No parts returned on annual overhaul

[Rich Keller]

As long as the reg works properly I do not see this as a problem. They could just as easily have given you back parts from any type of reg and you would not know the difference anyway.

 

[halocline]

Naw, they won't pay for themselves, but their still worth it

The tools I've bought for regulator repair have paid for themselves several times over, and that's only counting the actual cash price of rebuilding several regulators. It does not include the peace of mind knowing that: A) they were rebuilt correctly, and B) I'm not supporting a racket, and C) I have the enjoyment of a truly nerd-esque hobby.

The essential tools are really pretty inexpensive, I think I spent under $100. The Harlow book is $50 and worth every penny.

 

[tstormdiver]

I typically do not return the parts, unless requested. 99.9999999.......% of our shop's customers don't care. They only care that their regulators work. If someone asks for the parts back, I am more than happy to supply them to them. We also have a very detailed work order sheet that has detailed descriptions of the equipment (serial #, colors, bags & such), has a check list of the services & tests (& results) ran & is signed off by the technician (primarily, me) & has an itemized area for all parts & labor put into the equipment. Our shop is more than happy to let the customer see or provide a copy to the customer, if they so desire,... however the shop retains the original.

 

[dmoore19]

A dishonest shop can provide you with used parts and a detailed report on the tests they run after a rebuild. Unless you are standing there when the reg is being rebuilt you really have no idea what was done/not done. That is if the shop is dishonest. The used parts and reports are just fluff. I keep the report as a means of knowing for sure when the last time my reg was serviced. If you don't service your own reg or watch while someone else does it parts and a piece of paper really don't prove much.

 

[tstormdiver]

The used parts and reports are just fluff. I keep the report as a means of knowing for sure when the last time my reg was serviced. If you don't service your own reg or watch while someone else does it parts and a piece of paper really don't prove much.

Amazing though, how important that "fluff" becomes important when something goes wrong & a lawsuit is involved.

 

[Divenomad]

I just liked this post and I would like to state I can't like it enough.

I must say one of the most depressing, saddest things about the diving community is an almost total lack of simple trust, despite every step an honest service provider can supply good service and documentation. You can fully and honestly explain why things are the way they are, and the response can be paranoia past the point of pathology. I have never been screwed over by a dealer or a manufacturer ( caveat emptor) and I've never screwed over a client. I have seen it, but man, at nothing that would warrant the levels of mistrust I see here.

Amazing though, how important that "fluff" becomes important when something goes wrong & a lawsuit is involved.

 

[boulderjohn]

I just liked this post and I would like to state I can't like it enough.

I must say one of the most depressing, saddest things about the diving community is an almost total lack of simple trust, despite every step an honest service provider can supply good service and documentation. You can fully and honestly explain why things are the way they are, and the response can be paranoia past the point of pathology. I have never been screwed over by a dealer or a manufacturer ( caveat emptor) and I've never screwed over a client. I have seen it, but man, at nothing that would warrant the levels of mistrust I see here.

Having been screwed over by a regulator service technician, I do have some trust issues that I think are justifiable. But I also recognize that there is a strange difference between scuba maintenance work and work done in other areas of service.

I mentioned this in another thread. I recently replaced a toilet. I have done it before and know how, but I hate plumbing. I figured if someone would do it for a reasonable cost, I'd let them. We called the major plumbing shops in the area, and found that they all charged about $175 per hour, and it would take about 1.5 hours--about $260. My son also replaced a toilet, and found someone willing to install it for a flat $1,000. We both did our own work, and I thus got the equivalent of the highest hourly pay rate of my life.

There is no skill at all involved in installing a toilet. Someone with no plumbing experience whatsoever can follow the directions and do it in nearly the same time as a trained plumber, yet people are obviously willing to pay someone $175 per hour to do it. The public in general must think that is a fair price, or else it would not be the standard in our area.

Can you imagine if a regulator technician were to charge $175 per hour for work that is far more complex and requires far more skill?

 

[dmoore19]

Ah, the lawsuit card.

It still goes back to the fact that if you are dealing with a dishonest shop or feel you might be it is time to find another shop regardless of the fact they gave you some parts and a piece of paper. I certainly would never give someone a second chance if I thought they had screwed me, especially if it involved a regulator for the purpose of SCUBA. If I thought for a millionth of a second the shop was dishonest I would take my reg and my business elsewhere, even if they gave me a bag of parts and a piece of paper.

Amazing though, how important that "fluff" becomes important when something goes wrong & a lawsuit is involved.

 

[halocline]

Can you imagine if a regulator technician were to charge $175 per hour for work that is far more complex and requires far more skill?

Having done quite a bit of regulator repair and quite a bit of plumbing, I can confidently say that reg repair is neither more complex nor does it require more skill. Plumbers are trained and licensed, and it takes a lot of time to get a professional license. Regulator repairman can get 'certified' in a weekend with no other pre-qualifications than their employment at a dealer.

And yet, when I go to the plumber supply shop to buy fittings for a gas or a water supply line, I never get any BS about how I can't be sold these parts because of 'liability' or 'danger' from doing it myself.

 

[Divenomad]

I get what your saying, and for the most part I agree, especially with simply taking your business elsewhere; The trust issues about documentation only comes into play when you have a lawsuit. The fact is, you get named, no matter what. If you cannot provide proof you did what you said you did, followed the manufacturers policies on service and can back it up, you pay a lot more, probably to the point of ruin. In accidents, particularly where a death is involved, the diver in question's opinion has no weight. They are dead, and their family is looking for ways to pay the bills when they come due. They are probably looking for some way to deal with a tragic loss, to make sense of it and humans being human, they need something to blame. I get that as well. but it does not help when a spouse hears about how much this costs, and it's all a scam, and the service end of the industry are just trying to screw them over, etc, and then dies in the ocean. Who are they going to blame? Everyone else. It's just being human. They are grieving, and rational thought has no place there. (I'm not even sure it should)and the lawyers do what they do, which is try to get the most for their client. It is their ethical responsibility to do so. So, yes, much of it is CYA, because once you put that paperwork and process out there, right down to Consumer Affairs regulation section numbers on how parts are handled and it's in your written policies and procedures, it becomes a pain to cheat your own system, you avoid the shortcuts and ultimately you develop good solid work habits, and in the event, the opposing attorney looks at it and does the ethical thing. "There is nothing there, so lets drop them."

And as for the tech, they can live with the knowledge that they did everything they could and don't have to live with a death on them.

And yet the mistrust continues. I would be totally OK with someone working on their own regs without the involvement of the shop, if the things I read here did not frighten me so much. You can't know who knows what they are doing until they post, Some are very knowledgeable, and many simply don't even know what they don 't know. And God forbid you point it out, because this is Scubaboard, and that's damned unfortunate, because it hurts us all.