Did I get Screwed by Diveshop Hydro, who never inspected the tank?

[boulderjohn]

There seems to be an assumption by some in this thread that confronting the shop with facts and asking for reimbursement will end the relationship with the shop, so the OP will have to travel much farther for service. I doubt it. You can do it more politely than I implied in my post, but ask yourself what you would do if a customer came to you with clear evidence that you had acted improperly because of a misunderstanding. I am old enough to have been the customer in a number of such situations, and in most of them, the owners were apologetic and quick to make amends. In the cases where they weren't, I was happy to take my business elsewhere, and in the most prominent cases, the company went out of business before long, showing how far such an attitude will take you. In a case two years ago, when the owner found out, he took care of my concerns personally, and all the employees involved in the case were fired.

 

[SlugLife]

This right here. OP, you keep talking about your $40 tank. What you originally paid is irrelevant. What you need is to have your property replaced…you need to be made whole in order to be OK with the shop. Whatever that costs them is not your problem.

Assuming, of course, that you want to talk to the owner to get satisfaction.

Agreed, it's not a "$40 tank." I'm usually fairly keen on getting killer deals, like some relatively-new 2x 6cu pony bottes with regulators for $37.50/each, a 19cu for $50, or 2x Steel 100s for $100/each.

There seems to be an assumption by some in this thread that confronting the shop with facts and asking for reimbursement will end the relationship with the shop, so the OP will have to travel much farther for service. I doubt it. You can do it more politely than I implied in my post, but ask yourself what you would do if a customer came to you with clear evidence that you had acted improperly because of a misunderstanding. I am old enough to have been the customer in a number of such situations, and in most of them, the owners were apologetic and quick to make amends. In the cases where they weren't, I was happy to take my business elsewhere, and in the most prominent cases, the company went out of business before long, showing how far such an attitude will take you. In a case two years ago, when the owner found out, he took care of my concerns personally, and all the employees involved in the case were fired.

My goals were:

• Being informed, and certain I'm in the right, before responding.
• Once informed, respond appropriately using verified info (rather than just assumptions and intuition.)

I have enough info to confront them at this point! Thank you everyone for helping me with that.

My plan is to take notes, find out when the owner will be there, and talk to the owner. I'll probably let the owner propose a remedy, but I'd probably be okay with something like 15 fills, since I don't really need more tanks. If it's resolved to my satisfaction, then everything goes back to normal. I don't necessarily care if anyone is fired, but they should be informed how to do their job properly. Although the woman who persistently demanded I sign the form did come across as a *itch.

If they refuse, they get a scathing 1-star review, I use them as little as possible, and be very careful when doing business with them (checking fill-pressure, use cash, etc). Because I live so far away, it'll be about 1.5 weeks until I'm in the area again, so for now the story is left on a cliff-hanger. Unless I want to resolve it by email, which I'm no a fan of putting things in writing unnecessarily.

 

[Alaskan Scuba Dude]

Because I live so far away, it'll be about 1.5 weeks until I'm in the area again, so for now the story is left on a cliff-hanger. Unless I want to resolve it by email, which I'm no a fan of putting things in writing unnecessarily.

But you don't mind writing long winded excuses on this forum. The longer you take to resolve the situation the more insecure you become and the bolder he becomes. Pick up the phone and demand to talk to the owner. Just do it! Make sure you put it on speaker phone and are sitting down.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

But you don't mind writing long winded excuses on this forum. The longer you take to resolve the situation the more insecure you become and the bolder he becomes. Pick up the phone and demand to talk to the owner. Just do it! Make sure you put it on speaker phone and are sitting down.

No, what he’s doing is lining up his ducks and getting everything in order to confront the guy in person. What you suggest is a belligerent method that can be counterproductive. Patience and gathering knowledge is essential in these cases. Then, face-to-face is a better method.

Now, I have several aluminum tanks that are the older aluminum, prone to sustained load cracking. I have only one that I now keep going, and that’s so I can dive my Nautilus Constant Volume System, by Dacor. It is a vintage hard-shell BCD that is very unique, and I like it. I have decided that my twin AL 50s, and one of my AL 80s, are mothballed, and no longer dived. I have replaced them with a set of steel 52s from U.S. Divers Company. While testing is great for these old tanks, and can keep them safe, I have decided that I won’t even dive them anymore, with that one exception. I had one that was the same type of AL 80 as was used in Jaws, the movie, and exploded in the shark’s mouth. I sold it to a guy who wanted it for a Jaws display.

SeaRat