Bad LDS Experience-South FL

[ZULU6]

Terrible local dive shop experience today. I stopped in to my LDS (which will remain nameless-its in Margate, FL on W. Sample Road) to get an old reg checked out and serviced. Its just an old set that I picked up from a buddy on the cheap. It works fine but its been sitting for a while and though it will be a backup only I wanted to be sure that it was 100% before I or anyone else uses it. So I take it in to this place and set it on the counter while asking the lady behind the register if they could service this particular reg. She said yes and pulled out a service form. As I set it down she noticed some corrosion on two of the hose fittings. She then stopped writing, pointed at the reg and stated rudely, “You need to take better care of your stuff”. I was shocked to be scolded like I was some kind of moron who was so careless with his reg that it got corroded. I let it slide and asked if she could give me an idea of how much it would be to service it. She replied that she could tell me how much the labor would cost but obviously had no idea what the parts would run. I acknowledged and she provided $75 as the labor rate. Now I have no idea of that is high or low but I don’t want to spend an unreasonable sum for this old reg so I asked if someone could call me when the cost of the parts was known. I added that if it was under $200 total it would be acceptable. Her reply was flatly, “Nope, we don’t do it that way. When we take it apart we just fix it and you have to pay for the parts”. She refused to accommodate my request in any way. I know well enough that there is no way that parts for this thing are going to run $125 but am I wrong to expect that a LDS should make some effort service a customer in this case? Am I wrong in not wanting to be forced into paying whatever the LDS decides without my prior approval? It seems to me that there were several ways that she could have endeavored to satisfy my request including doing a credit card approval for up to $200 or even, I don’t know, actually giving me a call to let me know what the costs would be. Heck, I can take my car to the dealer with a problem and they will happily shoot me a call to let me know what the parts will cost. Anyway, I took the reg with me and told the lady that its hard to support you local dive shop when they make no effort to earn your business. You can believe that in the future when it comes to buying some equipment and its between the internet or my LDS, it will be the internet. And oh, I found another shop (much farther away) that gladly agreed to let me know what the costs would be. Maybe there is some hope.

 

[Ringo]

Terrible local dive shop experience today. I stopped in to my LDS (which will remain nameless-its in Margate, FL on W. Sample Road) to get an old reg checked out and serviced. Its just an old set that I picked up from a buddy on the cheap. It works fine but its been sitting for a while and though it will be a backup only I wanted to be sure that it was 100% before I or anyone else uses it. So I take it in to this place and set it on the counter while asking the lady behind the register if they could service this particular reg. She said yes and pulled out a service form. As I set it down she noticed some corrosion on two of the hose fittings. She then stopped writing, pointed at the reg and stated rudely, “You need to take better care of your stuff”. I was shocked to be scolded like I was some kind of moron who was so careless with his reg that it got corroded. I let it slide and asked if she could give me an idea of how much it would be to service it. She replied that she could tell me how much the labor would cost but obviously had no idea what the parts would run. I acknowledged and she provided $75 as the labor rate. Now I have no idea of that is high or low but I don’t want to spend an unreasonable sum for this old reg so I asked if someone could call me when the cost of the parts was known. I added that if it was under $200 total it would be acceptable. Her reply was flatly, “Nope, we don’t do it that way. When we take it apart we just fix it and you have to pay for the parts”. She refused to accommodate my request in any way. I know well enough that there is no way that parts for this thing are going to run $125 but am I wrong to expect that a LDS should make some effort service a customer in this case? Am I wrong in not wanting to be forced into paying whatever the LDS decides without my prior approval? It seems to me that there were several ways that she could have endeavored to satisfy my request including doing a credit card approval for up to $200 or even, I don’t know, actually giving me a call to let me know what the costs would be. Heck, I can take my car to the dealer with a problem and they will happily shoot me a call to let me know what the parts will cost. Anyway, I took the reg with me and told the lady that its hard to support you local dive shop when they make no effort to earn your business. You can believe that in the future when it comes to buying some equipment and its between the internet or my LDS, it will be the internet. And oh, I found another shop (much farther away) that gladly agreed to let me know what the costs would be. Maybe there is some hope.

Zulu6 - very unpleasant experience! Good customer care is definitely not considered here. Under normal practice with reg sets there is a set service fee that includes labour, replacing o rings, filters and cones. Any other replacements would cost extra but the customer should be informed first about the parts and costs in order to get the yay or nay!

 

[RICHinNC]

Ive always felt if anyone cant tell you the costs within a reasonable accuracy...then they dont know their business.

What you have described is typical in my opinion of most businesses knowledge of customer service. I dont believe that crap that the customer is always right....but they are always to be treated right. There are far too many other people ready to take their money and do a little friendly service along the way.

Im glad you didnt leave your reg. And, I hope it turns out well for you at the other LDS.

 

[Bo-jan]

What kind of a reg are talking about here? For $200 you should be able to get a brand new one!

As for the dive shop.. I believe that's not the way to treat your customers. Speaking from my own experience (as my dad owns a shop) customers always prefer to return to your shop, if you treat them politely and with respect. I wouldn't enter the shop you mentioned ever again after that "incident".

Cheers!
Bojan

 

[TorontoDive]

Good that you left the shop - and will hopefully never return. If the LDS can't provide decent customer service they don't have much else.

Unless that reg has some sentimimental value $200 is a lot to be paying!

 

[Dive-aholic]

The shops I use post the service prices on a sign right behind the counter. I don't know the going rate in FL, but $75 is a lot more than I've ever paid for labor alone.

Parts come in kits for the regs. No reason they couldn't tell you the price up front based on the reg brand.

 

[ScubaSixString]

Terrible local dive shop experience today. I stopped in to my LDS (which will remain nameless-its in Margate, FL on W. Sample Road) to get an old reg checked out and serviced. Its just an old set that I picked up from a buddy on the cheap. It works fine but its been sitting for a while and though it will be a backup only I wanted to be sure that it was 100% before I or anyone else uses it. So I take it in to this place and set it on the counter while asking the lady behind the register if they could service this particular reg. She said yes and pulled out a service form. As I set it down she noticed some corrosion on two of the hose fittings. She then stopped writing, pointed at the reg and stated rudely, “You need to take better care of your stuff”. I was shocked to be scolded like I was some kind of moron who was so careless with his reg that it got corroded. I let it slide and asked if she could give me an idea of how much it would be to service it. She replied that she could tell me how much the labor would cost but obviously had no idea what the parts would run. I acknowledged and she provided $75 as the labor rate. Now I have no idea of that is high or low but I don’t want to spend an unreasonable sum for this old reg so I asked if someone could call me when the cost of the parts was known. I added that if it was under $200 total it would be acceptable. Her reply was flatly, “Nope, we don’t do it that way. When we take it apart we just fix it and you have to pay for the parts”. She refused to accommodate my request in any way. I know well enough that there is no way that parts for this thing are going to run $125 but am I wrong to expect that a LDS should make some effort service a customer in this case? Am I wrong in not wanting to be forced into paying whatever the LDS decides without my prior approval? It seems to me that there were several ways that she could have endeavored to satisfy my request including doing a credit card approval for up to $200 or even, I don’t know, actually giving me a call to let me know what the costs would be. Heck, I can take my car to the dealer with a problem and they will happily shoot me a call to let me know what the parts will cost. Anyway, I took the reg with me and told the lady that its hard to support you local dive shop when they make no effort to earn your business. You can believe that in the future when it comes to buying some equipment and its between the internet or my LDS, it will be the internet. And oh, I found another shop (much farther away) that gladly agreed to let me know what the costs would be. Maybe there is some hope.

Just for reference. I just picked up my backup regs.....And one of them had exploded when the LDS hooked it up to an air source....g*dd*mn ebay..... and LABOR + PARTS was $75. And I live in a state that prides itself in charging you more than things are worth

 

[Ana]

Terrible local dive shop experience today. I stopped in to my LDS (which will remain nameless-its in Margate, FL on W. Sample Road)

I know the woman you are talking about, obnoxious as all get out, she was like that 10 years ago, now that she's older has to be quite a show. However that shop is great for air fills. I wouldn't buy a bottle of defoger from there, but if you want a fill at exactly this many PSI and exactly this % mix, they are hard to beat. The only ones as good or better are "fill express" in Dixie Hwy but nothing on the West side of Broward.

 

[ZULU6]

UPDATE 08/30/05: Sent a letter to the shop owner. As of yet, no reply at all. Support your LDS...

 

[ScubaSarus]

Very expensive and unprofessional service. The lady didn't know she may have only been a helper or not knowledgable of service. Best to talk straight to the service tech. You can always send it out to be serviced and someplaces will give you an estimate. You can almost buy a new but reliable low end reg for $200.