What are you looking for in a dive shop?

[BabyDuck]

fills by the cubic foot. and don't say it can't be done - it's done every single day by shops in cave country. it's *maddening* to pay for *two complete singles fills* for a set of doubles at 1500psi. argh!

and don't assume that because i'm a chubby middle aged woman that i'm not a kick-ass diver who knows what she wants and can see through your bull. start off with thoughts that every customer knows what s/he's doing and work from there.

 

[BabyDuck]

hmm. double post for some reason...sorry.

 

[cwhitpan]

My wife and I recently got certified over the summer. We were looking to get into it, but not sure just how far. It was the LDS that made all of the difference, and here is why.

I was happy to buy at Leisurepro, and in fact I had. I got my mask, fins and shortie there, and am happy with the price and equipment. I even had a return that was made hassle free. I later got my regulator setup there (cressi) and it was priced great. The shop put it together no questions, maybe a little razz, but nothing out of the ordinary.

When we got done certifying and we wanted to get computers before checkouts (figured it was an easy first purchase) another couple and I approached the owner with the LP price, and he matched it. I even offered to give an extra 10% because I knew it was a great price, he refused it. Got them in and good to his word we had them for those dives.

In the mean time we would go in and chat up the staff, my wife would try on a BC and me too, they got in some other vests just for us to try on and see if we liked them. Never any pressure, just great conversations and service. They also didn't charge us for rentals while we trained and checked out.

When it came time to buy the full kit (BC x2, 1 reg, and misc parts) I asked that they match the price on the three big things, and the rest I would pay shop price. They did and earned a good chunk of business that day. We both ended up getting a better BC than we would have (We fell in love with Zeagles) and have a full set up. All because of the service. (And I am a cheap person! Trust me! I also buy 75% of my merchandise thru the web)

Now I am looking at them for a Dry suit, and furthering my education. They are my dive shop for life. And now when I need something, they get first crack, or at least the opportunity to come close.

Service and services and a staff the LOVES to be wet. I can see being a DM with them someday as a result. When all I wanted before was to do vacation dives and see pretty fish!

 

[vladimir]

After the shop buys a pool and decorates the shop's interior, provides inviting changing rooms and lots of heat up north, fills the shop with inventory, buys a compressor to provide free fills, pays a skilled service technician, and matches internet prices, what do you think the profit margin is on their hard work and hundreds of thousands of dollars invested? The 29 basis points a T-bill yields might start to look good.

It's a lousy business, in most cases.

 

[rligon]

Unfortunately for the OP, what keeps me coming back to the LDS and buying from them is great employees, which it sounds like his friend already has. They don't push the most expensive stuff down my throat, but talk with me to figure out what my options are, and work out any problems we may encounter. They take the time to know the customers, and enjoy discussing the hobby with us. When I'm looking for a new location, they know them all and have DM maps for most of them, which I kind of doubt is a service LP can provide

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

fills by the cubic foot. and don't say it can't be done - it's done every single day by shops in cave country. it's *maddening* to pay for *two complete singles fills* for a set of doubles at 1500psi. argh!

Tell me about it ... I got my dubs topped with air at a shop in Victoria this week-end. They already had 2300 psi in 'em. Topped up to 3500 psi cost me $20.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[kjack_1]

After the shop buys a pool and decorates the shop's interior, provides inviting changing rooms and lots of heat up north, fills the shop with inventory, buys a compressor to provide free fills, pays a skilled service technician, and matches internet prices, what do you think the profit margin is on their hard work and hundreds of thousands of dollars invested? The 29 basis points a T-bill yields might start to look good.

It's a lousy business, in most cases.

No doubt at times it is a lousy business. With the things you listed as being somewhat cost prohibitive - for me it's just common business practice. Would you buy your groceries at some run down, bug infested business, with a clerk that picks his nose? Or would you prefer a place that's bright, clean, and inviting, with friendly staff?

Unfortunately - it *is* a retail operation. Consumers don't really care how much it cost *you* to open and maintain your business. They walk in thinking how much it's going to cost *them* to purchase what they need and hope they aren't getting ripped off in the process.

The Internet is a bane and a boom all at the same time. Maybe in the days before computers I would walk into a store and say - okay I'll take that item for $900 with no questions asked. That was good for the shop and bad for me. Now in a flash, I can price out equipment, get reviews and become an educated consumer. Now I can walk into a shop and see the $900 computer and know it's available elsewhere for $300....and start asking questions from that point.

When the shop starts telling me about their overhead, employees, insurance - well, you've just lost me as a customer.

 

[cbrich]

As a customer (I am not affilated with dive shop, nor will I ever) to several LDS and a few online retailer it comes down to customer service, and pricing of equipment. Get some really nice folks that are not paid on commission, I can tell when someone is paid on commission and someone that is not.

I hate to say this but get some really nice, and good looking women in the store. This hobby is dominanted by guys. What guy on this board is not impressed by a women that is in diving. Also don't hire people that are very opinionated, I have been told to only buy Scubapro because everything else is junk and I will die if I don't dive Scubapro. I have a bad taste Scubapro because of people like this, I have rented Scubapro, and I think they are just as good as Oceanic, Mares, Aeries, Dive Rite, Hollis, and Atomic.

Sell equipment below MSRP, but don't make it sound like you are only doing this for them, just this one time. Most of the people that are "just looking" are really getting an idea of how much equipment cost, and then they have to figure out what they can afford. (Don't tell someone that is just looking, "I'll knock 10% off if you buy this today, go ahead show the MSRP (list price) and then show your everyday price for the equipment. This is why most buy online, because they feel like they are getting a better deal online. If you don't provide your best offer up front, then you will lose to the online retailers. Keep track of the online retailers pricing for the equipment you also sale. I think every dive shop should have online retailers booked marked and have the same equipment prices in the system for comparison (You might even want to list LP prices on your display.)

Display equipment from several vendors, for example; instead of stocking the high ends regs ($600, $800, $1,000+) from one vendor, you stock more of the low to medium regs ($100 - $600) from several vendors. I pesonally will buy a $500 dollar reg, that is just as good as a $1,200 dollar reg anyday of the week. Do you think a titanium reg or a reg made from some exotic metal is better than the same reg made from brass, I don't think so. Try to match the equipment with the persons style of diving do you want to sell a high end reg, to a college student that just finished his/her OW certification, don't count on it. When I was shopping for my tech regs, a dive shop was trying to sell me $700 regs/each, but I found a compariable reg for $400 that in my mind is better than the $700, and the sad thing about it the dive shop also carries the same brand of reg that I currently have, but I never knew he carried the brand until after I got it.

Someone has said this but also provide a club membership with discount on equipment (below what you have listed in the store, which should be below the MSRP), free air, discount on Nitrox, and TriMix. Another optionis provide a sticker for free air or nitrox for one year. My main LDS does this, and I save a ton on air and nitrox fills.

Get online, supply manufactures that allow online sales, or push the manufactures to allow you to sell online. Most of the online retailers gets more hits (people that are "just looking") in an hour than most dive shops see walk-ins the whole year. This was basically stated in the OP. We will live in the age of the internet, we even carry in the internet in our hands. Some people would go crazy if it was not for the internet.

The economy is in a tuff time, people are getting laid off, daily living cost are increasing. The first thing most people cut back on are their hobbies, and travel. As a company that caters to a hobby, you have to make sacrifices also. I personally have 3 different hobbies and scuba is one of them, but I am getting completely out of the other 2 and focusing on scuba. I am thinking of selling my custom motorcycle, to pay off my credit card, and possibly buy a rebreather.

 

[vladimir]

No doubt at times it is a lousy business. With the things you listed as being somewhat cost prohibitive - for me it's just common business practice. Would you buy your groceries at some run down, bug infested business, with a clerk that picks his nose? Or would you prefer a place that's bright, clean, and inviting, with friendly staff?

Unfortunately - it *is* a retail operation. Consumers don't really care how much it cost *you* to open and maintain your business. They walk in thinking how much it's going to cost *them* to purchase what they need and hope they aren't getting ripped off in the process.

The Internet is a bane and a boom all at the same time. Maybe in the days before computers I would walk into a store and say - okay I'll take that item for $900 with no questions asked. That was good for the shop and bad for me. Now in a flash, I can price out equipment, get reviews and become an educated consumer. Now I can walk into a shop and see the $900 computer and know it's available elsewhere for $300....and start asking questions from that point.

When the shop starts telling me about their overhead, employees, insurance - well, you've just lost me as a customer.

I wasn't suggesting that a customer shouldn't expect those things--just that very few local dive shops have the customer base to make them feasible. The thread was started to solicit suggestions for a business owner. My implicit suggestion was to find another line of business.

 

[kjack_1]

I wasn't suggesting that a customer shouldn't expect those things--just that very few local dive shops have the customer base to make them feasible. The thread was started to solicit suggestions for a business owner. My implicit suggestion was to find another line of business.

Got it. My bad.