Biggest thing killing dive shops?

[StefinSB]

Not anymore: a usable OBD scanner can be had for under a hundred bucks these days.

Which just tells you what sensor got tripped but your car is still broken ......

 

[StefinSB]

Sorry, going to have to disagree with that one.

Complicated it isn't, but...your "average joe" won't spend the time, effort or money on learning how to service their own kit, buying the tools necessary for the job and actually doing it. Not when they weigh that up against taking them to their LDS and paying them to do it.

As an example, how many people service and maintain their own cars???

S.

New for the US at least. I can buy regulator service kits when back nin Germany. It’s by law that manufacturers have to make them available following the same logic that you can walk into a car parts store and buy brake pads for your ride. Damn socialists ;-)

 

[BDSC]

I have no idea if there is any money to be made on the actual ticket sales from folks that go to the movies. But I can tell you that they must make a decent amount on the food/candy/drink sales. There were three lines several folks deep waiting to buy and most folks were buying at least what I did if not more. But sitting in the theater with drinks and popcorn is part of the movie experience and folks don't seem to mind shelling out for those things. It's what going to the movies is all about.

Getting back to the LDS, I hear a lot of folks say that what they charge for certification classes is at best a break even proposition (Movie Tickets) and they make their money on gear sales (drinks and popcorn). The problem seems to be that gear is so well made folks don't really need more gear for a long time. Possibly years. But is there something else that can be offered that they can make money on? What else makes up the total experience?

I know for a fact that there is money to be made on dive travel for one and it can be quite a bit depending on what the trip is. One of the local shops runs a few trips a year to generally the same places. I think they have just an OK turnout for these trips. When they try a "bigger trip" it typically falls through. What do they do to advertise....they stick a poster in the window and have it on their website. I tried to tell the owner one time he should advertise right here on SB or have the instructor/dive shop person leading the trip to get on the phone to past students and friends or at least send out an email and talk the trip up. If you act excited then maybe that excitement rubs off on the prospective clients. My suggestion just fell on deaf ears and who was I to tell him how to run his travel business.

 

[sh1513]

New for the US at least. I can buy regulator service kits when back nin Germany. It’s by law that manufacturers have to make them available following the same logic that you can walk into a car parts store and buy brake pads for your ride. Damn socialists ;-)

If only that was the law in the UK then I wouldn't have to pay extortionate prices for some kits from abroad!

 

[Neilwood]

A friend of mine working in the theaters told me that the cola they sold was a nickel per batch. This was 30 years ago.

I used to work behind a bar in a bowling club and was told on a fairly regular basis by the treasurer that he didn't really care about selling alcohol because, by the time staffing costs were added it was pretty low profit (maybe 5-10%). He said that if all they sold was draft soda (not cans as the margin on those wasn't great) the profits would go through the roof. It was about 10 years back and the cost was about 5 pence a pint which would sell for about 70 pence (even after taking account of gas, concentrate, glassware, staffing etc).

So many businesses now are about selling one thing at or near cost (or even at a loss) but trying to get margin elsewhere. Razors, cinemas, bars, restaurants are all in on it - there is a reason why bars give you cheap or free bar snacks (hint - you drink more when eating salty pretzels, nuts etc).

@BDSC - one of the dive shops I deal with are great at selling the trips with facebook, emails etc. For them it is all about keeping their name at the forefront when people think about anything Scuba related. With them though they all seem to be on a similar basis price wise whether it is a trip, gear, service, courses. The owner certainly doesn't seem to gouge anyone on anything but it seems like he is able to operate on a reasonable margin with everything. I can buy most things there at a similar price to online (sometimes lower) because the owner is aware that his customers can go online so he prices accordingly - even if his price for something is high he quite often will move on the price if pushed to very close to online. He doesn't seem afraid of stopping and chatting with you or having his staff do so either - so long as they are busy with a course etc, they will quite happily chat and give free advice (if requested).

Funnily enough that shop always seems to have a decent turnover of happy customers who keep coming back. Customer service is king in his business unlike a lot of other shops where it is buy once and never again.

 

[kelemvor]

Good post BDSC:

With a 52" screen, high def TV, a lazy boy, refrigerator a few feet away, no dark, germ filled,
cell phone ringing, Movie theatres for me.

As a kid the Saturday matinee was a treat, front row watching Dracula movies and Westerns.

The movie theaters that want to stay in business are keeping up. These theaters have nice motorized reclining seats. You can't see anyone in a higher or lower row. Seats are assigned like a concert. They use something like 50 channel surround sound (really), the seats move and vibrate with the action (optionally) and the screens make movie screens from 10 years ago seem like a home theater setup. Many modern theaters offer good food, full liquor, and some even have waitresses so you don't have to carry armloads of stuff to your seat.

Modern theaters really do offer stuff you can't get at home without spending a hundred thousand bucks on setting up.

Just like dive shops (or any other business in the world), theaters must adapt to what is currently modern in order to survive.

 

[Bob DBF]

My suggestion just fell on deaf ears and who was I to tell him how to run his travel business.

Which proves that nothing is killing the dive shops, it's sucide.

The world is changing, business is changing, people are changing, and dive shops, for the most part, try to stay the same and resent customers that want something different.


Bob

 

[DevonDiver]

Sorry, going to have to disagree with that one.

Complicated it isn't, but...your "average joe" won't spend the time, effort or money on learning how to service their own kit, buying the tools necessary for the job and actually doing it. Not when they weigh that up against taking them to their LDS and paying them to do it.

As an example, how many people service and maintain their own cars???

S.

The point being that several manufacturers are now cutting out the middleman and shunning the traditional 'dealer/service network' model.

It's too early to call that a "trend", but it's definitely a "change".

If you're familiar with Hog and Deep6, you'll know that it's not rocket science to service them.

Tools are quite basic, service kits are available easily via their websites, the service manuals are there to download and courses are offered for those that want them. I believe Deep6 now have a service course available as an SDI/TDI specialty that anyone can enrill on.

I say that as someone who isn't particularly engineering minded... despite my diving experience.

Let's be brutally honest. Manufacturers give a 1-2 day service course. That doesn't make anyone an "engineer". Any schmuck can enroll... if they were "allowed" and gain the requisite expertise quite easily.

But... thats the BS that dive shops... and manufacturers... would have people to believe. Because it empowers an unquestioning reliance on those services.

Special and expensive tools? ONLY from manufacturers who specifically design regulators that need specific own-brand tools. Avoid the manufacturers playing that silly 'lock in' game and it's not expensive or complex.

 

[DevonDiver]

That's true. Years ago there were TV repair shops. Now you just toss it and buy a bigger and better one for less than half the price.

That's true with technology items.. because when a technology item expires, you'll probably want to upgrade to a more modern evolution anyway.

Cars, computers, TVs, mobile phones... aren't disposable as such... they just get superceded quickly and people want upgrades. When they bust, it's an excuse to upgrade to newer tech.
Regulators don't fit into that catagory at all...

Dive computers, torches, DPVs and CCRs are more in that catagory...

 

[KevinNM]

I suspect his analogy is to illustrate that there is little historical precedence to expect any corporation to sacrifice revenue in order to prioritise safety or the best interests of the customer.

Not just that, but what tthis has shown the majority of customers will prioritize cheap over good. It’s a race to the bottom because that’s what ‘the market’ wants.