Tank inspection certification

[lowviz]

My favorite shop took $3 off of fills with their VIP on the bottle.

Sweet!

Somebody was thinkin'...

 

[Wookie]

Yup, smart move. Dive enough the VIP pays for itself. Many times over.

 

[Bob DBF]

I initially found The VIP program to be an annoying money grab at worst, but after getting certed for both VIP and O2 cleaning (and actually doing both) I kinda lost the feeling that it is a 'money grab' as it isn't that easy

Having been around before the VIP I understand why it happened and why it was necessary, more then than now. The money grab happened when they stopped taking the first year of the hydro stamp as proof of a visual, which is done by the hydro tester as part of the hydro.

Although the dive shop may have a certified tester, it is not a requirement.

 

[Anthony in NC]

My favorite shop took $3 off of fills with their VIP on the bottle. It was a win-win. They had readily recognizable stickers on a large percentage of tanks in town, I more than made my VIP money back in fills because my family dives often enough. Alas, they got over extended and couldn't recover from some hurricane Harvey fallout, as I understand it.

AND one thing they did that is such a small detail but IMO had a big impact, they paid attention to the valve orientation when they put the VIP sticker on the tank. Then every time a diver backmounted their tanks, advertisement! No other LDS I have gotten VIPs from, or seen VIP stickers from, seem to care either. Stickers every which way. Sometimes even covered up when mounted in a BC device. Seems like an easy thing to do with a shop VIP sticker when name recognition can be a make or break thing with small businesses.

That's why I put the valve back on before I put the decal on. So I know which side of the cylinder is facing out.