RETAILING Getting Your Store Ready for the New Dive Season – by Jeff Cinciripino, JeffCinciripino.com, Former Owner of Scuba Shack, Rocky Hill, CT.
For some dive shops, the dive sea- son is year-round. For those fortu- nate to be in warmer climates and close to great diving, there is a con- stant flow of individuals looking to learn to dive and heading out to the reefs and wrecks. For quite a few
operators and therefore hazardous material handling and fill station operator training should be completed and docu- mented. You may also want to have refresher training in first aid and oxygen administration. Equipment Preparation: As a gear-intensive sport, your training equipment and rental fleet should be readied for the new season. Preparing equipment for the new dive season takes time and effort. It is, however, critical that enough time and resources are budgeted toward service and maintenance of the fleet. Ask yourself this question: How would I feel if one of my students or customers was injured as a result of a piece of my dive gear that failed and I had not completed the required service or maintenance on that item? The answer to that is pretty obvious. None of us want to see an injury. Depending on how you operate, you may decide that all of your regulator service and maintenance is done prior to the start of your specific dive season, or you may spread this out over the course of the year. In either scenario, the start of the dive season is a good time to check the service records of each regulator to determine what type of service (inspection or full- service) is needed and develop the plan to stay in compliance. The same holds true for scuba cylinders. One option is to have all cylinders visually inspected and hydrostatically tested if needed during the slow months to avoid having to take tanks out of service in the middle of a hectic time. Some gear may not require routine maintenance, such as wetsuits or dive com- puters, but this gear should be inspected. Giving a customer a wetsuit with a tear in the neoprene or a dive computer with a low battery can be a bit embarrassing. Dive Shop Preparation: The physical dive shop also needs to be ready for the dive season. First and foremost are the cus- tomer-facing areas of the facility, namely the classroom and retail space. If the classroom hasn’t been used for training re- cently, you will want to ensure that it is cleaned, organized, and ready to present a favorable environment for students. Some- times the classroom has been used for other activities that may leave it somewhat messy. Take a look at the area with a critical eye and look at the room from a student’s perspective. The retail area is your front door and needs to be welcoming and set that positive first impression. With the wind-down of year-end activities, you may find that you need to declutter and organize to make for an efficient and optimal customer expe- rience.
local dive shops, there is a definitive dive season tied to the seasons. While training in the pool and classroom does happen throughout the winter, it isn’t until the spring that their dive season kicks off into high gear. As we put the end-of-year ac- tivities like DEMA, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and the Christmas Season behind us, there is a window of oppor- tunity to get ready for the hectic days of the new dive season. Like most endeavors, you should have a plan to execute your preparations. Let’s take a look at several areas of preparation, including: Your staff ▪ Staff Preparation: Most small businesses enter a new year with their strategy set and their goals and objectives estab- lished. There are sales goals, training objectives, and travel plans. Having reviewed the previous year, there may also be changes to processes as well as new staff being integrated into the operation. The start of the new dive season is an oppor- tune time to meet with the staff to review the year ahead. En- suring that the team knows the schedule is critical in allowing them to plan and make commitments, especially those who are independent instructors. They need to ensure that your schedule meshes with their ability to support the operation. One or more staff meetings are needed to review any changes that are being put into place for the new dive season. There may be changes to equipment, logistics, and schedules. The team must understand the reason for these changes, as well as why certain aspects of the operation are not changing. Additionally, a review of the sales and training goals is critical. The frontline staff and instructors are instrumental in achiev- ing these goals and therefore must know what is needed to make the business successful. Your equipment ▪ Your facility and ▪ Yourself ▪ Finally, the start of the dive season is an opportune time for training. For example, many of the staff also are fill station
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