My LDS just keeps getting crazier!

[morenadelmare]

As a close friend of the LDS in question, I just wanted to set the record straight.

The $800 package that the friend bought includes top of the line mask, neoprene comfort strap, mask box, open heel fins, dive boots, snorkel, dive bag, a 3/2 wetsuit, wetsuit hanger, defog, wetsuit cleaner, as well as the class itself (which is a four week class, either two three hour classes in the evenings, or a six hour Saturday class), a book package that includes the SSI Open Water text, Open Water DVD, a zippered Dive Log, dive tables, 2 mouthpieces for class, the student's instruction for open water dives, and a certification card. The shop provides all of the other equipment for the class and the pool is open for students to use for practice as long as a staff member is in the building. I wish I had gotten such a deal when I took class several years ago.

On "certification" of gear: The policy is that all gear, no matter where purchased, must be serviced annually in order to be in the pool or on the boat. If an individual has bought gear somewhere else, it has been serviced within the last year and it carries the necessary service tags, the shop does not charge to service the gear again. If the gear is not serviced, it cannot be used in the shop pool or on the shop owned boat. The service is not an "inspection" or "certification" of gear, but a servicing according to manufacturer specifications. The owner is charged for labor and parts, unless parts are covered under a program such as Aqualung's "parts for life."

I hope that helps clear up some of the issues. I have found everyone at the shop very accommodating. I am sure that they know they cannot sell everyone every piece of equipment they will ever purchase, but I would never buy anything without at least talking with them.

 

[TheRedHead]

Thanks for clearing that up, morenadelmare. I've been diving with them for years and have never really understood it. I always get my gear serviced annually by them so it has never been an issue for me.

BTW, the wetsuits are Xcel and very nice!

 

[morenadelmare]

That is my understanding of their policies, and I am glad that it helped. I know that they try to accommodate their customers and do what they can with gear that is purchased from authorized dealers.

 

[Wayward Son]

What the heck are service tags on the gear? I've never seen nor heard of such a thing before.

 

[mstevens]

Today, they call him and tell him he will not be able to use the BCD because no one there knows how to instruct on it.

If that is true, they have the most incompetent instructors imaginable. Nobody should risk getting instruction from them under any circumstances. It may be important to contact the certifying agency to let them know the instructors lack this basic competence and to ask for referral to a different training site with instructors who can "instruct on" more than a single brand of equipment.

 

[captain]

What the heck are service tags on the gear? I've never seen nor heard of such a thing before.

It's a way to make money with the insurance requirement as a cover to make the customer believe the shop isn't ripping them off.

 

[*Floater*]

Although I do not understand the inspection "fee," I do understand the the LDS' frustration with LP and Ebay.

I don't see how buying used gear off ebay is any different than buying used gear from a friend - yet I've never seen LDS advocates complain about the latter.

I have a question for anyone: If I take a reg to be serviced, then can the dive shop trace it? For example, say I buy a reg from LP, and then after some use I take it to a dive shop for service. Say I'm afraid they might punish me for buying from LP, and therefore just tell them the reg was a gift or I bought it used from a friend, and that I don't know where it was originally purchased from. Would the dive shop be able to trace it to LP based on the serial? Could they see who the original buyer was?

 

[mstevens]

Another point has occurred to me. When my now-wife and I took our OW course through a LDS in 1980, the instructors made it quite clear that they strongly recommended completing the course before purchasing any gear. They were less adamant about mask, fins, and snorkel, but those were all provided during the course. It's not as if there were really all that many different options available at the time, and they had examples of most for class use. After the class was over but before we did the open water dives I went to the shop to satisfy my insatiable lust for gear. The owner (our instructor) reminded me I wasn't certified yet and really shouldn't be buying anything until I had a bit more experience.

How times have changed.

 

[redacted]

It's a way to make money with the insurance requirement as a cover to make the customer believe the shop isn't ripping them off.

Now is that any way for an (ex)LDS owner to talk? You might make folks question their trust in their LDS.

May the good ones survive.

 

[redacted]

I know that they try to accommodate their customers and do what they can with gear that is purchased from authorized dealers.

Besides the issue of "free" parts if other criteria are met, or perhaps a discount if purchased from from their shop, what difference does it make who the customer purchased the gear from??