Being Banned from a Dive Shop..

[pipedope]

Frankly I am more inclined to spend money in a shop that sometimes sends me to annother store for something that they don't stock, or offers to get the item from another store.

If I know that the shop owner/employees will steer me to the best choice in equipment for the task then I will go to them FIRST. If I expect that they will just try to sell me what they have on the shelf then I will go around to a number of shops first. If I feel that a shop is actively ripping people off then I will NOT go there at all.
Fact of life, the shop that I go to first is most likely to get 75%+ of my business. I average about $100/week on stuff.
If you run a dive shop what do you want to get?
My $75+ a week, my $25- a week or nothing at all and my suggesting to anyone that asks that they go to other shops for their scuba needs?

Getting people to come back time and time again is much more important than squeezing a few extra dollars out of someone who will never be back.

 

[jimholcomb]

Originally posted by pipedope
Frankly I am more inclined to spend money in a shop that sometimes sends me to annother store for something that they don't stock, or offers to get the item from another store.

If I know that the shop owner/employees will steer me to the best choice in equipment for the task then I will go to them FIRST. If I expect that they will just try to sell me what they have on the shelf then I will go around to a number of shops first. If I feel that a shop is actively ripping people off then I will NOT go there at all.
Fact of life, the shop that I go to first is most likely to get 75%+ of my business. I average about $100/week on stuff.
If you run a dive shop what do you want to get?
My $75+ a week, my $25- a week or nothing at all and my suggesting to anyone that asks that they go to other shops for their scuba needs?

Getting people to come back time and time again is much more important than squeezing a few extra dollars out of someone who will never be back.

And I have been referred to other shops many times by my LDS, BUT...I think they would prefer to be the ones' who refer THEIR customers - NOT someone hanging out in the store. I know of no dive shop that stocks EVERYTHING that evry company makes. But, generally, they can get it or something close. If they can't they will most likely refer you elsewhere. But as a customer, I would NEVER refer someone elsewhere while I'm standing in THEIR shop. Just sounds like a very uncool thing to do.

 

[scubafinatic]

I have to put my 2 cents in on this one as i had a bad experience with a shop and as far as i am concerned .if a person is in business ie, dive ,then they should be in for love of the sport and not love of money.your helping the other person in thier confusion about what,where,and ehom should have been interprited as love for youe fellow diver and was intended to be in the best of motivations.If the dive shop has to resort to ousting you then they must have something to hide or some other underlying motivation for having to prevent people from helping people.i understand that shops are in business to make money but if they find there is a shop that has a better deal then they should do thier best to match or beat the deal offered by the other shops to secure business.bottom line is that if they have a problem then THEY have a problem and its probably for the best.

 

[otter-cat]

When I was in the market for a drysuit, my LDS had one that had been around the shop for a while (which he told me) and was willing to sell it to me for a VERY good price. The fit was OK, but not exactly perfect. I mentioned that I had friends who had a drysuit they might sell me for a low price, but I didn't know if it was "good" or not.

The owner told me to bring it in, and he'd look at it for me. Well, I brought it in, and he said it was in great shape, fit better than the suit he had. He had me try it out in the pool, and he taught me how to use it, even though it meant that I wasn't buying the suit from him.

This bought my loyalty and trust more than anything else could have. The fact that he was willing to help me get what was best for me even though it wasn't profitable for him has led me to go to his shop for all my major purchases. I know that if he doesn't have what I need, he'll tell me. So for cases where he does have it, which is most of them, I definitely want to buy it from him.

One thing that is really important to divers who are going to spend a lot of money on gear is that they TRUST the LDS they're going to buy it from. If the LDS in Fishkiller's case had more of the attitude of my LDS owner, I bet they would get a LOT more business in the long run.

otter-cat

 

[AllenG]

To those who question the propriety of Fishkiller's actions, try out these two hypothetical questions:

1. You are in a Home Depot (a huge discount hardware store that is part of a national chain) and a customer who has grown impatient waiting for a clerk asks you if you know anything about battery-powered drills. Now remember that for tool-obsessed males, wandering around a hardware store can be a near-religious experience. The customer professes ignorance and, as it happens, you have considerable knowledge about these tools. The customer describes his/her need and you realize that Home Depot doesn't have quite the right tool, but the Lowes (another huge discount hardware store that is part of a national chain, which coincidentally happens to build stores within a mile of Home Depot stores!) down the street has exactly the right tool and for considerably less. Do you stand there saying nothing? Or do you offer your expertise and knowledge?

2. Perhaps you dismiss that parallel question because the store is part of a national chain. So let's change the parameters slightly. You are an afficionado of fine wines and are perusing one of the local wine shops. Remember that exploring a fine wine shop is as exciting for an oeneophile as treasure hunting is to Mel Fisher. A customer who has grown impatient waiting for a clerk asks you if you know anything about German wines because his wife sent him off in search of a medium quality German wine and he just doesn't know enough to make an informed judgment, but he certainly would like to know more because he has enjoyed them in the past. This wine shop has some German wines, but most are either low quality or very expensive high quality. You know that the XYZ wine shop down the street has a fantastic selection of well priced German wines of all quality levels, including a particularly fine Beerenauslese, one of your favorites! Do you stand there saying nothing? Or do you offer your expertise and knowledge?