Saving the Scuba Industry: The Happy Customer

I’d like to share with you something. About 90% of all of my new students come to me saying the same thing. The story goes like this. They took their open water class at local dive store XYZ. After their class, they didn’t feel like they could conduct scuba dives without the supervision of an instructor. When they talked to the kid behind the counter, he told them they needed to take the Advanced Open Water course to fill in the gaps. After taking the AOW course, the student still doesn’t feel any safer. They are on the verge of quitting diving. Then they find me. One thing I do well is to give customers what they want. If I cannot give it to them, I will work with them to help find an instructor or store that will.

My Friend Dan

Dan is a good friend of mine that I enjoy diving with. The story of how I met Dan drives home the point I’m trying to make. Dan was loyal to his local dive store. He took many classes from them and bought a lot of equipment from them too. As he started to progress more into diving, he started to look at DIR. So one day Dan went into his dive store and talked to the guy behind the counter about taking some kind of DIR style class. Well, the guy behind the counter told him him that DIR was bad and the PADI courses the store offered was what he really wanted. The guy behind the counter knows me personally and knows that I lean towards the DIR side of diving, but refused to recommend me in fear of losing a customer. So Dan took to the internet and eventually found me. Since then, I have taught him, and his family members, a few classes.

Had the dive store employee really listened to Dan and forward my name onto him, I would have shit kittens for that dive store. Not only would they have gotten my business, but I would have certainly recommended people buy gear from them.

Giving the Customer What They Really Want

This is typical of what happens in the diving industry. Dive stores are so desperate to get and keep customers, that they are failing to give their customers what they really want. So some, less educated, dive store owners/managers are thinking “If we can be everything to every diver, then we’ll be millionaires.” Here is the truth I learned working for one of the biggest companies in the world, you cannot be everything for everybody. It’s impossible. Companies that have tried that business model have either failed or have done very poorly. So if large Fortune 500 companies can’t get that business model to work, do you really think some small business, dive store owner will?

I see it quite a bit. A dive store will offer recreational, technical and public safety diving classes and gear. But they really lack full knowledge of any of those three areas of diving. To be successful, you need to be able to do something very well and keep doing it. If there are areas you are not able to do well, then develop a relationship with someone who can do it well. Then recommend your customers to that person/store.

You also cannot con students into thinking they are getting what they requested. For example, if a customer went into a dive store by me and requested a DIR type class. The store would just put the student in a class and say it’s got some DIR flavor to it. The reality is, it doesn’t. People will know they have been conned and you will lose business. Especially in the DIR world.

I get around 1-2 phone calls a week about my open water course. Most of these people do not have the time to take my type of class or are looking for a different style of course. I work with these people to recommend other instructors and dive stores in the area that I feel will give them what they are looking for. So let me spell this out for the dive store owners who may be reading this. Yes, in order to give people what they really want, I actually turn down business!!!

The biggest way to save the floundering scuba industry is to start giving the customer what they want. Even if that means you won’t make any short term money from them. I still get phone calls and emails from people who I had take classes from someone else. Even though they have not taken a class from me, they are still part of my diving community and continue to dive. Dive store owners/managers, scuba instructors and dive masters shouldn’t be afraid to recommend people go to their competition. The goal should be to grow the diving industry, not make as much money off it as possible.

Dive Safe,
Duane
Precision Diving