Who's your LDS and Why??

[Sounder]

I'm with Joe. Same shop, same BS, same proud telling of my experiences (yes, plural).

[smike]

Well, I use Everett UWS. It is convenient for air. They are the place to stop for Mukilteo air (air to use while diving in Mukilteo, silly).
I can get small things there, but they struggle to have decent inventory. If they had more inventory I would use it for more that air. I think that as a part of a chain, they get kinda leftovers, and I feel the owners do not give this shop the attention it deserves. If I need something they don't have, they will get it, but it usually takes 3-4 days.
I often can swing a deal on the items at the shop. A couple of years ago, (as a newb) I was in the market for a computer . One that I had my eye on (Veo 180?) went on big sale from the manufacturer (lots of online places had it for about the same discounted price). Since they had stock at the store, I asked about the sale. They were not aware of it, but, they had a demo unit with only a few dives, and in great shape. They sold it to me for the internet sale price, and it has been a good piece of equipment.
If you dive warm water (I don't), these are the guys to see. They know the places, the equipment, and can be very helpful.
I have spent a significant # of scuba bucks here.

Mike

[crowplus]

Edmonds Underwater Sports:

My overall sales and service experience has been positive with all of the UW Sports stores since I started diving in 1979. My LDS is the Edmonds store which is located very close to the Edmonds Underwater Park. There is a friendly, knowledgeable group of divers who frequent it, especially on weekends. I have witnessed countless "saved" dives as half-dressed divers hoof it down the street for help with malfunctioning equipment or to pick up forgotten items.

What may be overlooked, is how generous the store is in supporting the volunteer efforts of the Underwater Park. For decades, the store has provided free air fills for EUP BHUT volunteers and the Ling Cod survey projects as well as provided prizes for the annual UW Pumpkin-carving contest/Park fundraiser (Saturday 10-24-09). 100% of the proceeds from the UW Park maps sold at the store go to support the volunteer efforts.

Bring your knives and imagination to the contest on Saturday.

[gcbryan]

I've had good experiences with all of the stores I've dealt with. The closest to me is Lighthouse Seattle and I have longer personal relationships there. If that shop closed down or personal friends left Matt and NWSD would be my shop. It's reputation is deserved.

I've gone to UWS Seattle and Bubbles Below a few times when they had some small item I was looking for and the others didn't.

I went on a trip to Neah Bay once with Craig and the others from Capital Divers. Very nice and helpful people.

I consider Scuba Toys as a LDS as well.

As long as you have a good personal relationship with a LDS I find that most are pretty good and all could be improved. :biggrin:

[Huskychemist]

I have two LDSs.

Well...had two...

Underwater Sports Federal Way. Reason: I got certified out of that shop, and liked the friendly atmosphere, the Puget Sound Depth Chargers Dive Club, and Walt. Now I need to find another LDS for when I come home.

My second LDS is Aquanauts in Pattaya, Thailand. Reason: It's where I live now, and I needed a local shop. I started poking around on the internet before I moved here, and they sent me a PM on SCUBABoard. So I went diving with them and loved the people. They have treated me well in the two-plus years I've been here.

[lurch]

Also, last time I was in the shop I saw Lurch, Fishtiq, PEZ, Burntchef, Romer, Pants, NWBrewer, Bdub, Edge, Rjack... It was like Cheers.

We're trying to get Kelsey back but I think he's happy on his new show.

[Tropic Thunder]

I apologize. I didn't think there would be a problem with critical opinions of LDSs. I was actually just trying to help people out. It actually caught me by surprise when a couple people got on my case about it. My response was probably a bit reckless in hindsight. My bad.

Obviously I'm new, and I didn't understand the aim of this thread. I will be more careful in the future.

[Tom Nic]

I apologize. I didn't think there would be a problem with critical opinions of LDSs. I was actually just trying to help people out. It actually caught me by surprise when a couple people got on my case about it. My response was probably a bit reckless in hindsight. My bad.

Obviously I'm new, and I didn't understand the aim of this thread. I will be more careful in the future.

Most of the Mods have been out of town for a few days. (...and the NWDC world didn't totally erupt in flames maybe we ought to take off more often!) Those that have been around here for awhile have seen that things can get really ugly really quick when folks forget NWDC Rule #1 - and consequently work pretty hard at both being civil. There is a bit of self-policing on the board, and for the most part it's a good thing, IMO.

Tropic - no worries... this board is really a great place to be, in the opinion of alot of folks, and that doesn't just "happen" by it being a discussion board where anything goes. We try hard to not censor, but also have absolutely no interest in being another online venue for the flame wars and mindless crap that gets started when people fire up their keyboards and start going at it. This board is "A PLACE FOR NORTHWEST DIVERS TO MEET AND ORGANIZE" and as long as it stays that it really is a great resource to the PNW dive community.

In the meantime... let's go diving! ...and eat some tacos, etc etc etc etc

[Dashrynn]

Obviously I'm new, and I didn't understand the aim of this thread. I will be more careful in the future.

eat some SOFT tacos, etc etc etc etc

yep you said it right...softttt tacos yum :occasion5:

[Deep Insight]

Tacoma Scuba, Wally & Joshua are great if I ever have a problem with my gear, even if they didn't sell it to me, they will come up with a solution.These guys are brilliant always thinking of new and inovative ideas. Their onsite drysuit repair is of superior quality and very efficient, far better than even that of the manufacturer. Which being a salvage diver is excellent for me so that my down time is minamized. The shop is well stocked and if they don't have it they can get it, They are never pushy about their sales and don't sell you things you don't need, unless you insist of course. They both seem to have the idea that service comes first and the high quality gear they sell will just take care of itself.

[BASSMAN]

Tacoma Scuba, has my vote! Not my original LDS from when I first started diving and buying gear from. But for quality air fills, fast and efficient repairs, friendly service, no BS and a great place to get info, Tacoma Scuba has it all! Wally And Josh are just two great guys who happen to own a dive shop.

[Octoloco]

Townsend Bay Dive Shop!! This weekend we met Dusty2 there so I could get my new light and then Dusty2 was generous enough to guide us around one of his favorite sites in the area. Thanks Dusty2!! Awesome dive!

Grant, who we'd never met before, spent a couple hours trying to make our trip to Port Townsend a good one. My backup dry suit fit me the last time I used it but I was a couple sizes larger back then. He went through his dry suit inventory (none in my size), tried diffent sizes of neoprene neck sleeves (none in my size), offered to install a new neck seal right then and there (Larry's suit will be going in next for a new zipper so not an option).

Grant finally cut one of the neck sleeves, resized it and glued it back together. This took a while because some of the glues wouldn't stand up to the pressure it took to get it over my head and still fit my apparent chicken neck.

In the end, everything worked out though I still got a trickle of water down my neck when I looked straight up every time Dusty2 found another critter (which was often!!). More on the dive itself on "Dive Reports".

[TCWestby]

Those who know me know Smokey Point is #1 on my list for the reasons others have mentioned. Everett UWS seems to have gotten better since I took my OW cert there 4 years though they did change management.

I see alot of other places I've been meaning to visit on this list too.

[ryanone]

I have yet to find a dive shop that I didn't like,,,,,However in my 10 plus years of diving I must say that Scuba Set in Federal Way was one of my favorite places......Perhaps someday it will return...

[Waynne Fowler]

I have yet to find a dive shop that I didn't like,,,,,However in my 10 plus years of diving I must say that Scuba Set in Federal Way was one of my favorite places......Perhaps someday it will return...

Hey... I just seen Walt today.... he's lookin good and haveing a good ol' time... he'll soon be makein' you happy again!

[Narkd]

Hey... I just seen Walt today.... he's lookin good and haveing a good ol' time... he'll soon be makein' you happy again!

Could be the best Christmas present a diver could ask for. Already my favorite...

[cardiver]

Hey... I just seen Walt today.... he's lookin good and haveing a good ol' time... he'll soon be makein' you happy again!

Could be the best Christmas present a diver could ask for. Already my favorite...

Ummm.... Walt manages the FW UWS. Scuba Set will, most likely, never be. It was an amazing shop to go to but the overhead was staggering!

[John Rawlings]

Hey... I just seen Walt today.... he's lookin good and haveing a good ol' time... he'll soon be makein' you happy again!

Could be the best Christmas present a diver could ask for. Already my favorite...

Ummm.... Walt manages the FW UWS. Scuba Set will, most likely, never be. It was an amazing shop to go to but the overhead was staggering!

Actually....prepare to be surprised.....UWS let Walt go this month and he is no longer affiliated with them, (apparently the separation was amicable). "Scubaset" will apparently re-open its doors at another location on December 1st. WOOT!!!!

- John

[Tom Nic]

[cardiver]

Wow! I don't go in to get fills yesterday and I miss everything. Walt is a great guy and I wish him well wherever he ends up.

[nwbobber]

Capital Divers.
They are the first shop I pass on my way north. So they are convenient. More than that, I was given excellent advice from the get go. I won't be replacing any of my gear (other than lights, who can afford HID along with the rest of the gear we buy) because I got the right stuff the first time. These guys (Waynne and Craig) are no BS, straight shooters.
Someone commented on another diveshop owner (kudos to Amy) offering to loan her personal gear to save a dive, Craig and Waynne have loaned us anything from gloves to computers to keep us in the water. Really great service.

[airsix]

Wow. I skipped this thread for the past several days and just went through the whole thing to catch up.

To answer Peter's question about proximity:
I have two LDS. One for home and one for Puget Sound. Home shop is 5 miles from home and 1 mile from work. My other LDS is 236 miles from my home (NWSD).

The biggest revelation of this thread has been that I need to go check out Tacoma Scuba. I've always admired their killer logo, but have never been in. I'll check them out next time I'm in the South Sound.

-Ben

[spatman]

i can't really say i have a favorite LDS. there are a couple shops i now avoid after having bad experiences, but generally, i will go to a shop that is either convenient or has a specific brand or type of service i require. i have developed relationships with different shops, and i value them all equally.

[bnboly]

I have 4 that I frequent - A2Z, Capital Divers, Olympia UWS and Ft. Lewis - all are good, all have great staff!

[Paulicarp]

Mine is Northwest Sports Divers. What got me there in the first place was the Aquaholics membership deal. One price, all the Nitrox you can use in a year . . . Matt loses lots of money on me. I subsequently learned that the discounts on Argon and Helium are really substantial for members, too.

But what has really kept me a customer there, and sending other people there, is the service. I love walking in and getting a 32% fill while I wait. I love the fact that Matt has gone WAY out of his way to help support some special events we have had, including coming in outside of normal hours to fill tanks for out of town guests. I like the fact that he's honest and doesn't push bad gear because it's got high profit margins. I think he has some very good instructors working through the shop as well.

I love the fact that he has never given me any grief whatsoever about stuff I haven't bought from him. And we can have a good conversation if I'm looking for something and take some prices I've found (online or elsewhere) to him to see if he can match them. And often, he can.

Three years plus as a customer, and no complaints whatsoever.

Plus it's nice to be able to pick up boltsnaps and DIN caps and the like

I couldn't agree more. I did my OW thru Matt, and there's no place I'd rather buy gear and get fills, all else being equal. And as a loyal customer, the normal prices are so reasonable, you've got no reason to run across town to get something that might be thrity cents cheaper somewhere else.

Some of you saw my post in response of LCF’s post and understood that it was totally sarcastic; others had no clue. Fair enough; this board was started my two of NWSD's most loyal customers and many people have had very fine experiences at NWSD, and in fact, I’d say many of the people that I’ve known in the diving community have had similar pleasant experiences with NWSD and Matthew DenHaan in particular. But as Josh said in his post, there’s always someone who’s had a “bad experience” with every LDS in existence. It’s simply impossible to make everyone totally happy all the time.

So this post is not a flame of any dive shop. The fact is, I was told in no uncertain terms by Matthew DenHaan that I was not allowed to shop at NWSD at all. I’m not going to defend my actions that led to this, nor am I going to say that I was treated unfairly- that is a story for another thread. I spent over $800 at NWSD in the process of getting my open water certification, and then on my very next dive after open water I was told by way of email from Matthew DenHaan that I was not welcome at NWSD anymore. Again, out of respect for this thread, I’m not going to defend my actions that led to this or blame Matthew for treating me unfairly- that story belongs in another thread.

Whatever the case may be, I found myself fresh out of open water with a certification from NWSD. **(see comment below)** And NWSD would not have me as a customer anymore. So, long story short, I found myself as a tech diver wannabe, with no LDS that was familar with my training.

That’s when one of the moderators of NWDC contacted me and suggested that I should consider getting my fills at Sound Aquatics from Scott Christopher (vbcoachchris). Sound Aquatics is not really an LDS as such, but far better than that, Scott Christopher has been supportive and helpful to me in my passion for technical diving, even though I’m not experienced enough yet to dive at that level. Scott basically fills tanks out of his garage, but he’s got a fill station that is the envy of any dive shop on the west coast. He banks over 5000cuft of 32%, and he’s always got argon and Helium. He’ll often meet you at a dive site with your tanks full of whatever mix you need, or fill your tanks on the spot when you call ahead. Although he’s not an LDS properly speaking, he can often get any part or piece that you need, just as fast as any LDS and at half the price since he’s got almost no overhead.

Scott (vbcoachchris)is a fantastic instructor, and he has taught everything from open water to advanced cave, at one time or another, for almost every LDS in the area, including NWSD under NAUI and TDI. He’s taken care of every need and answered every question that I’ve had. He’s taught me how to do valve service and O2 clean and VIP tanks. He got me my custom Diving Concepts Ultraflex drysuit and taught me how to dive in it.
Simply put, the best thing that ever happened to me was when I got kicked out of NWSD. If that didn’t happen I would have lost out on meeting Scott and finding the people who would truly help me learn about and enjoy diving in the Northwest.

** I've edited this post with regard to UTD. At the time I was doing my OW, UTD was pretty much unknown. My comments in no way reflect dissatsfaction with the the training I got from Brian thru UTD. As I've posted a number of times about the superior standards of UTD and the excellence of Brian Weiderspan as an instructor, I thought it would be redundant to do so here.