What can or does your LDS need to do to EARN your business?

[colo_diver]

One thing I will be stressing to my fellow LDS owners is that we should think of you as "CLIENTS" and not customers. In my other full time job as a mortgage broker/realtor, it is CLIENT focused (ok I can start a rant about the unprofessionalism in those industires as well). But that term has a more powerful impact on people. You are not a customer, hell you are not a client YOU ARE ONE OF MY DIVERS.

 

[colo_diver]

I already think about those that come in our shop[ as "our divers" from now on you are all part of my diver community

 

[DiveNav]

..... I am just blown away by the feedback. What I am hearing I will be sharing at DEMA with my fellow dive shops and our suppliers. .....

Come by our booth 3251. Beer is on me

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[colo_diver]

see you on friday of the show. PM me with a good time

 

[natew]

Thought of something else I should have mentioned, but I think it's more along the lines of the general theme of customer service. Advanced and further (basically any non-OW course) courses seem to be a problem with atleast a few shops I have contacted. I do understand that you often have to wait for enough people to sign up for a particular course, HOWEVER, keep me informed so I know you haven't forgotten about me because I really don't want to, and probably won't, walk into your shop a second time and ask if I am still on the list and when the course might run. Call me every couple of weeks, or once a month and let me know! If you need 6 people or 10 people or whatever for a course call me and tell me after a few weeks how many you have. Let me know that you have 5 of 6 people on the list and maybe it'll be a couple more weeks, or let me know you only have two people on the list and that things are slow and it may be longer! If you don't I'm likely to start asking other shops and will likely just sign up with the first shop that can run a class, which means you're going to be SOL when/if you ever do get around to call me to fill that class.

 

[colo_diver]

Nate, guess this isnt a problem for us as I will do a class one one on one if you are willing to spend a few hours at the shop if I get side tracked or after hours. We offer classes on a schedule and a personal schedule if you need.

A side note. In our region we are the only shop that offers continuing education and we do offer a class a month. We also do a "specialty saturday" where you can get 2 or 3 classes done, at least the academic part. (something I am promoting to my fellow shops). Our feeling is that if you want education we will provide it. Then again we are in western colorado, but Nate you are in so cal , the classes should be full. We never cancel a class. you paid for it and well, if it is only you, even if it is only you

Hell, I have one lady that got her AOW class as a birthday gift a year ago and still hasnt made a class. She was in last week and I teased her a bit. When she is ready we will do her classes, even if she is the only one

 

[natew]

Most the shops around here don't seem to want to even organize a class unless they have a minimum # of divers signed up. I've signed up with like 3 or 4 shops now for an AOW course, been trying to for 2 months no luck. Maybe I can grab a plane ticket over to CO and take one of your courses.

 

[colo_diver]

Nate
If we can help we will. PM me and we can discuss what you are looking for and what you need. Our feeling is to offer training and to encourage eductaion. From reading all the post, I have decided that our industry acts like Wal_Mart and that is not good. I understand my new friend from LP, and I think of them as Wal-Mart, where as we are the boutique, the speciality shop. I want to carter to our divers needs. You need classes, our instructors will be happy to figure it out for you

 

[colo_diver]

OK the last few post are a little off topic, so back to waht do you want from your Local Dive Shop? DEMA show is in November and I want you input to take to my fellow shop owners, dive masters, instructors.....

tell us what you want as you are our divers

 

[Gilldiver]

If no one has mentioned it yet, think about your shops appearance, does a person who is thinking about learning to dive want to walk in the door and stay for a half our or is does the place look, smell, and feel like a dump? – It should be:

Warm in the winter – In the North most shops I have seen save money on heat, does a customer want to try on a wet/dry suit when the shop is 50 degrees and you are in a sweatshirt?

Brightly lit – If I can’t see it, I can’t buy it

Have a changing room which is not the bathroom – A changing room is a changing room, No one wants to smell what you just did or see its smear in the bowl when trying on anything.

Have a bath room which has been cleaned this decade – Your wash room should not be used as the regulator cleaning area or look like the garages down the street.

Be dry – Keep the smell and wetness of your rental gear out of the show room

Have a good selection and be ready to order and work price vs. volume as best you can, You are competing with the internet, get used to it. What you have going for you is they have to come to you for air, but nothing else, even service can be done easily and sometimes cheaper using flat rate shipping to a shop across the country.

Do air fills quickly and at a reasonable price – These are your loss leaders, don’t loose money but it is not a profit center. Fills bring in the customers and allow time for them to look over all the small (and high markup) and big stuff – you do have a good selection of such, don’t you? This is where you have a captured customer for 10-15 minutes, use it.

Your service area should be clean, neat, and visible to the customer ( a window works well) – If it looks like my 7 year old runs it, why should I trust your work on my gear?

Make sure that the compressor is quiet so you don’t have the shout and the customer wants to stay and hear your pitch.

A coffee table on Saturday morning can go a long way to keeping people in your store.

Learn how to pitch your goods and services without it being a hard pitch. Do you like going into a car dealer or furniture store and have a sales person chasing you like a vulture after a sick animal?

Many dive shops are run by people with no training in retail and it shows. The above list is only a beginning, take a basic retail course at a college or university.