What you dislike most....?

[Jim Lapenta]

... and so if the onus isn't on the instructor, how else does the consumer become educated?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Maybe they go on the internet and see a shop that has great reviews in the local paper. Rated number one in fact. But the truth is than the reason the shop is rated so high is that the owner went on the net and got all his friends and associates from all over the country to inflate the shop's ratings! The consumer though does not know that. All they know is that LOTS of people rated the shop very highly.

BTW I just did my front brakes two weeks agao to great success and saved over $200 bucks by not listening to the trained mechanic who told me their estimate was about the best I'd find. They were wrong.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Maybe they go on the internet and see a shop that has great reviews in the local paper. Rated number one in fact. But the truth is than the reason the shop is rated so high is that the owner went on the net and got all his friends and associates from all over the country to inflate the shop's ratings! The consumer though does not know that. All they know is that LOTS of people rated the shop very highly.

... or notices that they're a PADI Five-Star service center. Wow ... five stars ... they must be good ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Teamcasa]

...<snip>BTW I just did my front brakes two weeks agao to great success and saved over $200 bucks by not listening to the trained mechanic who told me their estimate was about the best I'd find. They were wrong.

So, you saved $200 by doing the job yourself or you found a shop that would do it for $200 less?

No one would dispute that if you do the job yourself, use quality or original parts and do all of the same things the shop would, and do all of the labor properly then a savings is to be expected. However, let me say that even though the parts may fit, all parts are not equal. In addition, only time will tell if you made a good decision by ignoring your trained mechanic's recommendations.

 

[Downing]

... or notices that they're a PADI Five-Star service center. Wow ... five stars ... they must be good ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I'm still hoping to find a one or two star PADI shop so I can see the difference for myself.

 

[The Chairman]

BTW I just did my front brakes two weeks agao to great success and saved over $200 bucks by not listening to the trained mechanic who told me their estimate was about the best I'd find. They were wrong.

Sweat equity is great. As a Master Certified Automotive Technician, I can tell you that most people who try to fix their cars fall way below the requisite training of average person who is diving today. If I remember rightly, you seem to disparage those who dive beyond their training. Why don't you do the same with those who attempt repairs beyond their training or experience? It's great that you "got away with it", but I can't tell you how many times I have seen untrained people create a disaster trying to fix their own stuff.

I was sued twice during my tenure in Automotive Repair. One was due to association with a guy who DIDN'T do his part of a job. The other was because I looked at a VW Jetta and told the guy what he needed to get it back to specs. It was too expensive and he called his mom where I explained how bad Junior's brakes really were. "We can do better, put it back together!". So I did. He rear ended a cop when he could not stop. Next thing, I am being sued for allowing Junior to take the car. Really.

Then there are all those other times when the car is towed in AFTER a repair is attempted. Quite often their hubris far exceeds a person's ability to effect a repair.

Really, I have no problems with DIY repairs... but please remember that you are often messing with something far more dangerous than Scuba Diving. Moreover, you often don't realize what you don't know. Can you make an informed judgement about the caliper hardware, the reason the pads wear unequally, the pattern discoloration on the rotors and the list can go on and on. Thinking that you're equivalent to the mechanic and that somehow YOUR repair is even close to that which might be performed by someone like Team Casa is delusional. You got away with slapping pads on. No more and no less. Hopefully, there are no noises, squeaks, chatter, vibrations or other problematic issues with your repair. If there are, will you suggest to the place you bought your parts that they did a piss poor job of fitting those pads? It's not up to them, or the dive shop to make sure that the person buying a dry suit knows how to use it or that it fits. They expect them to be competent or to seek professional help.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I've been doing my own brakes since I was 16 and first did them on a 1974 jeep CJ5. Where I grew up that was normal. We all worked on our own cars. I put the headers on my Jeep and on my Trans Am. When the clutch went out on that, a trip to Jeg's for a Hayes competition clutch, pressure plate, and new throw out bearing coupled with two good floor jacks, two friends, and a 12 pack took care of that.

Would I do that with a car today? Nope. I know my limits and all the computer junk, sensors, and vacuum lines are beyond me. But other stuff can still be done. I know my limits on my gear and I'm able to service it as a trained, authorized tech. But you don't have to be affiliated with a shop for that. And one reg is pretty much the same as another if you have the manuals, the right tools, and the right parts. With HOG, Dive Rite, Zeagle, and Apollo the parts are not a problem. I can get parts for dang near every other brand I own but don't like having to go to the "black market" for them. All I want is the option to take responsibility for every phase of my diving, including the full service and maintenance of my gear.

 

[SoccerJeni]

... or notices that they're a PADI Five-Star service center. Wow ... five stars ... they must be good ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

In all honesty....what is the purpose of the 5 star rating??? It seems to me that it is something that would lead consumers to believe this place excels in the industry. But, I hear that it is not.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

It means they offer PADI courses exclusively, sell only PADI materials, and when I was affiliated with a PADI shop they had to buy a certain amount of those materials according to the owner. They also needed to have a compressor to fill tanks, a classroom area, and not sure but I think a service area (at least my instructor told me he needed those), and he had to sell equipment. There was never any actual quality inspection. We lost the status for a couple months when we moved the shop due to irregular hours and frankly the store was a mess for a few weeks getting set up but all he did was get things organized and send them some pictures of the place and he got it back. No one ever came and actually audited classes.

 

[Jax]

What I like in the industry is the number of smart folk, on the Internet and in person, that share their knowledge and expertise.

What I don't like is that minuscule number of the above that thinks you HAVE to take their advice and do it their way! :shocked2:

 

[Teamcasa]

I've been doing my own brakes since I was 16 and first did them on a 1974 jeep CJ5. Where I grew up that was normal. We all worked on our own cars. I put the headers on my Jeep and on my Trans Am. When the clutch went out on that, a trip to Jeg's for a Hayes competition clutch, pressure plate, and new throw out bearing coupled with two good floor jacks, two friends, and a 12 pack took care of that.

Would I do that with a car today? Nope. I know my limits and all the computer junk, sensors, and vacuum lines are beyond me. But other stuff can still be done. I know my limits on my gear and I'm able to service it as a trained, authorized tech. But you don't have to be affiliated with a shop for that. And one reg is pretty much the same as another if you have the manuals, the right tools, and the right parts. With HOG, Dive Rite, Zeagle, and Apollo the parts are not a problem. I can get parts for dang near every other brand I own but don't like having to go to the "black market" for them. All I want is the option to take responsibility for every phase of my diving, including the full service and maintenance of my gear.

Jim, Maintaining your own gear is pretty simple in the grand scheme of all things technical. I do it myself as well. I do it knowing full well the risks and limitations of getting parts, warranties and other issues. For my ScubaPro gear, it took some persuading but I was able to find a dealer willing to sell em the parts. Do I pay a bit more for them? Sure. But It's my choice to do so and I don't consider it being a ripoff, just the cost of servicing ScubaPro stuff myself.