Scuba Clients or Scuba Friends? Advice to LDS* from a Savvy and Intelligent Consumer
*LDS- Local scuba Diving Instruction and Equipment specialty Shops
We can and should have both! Treat your clients as you would your friends and they will keep coming back and supporting your business. If you treat your clients like customers/meal ticket, they will be suckered only once and then leave the sport or go somewhere else.
I have seen, heard, and experienced the fleecing of us, the people who patronize you. The difficulties that you are having financially does not give you license to take advantage of our ignorance when foisting equipment upon us, up-selling training that is silly (an underwater photography merit badge) or convince us we have to collect cards to be a better diver.
If you took care of us as friends, went diving with us and not constantly reaching into our pockets, a rapport will be formed so that when a financial debacle like this hits, I will be more inclined to support you.
At this writing, seven local dive shops have closed their doors since October 2008. My thought is that a broken and lack-of-customer-care dive shop can operate and even thrive during good times, but when the consumer dollar tightens, or new blood stops coming thru the doors. . . they will perish. This is probably part and parcel of what has happened. And methinks, a great many more will fall before this financial meltdown recovers.
Give your clients the best service, give them more than they expect, and train them properly and fairly and they will be yours forever. Your business and personal life will be the better for it and the SCUBA industry as a whole will not only thrive, but grow and expand rapidly.
Signed,
An Educated and Conspicuous Scuba Diving Consumer
Related posts:
- A Newbie Experience and Fresh Perspective on Scuba Diving, Local Dive Shops, and Instruction!
- Why Buy From K2 Scuba?
- Savvy Shoppers Will Determine the Future of the Dive Industry
- Scuba Pro? The Goliath has Been Brought to It’s Knees
- How to Choose a Scuba Diving Instructor?
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Tags: attitude, business, Diving Skills, Equipment Discounts, frustration, Learning, New Scuba Diver, scuba diving, Scuba Diving Instruction, SmartMoney, wisdom
December 28th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Oh My Gosh, A consumer stepped up and told the truth! Dear Poster, I appreciate this post more than you know. The dive industry as we know it is slowly dying and what is emerging is a kinder and more customer friendly Web 2.0 type of dive shop. .
. . .Welcome to K2 Scuba!
I ask everyone who reads this to read http://www.k2scuba.com/faqs.php or click the Charlie Brown picture above (I did this with the posters permission). There you will see a customer-centric organization that is grateful for the time, effort, and patronage of its customers. We REALLY work at treating our customers as friends!
Again, serious Urah to what has been written about. Consumers vote with your wallets, customer service and friendliness in this industry IS NOT DEAD!
Tevis
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer ’round these parts!
December 28th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Scuba Clients or Scuba Friends? Advice to LDS* from a Savvy and Intelligent Consumer | Team K2 Scuba Weblog!…
Ha, I am so laughing! This post so resonated with me! I am now a happy K2 Family (or as Tevis puts it. .Fandamily) Member because my PREVIOUS LDS owner actually told me that I would DIE if I didnt buy an $900 Atomic Regulator. . .such bullshit!
Come on over to K2 if you havent! None of that mess over here!
January 1st, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thank you so much for your response. I has a similair experience. My instructor didnt say I would die but he told me that I got such a great deal on the training based on me buying ALL of my equipment from the shop! What a bunch of bola. I also got the hard sell every time I came in for a lesson until I did. The “custom fit” BC was a knockoff and was far from custom fit. I am glad I got the Atomic reg, but didnt need the SS1 or the Atmos AI computer. I am loving the way K2 treats its friends (customers are for McDonalds) and makes me feel like I am one of the group. The refresher training I go was carring and patient and FREE!!! I am so looking forward to my first beach dive with the K2 folks. They have all been helpful and kind.
K2 is going to change the world of SCUBA.
January 1st, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Scuba Clients? Advice to LDS* from a Savvy Consumer…
What an absolutely great article! I found this on digg, and DUG it! Every dive shop owner should pull his head out of his ass and read this. You touched the sore spot of every diving customer who has gotten taken advantage of!