Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[Steve_C]

As to divers staying with diving.

If you do not have lots of access to warm water diving, you have to want to dive and be persistent. NC is my main area. I book a number of dives each year. Half of them go out. Of that half, some days are ok but not great. I used to travel to the west coast some on business and would try to arrange some dives: monterey (both canceled), Lajolla (2 out of 5 went), etc. Catalina has been reliable but work to get to for a day. Vancouver was reliable for shore dives. San Diego ( 1 of 2 went). Florida is the better. I have maybe 100 dives there but a cancelation is not unusual. Shore dives are fun but long surface swims I can do but do not enjoy.

Most divers I have met just want to dive. They are not into perfect trim etc. If they do not find something to maintain the interest, like fish ID, spearing, photo, they often drift away from diving.

I will also note that not everybody is into equipment. As long as what I have works I see no need to change it although I could easily afford to. New clients spend more than I do.

I try to support my LDS but even if I do spring for something like another wetsuit I wear a LS which is often not carried so they are usually bought from the internet.

 

[RhodeDiver]

I have always wondered why all these scuba shops that keep failing, don't diversify their businesses. For example if you put a bait and tackle section in your shop it would attract people who like being around the water and potentially provide addition profits.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Speaking of recreational diving, do you think what people dive for, so to speak, today is a lot different from what they dove for a few decades back? Might be interesting to know!

Richard.

Absolutely. I used to subscribe to most magazines from the USA, Canada, and the UK. Over the years, you could see the growth of PADI and a change in diving from a more active to a more passive activity. I would not even draw any correlation if it were not for the fact that I also read training manuals over the years. Most other agencies continued to strive to make rugged individualists capable of being the cowboys themselves while PADI began to steer divers in the direction of being reliant upon the dive pros like tourists visiting a dude ranch.

That's not to say that is bad. Horses and beautiful scenery can be enjoyed in relative safety where a participant can escape from the "real world" for a while and immerse himself or herself in an adventure. But, imagine what would happen and how the real cowboys would feel if dude ranches took over the west and actual cowboys were criticized for the pride they take in keeping the old ways alive while making use of new technologies to run a cattle company?

Today, the term "recreational" almost means that you got the "rode a horse" and "learned to rope a cow" certifications under the watchful eye of a real cowboy, except that the real cowboys have left the paddock in many cases and those in charge managed to accumulate more dude ranch accolades. I remember Jeff Nadler who retired as PADI's industry and gov't relations executive was pushing to protect shipwrecks. The fear was that would make taking artifacts illegal in the late 80's or early 90's. NJ divers were concerned that would hurt diving in their state. During one RSTC meeting we learned that some on the board of directors and at the top of popular agencies didn't even own their own scuba gear (other than the basics) and rented gear when traveling.

Now, divers are almost apologetic for not living in warm water and swimming passively around a reef looking at 15 common species of marine life. The ones who want to be real cowboys are branded as elitist or become tech divers and often criticized for it.

The dive industry has created a giant dude ranch and the real cowboys aren't welcome in the paddock.

 

[runsongas]

Diving business is thin at best and getting thinner.

Fills have been historically a loss leader to get people into a shop. Cost of fills needs to go up to reflect it's true cost. Divers are weird about fills... They pay 10k for dive gear or more, take a day off work, drive 2 hours, $5 dollar bridge tolls, $200 a night for a crappy hotel, 6 dollar coffees, $12 for parking...... But oh no 5 bucks for a fill and they whine about it.

If you double the price of fills, you will see a lot more private compressors being shared by a group of friends. Cutting off your nose to spite your face. Most of the local divers are not spending 200 a night and however much for the other crap to dive. Drive down early and drive back home. Gas in the car and some fills, less than 40 or 50 bucks for most.

 

[BDSC]

The ones who want to be real cowboys are branded as elitist or become tech divers and often criticized for it.

Just like the "real divers" often look down on the "vacation divers" as being somehow less than themselves. Many times the "real divers" have earned their elitist titles and wear it proudly.

 

[RhodeDiver]

Now, divers are almost apologetic for not living in warm water and swimming passively around a reef looking at 15 common species of marine life. The ones who want to be real cowboys are branded as elitist or become tech divers and often criticized for it.

The dive industry has created a giant dude ranch and the real cowboys aren't welcome in the paddock.

I think making statements like this is why people label some as elitist.

 

[DevonDiver]

Pandering to a consumer instant-gratification culture for the last decade or two.... combined with an insidious pressure from big agencies to follow a business model based on volume sales and loss-leader.... who'd have guessed it'd damage the dive training industry?

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Just like the "real divers" often look down on the "vacation divers" as being somehow less than themselves. Many times the "real divers" have earned their elitist titles and wear it proudly.

In surfing and ranching we called that, "Paying your dues." That's another thing that has become misunderstood as we've become more of an entitled society.

 

[drrich2]

The dive industry has created a giant dude ranch and the real cowboys aren't welcome in the paddock.

This is interesting. Granted, breaking scuba training into modular sections (with only OW really necessary) and making training requirements easier (from what I've been told), plus marketing scuba as a relatively safe, easy sport/activity based around fun sight-seeing has made it accessible to a broad audience, including chunky late-40's white collar workers (cough-cough-like-me-cough-cough).

How is this persecuting/harassing/driving out the 'real cowboys' in a significant way? Granted, as long as you have different groupings, people in one group will occasionally cast a critical eye at some in another ('real divers' vs. 'vacation divers,' GUE/DIR vs. 'strokes' - and in tourism, tourists vs. 'travelers'), but if someone wants to be a strongly independent fit, capable diver with excellent skills and watermanship, diving adverse conditions, spear-fishing, tech. diving or whatever tests him/herself a bit, what's stopping that person?

Whatever it is, is it something that can be fixed? Would it accomplish much good to do so? Put another way, are the dudes existing in addition to the real cowboys, or did they somehow replace them?

Richard.

 

[drrich2]

Oh, food for thought in this thread...does anybody think the plight of contemporary U.S. dive shops will give rise to a BSAC-like club approach to dive training in the U.S.?

Or just fewer, larger dive shops with more diversification into non-diving activities?

Richard.