Hi OP,
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...