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Ok I just got another prospective today and one I can respect an LDS for. Even though I tend to not like many dive shop practices one pointed out a very serious issue today. He said alot of people buy things on line and never give a shop a second thought. They then come to the shop hoping to get free service on defect because its under warranty.
In short it made me think. If your going to order online its a decision thats a worthy one. But at least if your going to go to your dive shop to fix other peoples problems dont be cheap about it and offer something to get it fixed. Even if they dont accept it for being under warranty maybe give a tip. After all they have to pay some bills too and if they only fix other peoples problems for free they wont be around very long.
I just thought Id share my updated outlook
With scuba gear, the norm seems to be that parts are covered by warranty but labor is not. If that is the case, I just don't see why an LDS should balk at repairing an item under warranty when they are authorized to do warranty work. Plus, it give the shop an opportunity to gain a satisfied customer. Now, if it gets down to a warranty exchange on an item, I see their point. But it seems to me the problem is not the customer who expects a free warranty exchange for a defective item but the manufacturer that does not compensate the shop for a warranty exchange caused by the crap they manufactured.
My preferred way of dealing with this is to buy gear that does not come with a manufacturer's warranty as long as the price reflects that. For me, that usually means I'm looking for used gear, not new.