Bloody dive shops...

[Eric Sedletzky]

Amazon. I do my research, I order for home delivery and if I don’t like it, I return it to Kohl’s whom gives me a 25% off good for the day coupon and I buy a few shirts...and repeat my amazon order until I’m satisfied. We even ordered our bathtub from Amazon when we revamped one of our bathrooms.

I’ve never bought anything from Amazon but my wife has. Most everything she bought from Amazon was garbage, mostly dog stuff and some household items. Rarely was the stuff ever what she thought she was getting. It’s too hard to tell what the quality is looking at a photo. She won’t buy stuff from there any more.

FYI, There is a new place that sells all the returned merchandise from Amazon (including the returned stuff at Kohl’s) Walmart, Target, and many others. It’s called BidRL.com. You think Amazon is cheap? this place starts all bids on everything at $1. All the stuff is brand new and nothing wrong with it, just the packaging is not great from being opened, torn, returned, etc. they had brand new couches still all wrapped up from JCP but last years model ($1600 couch), online bidding starts at $1 and lasts one week. If you win it you come pick it up. If you want to see it you drive down to the warehouse and look at it. I’m waiting for them to get into dive gear!

 

[lowwall]

Seconding the whining about Facebook. Current users might not understand how limited the logged-out experience is. There’s no particular reason for basic business information to reside on any proprietary social media platform, that seems sloppy and unprofessional even if you do approve of the way Facebook works.

Third. And it's not whining. Facebook is extremely limited and annoying to use if you don't have an account. What you mostly see are giant pop-ups insisting you log in. If that's the only place your business exists online, I'm not going to be using your products or services.

If you aren't actually selling or booking stuff online, a store site only needs one or two pages to explain what it offers, what its hours are, where it is located, and how to contact it (with an actual e-mail address that gets checked regularly, not a contact form).

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Turk...

There is no relationship building...the LDS is a seller...you're a buyer...that's the relationship...

Your ''fantasy model'' is a nice thought...you'd be broke in a month...remember...this is diving...one of the planets smallest industries...dive operations are not closing down because they're putting ''too much'' money in the till...but because they're putting in too little...

No different than any other retail...support the best...let the rest tank...

W.W...

You are 100% wrong about relationship building. It is my experience that sales is ALL about relationship building. You build trust and confidence with your customers. Over time those customers become more than just cash in the till. I have built friendships with many people who started out as customers. They trust me to not sell them junk or sell them something just to sell something. I have built that trust with them. These same people want me to dive with them, have drinks with them, etc.

Any LDS owner or employee who believes there is no relationship other than seller and customer is sadly mistaken and will likely fail. Sales 101 is relationship building.

I am well aware of the size of the industry as I work in the industry. I would not be broke in month but I appreciate the support.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

I just spit up all over my screen , turk if you can build a business model that you can make it work , don't listen to people who have NEVER owned a business let alone a dive shop , ive owned 2 THEY are BOTH still running after 20 years , you wont make a millon dollars but it can be a great way of life .....I just love these so called experts some one should call them out on their dive credentials ..... you would see them scurry off .......

Thanks for the support. I knew when I left my career and the States to become a scuba instructor that I would never be rich I knew just how little I would earn and it is more a way of life for me.

I agree with the right plan and of course, the right location, I could have a nice life and decent business that pays the bills.

 

[greeniguana]

But you don't have to actively use Facebook to see the shop's schedule on Facebook. It's not different than just looking at a website.

If you would complain about something so simple as this, as an instructor I would have to consider what else you would complain about during the class.

Facebook is much different than a website if you don't have an account. You should research that. Otherwise what's the point?

Facebook is cheap and easy for you. But you're leaving potential customers on ther table. Oh well.

If you don't like complaining, you probably shouldn't be in a service industry. The customer is always right. Right?

 

[Manatee Diver]

Facebook is an important part of a shop's marketing efforts. Think of it as a blog, going on a big trip gin up some excitement by posting pictures and videos from your last trip. Your users will tag their friends and loved ones to try to get them to go. Just returned from a charter and saw a Goliath the size of a VW bug, post the pictures on Facebook and they may be shared are and wide.

Often when I am looking for charters overseas, an active Facebook presence can tilt me toward one operator over another.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Facebook is an important part of a shop's marketing efforts. Think of it as a blog, going on a big trip gin up some excitement by posting pictures and videos from your last trip. Your users will tag their friends and loved ones to try to get them to go. Just returned from a charter and saw a Goliath the size of a VW bug, post the pictures on Facebook and they may be shared are and wide.

Often when I am looking for charters overseas, an active Facebook presence can tilt me toward one operator over another.

Another friend mine is using Facebook well. She has morphed her walkin retail dive shop into an internet retail op. After working months to get inventory loaded, she then uses her facebook presence to market.

 

[Marie13]

The same folks who refuse to use FB are the same ones I know IRL who complain about not being able to set up dive trips or get buddies. There are a ton of local diving groups on FB, whether it’s an actual dive club or just a FB for a specific region. As I tell people here, if you want dive buddies, you get on FB. Period.

You don’t have to give FB all your info. Just because all those fields are there (like for employer or where you live), it doesn’t mean you have to fill them out.

DRIS uses FB nicely. Same with Double Action, the charter op owned by the same folks as DRIS. Charter op will send out emails about open seats, etc., but you get the info quicker on FB. DRIS sends out emails about specials in the store, etc, but they also do it on FB. The dive op has a great calendar and booking function on its website.

DRIS has a live chat feature on its website. How many of you actually use it?

I will say DRIS online calendar is a bit wonky right now, but that’s because they’re trying to combine the stuff for the Plainfield original location with the other area dive shop they just bought. A call to the shop gets you the info needed.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

The same folks who refuse to use FB are the same ones I know IRL who complain about not being able to set up dive trips or get buddies.

Not necessarily. There is no way I will be on Facebook but I manage to go on trips that Merry and I set up ourselves. We make our own reservations for the dive operation, hotel, and planes. Also, we usually dive together or solo, so we're never looking for buddies.

 

[Joneill]

The same folks who refuse to use FB are the same ones I know IRL who complain about not being able to set up dive trips or get buddies. There are a ton of local diving groups on FB, whether it’s an actual dive club or just a FB for a specific region. As I tell people here, if you want dive buddies, you get on FB. Period.

You don’t have to give FB all your info. Just because all those fields are there (like for employer or where you live), it doesn’t mean you have to fill them out.

DRIS uses FB nicely. Same with Double Action, the charter op owned by the same folks as DRIS. Charter op will send out emails about open seats, etc., but you get the info quicker on FB. DRIS sends out emails about specials in the store, etc, but they also do it on FB. The dive op has a great calendar and booking function on its website.

DRIS has a live chat feature on its website. How many of you actually use it?

I will say DRIS online calendar is a bit wonky right now, but that’s because they’re trying to combine the stuff for the Plainfield original location with the other area dive shop they just bought. A call to the shop gets you the info needed.

No Facebook for me, but I have no issues with getting on trips - did Bonaire last fall, just got back from Cayman Brac and heading to Fiji next summer with our Dive Shop - website, e-mail, texts and in person chats or phone calls do the job just fine!

* - Edited to remove duplicate reply.