Zeagle International Servicing Policy

[Coldwater_Canuck]

Hi, hopefully there is a representative of Zeagle on here to answer my question.

Last winter I was temporarily living and working the United States when I purchased a Zeagle Flathead 6. I now need it serviced to keep my warranty. However, I am currently living in Canada (my permanent residence). I asked the local Zeagle dealer and was told that because my regulator will have a serial from outside Canada, I would need to pay for the service kits myself. Between the first and second stage, these aren't that cheap, especially for something I need to do on a yearly basis.

I'd like to:
a.) confirm that the shop was correct; and
b.) ask why this policy? I think it's great that Zeagle provides service kits for free, but with many people making purchases in countries where they don't permanently live, this seems like a poor customer experience and I'm not sure what the practical reasons for it are?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Capt.Gene]

As a long time Zeagle dealer, I would urge you to call Zeagle directly for resolution on this issue.
The problem may be with the Canadian importer providing the kits to the dealer, or it could be that the shop you are dealing with isn't currently a dealer and cannot get replacement parts at no charge under warranty. Or it could be simply a business decision on the part of the dive shop, and they are unwilling to participate.
I've sold quite a few regulators North of the border, and have not heard of this issue.
Call Zeagle at 813 782 5568, ext 5 for Customer service, Veronica or Jeff.

 

[ScottZeagle]

The local dealer is correct. The "free parts" policy is only valid in the USA.

Since you bought the regs in the USA, you can send them back to the dealer for servicing, but foreign distributors do not get the free parts from us, so they don't give them to you...

Sorry.

Scott

 

[Hatul]

The local dealer is correct. The "free parts" policy is only valid in the USA.

Since you bought the regs in the USA, you can send them back to the dealer for servicing, but foreign distributors do not get the free parts from us, so they don't give them to you...

Sorry.

Scott

Can I ask you why it is that Atomic requires only a 2 year service interval even for their non-titanium regulators and Zeagle requires yearly service?

Adam

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

The local dealer is correct. The "free parts" policy is only valid in the USA.

Since you bought the regs in the USA, you can send them back to the dealer for servicing, but foreign distributors do not get the free parts from us, so they don't give them to you...

Sorry.

Scott

Thanks Scott, but something doesn't add up to me here. I'd understand if it were as simple as the free parts policy only applying in the USA. However, what it sounded like the Canadian dealer said was they could get the free part kits, but not if the serial was from outside of Canada. I suppose it's possible a distributor or someone is providing the kits, but this doesn't make a ton of sense to me.

 

[ScottZeagle]

Can I ask you why it is that Atomic requires only a 2 year service interval even for their non-titanium regulators and Zeagle requires yearly service?

Adam

Adam - I have passed your question on to Jim Fox. He is more qualified to answer that than I am...stand by.

Thanks Scott, but something doesn't add up to me here. I'd understand if it were as simple as the free parts policy only applying in the USA. However, what it sounded like the Canadian dealer said was they could get the free part kits, but not if the serial was from outside of Canada. I suppose it's possible a distributor or someone is providing the kits, but this doesn't make a ton of sense to me.

That doesn't make sense to me either, as there is no "special" serial numbers. The regs are made, boxed, and put on the shelf. When an order comes in (whether it is from Iowa or Istanbul) the regs are pulled off the shelf and packed in a box for shipping.

The only thing that I can think of is that maybe Cross Country (the Canadian Distributor) records all the serial numbers that they recieve and sell to the Canadian dive shops, and track them that way....but that is just a guess???

 

[fisheater]

May I suggest that you simply send your regs to ScubaToys for annual service? They do it for $50 and honor the free parts warranty.

 

[ScottZeagle]

Can I ask you why it is that Atomic requires only a 2 year service interval even for their non-titanium regulators and Zeagle requires yearly service?

Adam

As promised, a reply from Jim Fox....

The 2 year vs 1 year annual service schedule is not a technical difference in the regulators maintenance, but rather a philosophical one. Zeagle believes that customers deserve an annual service kit every year, while Atomic believes they only deserve a service kit every other year. Zeagle also feels that a diver should bring their regulator to an authorized dealer at least once a year, in case there is an important update that should be performed on a regulator. If divers do not see an authorized dealer for two years in a row, there is a bigger chance that news of these updates might be missed. Also, a diver who’s regulator is on a 2 year maintenance schedule is more likely to forget if they are in a year requiring service or a year that doesn’t require service.

 

[Hatul]

As promised, a reply from Jim Fox....

The 2 year vs 1 year annual service schedule is not a technical difference in the regulators maintenance, but rather a philosophical one. Zeagle believes that customers deserve an annual service kit every year, while Atomic believes they only deserve a service kit every other year. Zeagle also feels that a diver should bring their regulator to an authorized dealer at least once a year, in case there is an important update that should be performed on a regulator. If divers do not see an authorized dealer for two years in a row, there is a bigger chance that news of these updates might be missed. Also, a diver who’s regulator is on a 2 year maintenance schedule is more likely to forget if they are in a year requiring service or a year that doesn’t require service.

I understand the benefits of the yearly service as stated above. Nevertheless do you not agree that most divers prefer the every 2 year requirement, and that is often stated as a selling point for those regulators (such as Atomic).

Adam

 

[redacted]

As promised, a reply from Jim Fox....

The 2 year vs 1 year annual service schedule is not a technical difference in the regulators maintenance, but rather a philosophical one. Zeagle believes that customers deserve an annual service kit every year, while Atomic believes they only deserve a service kit every other year. Zeagle also feels that a diver should bring their regulator to an authorized dealer at least once a year, in case there is an important update that should be performed on a regulator. If divers do not see an authorized dealer for two years in a row, there is a bigger chance that news of these updates might be missed. Also, a diver who’s regulator is on a 2 year maintenance schedule is more likely to forget if they are in a year requiring service or a year that doesn’t require service.

If it were not $75 worth of labor costs involved in what is often unnecessary service, that might make good sense. Why not go the same route as Aqualung and only require a full service every other year with an inspection in the off years. In fact, with your expressed philosophy, you will probably want to do them one better and provide free service kits in the inspection years if full service is indicated based on the inspection.