Outrageous cost to service reg
- Thread starter maudiver216
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Boarderguy
Chief Narctopus Wrangler
She is getting her primary reg and backup at done every two years regardless of use. The cost is the cost and reg techs are not paid enough. People need to take care of their gear and get it serviced when it needs it, not when some conglomerate that purchased the company says it should be done.
Then they should pay more because of neglect. Actual vs a flat rate for anything over what would be considered normal. This is a failing on shops for not setting variable pricing. It isn't hard for the tech to snap a pic of problem parts to justify their struggle.
As I said, the price was reasonable for the current economic condition (service kits, however, are grossly overpriced)...
There are ways to mitigate that if you want to, but bitching about it isn't it...
There are ways to mitigate that if you want to, but bitching about it isn't it...
i dont know for you but here it is what it is could not tell you more about it.
Oil change is flat rate about 100 cad including oil, filter and labor.
When I quit servicing regs in 2022, the average cost to the customer for a full rebuild of the 1st and 2 seconds was around $150, including return shipping.
I did see that kit prices were going up at a crazy rate. MSRP/MAP was getting up around 60/40 bucks for 1st and 20/35 for seconds.
I see now 1sts selling for 39-43. I was charging 27.
Seconds are now selling for 24.99. I was charging 16 at the end.
1st stage kit costs to me jumped like 30%.
2nds also, but not to the same degree.
For regular customers, I charged below MAP because my overhead allowed it. I made maybe $6 a kit on seconds and $10 on 1sts.
I tried for a few years not to raise prices on kits. Towards the end, I had to, but the increases were usually limited to my cost increase.
The labor rate was 45.00 an hour, and I charged for the actual time. If the reg was cared for, this usually worked out to around an hour and a half for the set.
Those that weren't, and I had to spend extra time cleaning and removing corrosion—the owner paid for that. Most of the time, that only happened once. Afterward, they'd be slightly more attentive to rinsing/drying/ storing.
Even at my rates, I felt the labor was too low but it was the only way to compete.
My local bike shops have a $50-75.00 an hour labor rate. Depending on what needs attention.
For working on bicycles.
A life support device would seem to command at least the same rate.
This is another area, like instruction, where the industry has set itself up for failure.
Cheap classes that don't reflect the time, effort, and money instructors invest.
Techs bad-mouthed for charging for the knowledge, tools, and risk they take looking after someone's gear.
Divers do look for bargains. No problem with that. But, instead of spending money on doodads and shiny junk like retractors and gimmicky gear, save that and keep it in reserve for when you need to have your gear serviced by someone who has the specialized knowledge, tools, and test equipment.
No, it's not rocket science. Regs are pretty simple devices and I trained dozens of people to service themselves.
But if you don't want to do that, then you have to pay someone else. Don't begrudge them for being able to do that.
There are shops that gouge and overcharge. No argument there. And the ones that take weeks to do a job that only requires a couple of hours at most. If it's a VERY busy shop with a lot of service business I can see a week. More than that, they better hire another tech or two.
But the slow shop? My usual turnaround was 48 hours from the time I got it in hand. That was along with working 45 hours a week at my real job and having a life.
I did see that kit prices were going up at a crazy rate. MSRP/MAP was getting up around 60/40 bucks for 1st and 20/35 for seconds.
I see now 1sts selling for 39-43. I was charging 27.
Seconds are now selling for 24.99. I was charging 16 at the end.
1st stage kit costs to me jumped like 30%.
2nds also, but not to the same degree.
For regular customers, I charged below MAP because my overhead allowed it. I made maybe $6 a kit on seconds and $10 on 1sts.
I tried for a few years not to raise prices on kits. Towards the end, I had to, but the increases were usually limited to my cost increase.
The labor rate was 45.00 an hour, and I charged for the actual time. If the reg was cared for, this usually worked out to around an hour and a half for the set.
Those that weren't, and I had to spend extra time cleaning and removing corrosion—the owner paid for that. Most of the time, that only happened once. Afterward, they'd be slightly more attentive to rinsing/drying/ storing.
Even at my rates, I felt the labor was too low but it was the only way to compete.
My local bike shops have a $50-75.00 an hour labor rate. Depending on what needs attention.
For working on bicycles.
A life support device would seem to command at least the same rate.
This is another area, like instruction, where the industry has set itself up for failure.
Cheap classes that don't reflect the time, effort, and money instructors invest.
Techs bad-mouthed for charging for the knowledge, tools, and risk they take looking after someone's gear.
Divers do look for bargains. No problem with that. But, instead of spending money on doodads and shiny junk like retractors and gimmicky gear, save that and keep it in reserve for when you need to have your gear serviced by someone who has the specialized knowledge, tools, and test equipment.
No, it's not rocket science. Regs are pretty simple devices and I trained dozens of people to service themselves.
But if you don't want to do that, then you have to pay someone else. Don't begrudge them for being able to do that.
There are shops that gouge and overcharge. No argument there. And the ones that take weeks to do a job that only requires a couple of hours at most. If it's a VERY busy shop with a lot of service business I can see a week. More than that, they better hire another tech or two.
But the slow shop? My usual turnaround was 48 hours from the time I got it in hand. That was along with working 45 hours a week at my real job and having a life.
I have an Aqualung first and second stage. If I get it serviced every year, then the parts are free. The service isn't free. I am a vacation diver with up to 20 dives a year. I would like to do more, but I haven't hit the lottery, yet.
If I wait about every five years to get it serviced, I am making out better by paying for parts and service. I trust in the quality of the reg to last as long as I do a full rinse after each dive and after each trip.
If I wait about every five years to get it serviced, I am making out better by paying for parts and service. I trust in the quality of the reg to last as long as I do a full rinse after each dive and after each trip.
Rubidium777
Registered
I have a regulator that was serviced (and used twice) before putting it in storage inside in a plastic bag. It looks brand new and seems to work fine topside. Do you think it should be service proactively?
Thanks
Thanks
Here is a story to feed the discussion on when to service regulators.
My first regulator was a Mares, and I had it serviced faithfully every year, even though when I was a new diver I only did one week-long trip a year. After a few years, I became a DM and was employed by the shop I used. I learned then that they did not have a qualified Mares technician on staff, so whenever a Mares regulator came in for service, they sent it out to another shop which did. I didn't see anything wrong with that.
Working with the shop meant using the regulator more. I went on a shop-led trip to Thailand, and I had some regulator problems. This was my first diving since having had it serviced a few months before. They made some adjustments on the liveaboard to get me through the week. Back in the USA, the shop sent the regulator back to the guy for another service. It came back, and I took it to Florida for more diving. I had problems again, and a local shop again got me through that weekend.
Feeling that something was up, my shop sent it directly to Mares. When it came back, Mares said there was nothing wrong with the regulator itself. The problem was that it had obviously not been serviced for years--if it ever had been serviced at all.
Eventually we figured out that the guy they had been sending Mares regulators to for servicing was doing nothing more than holding onto it for a couple of weeks and then sending it back untouched. During the time I owned that regulator, it had happened 7 times.
My first regulator was a Mares, and I had it serviced faithfully every year, even though when I was a new diver I only did one week-long trip a year. After a few years, I became a DM and was employed by the shop I used. I learned then that they did not have a qualified Mares technician on staff, so whenever a Mares regulator came in for service, they sent it out to another shop which did. I didn't see anything wrong with that.
Working with the shop meant using the regulator more. I went on a shop-led trip to Thailand, and I had some regulator problems. This was my first diving since having had it serviced a few months before. They made some adjustments on the liveaboard to get me through the week. Back in the USA, the shop sent the regulator back to the guy for another service. It came back, and I took it to Florida for more diving. I had problems again, and a local shop again got me through that weekend.
Feeling that something was up, my shop sent it directly to Mares. When it came back, Mares said there was nothing wrong with the regulator itself. The problem was that it had obviously not been serviced for years--if it ever had been serviced at all.
Eventually we figured out that the guy they had been sending Mares regulators to for servicing was doing nothing more than holding onto it for a couple of weeks and then sending it back untouched. During the time I owned that regulator, it had happened 7 times.
Rubidium777
Registered
That is criminal !
Yep.
A couple years ago, we had a thread in which a former shop technician said he averaged 8 minutes for a regulator service. When I was taught, I was told to put the non-replaced parts in a hypersonic batch for 10 minutes, so he obviously wasn't doing that. If someone is averaging 8 minutes for a service and charging you for an hour or more of work, that is criminal, too.
But I'll be it happens a lot.
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