What do you want or wish you had from your LDS? All good, all bad...

[lowviz]

...//... If you ran the perfect dive shop, in your opinion, what's important to you? What would make you loyal to a specific shop ...

Along with everything that Bobby and a few others said:

Make your regular customers a bit special. My old LDS gave free LP air fills to paid-up dive club members. This really promoted local diving. Got me hooked. Even better, if I wanted LP nitrox then I just paid for the extra oxygen. Want that boosted? Regular price.

Promote local diving by running easy dives for beginners in benign local conditions. Put a few really nice local pics up on the wall along with all the lovely tropical pics.

Be good (and careful) with your promises. I once dropped off a poodle jacket to get serviced. It got forgotten. I came to pick it up and it was serviced while I waited. I could have come back for it, but no, a promise is a promise.

Chat up your newbies. Many of them are in awe of the sport and just love to talk scuba with the 'big dogs'.

Have a couple of decent rental cameras lying around.

Have a 'rent-to-buy' policy that works for you.

Never, ever make a customer feel stupid.

 

[uncfnp]

What can your LDS do to bring in more women divers?

 

[Sean Walberg]

Put prices and schedules and all costs on the web page. I'm an introvert; I don't want to talk to someone or make the drive to the shop especially if I'm just collecting data for a later decision. I'm happy to pay more if it means I get the right gear and personalized advice, but then again if it's hard to judge if I'm going to be paying a little bit more or a lot more, it's easier to just order online. Plus, answer your damn emails.

Also shops that choose to affiliate with only one vendor make me suspicious about the advice they give. "We only sell Mares gear" makes me less trustful of the product suggestions they make. I'm sure it's better for them, but I don't think it's better for me.

And finally, more local travel rather than week long resort trips.

(Also, if I were running a dive shop I'd have my Internet marketing dialed in. The shop should know the cert level and experience level of almost every customer so why aren't they using that to direct promos and events?)

 

[Aviyes]

Online presence is extremely important in this day and age. Especially, up-to-date listings of upcoming local dive events, as well as the non-local destination trips. Nothing more annoying than having to drive 45+ min in a new area just to get a hard-copy list of upcoming dive events from different shops. Scan that page and drop it on a website. Makes it easier for people new to the area to enter the local dive scene.

 

[lowviz]

...//...
(Also, if I were running a dive shop I'd have my Internet marketing dialed in. The shop should know the cert level and experience level of almost every customer so why aren't they using that to direct promos and events?)

And CPSC Recalls.

Nothing more reassuring than getting a call that the spring in my dump valve wasn't plated correctly and could break. Stop by at your convenience...

 

[Lorenzoid]

First, the simple ones: (1) A pool, where divers are allowed to test-dive gear and practice skills. (2) If in a location with local diving, drive-through air fills.

(3) Create a dive club atmosphere. I am envious of the BSAC system, where you dive with your club, learn from mentors, always have dive buddies, and go on club trips. I understand there are already dive clubs in the US, but they are the exception, not the rule, most are not closely affiliated with a shop, and participation/leadership ebbs and flows with members coming and leaving. I don't want to join a tiny club that may not be around tomorrow because the guy who seems to organize everything is moving out of town. Maybe a shop should be proactive and try to become the hub for a club that they can keep going strong. Multiple shops in a region could even band together and form a joint club.

 

[WantSomeScuba?]

Plus, answer your damn emails.

I'm trying! There's so many of the damn things! Your statement about online presence is spot on. Our website was designed by a person who was clearly and completely deranged. We're working on that, but you said it better than I would have.

Never, ever make a customer feel stupid.

What if they're really, reaaalllly dumb?

 

[WantSomeScuba?]

And CPSC Recalls.

Nothing more reassuring than getting a call that the spring in my dump valve wasn't plated correctly and could break. Stop by at your convenience...

"Hey, sooooo, just a heads up, but literally every Suunto transmitter in production has been recalled. Feel free to come by and get that checked whenever you have a second. Thanks!"

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I've found that the number one thing that a shop can do is fill tanks. Word of mouth is a powerful entity, especially with the internet. If you give someone a short fill, everyone will know about it. If you give good fills, everyone will know about it. I've been to shops that have great inventory, knowledgeable staff, pool on site and offer local and travel dives, yet I don't shop there much because of their fills. I rarely buy anything from my LDS because they have crap gear and high prices but they consistently fill my tanks properly so I go there a few times per week.

 

[txgoose]

This knife cuts both ways though, be willing to fire a customer. If a certain customer comes in, spends a lot of time with staff getting educated, then repeatedly goes online or elsewhere to save a buck, then fire them, however do it nicely and don't bad mouth them.

I digress but in a related way:
One of my pet peeves is folks that go to a brick and mortar shop, try on gear then go online and buy. I see this with a group of hikers I sometimes associate with. IMO, they abuse REI. Probably easier to pull off with a quasi box store than a small dive shop. I buy online but only if I can manage my own affairs, or the folks I am dealing with can. If I am going to burn up time, and hopefully consume a lot of their knowledge, with brick and mortar sales staff I'll buy from a brick and mortar. Reserving the right to shop around. Even though I am a customer, I think that there is a place to fire a customer.

This is a bit simplistic but, buy from the entity that answers your questions. Price can be part of the answer but not all of it.