Wow... Is this Common?

[WaterWolf]

The OP already paid the guy for his certification and some overpriced gear. Shouldn't that entitle him to some of his expertise? I realize it was a couple months later but still... The dive shop business is so competitive you would think the LDS would be happy to assist him to keep him coming back even if it's just for maintenance. It's still money in the till. I would find a different LDS.

 

[Scared Silly]

Scuba just seems to be a weird micro-universe.

No kidding. From business models to certifications to cylinder inspections.

 

[micklock]

Give it to your friendly UPS man and have him send it to Leisure Pro for service.

 

[rstofer]

Dive shop owners and managers get absolutely rabid when you bring up LP or any other online source. You can watch their faces turn red and just sense the rise in blood pressure; I sure hope they don't stroke out. I wonder if you could be sued...

It is often fun to bring it up just to watch!

You could always try the "my parents back in (somewhere else) bought this for me as a (fill in the blanks) present. They don't get out much so I'm not sure where they got it. Let's just forget the free parts, how much to get it serviced with my buying the parts?" approach. Remember, by the time it needs service, it will be pretty used. Never tell the truth when a perfectly good lie will work just as well. "My cousin in (somewhere else) bought this when (s)he tried diving. (S)He is claustrophobic and never liked diving. So, now it's mine! Let's forget the free parts, how much to get it serviced?".

The problem with dive shops is that they are a business run be divers. They are not business people and have no skills whatsoever in dealing with customers. In business, a good starting point is that the customer is ALWAYS right. The customer has the money the business needs to survive and the customer also makes the decision about where and when to spend it. The dive shop has only air fills for leverage. They offer nothing else that can't be purchased elsewhere.

Maybe it's ok to leave 10% on the table but certainly no more. Make the LDS work for the business and then be fair enough to give it to them.

The dive shop needs to take a longer view of the customer relationship. Instead of worrying about the money they didn't make on a sale that is already complete, they should think about "how can I make something out of it?". Maybe there are upgrades, accessories or services that they can sell. The alternative is that they get nothing out of it. Something is a lot more than nothing. Particularly if it leads to the customer being more inclined to buy at the shop.

But, the customer is ALWAYS right.

Richard

 

[emmaboo]

Yes, it's quite common for new divers to go into a LDS, pick their brains, gain the benefit of their expertise, take up their valuable time, ultimately buy all their gear elsewhere, and then be shocked when then go back to the LDS with that gear and expect the same level of service that they would receive if they had bought the gear from the LDS. Seems to happen all the time.

He had insisted to give me some insight on the different products he carried which I gladly accepted but I really don't feel I took up his valuable time. I was already well informed about the products I was interested in so really I asked a couple questions regarding packages he could put together and I'm assuming this is where he felt betrayed. I was not expecting the same service when I went back I was just shocked he refused to deal with me at all.


Break down of $ from LDS(He said about) / What I paid

BC-$1100 / BC-$230.00
Reg-$825.00 / Reg-$199.00
Octo-$300.00 / Octo-$83.00
DC-$1100.00(2 display) / DC-$350.00(3 display)


Plus the online retailer threw in a reg bag plus took another $30.00 off for getting a package. Shipping to door $70.00. Taxes are another $106.00 on top of that so all in all it came up to about $1020.00. (This was when the exchange was good as well).

 

[Coll]

$1100 for a BC?! It better make hot chocolate on surface intervals or rinse all my other gear for me at that price.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Any dude who wants more than a grand large for a BC in today's world is trolling for morons.

Good on you for going elsewhere.

That said, as all the other posters have noted, its a significant issue in the dive industry.

We have a local guy in my town with much the same approach. (And he and his attitude are also the only game in town.)

Fortunately, I have many options - they're all 3.5 hours away, but I'm over that way frequently enough that it isn't critical, and as Micklock pointed out, there's always Big Brown.

So you come up with what works. If you want convenience, find a path forward with your local provider.

One thing to bear in mind, for future consideration. You can always take your prices in and talk to the guy. Unless he's completely psychotic, business is business. It may be worth more in up-front cost to have your regs serviced locally (but perhaps not $500 more - that's about six years of reg service given prices I'm used to seeing...). Only you can know your own economics and logistics.

But its always going to be a trade-off.

Best,

Doc

 

[mjarrardjr]

My personal experiance with a past shop was to get "chewed out and lectured" on the difference between on-line vs. instore purchase. All in all, I wasn't too happy with that experiance and you have to look out for yourself at the end of the day....both in the pocketbook and how you are respected. If a shop won't respect your freedom of purchase, why would you trust them to service your gear?

 

[twinkles]

Scuba just seems to be a weird micro-universe.

Now that is an understatement.

 

[twinkles]

You know, it isn't just price. Sometimes I get the urge to buy at 8:00 PM on a Tuesday night. I want to read about the gear. I want to compare accross multiple competing brands. I don't want to have to deal with an obviously biased point of view. And I like not having to drive somewhere; it just shows up on my doorstep--kinda like Santa brung it.