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Buyer Profile: Lauderdale Diver

While Fort Lauderdale seems like they boast more dive shops than Seattle has coffee shops, Lauderdale Diver sets themselves apart by going and above and beyond.

Posted 2/13/2012

By Shelby Stanger

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

While Fort Lauderdale seems like they boast more dive shops than Seattle has coffee shops, Lauderdale Diver sets themselves apart by going and above and beyond.

“We’re not just a dive shop,” says Owner Crissie Beck, who says the shop carries items for everyone from kayakers and paddleboarders to luxury private yacht owners and commercial divers.

Even if their customers want brands they don’t carry, Crissie’s staff goes out of their way to get their customers what they need. “We’re a full service shop,” she says.

Lauderdale Diver has three main rooms. One is a classroom for PADI scuba training, there’s a rental and repair room, and there is a full boutique―one side dedicated to diving and the other with a full range of apparel and accessory items for the yachting community.

They not only offer scuba and snorkel equipment, dive gear repairs, PADI scuba training, and dive lessons; Lauderdale Diver also offers wreck and reef dives, and other dive travel.

Yacht crew and captains, boat owners, first time divers and even commercial rescuers all come in looking for the top equipment.

On the floor they have $22,000 SeaBob water scooters right alongside Hobie standup paddleboards, custom compressors, and pretty much anything you need to get underwater.

The shop itself is clean, with a few custom water murals painted by internationally renowned artist Shar Sosh.

On the boutique side of the shop, they offer an array of resortwear that caters to the water community.

Besides sandals from companies like Reef, the store also carries O’Neill, Uzzi swim shorts and ladies dive suits, hats, an array of jewelry and all three swimwear lines by Sunset.

Crissie says because they have a lot of cruise ship customers, they also carry a lot of high-end lines like Escapada, Elan, Contiki, and dresses by Kashi and Lucy Love.They also do a ton of custom business for large yachts and their tenders.

“We just ordered an amazing custom slide for someone’s yacht,” says Crissie. “Our customers love playing on the water, so we go out of our way to get them anything they need wherever they may be.”