Help your LDS

[James]

I live on the west coast of FL and have several LDS around here. I have compared the prices at a few and ST or other online stores usually have better prices for the big stuff. Of course, purchasing o-ring lube, weights, or fin straps I would do locally because for something that small I do not want to wait/pay for shipping.
Of the 4 shops I can think of, at least 2 have been around for a decade. The newest one of them has the friendliest staff. Of the other 3, two of them are much nicer to my fiancee than they are to me for some reason, and the other one is a wall in the back of a tackle/boating store and is staffed mostly by grumpy old fishermen.
But what they do that is cool is that they are very active in the dive community. Almost all of them have some sort of charter schedule and if you want something specific they will put the word out and when enough people interested they will book the charter. There is even one dive shop (the one with the friendliest staff) that does a "donut dive" every month. They get donuts and set up a little thing at a beach for a shore dive. Call or email ahead so they know how many donuts to bring and you can rent a tank from them too. Their shop is kind of expensive, but they are very nice people. I did my AOW with a trainer who used their back classroom and did my nitrox class with one of the shop owners.
None of them sell online (to my knowledge). Their websites are geared toward dive activities (charters, rentals, etc). They all seem to be doing fine.

[a22shady]

I live in NJ and there is a Great Shop "For Training" The Scuba Connection I have been to several shops in my area and by far they are the most curteous and Knowledgeable Shop and there training prices are extrem;ly competitive if not better then Most. Instructors are great and anyone in the area would be foolish to not look them up. But that is about where it ends. They will help in sales and do the typicall 10% off but if you ge that your lucky. After going through some hoops and being in the sales field I worked out an OK deal Coudl have gotten alot better buying offline but alot of problems. I spent almost 10K for myself and G/F equipment and then went back for some more things and I felt they treated me like someone new. Liked i never purchased anything i didnt expect anything free but i felt as after spending as much and doing more courses they could have done more maybe matched or atleast came close to internet. And there have been a hefty few others who have this problem. So from what i can see is they have great training but need to do more for there customers in the sales. And i feel thats where most dive shop's loose there bussiness Sales / Training.

[lt.dan58]

I agree with the online training for some courses like OW... I cant really speak for a LDS because I dont have one other than Sport Chalet which is a sports store with a dive dedicated area... Sport Chalet has numerous stores and with that comes numerous types of people... the SC closest to me has a bunch of rude people working in it... however, the SC where I got certified is great... my instructor was an awesome guy who wants to help everyone that needs it... he helped with every question I could think of so when I stop at his shop I am more able to talk myself into paying a little bit more just to ensure he keeps his job... As for the local guys, I honestly dont care if they shut down... asking them a question makes you feel as if you are disturbing them... I buy from ST

[TopSully]

My LDS doesn't always carry the brands I want or the items I want. So I go to ST. Great pricing, always open (online) and delivery to my door. But my LDS does provide a lot of value and great service. I buy a lot of stuff there, even big ticket stuff because even if it is 10% more than an e-tailer I know I'll get that back in free loaners instead of paying a rental fee if I show up at a dive site and something breaks, or as happened recently I grabbed the wrong hamper from my trunk and didn't have my reg kit. The LDS was also my training facility and I was immediately impressed with the skill and attention to safety detail as the shop owner/ instructor. I'm also aware that some LDS are not as good with customer service. That's a shame, but customers will vote with their feet if they're smart. My LDS is not big, but they are good to their customers. And I guess that's why they're still around.