Join DiveBuddy.com

Meet new scuba divers, maintain a virtual dive log, participate in our forum, share underwater photos, research dive sites and more. Members login here.

#81
Feedback
ScubaDivaLaura - 3/20/2010 11:25 AM
Category: New Diver Q&A
Replies: 15



Collecting information on Scuba Diving for research purposes. Would you be willing to take the time to answer two questions?


1. What is it that bugs you about the diving community? What bugs you about walking into a scuba diving shop?


2. Is there any aspect of scuba diving that really bugs you or you hate?


Thank you for your feedback.


 
#2662
1maurscuba - 3/20/2010 8:03 PM


I do alot of browsing in many dive shops. I hate when I get an attitude from someone because I don’t buy something. Trying to pressure someone into buying something they don’t want is not good business. I won’t go back there!!!
#5471
DiveBuddyChgo - 3/20/2010 8:31 PM
What 2 out of the 3 questions do you want me to answer ???
#703
hopeinvalor - 3/20/2010 10:13 PM
Something that has continued to annoy me are "Dry Divers" who pretend/think they know what they’re talking about. Those who do not get wet more than twice a year on vacation; however they have managed to log an impressive number of dives but have an average bottom time of 20 minutes each. These are the ones who talk a great game to impress, but when they hit the water, they’re nothing more than a human yo-yo or a wet cat.


I have only had one bad experience with a diveshop in Lindenhurst, NY. They were not too concerned with what the customer needs/wants but were rather belittling and pushing their own agenda onto the customer. I understand it’s a business, and they are there to make money, but there’s also no reason to talk down to someone. Other than that, I have never had a bad experience with a shop. Once they know you’re not "the average bear" and that you know your stuff, they no longer push things onto you.



As a resident of the Northeast Atlantic, the biggest pain is getting into the water. Whether I need to travel to the tropics, or load up the truck and then the boat, there’s no easy way to get there. It’s not as simple as putting your clubs in the trunk and driving to the golf course. And after the dive, then there’s the breakdown, cleaning, drying, etc.



Ben
#18
Sodeep - 3/21/2010 12:39 AM
Manufacturer price fixing.
#28736
RAWalker - 3/21/2010 12:47 AM


The scare tactics used to up sell everything related to scuba. Equipment, service and training.


 
#4853
Granitehawk - 3/21/2010 9:39 AM


Dive shops peaves, Do not try to presure sell me anything! Will take advice under advisement though


Dive community Peeves, The compatition between dive certitfing orgazations, I do not feel any one orgazation is better (PADI, NAUI, TDI, ETC....), yet than are dive resorts/ divers that will not have any thing to do with diver not certified by there orgaztion. It is a shame when all we all want to do is enjoy the underwater together


 
#985
Diver_Down - 3/21/2010 11:09 AM


I don’t like the high cost of equipment. I think it prohibits some from getting into the sport or participating more often. Sure, everything costs money, but do they need to charge so much for items?


The first time I went into a dive shop was after I was certified. I didn’t have extra money to spend on the things I needed, but wanted to check out the shop and talk about diving. Right away the salesman began an aggressive sales approach so I explained I was just wanting to look around. The guy still followed me around the store pointing out this and that. I had read a little about PADI Seal Team and asked him what programs they had for kids. He didn’t have a clue about the Seal Team program and they were a PADI shop. I don’t like high pressure sales and wasn’t comfortable walking around the store.


 
#81
Subscribed
ScubaDivaLaura - 3/21/2010 11:37 AM


Please answer as many as you feel comfortable answering.


 


Thank you for your feedback
#4136
oceanfloor - 3/21/2010 11:38 AM


1. It bugs me to see a careless diver. I don’t like dive shops that have to order everything... no stock on hand.


2. The only think I don’t like about diving is having to work to dive :) which in turn reduces the amount of time I get to dive. Oh, I also hate winter cutting into my local dive season :)
#81
Subscribed
ScubaDivaLaura - 3/21/2010 12:31 PM


Dear Dive Buddies:


Thank you all for responding with your feedback to my Scuba Research questions about things that bug you in the dive community.


I appreciate all the things you said and everyone has made some great comments that are informative and useful to know.


Would love to dive with you if you are ever in the Ft.Lauderdale/Palm Beach area please give me a ring.


Stay in touch and thanks again for your input.


Best regards,


Laura Parke
aka ScubaDivaLaura on Twitter

#2635
John_giu - 3/21/2010 9:12 PM
I have not met a single person in the dive community I did not like.

It’s the friendliest sport going. Yeah there are some hard core knuckle head north east divers, but they’re just trying to feel good about themselves. 

And in the north east there are a lot of LDSs that should just be selling diamonds for the prices they want for dive equipment. I wouldn’t mind paying a little bit more for the service but give me a break! Some of these guys want 110%

of retail and then they give you a 10% discount. I might have been born at night, it just wasn’t last night. 
#3515
Nesher - 3/22/2010 4:02 AM
Here are a few things that I don’t like or understand:

One - Some of the general business practices of many in the dve industry

The no-refund policy for one is something I really dislike.

A lot of the local shops appear to have a limited product inventory and the costs to bring in different products are transferred to the customer.

Wetsuits for example. If I want to see a variety of 3mm wetsuits from which to choose from rather than just the one or two brands the shops carry,

Not only am I asked to pay for the products before they arrive (I won’t do that ) but if it doesn’t fit I am forced to purchase something else which I may or may not need or want.

So my money is sitting there in the shop. They are now my banker, they have my cash, and I’m stuck with eventually buying something.

It’s a form of extortion. That’s unacceptable to me.

What bugs me about walking into a dive shop?

Well if your business is scuba then have some product to sell without a sad story of what you’re going through, or why you can’t think, and why I have to pay for your incompetence and/or inability.

Divers are asked to give too much for so very little in return sometimes.

What bugs me?

Okay - Single Supplements at resorts;

Single supplements are absolutely criminal...

How do they get away with this practice? Why do we allow them to?

So if a resort is half full; let’s say with a capacity of 25 rooms they sell or book 12 of these rooms for a particular week.

Rather than sell or attempt to book the remaining rooms with a single at the same rate for a dbl they’ll seek to charge a single diver anywhere from 50% to 150% above the dbl occ. rate.

Anybody in their right mind wouldn’t pay it, even if you had the money to throw away, unless you’re a first class idiot.

So now the resort is half occupied when it could possibly 75 - 100 % occupied.

But because they have this stupid supplement practice they can’t and don’t book the remaining rooms.

That’s why resorts after years of operations are going out of business. Break with this stupid practice and sell something that people want and can afford.

I travel alone to dive more than I would like to but it’s a fact of life.

My calendar doesn’t always allow me to get out with a group. There are others who have schedules that are off the traditional path as well.

Have you noticed that even these famous single weeks are still dbl occ?


#3515
Nesher - 3/22/2010 4:09 AM
I called a resort on Little Cayman and asked about the summer months of July and Aug 2010. One person for an oceanveiw room.

DBL is $2100.00...single supplement was $3100.00.

There is absolutely no reason for that. Your labour costs are going to be the same regardless, since you don’t pay by the hour.

Someone needs to share with these geniuses that their business requires that they put people in the rooms in order to make money for the entire resort.

The cooks, cleaning people still have to show up everyday; the dive shop still must open. So get as many people in there as possible and make some dough.

Also....The same old crying story..."You have to see it from our position, We have to cover ourselves...etc. etc, etc...

No other industry in the world is always taking something from you while asking you to understand that they have to make a profit.

No this is not correct.. No one has the right to ask or demand that they make a profit, you have the right to work. profit comes with an exceptionally good product, great customer service, hard work, and good business practices.

Also taking people’s money and not able to deliver on the product. or service.

Charter boats but liveaboards especially.

You can book a trip a year in advance, if they don’t have enough people they can and will cancel the trip w/o prior notification.

(Liveaboards in the British Virgin Islands, & Belize are notorious for this sort of stuff)

Sometimes they won’t tell you until the very day you’re due to sail.

And again there is no refund of your money...they will TRY to transfer your trip to another week.

And that week could be canceled as well. When I book a trip a year in advance, I’m expecting to go that week w/o fail.

I paid good money for this trip. I’ve waited with great anticipation for this trip. I’ve purchased airfare and other incidentals for this trip.

So, you better deliver and if you can’t the sky had better be falling. You accepted my money and I gave it in good faith.

No, what your going to hear is this excuse, " We don’t have enough guests to make it profitable for our company so we can’t afford to sail this week." Maybe you can ask some of your friends?

Now you want me to sell bookings for you too? What are these people smoking? I paid for the trip and now they want me to sell it for them as well.

How did these practices get started and why haven’t divers (smart, intelligent, business minded people) put an end to this madness long ago?

I know of one liveaboard company that’s runs out of Ft Lauderdale, Fl that sold Nitrox to its customers for almost two years in a row.

Mind you they sold Nitrox to their customers knowing full well they could not produce Nitrox onboard.

The compressor was broken and needed a very rare part which they couldn’t get in order to repair it.

So when you came aboard, the Captain would make an announcement. Hey how many of you purchased NITROX?

Hey we’ll try to get it up and running this week, but our compressors aren’t working.

They then suggest that you use the money for something else.

Crew Tips or purchasing some stupid products like tee shirts. $195.00 worth of shirts or cups? Are you kidding me? Then you come to find out that the tips were never transferred to the crew members from the office.

It was a real scam.

TWO YEARS they did this and got away with it. I read a report on another board last week that they are up to their old tricks and they’re doing it again.

Okay well there’s my rant and I feel much better now.

Thank you for asking.
#70
Subscribed
wausman - 3/22/2010 3:06 PM


I Have not dealt with alot of shops. I have 1 LDS about 30min away the next closest is 2 hours so i’m sort of stuck. The one I do go to I have spent alot of money in and a few weeks ago went in to get a reg work done just change out DIN to Yoke connector. Would have taken a couple minutes shop owner wanted to charge me $50 said there was a 1 hour min. From that point on I will no longer be loyal to that shop.


As for the dive community I have met alot of people that really go out the way to help you seems like there are lot of great peoplein the dive community. But there is a select few in the dive community that seem to always try to make their self look smarter by making other people look dumb.
#97
DolphinDancer - 3/25/2010 11:32 PM
What bugs me is that people will go to a resturant get 20 mins of so so service and leave $10 to $20 in a tip. But go out on a dive boat where the crew has their life in hand for 3 hours and yet leave $3 to $5 dollar tip where is the logic in that. The dive centers well let’s say they need to know we are in a depression and also need to lower prices.