Posted by tleemay on November 22, 2000 at 12:01:45:
In Reply to: What do you want in a shop? posted by Ken Kurtis on November 21, 2000 at 23:16:06:
Am I allowed to comment Ken? Too bad - here goes;-).
The first shop I ever used was a Mom & Pop outfit
my cousin took me to way back in 1974. He was the
instructor at the shop and they sold me my first
set of personal gear. The shop is still around
today. I remember divers sitting around in a
lounge area on Friday evening discussing the dives
for the upcoming Monterey trip that weekend. It
was a pleasant and rather playful evening. No
swearing that diver named "X" is the S word, or
belittling a rival agencies latest crop of OW
graduates. Everyone was knowlegable and took new
divers under their wing to get them experienced.
It wasn't so much a concern over the newly
certified diver's safety as it was to just get them
comfortable in the water in MANY different types
of conditions. I remember the abalone BBQ's in my
cousin's backyard in Los Altos Sunday evenings
following the weekend of diving. Again, no egos,
no belittling of other divers, no "screw you -that's
how I dive" angst.
Now onto my list -
I agree with Chris the "Long Haired Ugly DM"'s
points;
1) Close proximity to where I live, so air fills
are convenient (not a huge issue with me, but
one to consider - I can easily get air most
anywhere - including Beverly Hills).
2) When I need gear quickly … they have good
quality gear in stock … not the Trident crap
most shops stock (one of my stronger
requirements with additional comments below).
3) A shop that will sell me the components,
including regulator parts I want (even other
gear components like burst disks, dump valve
gaskets, certain nylon fasteners ala Zeagle.
What I absolutely hate is when I am told they
will not sell me the rebuild kit for an Odin
but if I bring it in they will do the service
for me. Thank God for my local 'friends' with
the appropriate connections).
4) People who work there with an IQ above that of
a sea cucumber (or at least are not as
spineless as one when a direct question is
asked and a direct answer is required - don't
BS me because I WILL REMEMBER the exchange and
it up at the most un-appropriate time for the
shop(s) in discussion).
5) Girls in bikinis (I liked Jon's #5 best! I got
names too if you are hiring. I'm sure there are
a few from Kane's book available too).
Really Ken, you and Billy know me and my
requirements and/or desires in a shop. Other shops
in the area between Monterey, SJV, and San Diego I
do business with know what I want too, and because
of that they get my business. I won't visit the
NITROX issue here as it has already been discussed
to death (don't take that literaly).
I want a shop that will not insult my intelligence
when I am asking to see or order specific items. I
research and demo most all products I use before I
buy them. If someone at the shop asks me why I am interested
in ordering, let's say SS bolt snaps and tri-glides
instead of bass ones and try to sell me the brass
versions because "they are cheaper", is a good
example. It seems the retail mark-up on the brass
items of note must be greater than the SS versions
(perhaps you can confirm this) when I'm buying
dozens at a time. Cheaper is never always better
in the performance department... Trident's line
unfortunately fit's this description falling
outside my demand for performance and quality. I
got a Trident ALU Reel for sale if anyone's
interested... it's two years old and has a grand
total of three dives on it.
I further do not want to hear kindergarten level
drivel and counter banter on gear performance or
actual value of the items, sites, or other like
topics being discussed across the counter. This
has been my complaint for years from some shops
(for some strange reason, they are usually part
of some 'chain' retailer). They are sometimes so
far removed from the real world that they are
laughable. I feel the same way towards people who
pop up and give certain opinions on this, and
other BBS/lists, that have no first hand knowlege o
ther than they heard or read in some magazine
somewhere that "X" is best without actually having
tried "X" out themselves.
Sh*t, I've ranted long enough.
BTW Ken (& Billy), the new ScubaPro SPS's were
perfect, just as I expected.