WHAT!! you didn't buy from me!!!!!

[Tim Cavender]

I just hope there aren't OW instructors that exploit naive students by impugning dive equipment purchased elsewhere, while puffing only their own line of equipment during class lecture time. I've heard that at least one instructor in California demanded, during lecture time, that the students buy from his LDS or he would be "very hurt and upset". IMHO if the instructors are teaching just to sell their own LDS equipment, the class really ought to be be heavily discounted with a consumer alert about their marketing practices.:bonk:

 

[o2scuba]

Hey all,

Ive got a humdinger of a story for ya. It is related to this thread, but more about what happens at the pro level (between LDCs and new pros).

I had just about finished typing it, then WHAM-got booted, lost my info;-0

Anyway I'm off to NYC now for NYE, Got phish tickets for the Garden tonite

It should be worth the five hour drive through freezing rain.

Anyway no time to retype, so i'll leave you in suspense for another day or two.

Andrew

Happy New Year!

 

[Northeastwrecks]

Lawman once bubbled...
One is PADI and one is SSI. Both owners are
friends and both have trained me. I do pay
a little more to buy from them...however I
get three things in return.

1] I get to look at the product before
I buy it. I also get help in comparing
it to other products by the person who
knows my diving abilities better than
anyone else.

2] I help keep a business going that I want
to succeed. I don't want to have to drive
75 miles to another store.

3] They do business with me. I do divorces for
their employees, help with business organi
zation, and do estate planning for them. I
became "their lawyer."

It creates a nice symbiotic relationship.

You nailed it. Especially your first point.

 

[Wreck/Tec]

dmdalton
That was quite accurate. Few buisnesses are treating the customerin this fashion. I'm not necessarily a business guru, however I won't stand for being badgered and or berated as some shops do. I realize everyone needs to make money, and I don't have a problem with that to a reasonable point. Just as one person wants to make money another wants to save some, that's what this country is all about. What we see in a lot of dive shops is nothing more than price fixing. In many other buisnesses this would be illegal. I don't have the luxury of buying a compressor but I will shop for air as I buy alot of it. In any other thing you always get a better deal buying bulk, rarely do I here. How sad. In the ever changing business climate where stores are bending over to get your business alot of, not all, dive shops are arrogant, some use misleading, and or, inaccurate information to promote the bottom line. I think it's wrong, un-necessary, un professional, and in some instances, unethical .

 

[Lawman]

gedunk once bubbled...
It's the old way and i miss it. Handshake business rarely works anymore, so you gotta jump on it when it does.

Buy the way Lawman, i believe nitpicking, paraphrasing attorney's are largely to blame for the loss of the handshake business deal. Thanks a lot man!

Well someones got to read those contracts
you guys are always trying to get out of!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
........ you deserved that after the shot you took at engineers yesterday!ut:

Happy New Year!

 

[Lawman]

screwed up my reply. I merely wanted
to point out that SOMEONE has to
read the paperwork that engineers
refuse to read. If we didn't do that
how would we get you one of those
bad deals you're always getting into?

 

[metridium]

chickdiver wrote...
Imagine, acting like a rational personn gets results! I have a friend who bought a custom CLX about 2 years ago. It fit horribly, we called him "tutu butt" because the guy us really built, with broad shoulders and a small waist. We called DUI and sent them photos of the guy in the suit. They said, "send it back, we'll fix it". We did, andthey did - no charge, obviously.

Get real Krazy Karl.....

In fairness to Genesis, it is DUI's stated policy that they're not responsible for misfitted custom suits. If the fit is incorrect, the onus to fix the problem is on the dealer who made the measurements. Unless you have a written contract with the dealer to cover such things, you're at the LDS's mercy if there's a problem. None of the ones I contacted offered a written guarantee.

Sure, some shops can be counted on to live up to their oral contracts, despite the cost. I've had contact with some LDSs who were IMHO unethical, or even criminal, and I would have zero faith they'd stand by their word. There are even some good LDSs I wouldn't trust in this case....not because of ill-intent, but because of sheer forgetfulness.

 

[metridium]

northeastwrecks and chickdiver, among others, you're very fortunate to have the LDSs you do. If I had options like that, I'd probably feel the same way. But I don't. By necessity, I'm pretty much a free agent.

My gear selection has been pretty much a la carte as I've slowly made my way from strictly vacation diving toward the technical side. Until very recently, it was impossible to get the gear I wanted within hundreds of miles, so internet or mailorder was my only option for several key items.

In other cases, the limited selection of gear at the LDSs was a serious impediment, and the exorbitant prices they wanted was the final deal killer. I honestly don't think there's anything the LDS could legitimately do for me that would justify paying an extra $500-$700 for a drysuit.

I've shopped around at dozens of LDSs, found a couple of good ones, some adequate ones, and a handful that were actively malignant. I don't mean that they were hostile, but that they were along the lines of a cancer in the industry.

I've made an effort to do business with the good shops where it's feasible because I want to see them survive and thrive, but even then I've had bad results on occasion.

So if any LDS took exception to my other-sourced gear, I'd politely explain why if so inclined. I might point out some of Genesis' less abrasive points if they pressed the issue.

Given my experiences, I can understand some of Genesis' frustration, even if I don't agree with his approach.

 

[King Kong Matt]

I don't think anyone disagrees that there are bad LDSs everywhere...and lots of them. And most reasonable people agree that among the bunch of rotten apples, there are some good LDSs as well.

What goads me is the duplicity of the religious zealots who go on and on about price fixing, accuse me as an LDS proponet of being one of the main causes of perpetuating the problem, and then have the audacity to basically say "I wish I had a good relationship with my LDS, but I don't so scr*w them"...its like, if they are going to be miserable and unhappy, they want everyone else to be as well. Otherwise, we are just "part of the problem".

And really, with such crappy attitudes and a chip on their shoulders the size of Manhattan, is it any wonder that this self-fulfilling prophecy about "poor LDS customer service" is exactly that? A self-fulfilling prophecy?

P.S. - This is for you conspiracy theorists out there...we really did land on the moon. The flag is upright because of the wire leader

 

[metridium]

King Kong Matt wrote...
And really, with such crappy attitudes and a chip on their shoulders the size of Manhattan, is it any wonder that this self-fulfilling prophecy about "poor LDS customer service" is exactly that? A self-fulfilling prophecy?

There's truth in that, no doubt. How much of the bad service would have been there anyway, though? I suspect the self-fulfilling prophecy may just be the icing on the cake in many cases, so to speak.