VIP / Fill

[rob.mwpropane]

Hi OP,

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Don't feel too bad. I just got charged for a tank tumble. I had the valve off before taking it to get a VIP; the pony was on an airliner. I looked inside the tank and verified that there were no FOD or other issues before corking it and then used the transfill whip to pressurize it.

When I went to pick-up the bottle, they charged me for a tumble and stated that the bottle had a small spot of corrosion under the top of the bottle where the hydro stamps are. Today, I uncorked it as I will be travelling on an airliner again. It looks exactly as it did when I took the bottle in for a VIS. It is an aluminum tank. Except for a slight haze under the crown, it is spotless.

I would have been OK with the charge had I been called and asked permission to tumble the bottle; but I did not get a call.

Marketing and customer service is not a priority for many dive shops. An LDS needs to make money; but they need to communicate stuff and be reasonable.

Your tanks were just hydroed in November 2019. They had new VIP stickers. The LDS should have uncorked the tanks, looked inside real quick and then filled the stupid tanks.

cheers,
markm

Had to go to a friends event in Deleware, decided to call a few shops along the way. One not only agreed to fill but when I got there he popped the valves off and showed me inside. He said he would honor the vip but just needed to cover his butt for the liability and make sure nothing was in them. Took ~ 3 min/tank. Charged $25 for everything ($12/fill, little steep, but it's what it is in my area), was very understanding about my situation.

Then to top it off, guess what we talked about?? You'll never believe it, but we actually talked about diving. Where we've been, what dives we've been on. Not what class I need, what gear should I buy next. He never offered to sell one thing outside of the fill....really good experience. He seemed more excited about diving than running the store.

That was my first impression, and it was good. Time will tell, but for now I think I found my new dive shop. It's 40 min farther one way than the other dive shop, but it was just worth it...

 

[markmud]

Had to go to a friends event in Deleware, decided to call a few shops along the way. One not only agreed to fill but when I got there he popped the valves off and showed me inside. He said he would honor the vip but just needed to cover his butt for the liability and make sure nothing was in them. Took ~ 3 min/tank. Charged $25 for everything ($12/fill, little steep, but it's what it is in my area), was very understanding about my situation.

Then to top it off, guess what we talked about?? You'll never believe it, but we actually talked about diving. Where we've been, what dives we've been on. Not what class I need, what gear should I buy next. He never offered to sell one thing outside of the fill....really good experience. He seemed more excited about diving than running the store.

That was my first impression, and it was good. Time will tell, but for now I think I found my new dive shop. It's 40 min farther one way than the other dive shop, but it was just worth it...

Hi propane,

I was involved in sales. We were taught to sell ourselves first, then sell the product. Build a repour with the customer based on common ground and mutual respect. Prove that you are sincere and interested in the others needs and, in this case, your lifestyle and hobbies. The products sell themselves from that point.

His interest in your life is a sincere action to enjoy your experiences and hopefully, for him, make a lifetime customer. My LDS in Sacramento has done that to me--I am fiercely loyal to Dolphin Scuba. I am hoping to find an LDS where I live now that is dynamic and sincere.


markm

 

[mmerriman]

No I did not. I thought I said that in that first post. Why?

it wasn't clear in the first post. The shop that did the hydro should VIP it and fill it, unless they were performing the hydro for a different shop. frankly I'd go there and ask them to rectify

 

[Diving Dubai]

it wasn't clear in the first post. The shop that did the hydro should VIP it and fill it, unless they were performing the hydro for a different shop. frankly I'd go there and ask them to rectify

I wouldn't go that far (it being filled) but I'd expect it to have 20bar in it to keep the tank at a positive pressure

 

[Bob DBF]

it wasn't clear in the first post. The shop that did the hydro should VIP it and fill it, unless they were performing the hydro for a different shop. frankly I'd go there and ask them to rectify

If the seller took them to a shop. I go directly to a hydro outfit, but they no longer have a compressor to fill scuba tanks. So l could get tanks hydroed and VIPed, but not filled. I would put some pressure in them through a whip if I were selling them, but I normally buy tanks, not sell them.

When the hydro shop started charging for VIP stickers and not filling, I started getting the VIP and fill from my LDS.

I believe the problem is with a shop that sees a new hydro and viz on a tank, and won't open it up to insure nothing is going on after the viz, then let the diver know a tank should always have positive pressure, then fill the tank. And, as I remember, the OP dropped them off and the VIP was done without notification or authorization when a valid sticker was in place.



Bob

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Thanks all. I never went to the LDS that did the hydro / vip. I bought the tanks from CL with the promise they would be hydro / vip. Silly me thought that would / should include air. At 7:00pm 2.25 hours away to pick them up I found out they did not get a fill. I still believe they should of had positive pressure, but it's in the past and I've learned along the way.

It's my first set of 100cf steel tanks, and since they're still in my living room I get a giddy feeling every time I look at them (I'm actually starting to get under my wife's skin with how many times I've mentioned them. It was a hassle, but well worth it in the end. It was a great deal and I'm happy (even if I had to jump through some hoops).

Thanks to everyone for their knowledge and expertise!

They really are nice. Born in 2014, k valves, fresh hydro / vip / and now fill! Damage was $350 (not including driving).

 

[CharlieOneFour]

Good day all, not coming to complain, hoping to learn.

I just bought a used set of HP100's for a pretty good deal. Drove up and got them. The shop the seller took them to did a fresh hydro / vis, but did not fill the tanks? So now I'm thinking, no big deal, I'll get them filled. I got my wife to take them to my LDS today. He say's he needs to do a vis because they're empty.....ok how much. $20 for the vis (even though it's clear as day it was just done 2 days ago) and another $12 for the fill.

$32/tank.....does that seem reasonable? A total of $64 for 2 freshly hydro'd tanks?

I know it's an expensive hobby, but dang.....maybe I'm just cheap?

I declined to have it done.

He's following dive industry "standards". Cylinders that have been emptied should be re-vis'd, but most shops don't if you can explain why they're empty. Didn't he put a new VIP decal on it? If you just had it VIP'd and told him that he might have accepted that excuse. But at the end of the day it falls under the "my compressor, my rules" logic.

I've never had a shop require a new VIP with an empty cylinder, althought I've had a few ask why the cylinder was empty. I'm pretty sure "Just bought it from some guy on the Internet" might "require" a new VIP under dive shop policy. Normally the "I just drained all the air out in the parking lot so you could fill it" works.

 

[CharlieOneFour]

Ok, going under that definition is it normal to crack the valve before you have put a fill whip on it? I haven't ever seen it done but maybe that is because it wasn't a freshly hydro'd tank.

No need. When I put the whip on and open your valve, the pressure reads on the fill station console gauge. If the gauge reads "0" your cylinder is empty.

 

[CharlieOneFour]

How did the shop that inspected them test for leaks if not by filling them?

They didn't. The VIP was complete without filling the cylinder.