Did I get ripped off on service?

[Dive Right In Scuba]

Soooooooooooooooooo......thanks for not mentioning us by name, but that's not necessary. We own everything we do, good or bad. Hence, why I'm posting.

Yes, that reg takes a full 2oz of Christolube.
Yes, the manufacturer ONLY recommends Christolube. They used to also say Tribolube, but they have discontinued that and now only say Christolube is the choice for their regs.
As an Authorized Service Center of Atomic, we follow those rules.

As for the price of the Christolube, OUCH....I already looked into it, and adjusted the price for the future. It looks like that price was set a few years back, and never updated for some reason. Regardless of what you think, we don't intentionally gouge people on pricing. We have THOUSANDS of products that get updated every few months, and year. To be honest, reg servicing has never gotten done because it's a lower priority. The bonus for everyone is most service kit prices have gone up, not down...and they benefit. In this case, it went down, and wasn't updated. Tridacna, I would think you would know us a little better than to assume such a thing as gouging. $hit happens, and a price wasn't update for awhile...on accident, no malicious intent. I'm glad this thread came to life, but would have preferred a phone call or something to spare you some of the stress of these 5 pages and being able to have resolved it along time ago.

Our shop is a fast growing one, and has been over the last 9 years since we opened. We WILL have our lights on for a long time to come. One of the reasons is our staff. I empower my employees to make decisions and think on their own. They too, are always learning and growing. One lesson my tech will take away, is instead of assuming the computer is right, he should question and come to me on something that causes tension with a customer. Mistakes happen, and we get stronger from making them and learning, not hiding from them.

We have the Our World Underwater Scuba show this weekend, and are teaching a few classes there as well as having our 4 booths. Next week I'm going to have Joe go thru and find all the Atomic customers that were mischarged and issue them a credit for the accidental overcharge that was our error. Tridacna, if you change your mind, give me a shout thru email and we will get it figured out. I'm really sorry that from what you know of me and my business, that you didn't get in touch with me first and instead went off the other end of the spectrum and thought we would ever intentionally gouge someone. Regardless, I will get you your money back....whether you come back to us or not.

 

[tridacna]

I never mentioned your name because I have had nothing but excellent service from you in the past. I was questioning the use of 2oz of Christolube in the reg more than anything else. I called the tech immediately upon receiving my bill. Let's just say that his response did not match yours in terms of customer service.

I will not have any issue dealing with you in the future but I think that I'd prefer to get some kind of estimate for service before sending in a reg set. My bad for not doing the $20 quote request when I sent it in.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

I never mentioned your name because I have had nothing but excellent service from you in the past. I was questioning the use of 2oz of Christolube in the reg more than anything else. I called the tech immediately upon receiving my bill. Let's just say that his response did not match yours in terms of customer service.

I will not have any issue dealing with you in the future but I think that I'd prefer to get some kind of estimate for service before sending in a reg set. My bad for not doing the $20 quote request when I sent it in.

Oh, sorry...yes, it needs 2OZ of christolube. I was responding to the title of getting ripped off and the $50 charge. I too thought we had always giving you great service, and was shocked with the posts about telling people to stay away, and that our lights not be on for long. Yes, you didn't mention our name, which is nice...but I wanted to come here and address it as I like to take care of issues that pop up. I know Joe offered you a credit when you first talked to him...what else was not good about his response? I understand it should have been refunded and I should have been brought into it, but he was trying to help you.

I agree, it doesn't match the service you were given in the past, and steps were already implemented last night when I saw this post. We move fast when mistakes happen so we don't make them again. I have already talked with Joe, and we are going to work towards a better response in situations like this or a second opinion which should have happened. I also already corrected the price to where it should have been, and we will be going back to get people a credit for the overcharge.

Again, thanks for posting this. Regardless of where or how, we love feedback and pay alot of money to try and get it. We only know something is wrong if we are told....we are NOT bad people, we will NEVER try to rip you off, and we only have your diving needs at the front of our thoughts.

 

[ams511]

Mike, the easiest way to avoid this in the future is to put a blurb on your website that packing a regulator with Christolube would incur an additional charge and post what that charge is. Besides the cost of the lube your tech also needs to spend extra time removing the old lube before dropping the parts in the ultrasonic cleaner and then adding the new lube. As someone mentioned Atomic charges $40 to do it. Personally, I think it was a bit unreasonable of the OP to expect a tech to do all this for the standard service charge of $20-$25. I realize your website says "plus parts" but some people may not consider Christolube as a "part".

 

[buddhasummer]

Prior to self servicing I'd been stung a few times, I learnt pretty quickly to ask exactly what was involved and what it was going to cost and always asked to be called if the price for what ever reason was going to be different "any" different from what was quoted. I hate surprises.

---------- Post added February 27th, 2015 at 06:00 PM ----------

I think both the shop and the customer have a responsibility, the customer to ensure that they ask questions and the shop to ensure they are clear about any possible extra charges that might be incurred. Often it's not the increase in price over the quote that causes the friction but the surprise.

 

[NC Air Hog]

As a Dive Shop / Competitor with the guys and gals over at Dive Right In SCUBA, I would like to say that they are some of the best folks to work with. Any time I have needed a product for a customer that I do not sell, they always come through for me. I look forward to continuing our shop-to-shop relationship for many years. While it is impossible to make 100% of your customer base happy at all times, I know that it is something that these guys strive for.