know the accuracy of that stat or how geographically-dependent it is, but to me that says the dive shops aren't doing the best job at retaining students.

I know some of you will respond by saying new people shouldn't be diving anyway, and if you didn't go through Navy Seals training you shouldn't be in the water at all. But to me, the more people who enjoy diving the more people who will actually think twice about dumping their trash directly into rivers, lakes and oceans.

So I'm just wondering if anyone has heard of initiatives by stores or manufacturers to do a better job in talking with the dive-curious or the "I just finished my very first class and no I don't know how much trim weight I'll need" crowd. Or, what do individual dive shops do to avoid talking down to the person who is just curious about trying it out and doesn't know the first thing about balanced regulators?

 

[PhilEllis]

So I'm just wondering if anyone has heard of initiatives by stores or manufacturers to do a better job in talking with the dive-curious or the "I just finished my very first class and no I don't know how much trim weight I'll need" crowd. Or, what do individual dive shops do to avoid talking down to the person who is just curious about trying it out and doesn't know the first thing about balanced regulators?

I personally experienced this first hand before I opened my dive store, I have constantly heard comments about this since I have opened my store, and Scubaboard is awash with stories of how divers are mistreated and victimized for their lack of knowledge. I simply don't understand that operating principle.

In this industry, we are COMPLETELY DEPENDENT on new divers. If you look at the income/profit potential of various classes of customers, the new customer BY FAR produces the largest potential gain for the shop owner. Why any shop would tolerate an employee "talking down" to an interested participant simply baffles me.

If you are going to be in the brutal business, you should at least enjoy it. One of the most enjoyable things about this business is the opportunities to help people understand what is a slightly overwhelming sport. I love talking to customers about diving, diving products, ideas for more fun while diving...in fact, anything about diving. It is most fun talking with the "newly interested" or recently certified divers.

Stores that treat diving like a closed society certainly have a disadvantage in the market place. Interestingly enough, when you find a store that treats diving like a mystery and only available to certain people, you usually find a store that is falling victim to all of the other "problems" that are widely discussed in various chat board threads.

Phil Ellis

 

[garyfotodiver]

Well said, Phil.

 

[bvmjethead]

I have personally heard the owner of a local dive shop call a paying customer a "*ucking idiot" beind the customers back. This has happened twice now. He was talking to me like he wanted me to agree with him.

I will not be spending very much money there in the future.

Customer service pretty much sucks nationwide weather you're buying lunch at McDonalds or having major surgery at a well known hospital.

People need re-training.

People in the service industry need to realize it's the people they SERVE who are signing their paychecks..... or not.....

I get the rolled eyes, disinterest, impatience or any generally bad attitude and that's it, I either go elsewhere to spend my cash or I call for a manager right then and there.

 

[Bobbin-along]

Our LDS where we live now has a pretty simple code of ethics on their wall.

"Diving is a small community, we know that.
We work hard to give you good value for your money.
We strive to make you feel welcome through these doors.
We treat everyone as we like to be treated. "

....and below that someone taped up an addendum....

"Non-divers are especially welcome, prepare to be assimilated"


My first LDS I went to for certification was a complete trap. I walked out of there feeling kind of dirty and an urge to take a shower. The fins were the only retail priced thing I bought, but they insisted that all equipment used in training had to come from them for "safety". Being a big innocent, I believed them, and paid dearly. I also got the "Internet gear is unsafe" speech.

I ended up paying 90$ for a Scubamax purge mask... the same one you can get for 30$ online, 60$ for a scubamax dry snorkle, 85$ for booties, 65$ for a deepsea hood, and 75$ for a pair of gloves that were miserable cold.

So after openwater and some serious learning on SB, and other BBs I learned that the reason I felt dirty was because that shops attitude towards "unknown" divers was the key. Maybe if dive shops understood the model of how to keep a customer for life, rather than molest a new person once, fewer of us would feel like we just went car shopping.

When it came time for BCs, regs, and computers I had done my homework and had prices from a number of different sources and a pretty good understanding of the margins involved on the items as well. I bartered and dickered to a price that was very competitive but still had decent margins, and all the while they acted like I was killing them. I'm not a horse trader and I feel that prices shouldn't have to be dickered that aggressively. I never feel good about any store where the prices are inflated so high that you feel good about walking away bartering them down to retail.

 

[deepblueme]

After 20 years in a dive shop... you should treat your customers like they have the gold you need to stay open.

Some of the problems I see are with the younger staff that think they are to cool, I also see this in the Whitewater Kayak shop I work in currently.
It was even worse when I would run into the Ubercool Tecie divers that work parttime.

I havent been teaching/diving in a few years but will still pop into a few local stores to "see" what is new gear wise and am amazed at how some of the staff act toward me not knowing me, then see the change when they find out I was in the biz for 20 years.

I go from being treated like an idiot to no one wanting to talk to me.

By the way some customers are #*^&$ Idiots, but it should never be discussed openly......

 

[Hollywoodivers]

We listen and really try to meet the needs of the diver. If it can't be done then we apologize and hope we can meet the needs of the next one. Some may ask why can't it be done? Some customers can't be satisfied, but 99.99999999% can be.
A non diver that walks in to our shop is treated well and they can ask any question they want. If it is busy and we can't make it happen just then, we can call them later.
I have experienced the same weirdness in all types of shopping and when going on some new boats that we don't normally dive. I would never intentionally put someone in a position of being uncomfortable. It does happen sometimes and it's not good for either party. Diving is fun, interacting with all (most) types of people is also. We should try to look to other industries to improve and listen to customer complaints to resolve them quickly.

 

[300bar]

As for me I try to make the time he/she needs or wants otherwise I will try to make a personal appointment to anwer all the questions a new diver WILL have.

 

[mark G]

Treat the customer like a new found friend or They will surely run into the open arms of leisure Pro

 

[Garrobo]

I imagine that most LDS's treat their newbie-trained divers pretty good as long as they purchase the over-priced products they have for sale. When the newbie wises up and buys their stuff online or used, on Ebay, or the LDS has sucked them dry, the treatment starts.