Should a Dive Op charge you for rental gear in the case of your own gear failure?

[gamon]

say delayed dive gear luggage and a charter dive vessel / resort, in which a key part of your gear is delayed a day or two due to being mis-handled by the airline, I think that most live-aboards / dive resorts would lend you the needed gear free of charge until your luggage arrived, as they want to provide the type of experience that would result in repeat business / good customer service ratings.

That is/was my way of thinking as well. Why does that not apply to a daily dive Op?

 

[James79]

That is/was my way of thinking as well. Why does that not apply to a daily dive Op?

A live aboard or dive resort is a multi day booking, and they plan accordingly... to include a "lost luggage" scenario.
On a daily charter, the Emergency loaner Reg (that they loaned you free of charge in the morning) is the equivalent.
To use the same parallel, expecting the Emergency Reg again in the afternoon (known problem now) is similar to coming back to the live aboard the next trip with your luggage still being lost from the first one..... you knew you didn't have it.

Just my opinion, worth what you paid for it!

James

 

[scubadada]

...From another scenario, say delayed dive gear luggage and a charter dive vessel / resort, in which a key part of your gear is delayed a day or two due to being mis-handled by the airline, I think that most live-aboards / dive resorts would lend you the needed gear free of charge until your luggage arrived, as they want to provide the type of experience that would result in repeat business / good customer service ratings.

My son and I flew from Philadelphia to Cozumel, unfortunately, our dive equipment did not fly with us. Aldora loaned us everything for the 1st day of diving. Our equipment arrived that day to use for the rest of the week. Aldora charged us nothing, we made sure they knew we were appreciative.

 

[USdiver1]

That is/was my way of thinking as well. Why does that not apply to a daily dive Op?

As James79 said, it is more the length of the contract [several hours vs. several days].

 

[CT-Rich]

That is/was my way of thinking as well. Why does that not apply to a daily dive Op?

A dive resort may have a full stable of rental gear and a courtesy loan because of lost luggage is not going to negatively impact other divers. You wouldn’t show up at the resort and expect a full rig provided gratis, unless it was previously agreed to as part of the booking. The resort doesn’t owe you gear. They may choose to help you out, to give you the warm fuzzies and give them positive word of mouth.

The dive boat in the OP was nice enough to bail you out on a dive. Once you are back at the dock, it is reasonable for you to go in the shop and make other (paid) arrangements for your gear for any later dives. A certain percentage of divers may even go in and decide to buy a replacement rather than renting and being on the hook for an overhaul of a reg that may have a history of unsatisfactory performance.

I have walked in to a shop to have a failed computer looked at and walked out with a replacement. Why would you expect them to let you off the hook on either renting gear or purchasing? They may help you out, but it is a business decision.

 

[hilljo88]

On the good customer service issue, I have dived with Pura Vida frequently and have always found them to cheerfully provide great service.

 

[CharlieOneFour]

Seems normal to me. If I used a piece of gear that the shop normally rents I'd expect to pay the fee.

 

[edwants2dive]

Found this thread it's a little dated but very relevant. I will state my opinion and experiences.
First the situation the OP posted has happened to me and a few other divers I have been on boats with. The loaner reg / other piece of gear is save a dive and keeps you from having to sit out while others dive it's a courtesy. When you return to take trip 2 for the day it is fair to be charged for the rental gear if you wish to keep diving. I have been it that situation on a couple of occasions with regs and once with my DC. I rented the shops regs but called my dives on the DC issue because the rental DC didn't have my morning dives on it and I felt it was prudent not to dive again that day. On the trip with the DC issue the operation didn't offer to refund my afternoon trip cost and I didn't expect them to either because it was my gear that failed. Since then I have a backup for almost all gear needed except tanks and have been glad I did on more than one occasion.

 

[TMHeimer]

In reading this last post and re-reading the OP, I guess the best thing to do if you're worried about this (other than bringing your own spares, IF it won't mean extra baggage charges on top of baggage charges...) is to get details from the dive op before you go (in writing/email if you like). It's a good idea to get details about all charges and everything you can think of before you go anyway.

 

[CT-Rich]

To be fair, the crew on the boat could have very fairly said, “no problem, here’s a reg, use it and pay for the rental when we get in.” Considering the economic stress created in the tourism industry over the last two years, divers should be pretty quick with their wallets when a dive op bails them out.

Expect to pay for gear and services that were not included in the initial cost. If they give you a regulator pro Bono, give them the rental fee as part of the tip.