DSS Torus 26 with Halcyon SS backplate?

[deepstops]

Bob,

I sure as hell don't need someone telling me I'm clueless because I wanted a wing with ~30 lbs. of lift instead of ~18 lbs. for warm water diving. I absolutely understand 18 lbs. is more than enough to offset the weight of the gas breathed during the dive but when it's 4-6' seas, I want that extra lift to get my head a little further out the water.

Lots of companies make decent, reasonably priced dive gear so arguing with or belittling a customer is inexcusable.

[greylion]

What I think you are interpreting as rudeness is Tobin's penchant for not wanting to answer a question incompletely, or provide misleading information for the sake of making a sale.

We had a conversation once about this, because I've heard similar complaints from people I have referred to DSS ... and in almost all cases it comes from fairly experienced divers who have their own ideas about what they want and are looking for a less complete answer than Tobin is willing to provide.

What you are interpreting as rudeness is not ... it's a sincere desire on Tobin's part to avoid selling you something that you might later decide was not what you were looking for. Yes, sometimes it costs him a sale. According to our conversation he's aware of that. He feels that, in the long run, losing a sale is better than selling something to someone who will end up with a case of buyer's remorse. That's his choice ... it's his business, and he sincerely feels that the information he provides is a service to his customers. There will always be those who feel it's too much information ... or that it's not addressing the question they asked in a way that's helpful.

I can understand that. But I don't see it as rude. I've known Tobin for about eight years now ... spent time on a liveaboard with him more than once ... and have never known him to be rude to anybody. If anything, I think at times he can be a little too helpful ... which annoys the crap out of some people. But the fact is he makes damn good quality gear, and puts a lot of effort into making sure that when someone purchases it they get what they were looking for.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I don't know him as well as you Bob, but my wife and I both have single tank set ups from him and he's been great with us, I hold him in high regard. I love the quality of his products and he's sent my wife a set of those rubber alignment nipples to her free of charge when I asked if he sold them so i could replace a lost one.

[NWGratefulDiver]

Bob,

I sure as hell don't need someone telling me I'm clueless because I wanted a wing with ~30 lbs. of lift instead of ~18 lbs. for warm water diving. I absolutely understand 18 lbs. is more than enough to offset the weight of the gas breathed during the dive but when it's 4-6' seas, I want that extra lift to get my head a little further out the water.

Lots of companies make decent, reasonably priced dive gear so arguing with or belittling a customer is inexcusable.

I highly doubt he told you that you were clueless ... I've never known Tobin to use terms like that when talking to prospective customers ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[tiki_bill]

I'm not surprised they were rude to you. They were the same to me so I decided to take my business elsewhere. They don't get my recommendations.

[scubafanatic]

Bob, I've seen both sides of the equation with respect to Tobin. He's the 1st vendor I've ever dealt with who wouldn't ship out an order without 'interviewing' the customer, he wouldn't ship my very 1st order until I'd called back for the 'interview'. (envision "Clash of the Titans"!) Actually, it wasn't that bad, an in depth discussion of why I wanted what I wanted, why I was doing things the way I was doing things, once satisfied I had a 'plan' (method to my madness) it was all good and my items were promptly shipped. I've not had any push-back on my subsequent DSS orders, I must now have a special code on my DSS 'file' saying I'm good to go! Tobin is a perfectionist/detail oriented...but so am I, so we can understand each other, and I don't let the fact that both of us are stubborn interfere with business. Being a perfectionist, I'm always looking for 'best in class' designs/products, and DSS is on my short list of scuba gear/component suppliers who has a clue and provides unique items unavailable anywhere else.

[scubafanatic]

Bob,I sure as hell don't need someone telling me I'm clueless because I wanted a wing with ~30 lbs. of lift instead of ~18 lbs. for warm water diving. I absolutely understand 18 lbs. is more than enough to offset the weight of the gas breathed during the dive but when it's 4-6' seas, I want that extra lift to get my head a little further out the water. Lots of companies make decent, reasonably priced dive gear so arguing with or belittling a customer is inexcusable.

Yeah, I had a discussion about why I preferred my Oxycheq EXTREME wings with him a long while back, basically I said I prefer 'overkill', do my own custom scuba gear designs/builds, and like 'MIL-SPEC' grade stuff, that's just how I roll, and I'm not changin' ! Like you, I dive 'larger than the bare minimum capacity' wings, to cover contingencies/Murphy's Law. (I'm VERY fond of the EXTREME 40# singles wing, as well as the EXTREME 42# dual wing.) BEST wings on the face of planet Earth!