No parts returned on annual overhaul
- Thread starter krjeffcoat
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Another reason for not returning the parts might be embarrassment that there's so few......might make the customer question what they just paid for.
One could also bulk up that Sherwood used parts bag with a few random extra o rings and seats!
One could also bulk up that Sherwood used parts bag with a few random extra o rings and seats!
No you did not, you installed a new set he paid for, the set you destroyed/trashed was removed from his reg and are still his property. If you destroy them, you are responsible to replace them in addition to the set you installed. I know it's a trivial matter but the fact remains, the parts are the reg owners and you have no rights to them, either to keep or destroy. The issue is credibility and integrity, keeping, refusing to return or destroying parts raises a flag as to intent of the shop and that is the real issue here.
We're the only dive shop in 50 miles, despite more than two dozen coming and going in the last 5 years. We've been in the same location since about 1980 under the same owner and have been in this area since 1972. I assure you, we have no problem with credibility and integrity. If you want your parts back (and like I said, no one in the 20 years I've been here ever has) then just ask for them when you drop off your reg. If you'd like to watch the overhaul, you are welcome to.
Again, this really is a no brainer, despite the goobers who want to be hostile and say we're "stealing" a bunch of junk. If you don't trust your LDS to do a good job, go to another LDS. Seriously, it's that friggin simple. If you can't find an LDS and we are certed on the regs you need serviced, let me know and I'll see if we can help you out. For most regulators, if you don't have a PFL guarantee, you're looking at about $100 for 3 stages. That's parts and labor. You can add a bit to that for batteries in computer if you need it, but $100 is a pretty good ballpark.
Sometimes I'm amazed at how long we'll beat a dead horse here on SB. But then I forget, this is SB. Again, just to clarify for the 4th time (I know how you guys like redundancy) if you don't trust your LDS to service your reg properly, get a new LDS. Anyone can hand you a bag of parts. I'm certain 90% of the people who walk into an LDS have no clue what their used parts should look like. A crooked LDS could hand you anything. If someone handing you a baggy full of used parts is all it takes to gain your trust, then perhaps the real problem is bigger than what members of SB can solve without some kind of degree in mental health.
Again, this really is a no brainer, despite the goobers who want to be hostile and say we're "stealing" a bunch of junk. If you don't trust your LDS to do a good job, go to another LDS. Seriously, it's that friggin simple. If you can't find an LDS and we are certed on the regs you need serviced, let me know and I'll see if we can help you out. For most regulators, if you don't have a PFL guarantee, you're looking at about $100 for 3 stages. That's parts and labor. You can add a bit to that for batteries in computer if you need it, but $100 is a pretty good ballpark.
Sometimes I'm amazed at how long we'll beat a dead horse here on SB. But then I forget, this is SB. Again, just to clarify for the 4th time (I know how you guys like redundancy) if you don't trust your LDS to service your reg properly, get a new LDS. Anyone can hand you a bag of parts. I'm certain 90% of the people who walk into an LDS have no clue what their used parts should look like. A crooked LDS could hand you anything. If someone handing you a baggy full of used parts is all it takes to gain your trust, then perhaps the real problem is bigger than what members of SB can solve without some kind of degree in mental health.
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I can give herman free used parts for life. It falls under the FPL program.
Eric Sedletzky
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When I used to get my stuff overhauled at my LDS they would give me my used parts back in a little baggie. Each part was clipped in half so it couldn't be re-used.
What he said. Some jurisdictions require by law all parts be returned to the customer. Some jurisdictions state that parts MAY BE returned to the customer unless the parts may cause some hazard. In our business, this would be reuse of old parts. Demilling solves this) . Some manufacturers recommend that technicians/ shops have an unwavering written policy of retaining parts unless the local laws require otherwise. The parts are stapled to the DETAILED shop copy of the service records and retained for whatever period the law requires. Being able to produce this, along with the written policy supporting, can help protect in a lawsuit.
How parts are handled should be dictated by local laws, which can be found at your jursudiction's Consumer Affairs information website. in whatever method you apply, I would 100% demill, on the grounds that this eliminates reuse and therefore risk. Where I have worked parts are demilled and returned with a detailed service description. Most customers ask that they be thrown away. In that case, they are stapled to the shop copy of the paperwork and retained for the required period of time. There was a clear written policy which can be produced, with citations to the local laws and reviewed by an attorney. In investigation and subsequent litigation, the last service person to touch the regulator is usually named in the shotgun lawsuit. If you followed the manufacturers recommendations, and applied well thought out and documented operations procedures, you probably will never have to answer questions in court.
As an everyday bonus, it makes your operation look very professional, and your client never has to go on scubaboard whic a questions on whether they just got screwed.
Just my thoughts on the matter
How parts are handled should be dictated by local laws, which can be found at your jursudiction's Consumer Affairs information website. in whatever method you apply, I would 100% demill, on the grounds that this eliminates reuse and therefore risk. Where I have worked parts are demilled and returned with a detailed service description. Most customers ask that they be thrown away. In that case, they are stapled to the shop copy of the paperwork and retained for the required period of time. There was a clear written policy which can be produced, with citations to the local laws and reviewed by an attorney. In investigation and subsequent litigation, the last service person to touch the regulator is usually named in the shotgun lawsuit. If you followed the manufacturers recommendations, and applied well thought out and documented operations procedures, you probably will never have to answer questions in court.
As an everyday bonus, it makes your operation look very professional, and your client never has to go on scubaboard whic a questions on whether they just got screwed.
Just my thoughts on the matter
I thought I would follow up on this publicly.
Just as a reminder, I wrote of a case in which it became clear to me that they guy our shop had been using (the owner of another shop) to service my regulators was simply checking to make sure it was working OK as is (maybe) and then returning it without doing any actual servicing. When the shop saw enough evidence to convince them that it was happening more than occasionally, they dropped him completely.
Seeing that description, Beaverdivers asked for more information, and in our exchange it turned out he did indeed know exactly whom I was talking about. In the time since my experience with him, he no longer owns that shop, but he still works part time "servicing" regulators. It seems a lot of people have figured out his scam, but a lot of people haven't. A couple of years ago, someone recommended him for regulator servicing in the Rocky Mountain Region forum. I wrote a carefully-worded PM suggesting that there might be issues with his servicing.
Why no public warning?
Well, how can I prove it? I have very strong suspicions, but that is as far as I can go. In my case, it I say that Mares said that the regulator had not been serviced in years when it had in fact been sent in for service only a month before, he could counter that it was just Mares' opinion, and they could be covering their butts. I am afraid that I could be sued for libel if I make public charges that I cannot back up. And so he goes on as always.
It happens in a lot of other businesses as well. I made the mistake of buying a Dodge once, and I did all the required maintenance. My brother-in-law did the same with a Plymouth (another Chrysler). In both cases, we found out after a while that although we took our cars into the dealers for servicing and had the papers to prove it, almost nothing had actually been done. Chrysler shrugged off both cases. We couldn't prove it in either case, and even if we could, that was between us and the dealer. They couldn't (or, more accurately, wouldn't) control the quality of work at their dealers' service centers.
After many such cases, our state made a law requiring replaced auto parts be shown to the customer. They know that it is too easy to commit a fraud when the customer has no ability to see what has actually happened.
I am sure that every single person participating in this thread is 100% honest and would never do something like this, but I think it would be a good idea for such people to follow the example of the laws in the auto repair industry and give back the parts. I don't care what the law is. If I were doing regulator servicing for hire, I would return the parts.
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