All I want is to be able to walk into a dealer (or order from an on line dealer) and get any part I want to service any reg I own without having to have a card/cert/password/handshake or any other nonsense, just like I do with my car, lathe, power tools, guns and everything else I own.
As I said earlier, I know of no scuba dealer agreements that prevent the sale of regulator parts to consumers. If such a prohibition were included, how would they distinguish between some regulator parts (hoses, hose protectors, mouthpieces) and other regulator parts (parts kits, seats, diaphragms)? That being said, I know that MANY scuba manufacturers strongly discourage the resale of repair kits. It is reinforced in many ways, none of which includes inclusion in a dealer agreement.
Phil, do you sell parts and service kits for all regs you sell and if not why?
I am one of a very limited number of retailers who routinely resales some regulator repair kits. But to be honest, I don't resale every brand. As a business man, it is important to me to satisfy both my customers and my suppliers. If a supplier makes an honest request that I VOLUNTARILY choose to not sale repair kits, I may well honor that request. That decision is based on a number of business factors associated with doing business with that supplier. I don't EVER provide copies of the repair manuals or exploded diaphragms, because these are copyrighted properties of my suppliers, provided by contract from my use under the agreement, and they ARE covered in dealer agreements. I don't have any right to copy and resale them, or give them away. For their own business reasons, no manufacturer I know offers them as a skew for resale.
As to the liability issue, as best as I can find, it is purely a scare tactic. So far no one has been able to direct me to any legal action based solely on the sale of quality parts that were mis installed by the end user. Legal action against repair shops of all types is fairly common.
Well, liability concerns are certainly not just a scare tactics. Liability concerns are real and concrete. Every dealer and every manufacturer pays for the reality of liability concerns each year when they pay their insurance premiums. My "cost of liability" for 2009 was $12,206.00, NOT including instructor and dive master insurance. While it is not a specific requirement of my current general liability policy, the resale of "materials, supplies, and goods typically associated with the repair and maintenance of air delivery devices and life support equipment" was SPECIFICALLY forbidden in my policies from 2000 until 2006. Of course, I wasn't FORCED to follow the dictates of my policy. But, had there been a legal action, regardless if I was right or wrong, they would have refused to defend me in those actions
There is another issue. At some point in time, a "DYI friendly" manufacturer will be sued by someone who purchased regulator repair parts. (Oh, it doesn't matter if you sign a waiver...it's not you that is a worry) When they are, representatives from other manufacturers will be called to court to clarify the "prevailing standard of care" in regard to the sale of repair parts to people of "unknown skill and training". All will say it is certainly not the prevailing standard to provide these directly to consumers. This will certainly result in a bad outcome for the "DIY friendly" company.
Now, many will say that they know just as much about regulator repair as the "tank monkey" in the local scuba store. I am certainly not going to argue that point, because I think it is the truth in many situations. But DIY consumers lack one important thing....a contractual relationship with a specific dealer who is operating under a signed contract, installing parts for a dealership that is covered by a specific liability insurance policy to which the manufacturer is named as an additional insured. To put it more directly......my poorly skilled tank monkey is EASIER TO DEFEND FROM A LEGAL STANDPOINT than a much more highly skilled DYI regulator technician. Remember, liability cost has little to the with the actual settlement in potential case and EVERYTHING to do about the cost of defense. Remember, I didn't write the rules of society and commerce....I am just forced to follow them.
To be honest, the avenue that Chris is offering should be HERALDED by you, not criticized. He is the only manufacturer that you can name that is willing to allow you to attend one of his repair clinics without the requisite "lie" that you are a part of a scuba store staff. Personally, I think he should have just kept quiet about it. After all, it isn't paying off very well for him in the first public introduction of his innovative plan to offer support to DYI technicians.
Oh well, just another perspective.
Phil Ellis
www.divesports.com
