If someone falls Ill and calls or has to abort...of course there are no extra charges. These things can happen to any of us. Last week I had one student who didn't show and didn't call. I had other people who would have jumped at the chance to dive but it was this guys turn. Also last week another guy didn't show. His wife returned the equipment and said he was both ill and had been called out of town. He also, didn't call. My guess is they had schedule conflicts. That was the second time for this guy. Both times the class started late because, thinking he was comming, we waited for him. Bothe these students will be charged. They didn't care enough about anyone other than themselves to even make a phone call. I was there and taught the class. As far as I'm concerned were even.
LONG post about a dispute with my LDS
- Thread starter Crrink
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danceswithoctopus
Guest
Agreed. No call, no show, no valid excuse (I was in a coma?): IMHO you're even.
I agree as well.
Mike, I think it's generous that you make an exception for people falling ill. While I realize that it's not my wife's fault that she got sick and couldn't dive, it's not the LDS's either. On balance, I think we should pay for that bad luck.
Service like that would be MUCH appreciated, but not expected by me.
I guess I would consider something like a credit for equipment, but ONLY as a way to considerately help the shop out. I really don't want to be a customer of theirs in the future.
The owner guy is nice enough, but the one employee he has is.... well, I don't want to be rude, so let's just say that I'd feel comfortable buying from and supporting someone else.
But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself...the guy is already two days late in calling me back.....
Oh, and as for people flaking and not calling? rude rude rude.
Mike, I think it's generous that you make an exception for people falling ill. While I realize that it's not my wife's fault that she got sick and couldn't dive, it's not the LDS's either. On balance, I think we should pay for that bad luck.
Service like that would be MUCH appreciated, but not expected by me.
I guess I would consider something like a credit for equipment, but ONLY as a way to considerately help the shop out. I really don't want to be a customer of theirs in the future.
The owner guy is nice enough, but the one employee he has is.... well, I don't want to be rude, so let's just say that I'd feel comfortable buying from and supporting someone else.
But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself...the guy is already two days late in calling me back.....
Oh, and as for people flaking and not calling? rude rude rude.
TheDivingBear
Registered
I am not through the whole thread yet, so if I repeat something already said, my apologies.
However, the key piece of equipment is the tank and the LDS I frequent will not rent a tank unless you can prove you are OW certified (liabilities and all). They'll rent or sell you anything else but the air. So, if the tanks were the key issue (not yet filled), and he was NOT yet certified, how could he get tanks elsewhere.
Bear
KC_Scubabunny
Guest
I suspect if this was not the policy, you would be setting yourself up for a liability if someone became injured because they were attempting to dive with a sinus infection, head cold, etc because of the fear of having to pay again.
I agree that a no call, no show is a grounds for no refund. Common courtesy goes both ways.
KC_Scubabunny Well, I waited all weekend and got no word from the owner of the LDS.
I called yesterday afternoon, but he did not call back. I left a pleasant message asking him to please call me and let me know if we were any closer to resolving our disagreement.
I just checked my messages at home, and there are none (also have my cell phone here at work with me, and he has that number).
Nothing.
So now, I'll leave another message today and see if that works.
If it doesn't, I'll have to reiterate that if he refuses to contact me I'll have to dispute the charges with my credit card company - that REALLY irritated him last time and he told me to stop making 'threatening phone calls.'
Good grief, what a pain.
BTW, to date not one single cent has been returned to me. We were supposed to do our OW dives on May 11th, making this a full month since this happened.
Don't worry, it's not souring me on diving, but it's certainly souring me on the LDS I chose to train with.
To make matters worse, I saw today on the Padi website that there's a dive shop close to the one I trained at that charges a hundred bucks less for BOW certification
Guess that'll teach me to do more research next time?
I called yesterday afternoon, but he did not call back. I left a pleasant message asking him to please call me and let me know if we were any closer to resolving our disagreement.
I just checked my messages at home, and there are none (also have my cell phone here at work with me, and he has that number).
Nothing.
So now, I'll leave another message today and see if that works.
If it doesn't, I'll have to reiterate that if he refuses to contact me I'll have to dispute the charges with my credit card company - that REALLY irritated him last time and he told me to stop making 'threatening phone calls.'
Good grief, what a pain.
BTW, to date not one single cent has been returned to me. We were supposed to do our OW dives on May 11th, making this a full month since this happened.
Don't worry, it's not souring me on diving, but it's certainly souring me on the LDS I chose to train with.
To make matters worse, I saw today on the Padi website that there's a dive shop close to the one I trained at that charges a hundred bucks less for BOW certification
Guess that'll teach me to do more research next time?
R
redacted
Guest
Sounds like it is time to start dealing with the credit card company and the BBB. It's too bad that some businesses don't understand the impact of dissatisfied customers and bad publicity.
I am really big on customer service, I think you are 100% in the right and the dive shop was not forced to "bend over backwards" to help you. Unresponsiveness (not returning calls) is one of my biggest peeves.
They should have opened early or stayed open late. They should have let you pick up the equipment without picking up the air. They should have brought the air with them at the class on the weekend. There were so many options that you gave them that it is ridiculous that they didn't take any.
Companies like Nordstrom have such good customer service that they have allowed customers to return things that were not even purchased there. Some people scam the system, but enough people are honest that it works out.
I would also add that there are a large number of people on this message board who have no idea what good customer service really means.
They should have opened early or stayed open late. They should have let you pick up the equipment without picking up the air. They should have brought the air with them at the class on the weekend. There were so many options that you gave them that it is ridiculous that they didn't take any.
Companies like Nordstrom have such good customer service that they have allowed customers to return things that were not even purchased there. Some people scam the system, but enough people are honest that it works out.
I would also add that there are a large number of people on this message board who have no idea what good customer service really means.
I'm going to give the guy until tomorrow for two reasons:
one is that he told me he sometimes has a delay in when people leave messages on his cell and when he gets them....now, I've experienced a delay of maybe an hour every once in a blue moon, but two days? Never. So, just to be safe and courteous, I'm going to give him until the close of business tomorrow.
The other reason is that I do have sympathy for the position the LDS is in. I don't want to do something that will cost them more money than it needs to unless I have no other options available.
You know, some people on this board are making excuses for the LDS by saying that this business is an unprofitable one...well, it's not my fault the owner chose to open an unprofitable business, and if there were concerns (i.e. make it to your class, or you don't get to take it NO MATTER WHAT), they should've been disclosed at the beginning. They were not.
Last thing - a number of you have expressed the desire to hear the shop's side of the story. I think that would be a good idea as well, but there are two problems:
-I don't want to further aggravate things by saying 'hey, by the way, I've been telling everyone on www.scubaboard.com what creeps you are...why don't you check it out.
-I'm not sure they're very Internet savvy-the shop used to be under different ownership, and they have a very old webpage that comes up on a Google search, but has a bunch of broken links and outdated information.
Some other people don't think it'd be fair of me to name the shop without giving them the chance to weigh in. I know I've told the truth 100%. I've labeled my opinions and any thoughts that I can't substantiate very clearly, but hey, I know you guys don't know me, so I understand.
What I thought might be a good idea is that when this is all over and done with, if anyone's interested, I'll give the shop name and contact info. to some sort of senior person (maybe Uncle Pug, or whoever) who can contact the shop and ask if they'd like to weigh in.
However, anyone reading this who is thinking about taking lessons in the South Bay of So. Cal, if you're concerned, PM me and I'll let you know which shop it is.
There, that's the fairest way I can think of airing my opinions, giving the LDS a way to respond, but still potentially saving others from going through the hassle I'm going through.
As always, thoughts and opinions are welcome...but don't be surprised if I get all bent out of shape if one of you calls me a nightmare customer
one is that he told me he sometimes has a delay in when people leave messages on his cell and when he gets them....now, I've experienced a delay of maybe an hour every once in a blue moon, but two days? Never. So, just to be safe and courteous, I'm going to give him until the close of business tomorrow.
The other reason is that I do have sympathy for the position the LDS is in. I don't want to do something that will cost them more money than it needs to unless I have no other options available.
You know, some people on this board are making excuses for the LDS by saying that this business is an unprofitable one...well, it's not my fault the owner chose to open an unprofitable business, and if there were concerns (i.e. make it to your class, or you don't get to take it NO MATTER WHAT), they should've been disclosed at the beginning. They were not.
Last thing - a number of you have expressed the desire to hear the shop's side of the story. I think that would be a good idea as well, but there are two problems:
-I don't want to further aggravate things by saying 'hey, by the way, I've been telling everyone on www.scubaboard.com what creeps you are...why don't you check it out.
-I'm not sure they're very Internet savvy-the shop used to be under different ownership, and they have a very old webpage that comes up on a Google search, but has a bunch of broken links and outdated information.
Some other people don't think it'd be fair of me to name the shop without giving them the chance to weigh in. I know I've told the truth 100%. I've labeled my opinions and any thoughts that I can't substantiate very clearly, but hey, I know you guys don't know me, so I understand.
What I thought might be a good idea is that when this is all over and done with, if anyone's interested, I'll give the shop name and contact info. to some sort of senior person (maybe Uncle Pug, or whoever) who can contact the shop and ask if they'd like to weigh in.
However, anyone reading this who is thinking about taking lessons in the South Bay of So. Cal, if you're concerned, PM me and I'll let you know which shop it is.
There, that's the fairest way I can think of airing my opinions, giving the LDS a way to respond, but still potentially saving others from going through the hassle I'm going through.
As always, thoughts and opinions are welcome...but don't be surprised if I get all bent out of shape if one of you calls me a nightmare customer
danceswithoctopus
Guest
I had an experience recently that has nothing to do with SCUBA or my LDS, but it does have to do with customer service. The throttle cable to my outboard finally gave up the ghost and I have been working to replace it. I've encountered a number of badly corroded screws and had to drill things out and what not. Anyway, I finally got at the throttle lever end of the cable and found that the set screw there was frozen. I cut the cable and took the assembly to my LOS to find the part. The guy behind the counter heard my story, that I was going to drill out the set screw and needed a new assembly, and told me that labor was $45/hour with a one hour minimum. I explained that I didn't need the labor, just the part. He paused and asked what year the motor was. I told him. His reply was, "naw, it's older than that" (he never saw the motor itself). I assured him that I was correct and convinced him to look for the part number. Anyway, they didn't have it.
So today I went to another shop, one I have been frequenting for many years, but is way out of my way now that I've moved to the big city. The owner took a look at the part, took it to his shop, applied a little magic, and fixed it there and then. No charge. "The part's $10," he said. "I thought I'd see if we could fix it first before you had to fork over the money." I bought a gallon of outboard oil and some fishing tackle that I didn't need.
Where am I going to take future business?
Sorry for the digression. But with all this talk about customer service and stuff I couldn't help myself. And I'll be happy to tell the name of the LOS to anyone who asks (it'd make more difference if you lived in the Southern Puget Sound area).
So today I went to another shop, one I have been frequenting for many years, but is way out of my way now that I've moved to the big city. The owner took a look at the part, took it to his shop, applied a little magic, and fixed it there and then. No charge. "The part's $10," he said. "I thought I'd see if we could fix it first before you had to fork over the money." I bought a gallon of outboard oil and some fishing tackle that I didn't need.
Where am I going to take future business?
Sorry for the digression. But with all this talk about customer service and stuff I couldn't help myself. And I'll be happy to tell the name of the LOS to anyone who asks (it'd make more difference if you lived in the Southern Puget Sound area).
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