New Shop

[DiverQueen]

Hmmm,  "The Robert" needs to get a grip on himself and take "The Prozac" and learn to mellow out!  But everyone is entitled to their own opinion!

[MAXFACTOR]

DQ...   are you now saying your a Doctor too.  Prescribing medicine without a license is illegal. 

as for THE ROBERT...    to quote my buddy Jason..... how do you really feel. 

I can't comment on the guys, as I"ve never been in the shop, but you can easily remedy this situation by just not shopping there. 

Incidently, I went into the Gander hunting store looking for a 6mm hood or so.   NOT ONE IN THE STORE.... no 7 mm suits either. and FORGET ABOUT DIVE GLOVES... you fingers would be frozen off using the gloves that they had, if your diving deep either Crosby, or Wazee, and Certainly Superior. 

So, if your looking for Minnesota scuba diving apparel and equiptment  don't bother looking there.     

As for pricing,  I looked over they're stuff pretty carefully.  I do not think the local dive shops have anything to worry about.  The prices seemed right in line with most of the shops I've been in.   $150.  for an alum. 80.... no great deal.  Most of the shops have the price set at 139.  and occassionally,  I've caught a sale at GUDC for $ 99.00 when Ron goes crazy.

and no one else should read this next statement... because it only applies to you  THE ROBERT....
As for hoping and waiting and willing to laugh when any business person goes out of business,   mr.    the  robert......shame on you.
Kindly.... as a gentlemen,  may I suggest that you retract your statement.

maxfactor 

[FMT]

It has been said... opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one!

This person's opinion is very strong, though you can see some threads of truth in their experiences. You can also see others who seem to have a "love fest" with one store or another. Sooo... one would seem to need a pocketful of grains of salt. 

It has also been said... your milage may vary.

[Dirk Diggler]

There are some stores I like, some stores I do not.  I've always liked Pat and Nick and I think they offer great service and support the equipment I am looking for very well.  These guys have always gone well beyond my expectations and I am a very satisfied customer.

When I stop in, maybe its just a feeling I get but Nick and Pat seem to be more relaxed and enjoying their work more than when they were at Fantasea?  The place is active, busy, and fun.  I love the new shop and its atmosphere.  I went to their grand opening and Nick told us that he's wanted to have a new place for a very long time and try new things.  With this new A Diver's World, they did a nice job.

My suggestion, go in, introduce yourself and see things for yourself at the new shop. 



And a suggestion for you, the robert, crawl out from under your rock and try to get back into the human race.  I mean really 'big guy', are you that small and hurtful of a person that you wish to stand there laughing as a business doesnt do well?  Nice rant, credibility for you just went out the door with your one and only ridiculously malicious post.  Goodness forbid this guy doesn't like anything or anyone else in his life.  Look out for "THE Road Rage Robert" folks!

[Hydrohaven]

In my humble opinion, I think Pat and Nick are great.  The experiences that my friends, my family and I have had with them and the dive staff that now work for them have all been top-notch. I have nothing but good things to say about them.   Personally, I have purchased a lot of gear and classes over the years.  Both in shops and online.  I like most shops in MN that I have been to.  Scuba Center, Going under, Northland, etc. have all been great and greeted me with smiles and treated me well.  Back when Pat and Nick worked at Fantasea, what kept me going back there was not "Fantasea" per say, It was Nick and Pat and the dive instructors.  I have been truly impressed with Pat and Nick's product knowledge as well as the service I have received over the years, and that is why I continue to buy from them.  Sure, I bet Pat would have preferred that I buy my Uwatec Dive computer from him rather than on eBay (what dive shop wouldn't!), but he has never treated me differently or chastised me for doing so.

I have been on a Live-aboard in Belize with Pat and was impressed that he did more than just go along for the ride.  He continually made sure we were all having a good time.  He even offered up some of his own equipment in a couple of cases.

Now that Pat and Nick have opened their own shop, and from what I can see, the lion's share of the dive staff has joined them, I will continue to give them my business over at A Diver's World.

I would guess that they are doing well.  The last time I was in there there was no less than 10 customers in the store.  From talking to other divers, I have been impressed with the huge "word of mouth" following that that these guys have.  I believe that that is a sign of a great dive shop.  All I can say is check out their shop and see for yourself.

[WeatherPaparazzi]

Well, I shop three different stores, GUDC for their indoor pool to work on skills of floating on my head...  It is sweet that they have the pool right in the store but it is way the heck up on the other side of the city.  I also shop at Scuba Daddy and Fantasea which are minutes away from my place in Burnsville. 

As for my gear, I talked to some pro diver friends in Florida that got me into diving in the first place and told me to get Dive Rite gear.  They did not sell it but they use it a lot and said if your life depends on this stuff, buy some of the best stuff. I did not even buy it from the shop I took my classes at and told them that I was going to learn about the gear and buy some of the best stuff that other told me the good bad and ugly scoop on. 

It is no secret that I have blown a bunch of cash in all three stores but not every time I walk into them.  I do most of the biz with Fantasea since they are right down the road from me and Gary seems pretty cool but does not have a Nitrox Fill station so I'm going to need to find someone that does that around here. 

As for the new store shop owners, I do remember one of them from last year when I stopped into Fantasea but it was not for diving since I was not a diver at that time and had no real clue and did not care about diving at the time. 

I needed a skin suit for hurricane chasing. You try being soaking wet for 24 hours in blowing rain without freezing or getting chafed and some tender areas...  So seeing FS on Highway 13 all the time I stopped in to buy something for the hurricane chasing work.

Which ever or who ever the guy was that sold me the skin suit was trying to up sell all kinds of crap to me saying i needed a special hanger for the suit (0.5mm) and that I needed to buy only special soap and special bags for travel with it.  I thought he was on crack since at the time I was not even a freaking diver. 

So for the upselling, yeah that was one of them and I kind of took it as being pushy and rude so not knowing those guys, I can beleive it if if someone else is saying the same thing about those guys.

But since going back after I got certified looking for a close by local shop, I found dealing with Gary and the staff at Fantasea is no problem.  Why did I go back since they were pushy before?  I stopped in after I got certified and they were pretty well laid back and had what I needed at a decent price.  I have dropped several grand in his store since and I'll be the first person to bitch if something sucks ass and they know it. 

I also like Scuba Daddy in Burnsville too but just found that what is easier works best if the shop is cool.  Scuba Daddy has some stuff that I could not find at FS and did not want to waste my time and fuel shopping around. 

So I'm not sure what the problem with FS was in the past but they have been good to me and I go back and shop them even for stuff I could save some coin on if I bought it on line from SeisurePro.

[hcho3528]

I have shopped at several dive shops in the twin cities, and most have been pretty good with customers. In fact I can' t really think of a terrible experience at any. I did my Open Water through Scuba Center in Eagan, the closest to where I live. I al also close to Fantasea, and Scuba Daddy's however A Divers World is my Dive Shop. Pat and Nic have been good to my wife and I. We both ened up buying all of our Scubapro equipment (BCD's, Regs, Computers, Accessories) from there so I am sure that helped Anyways, I have been extremely satisfied with Pat's service, and sense of humor. We ended up taking our Rescue Diver courses through them as well. The shop is CLEAN, NEW, and PROFESSIONAL, which is more than I can say for alot of dive shops I've been too! As far as I'm concerned they will continue to have my business as long as they continue to provide the quality of service I have recieved.

-hcho3528
Rescue Diver