Lake Rawlings Customer Service

[RSL]

Just want to let everyone know the bath houses at Lake Rawlings are done. According to the staff the lake admission rates went up 5$ from last year to cover the costs for it....but bring plenty of quaters with you if you want to get a shower, they have made the showers so you have to pay to use them.

Also we went there last weekend, a group of 4 of us and we had purchased an addmission card last year and when we get on site we find out that, "the boss said we are not taking them this weekend' because of dive fest. i mentioned to the young lady that that was not anywhere on thier website or in the dive fest info and she replied "well I dont control what is on the website". About that time Kvin walked in and of course was his very polite helpful self regarding the matter, "you can either pay or leave".

 

[DivingPrincessE]

So they upped admission to cover the cost of the shower...but they charge to use the shower.

 

[RAD Diver]

About that time Kvin walked in and of course was his very polite helpful self regarding the matter, "you can either pay or leave".

I would have left & be doing exactly what you are doing on every website I could find.

Diving in Va. Beach is way better than Rawlings anyway.

 

[offthewall1]

I have never heard a nice word about the place, the guy (Kevin) who runs it or it's owner (who seems to worship Kevins feet... so that is why I have never gone there and it is why I will never go there and why I tell everyone I know not to go there...

Can anyone give me a positive story about the Customer Service at Lake Rawlings? Please I'd like to hear just one.

 

[telemonster]

Can anyone give me a positive story about the Customer Service at Lake Rawlings? Please I'd like to hear just one.

I've done almost all of my diving there, so far (going out with Lynnhaven on a charter soon, I *SWEAR*).

I've thought about it a bit. For the most part, I can't say I've had a huge problem with them but I've noticed the things you mention. I think they are growing in popularity, and imagine it's a rough job.

I've found that if the Rawlings shop area is full, they are a bit shorter with people. But if it's empty, or things are winding down, then they are nicer. They are much more laid back. I've talked to Kevin more so than the owner, and it's usually after the place is dead.

At times, there is an extreme number of people that arrive all at once. Huge groups of students. It can get absolutely chaotic. Standing in the back hoping to get a fill by the time we get back from lunch. Never been let down though, they always complete it (both Nitrox and air).

As a business, I think they are trying to expand. I saw the glossy ads for the dive fest sitting there. I saw the showers but didn't check them out. I believe they had to put in a pump station, and put in the septic field over across the entrance road. I still ended up using the port-o-lets.

I have no idea how much it costs to run such an operation. At times I think how cool it would be not to have to go to work, and run something like that. Then I think what a sweltering nightmare it would be.

Follow on to my next post.

 

[telemonster]

If Lake Rawlings were mine, and budget wasn't much of an issue

If I owned Lake Rawlings, and money wasn't much of an issue... Some things I would do...

First, I'd setup an online "eticket" system with user printable passes, or possibly a kiosk based on credit cards like airlines use (credit card # is on magstripe track #2). This could help eliminate counter jam. People show up, they agree to the waiver on a touch screen or whatever, and they are in. Billing is done. Money is in the bank. It could be done with open source software.

Second, I'd probably look into a frequent diver program to continue to help streamline the above.

Third, I'd build a trolly system of sorts. Maybe built out of welded pipe following roller coaster design, maybe just light rail. The electric motor driven "trolly" would shuttle between down near the water and up at the office fill station, carrying tanks for guests to be refilled.

In the end, work smarter not harder.

And if money was no object (power bills), and it wouldn't cloud up the water... I think I'd have to build a waterfall on the far side of the quarry

I like going to Rawlings to fart around. Great place to check out new or old equipment. But my friend and I were talking about it this weekend.... for nearly the same money we could have booked a trip with Lynnhaven, which we do plan to do (I still have a boat ticket from last year).

(And on the note of equipment, I'd like to have the chance to dive a Optima or Inspiration eCCR there, prefer the latter, if anyone knows anyone that does "tryout" dives on clean gear. Willing to pay for the experience).

 

[Dzscubie]

I was at rawlings this past weekend for the Dive Fest also and was a little peeved at that big money machine connected to the shower. I asked a friend who goes to rawlings every weekend how much time you get for the quarter and he said about a minute of two so if your fast you can get a hot shower for about a buck or so.. bull pucky, I figure I spent my time under water so I didn't need no shower, besides I'm so sweet when I sweat I probably smell like honey suckel.. right? Anyway, the bath houses look nice and are nicer then the port a potties but they aren't getting my quarters.
Kevin does need to work on his people skills.

 

[emcbride81]

the diving is decent, but the one time I was there I was not impressed by the service. It almost seemed like you were a hassle to them...however Kevin's dog was really fun to play with....

 

[telemonster]

I was eyeballing the shower/bathroom setup, and can't help but think it cost a fortune. Does anyone know what exactly is in the big round thing buried in the ground, and why it has a rotating beacon light? My guess is that it pumps brown / grey water over to the drainage field that is across the entrance road, but am not sure.

In their defense I bet a ton of people cried about there not being showers.

 

[TravisD]

Went to Rawlings for the first time this weekend actually. The staff is a little...rough around the edges. There was a truck parked near the shop who's alarm kept going off, and they were pretty serious about having it towed if the owner didn't turn up (they came down to the water and made announcements...) I was a little amused that they insisted on people bringing their tanks around to the fill whips (and picking them up), but then yelled at them for standing around in the area past the counter since that's "not customer area". Might have been a heat-of-battle thing due to the run on fills?

I took tanks up in the middle of the pre-treasure-hunt rush, and they filled the tanks pretty quickly, given the demand. I pointed out that I had high-pressure tanks and they made a point to make sure that they were topped off to the correct pressure. The fill was fine, given the circumstances (about 3400 after hitting the water).

Bath houses were nice. Big enough for the wife and I to share one and I think we both showered for 50 cents total. I thought the setup was nice since they're big enough for a family to share instead of everyone taking up a room for themselves.

As for the admission issue above -- I'm surprised they couldn't just charge you the difference between the normal and divefest admissions? That would seem to make sense, unless the whole fundraiser thing made the accounting unworkable.

We were a little underprepared for the trip (stopping off on the way to the outer banks) but still had a good time. About the only thin we really missed was bringing something to rest gear on and stake out a spot in-between dives.