Posted by Wayne on March 03, 2004 at 12:08:15:
In Reply to: Re: 40% off Scubapro posted by Jim Hoffmann on March 03, 2004 at 09:44:36:
Let's also be cynical about the free air he gives away. That clearly is a way to screw all other local dive shops since they charge! And how about their policies of making good on stuff if you have a problem! That is totally unfair, too.
FWIW, Ken and Billy have done a lot of good here. The do give back to the community through service. Having been around Chamber Day and evening as a volunteer, I see how hard they work. At the AoP, I know how hard Ken works. And it is not a flash in the pan quick publicity stunt. Did you know that Ken has been working steadily at the aquarium as a volunteer for more than 5 years? He was given Charter Volunteer Status and was one of only 105 people (out of thousands) who have been volunteers at the aquarium (not just divers who make up a small fraction of the volunteer staff) to receive this recognition as a person who has worked non-stop since it opened and continuing to work there for free. His service at the AoP is exemplary and very few people know what he has done and to hear you griping about it is nothing short of irritating. He also has been involved in securing donations to the aquarium though his industry contacts. He does not brag about this, he just does it because he must think it is the right thing to do.
Other than Chamber Day, I have never bought anything at ReefSeekers. The store is just too far away from Torrance. But in my 29 years as a certified diver, I have bought a lot of gear at many shops in Southern California -- but never your shop either. But I can tell you some things about their operation. They communicate well with newsletters and interesting reports, They try to build up the dive communbity not tear it down. They work hard behind the scenes on the behalf of all divers -- not just their customers. And I have never seen them take snipes at other dive shops who do things differently or use sockpuppets to tear down their "enemies". Having manufacturers come forward and be nice to a few volunteers and putting the effort out to support this activity without direct compensation, is a nice thing to do.
Hats off to Reef Seekers!