How Can We Keep Divers Diving After Certification?

[Garrobo]

Well, if they'ed move the Atlantic Ocean, semi-tropical temperatures and some reefs and wrecks up here to Ohio I know that I'd be diving a whole lot more. Other than that it's all I can afford, on my retirement income, to fly down to the Keys every month for a few days of diving.

 

[RikRaeder]

TGreene - That's the kind of dedication I'm talking about. Your LDS doesn't have any plans to open an annex in California by any chance...?


DCBC - Where are the fast women you mention, please?

 

[rstofer]

IMHO one good way to keep divers diving, to keep them coming into retail shops for air fills and equipment, is to give them reasons to dive. REAL classes about the marine environment which bo beyond simple fish, invertebrate or algae ID would enhance the diver's understanding of what they are seeing underwater. I'm talking courses that last several sessions including topside presentations and diving.

I am a HUGE fan of this idea. I really want my grandson to gain a deep appreciation for marine life. Maybe when he is a little older, I can hook him up with someone from Monterey Bay Aquarium. It would be a shame if he had to wait for college to lean about the oceans.

Another focus might be for those who wish to hunt underwater. These classes would focus on fish and invertebrate identification (maybe algae ID for vegetarians?), local fish regulations, how to accurately estimate size underwater, etc.

I am NOT a fan of hunting in any form. But that's a personal view and if people want to do it, go ahead. Just don't do it around me. Of the GW attacks in the Monterey area, the vast majority (actually, ALL, I believe) involved divers with speared fish.

Perhaps I'm just being a bit self-serving as my own efforts over the course of the last 40 years have been focused on marine education. However, I've met a number of divers who, after watching one of my videos, have commented on finally understanding what they were seeing underwater... or that they saw a certain behavior for the first time because they had been primed to look for it by watching one of my videos.

Outstanding! I know my grandson has been fascinated by the Decorator Crab ever since he saw the YouTube video and then saw them scurrying around the ocean floor at Breakwater.

Personally, I am in the Nudibranch camp. I'm never sure just what color they are until I get the slides/film processed.

I think it is difficult to keep people interested in cold water diving. There isn't one good thing about it other than it's wet. It would be a lot easier if we all lived in Florida but we don't.

What can possibly be fun about donning a 7mm Farmer John, humping a 70# kit, struggling through the surf, getting pushed around by the surge and then finding out that viz is crap? It amazes me that anybody dives from the beaches in cold water.

For a fact, if I had learned to dive at Scripps Pier, I would have finished the course and walked away. As it was, I learned in warm water and dove all over the place before I got back to California. The rock entry at the Casino was a bit off-putting but I see they now have a staircase. Wimps...

So, it takes a certain kind of person to keep diving around here. A lot of people may make it through the OW course but it takes a real interest to keep doing it. There are too many alternatives that aren't near as punishing.

Richard

 

[dadediver]

I'm a n00b that was certified in March and never actually had any intent to go beyond OW, but due to the generosity and graciousness of our LDS (Padi guys), I've since completed AOW, Nitrox, Night and am in the process of DPV, Rescue and a couple of other certs as I'm well on my way to "Master Diver".

Yes, I fully realize that just because I have a c-crad that says that, that it isn't so, but for all intents and purposes, I wil be by the time I finish up these classes, because my ultimate goal is Tech.

The way in which our LDS strives to keep people diving, is to make certain that we have an opportunity to dive as much as humanly possible, for little to no costs other than our air fills, and they don't even care if we get them at the shop or at the marina where they keep their boat. Nearly every weekend, they take their dive boat out regardless of whether they have students or not. Not only is the boat free to get on, but these guys always provide lunch for everyone too... The only thing they ever do is place a tip jar and most of the time it is someone like myself that actually puts it out because the owners/instructors or DM's don't want anyone to feel obligated in any way shape or form, and they REFUSE to accept personal tips. The jar is only to assist with boat upkeep and fuel costs. Furthermore, 9 times out of 10 they don't even charge us for air through the shop!

They do however have rules on the boat which state that a diver may not over dive theior certs, so if the boat is out at night and you're not certified as a Night Diver, then you must remain onboard unless an instructor is present and willing to do an "Adventure Dive" or even more often that not they will put you through the requisite paces for the requirements of the class and slowly take you through the process if that's the manner you prefer. -- I personally went the traditional class route rather than the slower method.

These guys go out of their way to make diving as fun as possible, and are even going so far as to hold a drawing for an all expenses paid 5-day live aboard trip to the Bahamas + $300 spending money for anyone who completes Master Diver through their shop this year. They are not even requiring that all of the requisite PADI classes be taken through them, just that you complete the program through them.

For many of us that have taken a more active role as new divers that are obviously intrested in progressing further and further, they have even been known to provide many of us with in-store credit at a time where "credit" is a thing of the past... They are willing to tie up their own money for the benefit of us, so that we don't have to bite off such a huge chunk at a time!

They regularily have slide shows of trips in the shop after hours, and provide horderves and beverages to everyone that shows up to socialize.

I have just reently purchased a pair of scooters (not through them) which I'm keeping at their shop so that they may use them for their own purposes such as training more students and as a tool to keep others wanting to spend more and more time playing while blowing bubbles. I was interested in a speargun because a couple of my buddies spar, so the owner of the shop asked me what I wanted then handed it to me along with his personally preferred choice accessories then simply added it to my bill without ever asking for a dime at the time. When I made a payment a couple of weeks later, I saw that my bill was actually far less than what it should have been based upon the price tags in the store, so I asked him about it... He grinned and replied that he must have hit a key wrong, but that's it's too dificult to add back in the extra amount! ;-)

The first time I walked through the door of the shop last fall I felt as if I was somehow being screwed for whatever reason, but I couldn't possibly have been more wrong and out of line with my rationalization at the time. Being that I too am self employed in a very niche market that is diminishing at the moment, I look to the father and son that own our LDS as being true models of inspiration for how to do things right, because they are more focused on making friends that become divers and their own dive buddies than fleecing the public like so many others do!

-Tim

PLEASE tell us you are not the tgreene from Rockclimbing.com!!.........

 

[austriandiveress]

I simply have to ask: do we WANT to keep divers who aren't dedicated to the sport? How many posts do we find on the Board DAILY, complaining about "Darwin candidates", careless, inconsiderate folks and just plain jerks wearing wet suits who overcrowd or even damage dive sites?
I understand that no-one wants this wonderful pasttime to die, but are more "divers" necessarily better for the sport? It seems to me that those truely dedicated and inspired by scuba will stay, even in difficult economic times. And the efforts of so many of you here, such as Dr. Bill and Thalassamania help!

 

[InTheDrink]

There have been many good answers here. In particular 'climate' resonated with me.

However, I think the single thing that would make most difference would be better training. The feeling of flailing in the water is not a good one and probably equal but opposite to the feeling of weightlessness and freedom afforded by good buoyancy control. However, I definitely do not want to hijack another thread into the 'crappy training' realm.

J

 

[RonFrank]

Stop ATTRACTING divers who are not likely to stay!

Yeah, there's a little more work upfront to attract the right people - and I'm not saying that no effort should be put on retention - but for-sure the process begins with ACQUIRING the right folks.

Acquiring the RIGHT folks!?! How the heck does one do that?

Current Model...

10 try scuba, 9 leave, 1 stays

New Model

1 try scuba, 1 stays

Now you have lost income on the 9 that would have paid to try something they did not like, so IOW's you have lost money.

This approach makes no sense to me.

 

[Zieg]

In my experience, there are alot of divers out there who are waiting for someone to take them diving. Unless someone actually takes them by hand and leads them to the beach or the boat, they are not going diving. Then there are the ones who will not even put in that much effort.

Over the years I've had countless people ask me to take them diving, whether on a road trip to some local dive spot, on a livaboard or even on my boat. Way too many times I've had them call me at the eleventh hour to cancel with some lame excuse, which I believe they truly believe, but is mostly laziness on their part. They waited till the last moment to check their gear, they just don't want to put in the effort to get their gear together, and omg, they would have to get up early on a weekend.

I got tired of it. I got to the point where I would tell them where I was going and when I was leaving, 99% no show. They are not worth the effort. Let them become a statistic of divers who've dropped out.

I believe that there will always be enough of us who truly love diving to keep it alive. Maybe not to the standards we saw a few years ago, but still alive for the serious.

 

[RikRaeder]

Acquiring the RIGHT folks!?! How the heck does one do that?

One word: phrenology

 

[ScubaSteve]

In my case, I only continued to dive because I loved it so much. The prices damn near pushed me away but I just gave up a couple of things like food and health so I could keep diving. In my area there really is nothing to do for diving. If you get bored easily, you would hate it. If you are happy just being underwater....it is tolerable and enjoyable all at the same time.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of the "return diver" aspect really falls onto the diver themselves. Sometimes the diver is just not passionate about diving. Other things easily take over (like families or other hobbies such as photography). These things will often (hopefully always where family is concerned) take precedence over SCUBA if the diver is "so-so" about the diving. Bottom line is, a diver needs to be in love with the sport to really want to continue it.

If, during the training, the instructor is able to get the diver excited about diving through their own excitement, then I believe a return customer is more likely. If the Instructor treats the training as a job and is really not excited about the process......then you will be lucky if the divers become even vacation divers.

For any reasonable rate of "return divers", the sport MUST be affordable. As much as some of us love SCUBA, it has to be one of the first things to go in troubled times. Sad but true. You would prefer it if the people bought their own gear but most are not willing to give up as much as is required. AND, most people find it to be a real PITA to have to rent and return gear (my GF is this person - not passionate enough to want to spend all that money and not interested in struggling with expensive rentals with inconvenient policies). So, it must be possible to dive safely and enjoy it for a reasonable price. It cannot be "Just another Rich Man's sport".

But along with this price issue, the shopping environment must be friendly as well. Shoppers can not be bombarded with negative comments about other manufacturers, other diving styles, other sellers (online or otherwise), different equipment styles....the environment should be friendly and positive. I have gone into shops and walked out refusing to go back in because the shopping was just no fun. I will do this again. While I have szero issue with giving my money to an internet seller, I feel this confidence because I have a bit of experience and knowledge behind me. I have made mistakes on-line that I never would have made if the LDS had been able to compete OR had they offered me a friendly shopping environment.

I do believe however, that for me anyways, the biggest part is getting that SPARK lit right in the beginning. Otherwise I think it will be almost impossible to ignite afterwards....almost.