LDS - They have a bad attitude.

[k ellis]

I don't know about the air fill stations. Most of the people I've seen working at Walmart weren't exactly a ball of fire in the brain department. I can see it now...you get your tank filled, get to the dive site...."Man, this air sure tastes funny....OH, S!!T, IT'S PROPANE!!!!"

Kristopher

well when you come back you could literaly be snorting fire

 

[dmoore19]

@K_ellis - I agree. I was fortunate to get certified in CO whish is land locked of course but the SCUBA community there is massive. I never had a negative expirience there from divers or LDS. That is why I have been shocked that the other shops I have walked into around the country have been so negative.

I did my OW certification and live in Colorado. There is in fact a large scuba community here, really kind of amazing if you think about it. The shops I have been to here all seem to be ready and willing to help and are friendly and for the most part knowledgeable. That is the basis for some of my posts in this thread. I am surprised at the number of negative experiences people have in other parts of the country.

A person can find all of the equipment they want online, and in most cases at less cost. The reduced cost or the value of an LDS can only be determined by the individual purchasing the item(s).

 

[k ellis]

I did my OW certification and live in Colorado. There is in fact a large scuba community here, really kind of amazing if you think about it. The shops I have been to here all seem to be ready and willing to help and are friendly and for the most part knowledgeable. That is the basis for some of my posts in this thread. I am surprised at the number of negative experiences people have in other parts of the country.

A person can find all of the equipment they want online, and in most cases at less cost. The reduced cost or the value of an LDS can only be determined by the individual purchasing the item(s).

part of the reason for negative experiences on the part of the shop employees and their owners is usually a simple one. Most dive shop owners open up a shop because they love the sport so much they want to do it for a living. Through bad buisness models and manufactures using control tactics with pricing and minimal sales these dive shops are struggling. Though I dont condone high prices and poor service I do see it how would I feel if I was watching my business and all I have worked for dying slowly and i could do nothing to stop it from dieng. Id be bitter too!

 

[n733lk]

I buy my SCUBA bags from walmart. They are not called SCUBA bags of course but for $25 you can get a perfect dive bag vs $200 that some of the SCUBA CO's charge for the same thing.

Walmart.com: Protege X-Large 30" 2-Section Rolling Duffel Bag: Luggage

Ok, so now YOU are playing the game too!!!! I checked out your link, and the bag was $29.00! NOT $25.00!! Who the heck you tryin' to jerk around!!! You should be ashamed!!

LOL

. . . (sweet bag)

 

[SteveBF]

Why would someone offer a service they lose money on? If you do fills to get people in the door then in a way it is an advertising expense. Would you treat people like crap that say they came into your shop because they saw your ad in a magazine then go on to complain how you lose money running all those ads?

Maybe a little late but in retail this is what we call a loss leader... usually it's an item or service that you offer at cost or even a small loss that gets traffic into the store. My LDS actually offers Free air Fills on Friday and Saturday for anyone who puts a front Licence plate on their car that advertises the shop... it basically a Dive flag with the name of the shop in the white stripe no big deal and so worth having for the free air

 

[k ellis]

Maybe a little late but in retail this is what we call a loss leader... usually it's an item or service that you offer at cost or even a small loss that gets traffic into the store. My LDS actually offers Free air Fills on Friday and Saturday for anyone who puts a front Licence plate on their car that advertises the shop... it basically a Dive flag with the name of the shop in the white stripe no big deal and so worth having for the free air

what shop is it? I may want one as much as I go to beaver

 

[Mike]

I think Scuba would do a little better if there was more positive conversations about it rather then constant bashing about the sport too. People come to places like scubaboard to learn about the sport and ask an honest question often times that others perceive to be a troll (And yes most of the time they are trolls) but people want to know more about the sport. When all they read about is how Local Dive Shops rob people blind, Internet sales will get you junk equipment because you cant get it serviced, PADI is nothing but a money hungry Giant. This certification is just a waste of time and the list goes on and on how would a person perceive the sport who was considering getting in to it.

There is so very little main line information out there such as advertisements on television encourageing the sport and virtually no television ads advertising gear sales. People dont know much about the sport and like I was once where I did not even know you could get certified in Oklahoma. Many people see diving as a waste of money because they are land locked and no where near an ocean yet have no one telling them about how exciting diving in a local lake or quarry even a slow paced river can be.

Imagine for a moment you were not scuba certified and you decide you want to get certified and know absolutely nothing about scuba centers or anything. You discover there are say 3 dive shops in your area and so you decide to go and explore all 3 to get a feel of which one you prefer. You go in and say I have researched this and decided I want to learn to dive what do you offer and I was wondering why LeisurePro is so much cheaper then what you have in your shop is there a diffrence in types of gear or whats the reasoning for that.

The person responds how the other 2 shops are selfish egotisical or maybe just the more common answer which is they are a bunch of idiots over there. How would a new diver perceive the sport? What if he really just was not aware of the reasoning why LeisurePro is a sore subject with LDS in many cases and they go off in him in the same manner they do when a more seasoned diver goes buying from there there. How would he take a harsh stern crash course in why LeisurePro is a grey market. How would a new diver perceive that in terms of the sport being a fun and friendly sport? What if he was looking at gear and really had not even spoken to the counter but the clerk wont give him the time of day because he feels the guy is wasting his time trying his gear out so he can buy that gear online?

There are literaly thousands of people out there who would absolutely love to try diving but are under informed about how fun it really is how exciting it can be and yet very little effort outside of the LDS and Internet Dive services exploit this eager population. Yes there are T shirts people buy but how many non divers know what a dive flag is and a fancy slogan like I love scuba? Scuba is a very direct sport and a single line like I love scuba is not usually enough to encourage people to come try the sport. It needs to be more descriptive and informative and encouraging to get people to come in and try it.

The Base of potential divers is there we just need more positive interactions with the potential diver and less public bashing to where they stumble on to it and get the impression there is no one left worthy to teach it because every one is a horrible teacher. They need more positive attraction like divers setting up dive weekends maybe shore dives on a popular beach and not just suit up and get in but maybe set up a canopy and have someone sit there and give out brochures while the people enquiring can see the divers actually suiting up and getting in. There is so much that can be done yet in many cases so little is done.

I don't know anything about all that.

There was a generation that got excited about scuba by Jacque Cousteau documentaries, 20,000 leagues under the sea movies etc... another group gets excited about it because they see it happening around them if they live in coastal diving environment... some discover snorkling on vacation and eventually want to move on to scuba, other than that the vast majority of it is word of mouth from people who's friends are divers and they get them into the sport.

It's always going to be a niche activity, the attraction of diving in quarries only appeals to a limited group, as the USA is vastly land locked, it's a sport that requires expensive travel. Scuba is expensive, it is what it is. You're either attracted to it our you're not. I can't for a second believe any newbie entertaining the idea is turn on or off by walking into a dive shop and viewing prices of products that they don't have the faintest idea what they are about or if they would ever be involved with them.

 

[movieflick]

Ok, so now YOU are playing the game too!!!! I checked out your link, and the bag was $29.00! NOT $25.00!! Who the heck you tryin' to jerk around!!! You should be ashamed!!

LOL

. . . (sweet bag)

I am in cahoots with Walmart. Good ole bait and switch my friend