Have I been duped???

[Mr Carcharodon]

I'm not sure how you can call $25 "a rip off".

In fact, for the actual time involved in doing the job right, $25 isn't nearly enough.

Terry

The problem was that the shop was duplicitous. The shop made a verbal contract with their customer to service the regulators for $25 per stage that they did not live up to. If they wanted to charge $40 per stage that would have been perfectly OK if the said so up front. Instead they lied to and cheated their customer. And their customer is justifiably upset as a result.

 

[In10se]

The problem was that the shop was duplicitous. The shop made a verbal contract with their customer to service the regulators for $25 per stage that they did not live up to. If they wanted to charge $40 per stage that would have been perfectly OK if the said so up front. Instead they lied to and cheated their customer. And their customer is justifiably upset as a result.

I went to cheapoair dot com to find a flight home next week. British Airways was one of the options along with their competitors. Other airlines didn't offer me as low of a price so I clicked book it. $500 latter the price was higher than any of of the others at the previous level. They added a bunch of hidden fees the other airlines didn't. Instead of entering my cc numbers, I booked another company that had an initially $120 higher offering but came in $200 cheaper. Had I not paid attention I'd have been screwed. Bait and switch. I will not ever fly British Airways because of their deceptive business practices.

In this situation I would not have paid the extra money to the LDS, and he (I can only hope it would have been a he ... I have a really hard time in confrontational situations with women) would have had an uncomfortable physical experience had he threatened to keep my gear or take any other action but hand it over completely serviced. Theft by deception should not be an accepted business practice.

I would also post here on SB who the company is and back it up with my documentation. That way, when they are notified as is SB policy they could then be held up to the diving community's public scrutiny. This is not an isolated incident for them I'm sure. People and companies are consistent in how they do things. Other people have, are, and will be ripped off in the same way by that company as long as we the consumer public allow it.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

my wife is telling me to find another lds.

You are already unhappy with the LDS. Listening to wife will make wife happy, :10:which has a chance of making you happy. :10: And who knows you might even find a better place to get your regs served.


Scuba Toys is top notch. I just placed another order with them eariler in the week and it is supposed to be here tomorrow.

 

[emttim]

It never ceases to amaze me how some people will faithfully keep returning to a LDS that screws them over and over and over. I've known people who have been screwed by their LDS and people who have been screwed by an online DS, but the difference is I've never found anyone who remains loyal to an online DS that keeps screwing them over.

I'm one of those people who keep returning to an LDS that screwed me over, although ironically, the only thing I trust them with now is filling my tank. And after it taking an hour last time, without any decent explanation (place was dead), yeah I'm done. There's two LDS's I know of in Sacramento; both of them will never get my business again.

I would trust the boys at ScubaToys and like they said they can service your Zeagle. My gear is not Zeagle and I have always bought my gear from ScubaToys, fortunately I live in Dallas and can just walk in the store.

That must be nice, ScubaToys must have an awesome shop! I just placed an order for some more stuff from them recently...can never go wrong with 'em!

Next an LDS will be here *****ing how customers have no loyalty.

I remember the first time I had my regs serviced. The hp seat went and they started to freeflow. No big deal. Time for service. So I bring them in. Paid a little extra as I bought them online but dealt with it. And I must say he did a great job. Got all the parts back. They were tuned perfect. It was the "HATE LETTER" I got back with the regs that set me off. The regs were full of sand so I rebuilt the octo too. OK but I was a new diver. Just finished dragging them around a quarry But the part about the "scratch" in the HP seat (Apeks) and "it didn't come from the factory like that" and the part about "SO HOW DO YOU LIKE DOING CESA'S" and "DON'T LET INCOMPETANTS WORK ON THE INTERNALS" well that really pushed me over the edge. The shop basically accused me of working on, or have someone else work on my reg. That set me off so bad I ordered rebuild kits and have been doing them ever since myself. I don't mind paying for service just spare me the "fear of life support" rhetoric. I can't believe what shops will pull.

Are you serious? Wow. You probably could have taken that letter to a lawyer and sued them, because as far as I can see, that's definitely slander.

For extra fun, try on the wet suits and masks, then say "Thanks! Now I know which ones to order online."

Bwahaha, I love the idea. I'm going to have to do that sometime.

 

[Scubadaddy]

I would find another place to spend your money. My parents are new to scuba (as am I) and have already had a a negative experience with one of the LDS in my area. Fortunately, there are other shops close by and we can give them a shot at our future business.

 

[smokey braden]

the end of this story.
my son picked up my gear.
(my third mistake)
after looking at the receipt i noticed i'd been over chaged $60, $25 extra for yearly service to my octo ll, parts, and $20 for yearly service on my sherwood gauges which i told him NOT to do.
i called the shop and explained my displeasure to the owner.
he remarked that the next time i was in town he would consider my issues and something might be done.

august 3rd i am standing on one of dive tech's boats in grande cayman putting my gear ready for the first dive of a 5 day diving pkg.
upon hooking up my first stage to the tank air is coming out in three places.
the dm takes a look and hands me his spare octopus telling me i can use his.

divers supply in grande cayman offers to fix my gear for a fee.
i declined and said i will take it back to the shop who serviced my gear.
(my fourth mistake)

when i got home i tried in vain to meet with the owner.
he said he was very busy and wouldn't meet me for three weeks.

i took my gear back to richmond and told his staff to please fix my gear.
(my 5th mistake)
later on while picking up my gear the owner explained to me, that if i had taken HIS equipment class none of this would have happend.

i told him that i'd taken that class from the shop i'd bought the gear from, atlantis divers out on midolothian(sp).
they would not show me how to repair my gear.

jim, owner of THE DIVE SHOP out on west broad st, says that in HIS class students are taught to repair their octopuses.
he explained to me that all this trouble was caused by me not knowing how to trouble shoot and repair my regs behind him.

he said he cannot be held responsible for gear after it leaves his shop.

i picked up my gear and walked out of his shop.
(first thing i did right)

flame on

 

[Web Monkey]

the end of this story.
my son picked up my gear.
(my third mistake)
after looking at the receipt i noticed i'd been over chaged $60, $25 extra for yearly service to my octo ll, parts, and $20 for yearly service on my sherwood gauges which i told him NOT to do.
i called the shop and explained my displeasure to the owner.
he remarked that the next time i was in town he would consider my issues and
. . .

While complaining might make you feel better, it won't fix your gear. What you really need is a professionally run service facility that handles the brand(s) that you own. I'm certain you can get some recommendations from board members for a location near you (or available via UPS) that will properly service your stuff.

You should not need to be an equipment technician to own SCUBA equipment, you only need a credit card.

Additionally, it's unprofessional for a shop to complain to you about how you maintain your gear. They should simply service it, replace any necessary parts and give you the bill. If you didn't maintain it properly, all that means is that you'll get a bigger bill and more parts back in the "here are your old parts" bag. A really good shop will send it back with a graph showing pressures and flow rates, which aside from anything else, proves that the reg was assembled and operational when it left the shop.


Terry

 

[smokey braden]

web monkey,
thank you for the sound advice.
looks like i'll go on-line and find a shop that i can send my gear to next spring.
i usually like doing buisness face to face with a human.
but in this new age i guess old dogs can learn new tricks.

 

[The_Great_Manta]

since i bought the gear from them, are they the only lds i can go to?
or
will another zeagle dealer lds service my rig under warranty?
thank you,

As a former Zeagle Dealer I can tell you that ANY authorized dealer can do warranty work for you.
good luck.

 

[diverbob]

I dont want to flame away here, but I would highly recommend test diving any gear that has just been serviced diving locally, to avoid issues like that on vacation.

I have yet to buy any gear online, because I havent had a reason to. My previous shop, and my current shop have both treated me well. However, I think there is something to be said for being able to walk into the back of the shops repair area, to see how things are done. I am not saying this happens, but how do we know gear sent away for repairs isnt laying on a floor somewhere else?

Finally, and again, not accusing anyone of anything, just offering up a possible "other side of the story", how do we know the accounts of this story went exactly as stated? Without hearing or knowing the shops story, its unfair to pass judgment.