What do you want to see in your dive shop?

[Chummy]

If you folks want them to carry every size and item under the sun you need to realize that this represents a HUGE monetary investment in inventory. There is a carrying cost to that inventory, which is reflected in the price.

You have price, selection and service. Pick any two.

[Rockfish]

You have price, selection and service. Pick any two

And yet you have some dive stores that can do all three even in this tough economy. I'm surprised that no one has thought just to open a dive store that is a fill station only since that is what a lot of these stores are becoming. Problem is we probably have too many dive stores chasing too few dollars so they end up only being able to give price or selection or service which is too bad.

Mike

[ArcticDiver]

-Remember you are in business to serve the customer

Um, hate to break it to you but no, they're not.

[quote="ArcticDiver] not to finance your personal dive habit and that of your employees.

What the dive shop owner and their staff do with their hard earned money is none of your business.[/quote][/quote][/quote]

What we have here, I hope, is a misunderstanding.

Yes, they are in business to serve the customer. If they don't they won't make a profit and without a profit they go away.

No comment about what they do with their personal money, hard earned or not. It is an expression of philosophy. Some shops are there as a business serving a need. Others, not limited to dive shops by the way, are there to do the minimum to get the money, get you out of there so the staff can do something else. Or, another way, the staff isn't running a business. They are getting subsidized diving to the detriment of instruction quality and customer satisfaction. This was especially blatant at anothe shop that was recommended to me by a "friend". Come to find out he was trying to qualify for something or other and needed so many dives with customers. He could have cared less about me other than I was a number in his log book.

[Chummy]

You have price, selection and service. Pick any two

And yet you have some dive stores that can do all three even in this tough economy. I'm surprised that no one has thought just to open a dive store that is a fill station only since that is what a lot of these stores are becoming. Problem is we probably have too many dive stores chasing too few dollars so they end up only being able to give price or selection or service which is too bad.

Mike

I agree, but those folks who have all three are well capitalized and usually have been in the business for a fair amount of time. Seldom will you see a start up open the doors and have an overstocked store.

[BASSMAN]

NO SHORT FILLS

Check the attitude at the door.

NO SHORT FILLS

Knowledgeble staff

NO SHORT FILLS.

+1 beer and tacos

NO SHORT FILLS

Salt Water Aquarium with some local fluara and fauna

NO SHORT FILLS

This is good! An affordable, unlimited, yearly Nitrox would be good too!
Oh and...NO SHORT FILLS

Are you related to H20Doctor by any chance? Seriously, I'm not even sure what that post was about....

Jake

What?!!!


H20doctor, I don't care what Nwbrewer says about you, don't ever change, "We love you Man!!!"

[LCF]

BASSMAN, too bad you live so far south . . . NWSD's yearly Nitrox is quite affordable, for anybody who dives very regularly. I figure, at standard fill rates, it takes me about four months before I'm diving on Matt's dime.

[BASSMAN]

BASSMAN, too bad you live so far south . . . NWSD's yearly Nitrox is quite affordable, for anybody who dives very regularly. I figure, at standard fill rates, it takes me about four months before I'm diving on Matt's dime.

Nice!

[bigsky]

local trips to local shipwreck
the sampson is always nice this time of year

[Grateful Diver]

I agree, but those folks who have all three are well capitalized and usually have been in the business for a fair amount of time. Seldom will you see a start up open the doors and have an overstocked store.

The guys at Tacoma Scuba would be a great case study in how to grow a startup ... they've become a successful business by growing at a measured pace, by being above-average accommodating to people visiting their business, by being non-judgmental about people who choose to shop elsewhere, and by always making everyone who walked through the door feel like they're welcomed into the shop.

If you truly want to know what divers want in a dive shop, take a few pages from their business plan. Even in a tough economy, it seems to be working out pretty well ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[rjw]

local trips to local shipwreck
the sampson is always nice this time of year

I think the idea is to fill shop charters. Most boats won't leave the dock with 3 divers.

[Agent 47]

A lot of good ideas here, some things will come as we grow. ie larger selection, we have been rolling all profits back into the shop so we can build up inventory and increse productivity. for example we finally added a booster pump a couple months back to ensure we can allways get tanks full for our customers and we have been increasing our service parts inventory to allow us to quicken the turnaround time on regulator rebuilds to as little as one day. The haskel pump allows us to fill nitrox while the customer waits and having staff PSI trained allows us to even do visual inspections while you wait. In keeping with industry standards we dont use a water tank to fill cylinders so it has been a little trial and error to calculate for pressure drop even when the tank gets a little warm. I know the short fill feeling, it sucks to get to the dive site and find you are even 100 psi under. We have a PSI guage that we use as tanks leave the shop to show the tank is indeed full or to catch it and top it off before it leaves. Most tanks take about 20 minutes to reasonably cool with a fan on them so if we need to fill it fast for the customer it is a bit of a guessing game as to how full it needs to be to cool to the right pressure, but we are trying.
Thanks for all the good suggestions, Keep em comming.

[Mongo]

...being above-average accommodating to people visiting their business, by being non-judgmental about people who choose to shop elsewhere, and by always making everyone who walked through the door feel like they're welcomed into the shop.

Unfortunately, I have not had a similar experience.

However, I also understand, like people, there could simply be mismatched chemistry between shop and diver. Thank goodness for an open economy.

[Agent 47]

Oh, And also in reply to a few concerned PM's and emails from people who took my post as a indication that we have been struggeling rather than the simple request for feedback in the interest of continuing to better our shop. The dive communities reception to our new little shop here has been unbelevably supportive. It seems I am running from open to close just doing the work we already have coming in. ( its taken me almost an hour to write this between answering the phone and helping customers ) But after spending over a decade of my life working in the scuba industry I dont want to see us fall into the trap of complacency. The attitude of "well, we make enough to pay for the shop and my salery so why should I care?" I want to ensure that we are allways improving and staying in touch with our customers needs. Its tough sometimes, and its hard to keep everyone happy but we are allways learning and with input like this we can continue to grow and in keeping with our name Evergreen Dive SERVICE continue to serve the dive community and our customers for a long time to come.

[oregondiver]

Although LCF said she doesn't need shop dives....
I think they are great! I may come into the shop to talk to them about club/shop dives. And while there...I impulse buy! I may only spend $10...but it was $10 I wasn't going to spend if I wasn't going there. But I have been known to spend $100 on "impulse" buys while swinging into a shop (wish this was like facebook so I can block that comment from Funkydiver). So I say go for the shop dives!

I saw a shop offer free fills for their shop dives (no cost for shop dive)...that meant divers had to go into the store...and of course I would expect 1/2 bought something....

RETURN EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS!!!!!

There is a shop I liked ( and I still like them but still peeved!) and I emailed about classes. Then I called about class (left voice mail). I even went INTO the shop to talk to them about it, but they were swamped and said they would call me back....3 points of contact in 3 mediums...but no call back, never go the info. Have not been back to that shop even though I REALLY wanted to give them my scuba units since i liked their shop.

I called Bandito over a month ago trying to find out about a date to book a charter (full boat)....no call back. I emailed. Uh, no email reply. I always repeat my phone number twice (yea, I am a nerd) just in case it came our garbled. I love Pacific Adventures but was looking for a boat at that time who held more than 6 divers.

Please update your website. If you have a calendar on your website (classes, club dives, info nights) please make sure it is updated. Even have information about upcoming tropical vacations....I did some research lately and several shops said "we are going to >>>> soon, contact us for details"....why not give the date or price or something so I can see if it is near what I want instead of calling/emailing....oh wait, they don't return calls or emails. :angry: :angry: :angry:

My time is important. I actually rode my horse to your shop with the express purpose of getting something or dropping something off (service/repair/air) that results in money exchanging hands (ok, credit card). Please stop chatting about your social life. I don't care. I don't have time (well, maybe I do if it is juicy stuff about spatman sharing his left asscheek brain with p-pants... ).

OK, the above stuff is about customer service (gossip/time, return calls/emails/update information, shop dives) but to me...that is where I am going to spend my money. They don't have exactly what I want (I occasionally know what I want before I get to a shop), then offer to order it for me, I am fine with that. But CALL ME if it doesn't come in on time. I currently use a shop that is 2 hours away (bypassing 6 shops to get there) only because I haven't been overly impressed with local shops. In person, they have fabulous customer service, but not so great on follow up calls to say "oh yea, your drysuit is three more weeks out than originally planned".

[spatman]

Please update your website.

+1. huge pet peeve for me is a crappy website with no info, or really outdated info. it's the 21st century and we ALL use the internet now.

(well, maybe I do if it is juicy stuff about spatman sharing his left asscheek brain with p-pants... ).

i'll demonstrate my technique for you sometime.

But CALL ME if it doesn't come in on time. I currently use a shop that is 2 hours away (bypassing 6 shops to get there) only because I haven't been overly impressed with local shops. In person, they have fabulous customer service, but not so great on follow up calls to say "oh yea, your drysuit is three more weeks out than originally planned".

that's another thing that bothers me too. if you're going to tell me something is ready by a certain day, that's when i will come pick it up. if it's not ready, let me know. i don't drive 2 hours to get to the shop i usually deal with, but the 20-30 minutes is annoying enough when they don't have the item ready.

[oregondiver]

that's another thing that bothers me too. if you're going to tell me something is ready by a certain day, that's when i will come pick it up. if it's not ready, let me know. i don't drive 2 hours to get to the shop i usually deal with, but the 20-30 minutes is annoying enough when they don't have the item ready.

Because usually they KNOW it wasn't coming in on time....but they never bothered to call until you start calling (and that makes me feel bad to be "bothering" them all the time to find out WHEN it will be in when they should have called me once they knew)...

[spatman]

it's not just for items ordered. it applies to tanks to be filled, regs serviced, viz and hydro, etc etc.

[kat]

keep up on your books, i have a shop that lost (i have no idea how?!) the money i paid for a class. one year later, and after many trips into the shop they inform me that "i havn't paid for the class". at this point i have no reciept of the transaction, (if they even gave it to me?) and I never agreed to any account. I shouldn't have to pay twice for their inabity to keep track of their money. with the ease of keeping books these days, this should never be a problem. never again will i set foot in that shop.

[Mongodives]

reply to emails
I don't care about your agency
fill cards
repair service that actually repairs equipment... don't re-use "o"rings or other consumables.
If it doesn't work right after you serviced it,FIX IT FOR FREE.

Customer service, being polite and not bashing me or others for not being whatever alphabet agency or philosophy that you don't teach or follow.

[ArcticDiver]

Amazing how many others put email problems high on their list. Added to that are those who list other kinds of communication. Bottom Line: Communication with your customers is second only to actual quality performance in dealing with customers. If you have to put up wiht lots of advertisements and other nuisances that is just part of the job.

[whatevah]

Everybody wants it all. Being realistic, I like shops that build their business around service and freedom of information.

[wallyc72]

The guys at Tacoma Scuba would be a great case study in how to grow a startup ... they've become a successful business by growing at a measured pace, by being above-average accommodating to people visiting their business, by being non-judgmental about people who choose to shop elsewhere, and by always making everyone who walked through the door feel like they're welcomed into the shop.

If you truly want to know what divers want in a dive shop, take a few pages from their business plan. Even in a tough economy, it seems to be working out pretty well ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)[/quote]


Thanks Bob,
I didn't really like the other shops in the area....So I just built my own. What I don't like is the your bothering me attitude. Or the if you don't dive this way your wrong. It does not take tons of money to open a shop. You just have to pick you products and stock levels very carefully. If you don't have the cash don't buy it. I think that is the most important thing. We all started diving for the same reason. To see cool stuff and to have fun. So go diving and have fun. And having home brew in the fridge is a plus!

[ArcticDiver]

From another industry but still applicable to the LDS is what happened to me last week. I had a vehicle that wouldn't start. The first repair shop said they would look at the car if I got it towed in. But, they didn't have an recommendation on tow companies. The tow company I called said their driver was out but would call me back. Still waiting for a call.

The second shop said they would repair the car, not just look at it, and had a tow company on the line. An hour later the car was on its' way to the shop. That is where the plus ended and the negative began. They ordered the wrong part, but didn't admit it until I was in the shop and asked what the SNAFU they told me about was. Then when they brought the car up front for me they parked it in the only puddle in the entire and mostly empty lot. Then, when I got it home I found they had not reconnected the auto start system.

Customer service is at the heart of any successful business unless it is a monoply. Even then, happy customers are a lot easier to deal with than those who are angry.

Both businesses had an opportunity to make their TV advertising pay off. They had spent lots of money on advertising. But they both blew it on customer service. Now they both lose and I still haven't found a shop to keep my vehicles running.

[CaptnJack]

For me, don't make up BS about gas laws and/or tank "regulations". Things like nitrox stickers (which I don't have and aren't required) or me being a PSI inspector who VIPs and (normally) fills my own tanks. If I have stand next to my own tanks while filling them I certainly wouldn't bring in something "iffy" VIP-wise for you to fill. Basically have a little respect and if you don't know something (like what my MOD markings mean or what I asked for fill-wise) just ask and we can talk about why I'm there, what I asked for, what I'm doing with it, and all the particulars. If I feel you're coping an attitude about how I'm gonna die I'll just leave and won't come back.
Kudos for you for asking on how you can improve and best of luck with the store,
Richard

[LCF]

Arctic Diver's story reminded me of something . . . I'm an Outback Steakhouse fan, and this is why. I ordered tuna steak there one night, and when the waiter asked me how I wanted it cooked, I said, "Rare". It came overdone. I wouldn't have said anything, but he came and specifically asked if the fish was done right, so I told him and showed him it wasn't.

Three minutes later, I had the manager of the restaurant at my table, apologizing, and they cooked me another piece of fish (despite the fact that I had eaten half of the first one already). I had a great tuna sandwich for lunch the next day!

That isn't about diving, but it's a great cautionary tale on business. EVERYBODY makes mistakes (even doctors ). How the customer feels about your mistake often has everything to do with how you handle it, and little to do with what the error was in the first place. Don't lie, don't try to cover up or explain away the problem -- just acknowledge the issue and handle it constructively, and you'll convert potential bad word-of-mouth to a loyal customer.