Bad Experience Divers Unlimited Norfolk

[ScubaSteve]

In my opinion, this should amount to nothing more than an inconvenience. They did not necessarily do anything wrong because if they had to call in about every single piece of equipment that they did not recognize, their costs to you, the diver, would skyrocket. I see this as being no different than a NEWB logging in with a dive op for a diver. The owness is partly on the diver to say "HEY I am a new diver....act accordingly please!"......Again, they as a business cannot validate every piece of equipment....no different than every dive OP cannot call in or log in and check every diver number before the boat leaves.

Deal nicely with them and do not yet write them off. Tell them you are displeased but listen to them and operate next time with offering information up front or at least allowing them the time to correct it before blowing up. They offered freely (once questioned) to call Mares and check so I see that they were not trying to screw you.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Pearldiver07]

I would not expect a brick and mortar diveshop to happily service my equipment and spend time calling Mares if I purchased it online. Its just a norm in the industry we have to accept; and yes I know it should not always be this way but it is. Internet dealers have very little overhead and seem to be immune from the price fixing the dealers force on the dive shops. Its a shame the industry is as such.

A couple points here.

First, If the manufacturer still warranties it sold on line, I certainly would expect the LDS to honor that, no differently than if I purchased it elsewhere. Otherwise, would you now only make an allowance for someone who bought elsewhere but relocated? When you buy a Ford, you are not expected to only service it at the originating dealer. This is a universal concept.

Second, I don't know of a major on-line that doesn't have a brick and mortar behind it. They don't have lower overhead, they use their resources more effectively. I can't tell you how many dive shop owners I've seen that very little understanding of business concepts. Staying in business in an open market economy is -by definition- going to be difficult. If you create too much margin someone else will figure out how to sell at a lower margin. Fact.

Third, this obsession with LDS to expect loyalty from customers is insane. You earn loyalty, not demand it. If this customer had known up front that he would be paying for parts he would have been much more receptive, rather than being blind sided after the repair. He has no option to refuse the service or payment now. I'd never be seen at that shop again. I don't know about now, but when we sold Mares, they didn't have a prohibition against purchasing on line.

This LDS, and many like it need to realize that if their business model doesn't support enough cash flow to stay in business, it isn't an on-line sales fault. If your area doesn't have enough volume to support your shop, you need to find other revenue flows.

 

[dpsdps]

Agreed. But if people do not give the LDS an opportunity and go immediately to the on-line store, the LDS will not be around tomorrow.

 

[dwatts]

ScubaSarus

I didn't tell them I purchased it online until they charged me for parts, I had made no mention of where it was purchased on the drop off.
If I would have know this would happen I would have sent it to the Mares service center but I figured I would support the LDS in some way by using them for training and service.

Live and Learn. That is part of the reason I made this thread so other divers can know what to expect.

Wait a minute.... How would a local dealer know that some gear is under warranty if you didn't buy and from them and you didn't show a receipt at the time you dropped of the gear?

I recently dropped off two regs for service that I bought just last summer. The LDS that I bought from is out of business so I dropped them with a different LDS. I presented the receipt as proof of warranty (date of purchase).

 

[diver 85]

If it was me, I would verify once again from Mares themselves that it IS covered. Then I would go get my refund and never go back again. Hopefully there IS another LDS nearby that can service it from then on though.

And be sure & stop by EVERY time you purchase something or get something serviced from someone else to show them what they missed out on.......some people need this visual feedback to constantly remind them of their stupidity.........

 

[BobinNC]

I typically try to purchase from my LDS, he trained me and we have spent A LOT of $$ there. However, if I find a particularly good deal online I will buy it unless he can match it or get close and sometimes he can't. I recently bought a Suunto Gekko online from a Canadian dive shop and it was almost $100 cheaper and the only way my dive shop would do that is if I bought my Suunto console and he got to keep the analog depth gauge, pfft no way was I going for that. I called Suunto to verify that they were indeed authorized and they were.

Dives shops have to recognize the fact that not all of us who dive do not have an infinite amount of disposable income for diving and we have to look for the best deals in order to be able to dive. Yes it makes for hard competition so you find a niche.

Now there are some things I consider absolute no no's like trying on a wetsuit at a dive shop and then ordering it online...if your ds is allowing you to try it on and you go elsewhere to buy the same thing that is very uncool and you are at that point being cheap and not taking into consideration the extra cost at the dive shop is covering your butt trying on the material. Things like that really tick me off and I have heard of people who do that regularly.

 

[SCUBAGirl007]

A similiar thing happened to me when I was a Newby Diver. I thought I was getting great deals online only to find out as soon as my BC had an issue and my Reg needed service that they were not covered under warranty because I didn't buy them from a "licensed authorized dealer" The two Mfgs of the equipment had on their website that they required a receipt of purchase. I had that. But the receipt had to be from a licensed dealer . That info was on the website as well - didn't think about checking on that before my purchase. After all, I buy shoes, books, and all sorts of other stuff online so I felt safe with it. Lesson learned the hard way. Now I only purchase from an authorized licensed dealer for specialized equipment. As they frequently say "After all, it's only LIFE SUPPORT" (PS:ebay or craigslist beware - you don't know how long it's been stored in a shed or attic exposed to extreme temps)- (I believe it has to do with supporting their dealers, proper equipment care and storage, and liability issues - probably liability being the biggest).

 

[Garrobo]

I buy all my gear online. I live in land-locked central Ohio where LDS's are few and far between. The nearest is 50 miles away. The one time that I did have a reg set serviced (Faulty high pressure seat from the factory.) I mailed it to them after questioning the operator by telephone whether or not they would honor the warranty from Oceanic since I bought the rig from LeisurePro. Within one minute on his computer he told me that I would only be charged labor. I had the regs back within 5 days from the time that I mailed them to them. All you have to do is ask (and get it on paper if possible.) I have found that I can buy a new reg set from LeisurePro for about twice what the cost of service ($75 for first, second and octo) so from now on I will buy a new set every year and sell the year-old set on Ebay. This eliminates any service costs and I have a new set every year. About six months ago I bought a first and second stage set of ScubaPro's from them for $149 including mailing cost. They work just fine for the recreational diving that I do. The LDS in the Keys where I do most of my diving said that they will take care of any warranty problems which I might have while I use these regs. So far, no trouble.

 

[ScubaSteve]

WOW.....this thread did not take long to morph into an LDS vs. Online thread .

 

[Splash-X]

I think the Online vs In-store issue has been beaten like a dead zombie. It comes down to personal choice. Everyone has their opinions on why to buy at one or the other and most people won't be convinced otherwise and I'm keeping my personal opinion aside on the matter.

The LDS in question should not haven openly told you that your gear was covered if they were unable to verify the status of your warranty. If anything, the lesson learned here is don't take someone's word, get it in writing. Next time, ask the shop to verify the warranty PRIOR to servicing as to eliminate the question and cost.

The shop I work with is an authorized Zegal dealer but they don't sell Zegal in all of their shops so each piece that comes in for warranty is checked. Sure it takes time but it is also an education lesson for the customer when their gear has no warranty because they didn't get it from an authorized dealer.

Presentation is everything. I think your situation could have been handled differently both by the LDS and by you. When they offered to call Mares the next day you could have taken them up on the offer. I understand it is an inconvenience to have to come back again but they did offer to take care of the situation. I also agree that their attitude towards the issue could be much better too and the shop should have validated the warranty on their own if the information wasn't in their system.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do!