"buy equipment here" speech in OW first class!

[Scuba]

Well bp_968, either the some of the things you described in your first post were an anomoly, they have changed their ways, or you have come around to see things their way.

Either way, as long as you're satisfied, enjoy your diving.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

I just wanted to take a moment to say how happy I am with the shop I'm going too. Ya, its a bit more expensive then the internet shops (but seems to be cheaper then some local shops I called a few days ago) but man the service is excellent. The owner found this thread and was very polite and helpful. He seemed more concerned that he had upset me or offended me then anything, even though there have been plenty of comments going around in this thread that could/are offensive.

Too funny. A very similar situation occurred back when I took my OW course with my LDS (minus the initial sales pitch).

For the record, I love my LDS, even though on some items, I pay more than I would online. Anything that my LDS has to special order, he gives me a REALLY good price on.

I'd rather buy through him, because I know he has an amazing relationship with his distributors. If anything breaks, he has an instant replacement. :thumbs-up

And yes, we're land locked in the prairies here in Manitoba as well, so keeping customers is VERY important to these dive shops. They barely make enough money to keep the doors open.

 

[lord1234]

so just yesterday I was in my LDS and asked him to install my new 7ft hose on my reg....He knew I had purchased it(and my shiny new BP/W) online but gave me ABSOLUTELY 0 issues about it. This is a shop that I will keep shopping at. If any of you in the northeast are looking for a good LDS Aqua Ventures in hudson, NH. They carry mainly Zeagle and Cressi, and I did get some of the "zeagle and poseidon are better than apeks" speech while I was talking about future reg choices with him, but he didn't just say "I carry them so they are better", he actually gave some valid reasons for it. Great service, a great shop owner, relatively good instruction.

 

[ranger979]

I also wanted to add myself to the list of people who have had good experience with a LDS.

I am on a very limited budget. When I was looking for gear I mentioned that where I work to the owner of the LDS. I happen to work for a company that sell high end shampoo, conditioners and other personal care products. It turn's out her husband has a very sensitive scalp and our shampoo is one of the few shampoos he can use. I jokingly asked if she would consider a barter. To my suprise she said yes. Not only that she let me take the gear while I was in the process of paying it off.

Since this time I have felt that I owe this shop big time. I buy what ever I can from there but for the most part it is just small stuff. I've been saving my pennies and have been planning on taking my AOW course there this fall. Instead I will be going to Seattle this August and will be taking it there instead.

When I mentioned it to the store owners did they kick me out of the store? Curse me? Ban me from ever shopping there again? No! They said that's great! 'That what AOW is all about, getting new experiences. You've dove the local lakes dozens of times. You don't need another dive here. I would have done the same thing in your position.'

Not all LDS are evil. Some are down right great!!!

 

[steelemagnolia6]

I was not pleased with LDS that I took my classes at, mainly because they did push the buy it here to you are going to die routine, that isn't a good item blah blah blah.. that is what I heard the minute that they started it. I happen to own very good stuff...and I dive a Zeagle Envoy and I'm not dead yet along with a great number of people who dive them and are still alive to talk about it....

I was very happy with my instructors who did not peddle dive gear they only mentioned that if you own your own gear you dive more. This I have found to be very true. I am sure that a great deal of the active members of this board own their own gear...

GASP I even buy online, and I have yet to become deceased, although I am sure that there is some LDS that will tell me that I am. I love Scuba Toys, if I still lived in the DFW area it would be my LDS...

I do support my local dive shop, Scuba Supply in Nashville, spend a great deal of money at it, 90% of the time I come home with some interesting gadget from there that I don't know how I survived without. Sometimes it's only a 20.00 item and sometimes it's a 200.00 gadget but we (my brothers and I) love this particular shop. There is no pressure to buy from him or you are going to die. Although he is currently in love with Atomics and he is very knowledgable on almost every brand of equipment out there. I value his advice and his suggestions and he tells great stories. You can hangout there all day and just talk about diving, if you buy something that's even better. Barry is just plain one of the best people that I have met since I took up diving...

Would he prefer that I bought from him you bet, what businessman wouldn't, will he not service my gear or treat me like crap because I didn't NO... He knows that most big purchases are generally a one time only purchase and that it's the little stuff that keeps you coming back in...

 

[Firefyter]

I just wanted to take a moment to say how happy I am with the shop I'm going too. Ya, its a bit more expensive then the internet shops (but seems to be cheaper then some local shops I called a few days ago) but man the service is excellent. The owner found this thread and was very polite and helpful. He seemed more concerned that he had upset me or offended me then anything, even though there have been plenty of comments going around in this thread that could/are offensive.

This sounds like the type of owner who has his head on straight and knows what customer service is all about. I've met several who could use a few lessons from this guy.... I especially appreciate the way he handled it. He could have gotten pissy, and given the circumstances it might have been justifiable. Instead, he wants you as a customer, recognizes the misconception you were under, and corrected it properly. Now, he feels vindicated, you realize his worth to you as a merchant, and everybody's happy. Great way to do business!

Whats really annoyed me is *my* case of foot-in-mouth disease. Here I go joining the tirade against LDS prices and never really compared apples to apples. I only compared against Scubatoys (because I've heard good things about them, and didn't compare against leisurepro (because I've heard bad things about them), thats a problem because scubatoys doesn't carry any of the stuff this LDS does. Well I did compare them (LDS-Vs-LP), and the average price difference is 20%. Right at what I said I would be willing to pay extra at a local LDS (DOH!)

Kudos to you as well for recognizing and admitting your mistake. All too often you hear people railing about things, but admitting mistakes is pretty rare. The fact that you've come back and posted this in the same thread you were complaining in says loads about your character, and you should be commended. I'm sure you're the type of customer this guy loves having in his shop.

 

[ScottZeagle]

I dive a Zeagle Envoy and I'm not dead yet along with a great number of people who dive them and are still alive to talk about it...

Pardon the interuption, but that just made me laugh out loud...thanks.



Scott

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I've been saving my pennies and have been planning on taking my AOW course there this fall. Instead I will be going to Seattle this August and will be taking it there instead.

When I mentioned it to the store owners did they kick me out of the store? Curse me? Ban me from ever shopping there again? No! They said that's great! 'That what AOW is all about, getting new experiences. You've dove the local lakes dozens of times. You don't need another dive here. I would have done the same thing in your position.'

Not all LDS are evil. Some are down right great!!!

Kudos to your dive shop ... we need more with that attitude in the dive industry. If I ever make it to Minnesota I'll make it a point to stop by and thank them ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Trever]

IMHO The SSI OW book was more like a sales pitch for the LDS. It's one thing for the LDS trying to upsell some equipment, but I think the certifying agencies need to stick to training.

 

[jimmac]

Back to the oxygen toxicity, oxygen is toxic at extended periods of time at different partial pressures. A CNS clock is used to calculate how long you should be breathing oxygen at different partial pressures, but remember as many gas calculations in scuba there all based on an average of many test and data collections. Therefore, no one algorythem is perfect. Rounding to saftey and being conservative is the best way to prevent problems. Breathing o2 at sea lvl is ok, but only for short periods of time, some cns clocks say around 5 hours. 2 1/2 at 1.4 ata's.



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