In Reply to: Re: So Cal Dive Industry posted by Ben M on September 26, 2007 at 21:12:53:

this has been an interesting discussion. good points made on both sides, too.

after 12 years certified, i'll never be anything more than a good ol' padi open water diver. i frequent both lds's and by some gear (not regs or bc's) on the internet. i've had good and bad sales/service at lds's. i've seen some lds's service go abysmal (or out of biz) such as american diving in lomita and liburdi's in costa mesa. i've had wonderful service (technical and otherwise) at pacific wilderness in san pedro (despite the always seemingly grumpy mgr.) and at sea d sea in redondo beach.

i haven't been in the sport locally long enough to see the transition that some of you are mentioning but i have seen sport chalet take what was once a decent focal point of scuba in some of their stores to paying little attention to it now.

the annual scuba show in long beach seems to garner a big turnout year after year. it's been a refreshing change to see some divemasters/instructors we met at dive resorts out of the country show up at the dive show 3 or 4 years later, STILL working at the same resort.

as far as the biz goes....imho, i love going to an actual store and speaking with an enthusiastic and knowlegeable employee and the visual and tactile of real items in front of me. there is no substitute for that. while i get most news via the internet these days, i still need a magazine to take with me whilst i'm on the can ; )