I always get a laugh when a dealer will refuse to service a piece of equipment because it wasn't bought from them. I wonder how manufacturers would feel if they knew a dealer for their gear was refusing service because it wasn't bought in their store? It doesn't matter if I bought it online or at another shop. For all they know, I've recently moved to the area and my "LDS" might be on the other side of the country now. I'm not asking for a warranty repair. I'm asking to pay to have my gear serviced. Car dealerships don't care where you bought your car, they'll be happy to provide any service matter that's needed. Most will even handle warranty work as well without question.
<DIV></DIV>LDS's need to stop trying to intimdate people into buying gear in their store. Put less effort into intimidation and more effort into customer service and you'd see many more store's thriving and increasing their sales numbers.
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<DIV></DIV>We have a local store here that I went into when I was shopping for a drysuit. I asked what they had and was told that they only sell the "DUI TLS350 Signature (custom) suit." They said it was the best suit on the market and the "only way to go." They followed it up with "it'll probably run you around $3000 total." Well, I'm in the middle of planning and paying for my wedding, so I didn't have that much to spend on my suit. They didn't want to hear about my wants, needs or budget. Only what they prequalified EVERY drysuit shopping customer to need. I went home and called divetank.com. A couple of phone calls and $1050 later and I had a Bare XCD2 Pro drysuit with hood, gloves and underwear delivered to my house...complete with having the boots changed to the proper size for me. They were willing to take the time to talk to me to see what my diving needs were, what I was willing to spend and to guarantee that my suit would fit me. All told, it was far less painful then going to the shop. I went to another shop and signed up for a drysuit class and they were quite pleased to sell me the drysuit course. They never even asked where I got my suit. They only cared that I was willing to take the course through them. Now, I only go to that original LDS for Argon fills since the next closest shop for that is about 30-35 minutes away (and I do get my argon from them when going that way). Otherwise, I'd never step foot in their shop again.
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Shane</DIV>