testing brand new regulators prior to use?

[James R]

$25 seems more reasonable to assemble, test/tune, and send you happily on your way. $110 is more than a lot of shops charge for full service on a reg set.

awap and I don't always agree, but on this we definitely do.

 

[elan]

Oly5050user, diver-LDS relationship is not a marriage. People buy stuff from different places trying to punish them for that does not seem to be a good business vision for me.
LDS that understand that seems to do better at least here. The store manager at my LDS knows Im servicing my regs and buy stuff online an on ebay. Nevetheress we are in great relationship and he still sold me 2 regs last year without giving me BS. I still take some things for the service there and buy air from them and although that is no more that few hundred a year those are few hundred a year put in his business not in the competitors'.

 

[iluvtheocean]

one thing to remember like was mentioned earlier is while the customer is trying to the get the best deal for their money and the LDS is trying to get the most profit they can, one important thing to remember is customer service. So what if they didn't buy the gear from you? assemble it at a reasonable cost with a smile, let them know you might have been able to get them a better deal. Most likely how you treat them will determine if they come back to you for whatever AND recommend you to others. Word of mouth is still the best & worst advertising a business can get. (i'm referring to the 1/10 rule where if you get good service you will tell at least 1 other people, bad service usually at least 10 other people or more)

while i bought the bulk of my gear at my LDS which i did get a great deal on(bc,regs,comp,fins) -other stuff i'll buy where-ever i can get a great deal just like any normal person - if they carry it i'll see if they will work with me on the price.. But since i get such great service there i still tend to buy things there and rent my tanks, and recommend them to anybody who asks. It's the service and the people that keep us coming back.

take grocery shopping -- I shop at Publix, Winn-Dixie, and Whole Foods depending on what i'm looking for and what's on sale. Would each of them prefer i only shop there? of course

 

[Couv]

Nope..Not ashamed at all.....

From your Profile:
About oly5050user
Location: Westchester NY
Dive Classification: Dive Shop Owner / Employee

Why not post the name of this wonderful shop so that those who agree with your policies can support you and those who do not can avoid it?

 

[miketsp]

$110 to test a reg is a complete rip-off. I could walk into any one of the various LDS where I'm known and they'd either test it for free or lend me a cylinder so that I could test it there and then in the shop and they'd let me use their IP gauge.
Even in a tourist location like Bonaire where I recently had a free flow on the first shore dive of the morning, I went into a nearby dive shop (happened to be the Carib Inn) and Bruce tested it for me and checked (and adjusted) the IP on his bench - for free. While he was checking it out I was browsing the displays and later went back and spent a fair amount of money.

 

[halocline]

You don't need a pool to test a regulator, just a tank, IP gauge, and a sink or tub. If it doesn't leak air out in a tub, and holds vacuum with the reg mounted but tank valve turned off, and has a nice stable IP, it's very very likely to work fine while diving. Couv's checklist does the job.

 

[oly5050user]

From your Profile:
About oly5050user
Location: Westchester NY
Dive Classification: Dive Shop Owner / Employee

Why not post the name of this wonderful shop so that those who agree with your policies can support you and those who do not can avoid it?

Store policy is posted clearly on wall with any and all costs associated with assembling/testing regulator purchased elsewhere..
Only facility near NYC with its own inhouse pool onsite.Located in Westchester NY..should be real easy to figure out as it is one of the biggest and busiest in the area. We do training ,sales and service for police/fire departments through out the area. We do service for a large online dealer that I cannot reveal here, on regulators and bcd's etc which they send via UPS to us for repairs. I only teach there ,do not own it..Sold my own LDS in NYC years ago (1991) at a profit and it is still in business.. I guess you see no problem with a person who takes a class at a facility, picks the staffs brain for information, maybe even tries out a piece of gear and then purchases elsewhere and expects the LDS to assemble it and test it ..for next to no cost. Is $110. high? Sure it is,but the OP has the option to not ask for that service and go elsewhere. Hell, we will give them the wrench and hex key and have them assemble it themselves in front of us and then we bench test it in front of them for maybe $25. As long as we do not assemble it and discover there is a problem with it. If we assemble it then its $100. You do not buy parts for your car and take them to a dealer and ask for them to install it and not expect to be charged for it do you? Labor and the know how to do it comes at a cost of some kind, no matter how little or easy it may be.
If any service is performed here and the op wants to try it out in the pool at the time they pick it up , they are free to use the facilities pool and tanks/weights//bcd/ etc here at that time and do so at no charge. If there is an issue with it now the facility "owns" it and has to make it right for the customer. ..what bugs me the most that the example here is that it is a scubapro regulator that LP is required as a authorized dealer to sell at the same price as any other store. Here if the student purchased their regulator,bcd,computer during a class the class is FREE, and they have free use of the pool as often as they want. Purchase only any 1 of those items and unlimited pool use is made available to them at almost any time during store hours. Lets see LP offer a free ow or advance class and free unlimited pool time with their sale.
In case couv cannot figure it out; scuba New York.. There are 2 locations-Yonkers and Brooklyn.

---------- Post added May 22nd, 2013 at 09:11 AM ----------

$110 to test a reg is a complete rip-off. I could walk into any one of the various LDS where I'm known and they'd either test it for free or lend me a cylinder so that I could test it there and then in the shop and they'd let me use their IP gauge.
Even in a tourist location like Bonaire where I recently had a free flow on the first shore dive of the morning, I went into a nearby dive shop (happened to be the Carib Inn) and Bruce tested it for me and checked (and adjusted) the IP on his bench - for free. While he was checking it out I was browsing the displays and later went back and spent a fair amount of money.

Thats Bruce at the Carib Inn. You did not take a class there and pick his brain for an hour on a piece of gear and then go out and purchased elsewhere. Thats the difference. Yes, Bruce offers superior service and should be commended for it.

 

[novasquid]

wow this thread went south pretty fast. to clear up things for oly5050user since he keeps bringing it up, i did not bring in my gear and expect free service. i brought my gear in to show off to the guys at the dive club who were meeting there at the shop. all i asked the shop owner was for tips on lube when putting it together thinking he would sell me the lube and tools that his shop carries. and to clear things up even further, it wasn't the shop owner who said i should have them check it over, it was an instructor who happened to be there who chimed in.

 

[redacted]

I guess you see no problem with a person who takes a class at a facility, picks the staffs brain for information, maybe even tries out a piece of gear and then purchases elsewhere and expects the LDS to assemble it and test it ..for next to no cost.

Why would you guess such a thing? Was that something you learned in your LDS employee customer relations training.

I think we have been through this before and I concluded that the shop you work with does not necessarily support the approach to dealing with customers that you occasionally suggest on this board. Posted prices for service are a good thing. That still leaves room for discounts for special customers. Punitive pricing is not a good thing and will only cost you more business in the long run. Not necessarily enough to make the business go under. But enough to lower your gross for the year. $110 to assemble and test is punishment for buying elsewhere.

 

[novasquid]

I guess you see no problem with a person who takes a class at a facility, picks the staffs brain for information, maybe even tries out a piece of gear and then purchases elsewhere and expects the LDS to assemble it and test it ..for next to no cost.

sorry i should've been more clear in my first post. i took my gear in to show off to some guys in the dive club, and while there i asked the owner for tips on lube and his opinion whether or not it was something i could put together at home. an instructor chimed in that a professional at the shop should do the work, and asked my wife if my life insurance policy was up to date implying i was foolish for wanting to put together my own gear.

in no way was i picking his brain about the pros/cons of every lube out there, the best/worst tools for the job, what torque setting i should use to tighten the bolts, etc. i just asked him a simple question in passing as i was walking out the door. you're free to think that i was using them for free service, but that certainly wasn't my intention.