LDS customer service

[scottsax]

I felt like I needed to take a moment and say something good about the shop I go to frequently, particularly since they've taken a beating here recently.

For many reasons, the shop being 5 minutes from my house being primary among them, I use UWS Seattle for a lot of little things. For big purchases, and regulator and tank service, I go to NWSD, but Underwater Sports is so close.... I've never gotten attitute from the employees there (although I got some weird looks when I was looking for a second backup light), and anytime things have been wrong, they've made them right.

Last week I took my drysuit in to get new wrist seals. They told me it would take a week, and it was ready in 3 days. The seals look like they were put on at the factory, and best of all, my left arm is dry for the first time in months! Maybe it doesn't take much to impress me, but on time and on budget is rare.

Anyway, if you live in the north end, they're a fine shop for many things.

[Pez7378]

[Burntchef]

i used to live in greenwood and did the same exact thing as you, lots of small stuff , some nitrox and air tops thru them and allways went to nwsd for big stuff. never had a issue or bad attitude. it is a good shop with good to great gear for most divers.

[dwashbur]

I quite agree. When we did our first travel-nurse hitch out here we lived in Lake City, and they were the closest shop. I won't go into detail, but I had a disagreement with Terry one day about a piece of equipment, and a few days later I sort of bad-mouthed him to one of the employees. To my surprise, the next time I was in there, he dropped what he was doing, took me into his office and apologized for any misunderstanding and asked what he needed to do to make things right. I realized I had been a bit of a jerk and wound up apologizing to him as well. We discussed the situation and came out with a much better understanding of each other, and they became my shop for the rest of that term. The only reason I don't go there now is because I'm so far away. But they are an excellent shop, at least in my experience.

[TCWestby]

It's nice to hear postitive stuff about a shop for a change. Too bad they are so far from my home. Fortunately I have a good shop up north, not perfect but they try to better themselves all the time. Go SPD

[babs13]

I felt like I needed to take a moment and say something good about the shop I go to frequently, particularly since they've taken a beating here recently.

For many reasons, the shop being 5 minutes from my house being primary among them, I use UWS Seattle for a lot of little things. I've never gotten attitute from the employees there (although I got some weird looks when I was looking for a second backup light), and anytime things have been wrong, they've made them right.

Maybe it doesn't take much to impress me, but on time and on budget is rare.

Anyway, if you live in the north end, they're a fine shop for many things.

I feel the same way about UWS Seattle. They have a cool group of people running the shop, and I've never had attitude from the folks there....despite asking them if they carried bolt snaps and clips, with the 2nd back-up light, with the long hose. They have been super nice and have giving me honest answers without trying to sell me anything.

Their service is amazing there too! I had a "lemon" reg, which I think was a fluke. They worked on fixing my lemon reg, and eventually sent it back to the manufacturer. In the interim, they loaned me a first and second stage reg to use until I got my reg back. They even set-up the loaner reg to config I had on the regs going back. My experience there has been that things there get fixed ahead of schedule.

They are the closest reliable place that I can get my tanks fill. Their turnaround time for nitrox and air is fast. Plus, they give great fills.

They try to make things work, even if its not something that they typically do.

I give them my thumbs up and then some.

Thanks Scott for posting this. BTW, not to hijack and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we weren't suppose to bash shops or agencies around here....?

[Gill Envy]

I'm not sure what sort of beating is being referred to here... every dive store probably deserves it from time to time, no one is perfect.

I've been buying gear at the UWS Seattle store since 94. while there has been an employee here and there that has rubbed me the wrong way (which I think you can expect at any business over the long run), I've always found the manager Ken to be very forthright and most of the employees to be quite helpful and friendly. whenever I've needed something worked on it's been done by or before the estimated time and at a reasonable cost. their workmanship is quite decent. I'm not sure why one would focus on buying only the "little stuff" there... they don't specialize in tec gear but when it comes to dry suites, regs and most needs, I've found their pricing to be quite competative.

As far as tec gear and consumables goes, it seems that the lack of competitive pricing in the Seattle area has driven so many of us to simply develop our own fill stations, buy in bulk cooperatively, turn to the internet and in general become self sufficient, which I think frankly is an example of the industry shooting its self in the foot. Getting gauged no matter how much one has in the bank leaves a lasting negative impression and, IMHO, has backfired. I personally think there is a place for a chain of stores like UWS to use their buying power to begin offering more tec services and gear at a more reasonable fee than is otherwise found locally.

[Tangfish]

Tec services and gear aren't as profitable as selling [mask/fins/snorkel/OW cert] bundles.

[Geek]

Tacoma Scuba has Tech gear and classes.....

[Highliner]

I agree that UWS Seattle has it's nitch. The customer service has been great!. I have spent thousands of $$$ over the years and have yet to get stuck with gear that fails or is not to my liking. Janet has been particularly good to me. I know that the staff is under pressure to SELL...SELL...SELL! I guess that's just the retail market these days. The days of giving it all away are gone. I will continue to frequent the shop for my gear and training needs. Thanks all!

:occasion5:

[GatorJoe]

every LDS ive gone into you get one of a few types of personalities:

1. you get the guy who is convinced his way of diving is the only way that anyone should dive and he is very exclusionary (diving is a pretty exclusionary sport in of itself. a lot of divers seem to have "attitudes" towards new divers or non divers. i noticed it a lot when i got started and still see it.)

2. you get the guy who is super nice, super laid back and will do a lot for you but wont ever actually ask for the sale or wont push ANYTHING on you even if you want to be pushed. (this was an issue w/ my dive shop up where im at)

3. you get the guy who is pushy and doesn't listen much to your needs. is out for the sale and not really interested in what you need as a diver.

i havent dealt with them but from what i've seen and heard NWSD seems to be in between #1 & #2. UWS seems to be #2 and the shop i used is a strong #2. i literally went into the store and said hi, i have $3k to spend on a drysuit. please take my money. after 3 visits they never even started the process of measuring or anything.

i've done sales and i was a great salesman. everytime i went to my LDS i see people looking and im like man, i can tell they wanna buy something. if i knew more about equipment, i could sell the SH** out of this stuff!!...diving is intimidating to the noob. they dont even know what they dont know. when i sold stuff, it was a similiar type of environment. i was great at making people feel relaxed and not afraid of asking stupid questions and more importantly, i went in for the sale. not just for the sake of selling "something" but because they wanted to buy. i see that a lot in LDS"s and it bothers me....

[2loud4u]

For the most part I agree with that Gatorjoe, We are both new to diving, and one of the things we like to do is just drive around to the dive shops and check them out. So far we have been from Anacortes to Tacoma. We have seen all 3 types of personalities when we are looking around. At our LDS, now gone, we ran into all 3 types there depending on who was there. We would actually not even go inside when some sales people were there, and other times, we would just go in to hang out and talk, and try and learn from more experienced divers.

Its nice to get a combination... Someone who can listen, see what kind of diver you are, recommend a few things that would be good for you not just good profit margin, and then if/when you buy it, give some helpful advice on maintenance, and usage. etc.

Brendan