A Reg Service Racket in Australia

[rsingler]

So I just had a conversation with a guy from Australia who is BUYING A SHOP, but Scubapro won't let him attend a manufacturer's certification class until he's serviced 100 regulators. Pretty interesting, compared to the US of A, where 1/3 of the participants at every Level I Scubapro seminar have never opened a reg!

So that says, "Wow! Oz has pretty high standards for their technicians!" Maybe not a bad thing!

But since that's a Catch-22 for him, Scubapro has a workaround: he can attend TQS Lvl 1 training and skip the 100-reg requirement!

What's TQS Lvl 1?
A proprietary 8-10 day course covering fill panel, insurance, reg servicing, tank valves and HazMat for AU$4,500!!!

Now decades ago, I paid Rudy Mola a small fraction of that to teach me to service gear and certify on tank vis and Hazmat while I spent a week at his shop. But that was only because I was interested. Evidently, (and I'm working off hearsay), TQS is the only game in town for Australians if they want the Golden Ticket of a Scubapro cert.

$4,500??

Pretty uninformative website.

Technicians Qualification System - All About Scuba

Welcome to the Technicians Qualification System, your definitive destination for comprehensive scuba service training. Our specialized courses are meticulously designed to educate and train staff members with a deep understanding of the intricacies involved in scuba equipment maintenance. Our...

allaboutscuba.com.au

It's not often the the US has one up on the Aussies. This is tragic. Good intentions, but $4,500 for a shop tech?! That's a racket. Makes my little seminar look like a bargain.

 

[Bigbella]

Wow, and I thought that 250.00, crap coffee and stale doughnuts at the Sheraton in Long Beach, was a con, a few years ago.

I can only assume that that "proprietary" AU 4500.00 eight day course is taught by highly-trained escorts in stilettos -- with corporal punishment to be had, for those whose regulator IPs are a bit off?

I especially liked that informative section on the allaboutscuba web site, dedicated to regulator service, where they've managed to misspell "breathe" in the first sentence -- which inspires confidence, like little else . . .

 

[Fibonacci]

Yep you nailed it Rob!
Welcome to the Nanny State... where all SCUBA tanks must also be given an annual hydro and stamped or no-one will fill them.
The road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

 

[rsingler]

I'm really sorry, you guys.

 

[Pressurehead]

So that says, "Wow! Oz has pretty high standards for their technicians!" Maybe not a bad thing!

Wow, that was not the case when I did my first and 2nd service course, mind you that was last century.
The 2nd course was a joke, held in a dive shop in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney , I worked as an instructor at that shop at that time, the bloke running the course was the owner, no names, no court-martial, I will not drop his name , could be on here, if he is still alive.

I watched him service regulators before doing this 2nd class [for a well known brand, not SP] and he was the most 'ham fisted' rough handling person I could think of, rough as guts, it was a testament to the build quality of these regulators that they still worked after such rough handling.

Good to see some things have changed, BUT this is 'over the top' $$$ , sad.

 

[Fibonacci]

I can only assume that that "proprietary" AU 4500.00 eight day course is taught by highly-trained escorts in stilettos -- with corporal punishment to be had, for those whose regulator IPs are a bit off?

Sadly in Australia you are far more likely to find the instructors look like this...

 

[Bigbella]

Sadly in Australia you are far more likely to find the instructors look like this...

Beavis and Butt-Head as adults?

Noooooo!

 

[rsingler]

I should have posted this in the Pub

 

[Fibonacci]

All jokes aside, All About SCUBA is in Coolaraoo a Northern Melbourne suburb right near my former workplace and where I get my tanks tested and filled.
I've been on a tour of their upstairs service department and it is pretty impressive... several spotless fully equipped technician booths with all tools neatly shadow boarded and tagged. They also use my Poseidon service tool.
I guess they are pretty much the only game in town now... and can charge accordingly.
One potential bright spot though... they seem to offer the TQS Level One courses in Thailand and the Philippines, so Rob's potential Scubapro shop owner could always team the training up with an overseas dive trip?

 

[diver257a]

So I just had a conversation with a guy from Australia who is BUYING A SHOP, but Scubapro won't let him attend a manufacturer's certification class until he's serviced 100 regulators. Pretty interesting, compared to the US of A, where 1/3 of the participants at every Level I Scubapro seminar have never opened a reg! ...

For that price, I hope the catering will be a memorable experience (when compared to "crap coffee and stale doughnuts.")

FYI, TQS was started in Adelaide by a local dive shop owner whose business was strictly sales & service (and no scuba training). He closed his bricks & mortar store just after the end of the pandemic, and it is likely that he may have sold TQS.

By the way, the Australian Scubapro website has a training page (i.e. Courses) which operates as "An online training portal for store owners and employees to gain valuable knowledge and updates about Scubapro’s product." Please refer Scubapro Australia Education Academy