Oceanic viper fins - A tale of broken fins and a confused customer

[Arabidopsis]

In late December, I bought myself a set of Oceanic Viper fins as a Christmas present. My local dive shop said these were great fins and I saw reviews online that made them look pretty good. When I purchased them, they both appeared to be in good condition to my untrained eye.

As I was using them they seemed okay, but one of them always felt a little flimsy. I only ended up using them in three confined water dives, and after the third dive I noticed something was definately wrong with one of the fins. To my dismay, I had a closer look and this is what I saw:



There was a clean break on the rails of the fin to the outside of the vents, and as a result I wasn't getting any rigidity in the fin body. Furthermore, the fin itself was weakened as a result, and you can see the white stress line that is partially visible in the center part of the fin.

My LDS refused to replace it. The owner claimed to have talked to Oceanic directly and they refused to replace it, but I don't believe him because he said that as soon as I showed him the fin (i.e. there is no way he could have called them). I contacted the Oceanic general support email address and got a prompt response from a Mark Lane who offered help, but when I sent a followup email I haven't heard from him since. I tried sending him notes a few more times to no avail. This whole support process started about a month ago, so I am getting a bit frustrated.

This fin was appropriately cared for and was not abused. I didn't even get the chance to take it to the ocean. I have heard great things about the durability of these fins, so I suspect I got a lemon somehow.

All I'm asking for is a warranty replacement. I am posting here because I am having no luck with the customer service email address. This surprises me greatly because I have heard great things about Oceanic's support of its products.

Thanks for any help that a rep could provide.

 

[Doug Krause]

Hi Arabidopsis - a replacement is certainly in order. Please call Mark or Ron directly at 800-435-3483, ext. 761

 

[Arabidopsis]

Hi Arabidopsis - a replacement is certainly in order. Please call Mark or Ron directly at 800-435-3483, ext. 761

Hi Doug

Thanks a lot for your quick response. Unfortunately when I call that number it says it's not in service in my area? I live in Burnaby, BC Canada.

Thanks

 

[Doug Krause]

Try 510-562-0500, ext. 761 or our friends at Oceanic Canada 403-235-5454

 

[Arabidopsis]

Thank you very much, I'll give you folks a call tomorrow morning

Cheers

 

[SCUBAdive5]

What SCUBA store do you deal with that would not replace your fins? I deal with IDC (International Dive Center) and it's really close to Burnaby. IDC has an awesome young staff and a great owner that treats his customers right. Prices are not the lowest but the service makes up for it.

Carl

 

[Arabidopsis]

Hi everyone

It's been a while since I posted this thread and I thought I would post a followup.

As I live in Canada, I called the Canadian support line posted here by Doug. I spoke to someone named Kevin who said that I would have to send the fins to Calgary at my own expense so that he could determine if they had been "stood on."

I sent the following email to Doug on April 15th, and have not yet received a response:

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Dear Mr. Krause

First of all I want to thank you for your help on ScubaBoard. I am the guy who posts under the nickname Arabidopsis on the forum and you helped me in this thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/oc...-fins-tale-broken-fins-confused-customer.html . You were very prompt and helped me get quickly into contact with the folks at Oceanic Canada.

Unfortunately I received service from a fellow named Kevin that I felt did not reflect that of a company that stands by its product. I got into contact with him today (April 15, 2009 at about 1:00 PM Vancouver time) and explained my situation that I outlined on Scubaboard and he said that if the fin was stood on that it would not be replaced under warranty. I said that I did not stand on the fins, and only used them in the pool three times. He said that he would defer to the owner of the dive shop that I bought the fins from (*Dive shop and owner name name omitted*), and since *owner* wouldn't replace it then Kevin couldn't replace it without physically inspecting the fin.

Here is where I took issue with it. Shipping even within Canada will be expensive for a pair of extra large viper fins. If I were to ship the fins to Calgary at my expense there is no guarantee of replacement, meaning I could just be out more money before all is said and done. What I don't understand, and what Kevin was not able to explain, is how it will be possible for him to determine whether the fin was actually stood on by me sending the fin. I can understand that from a business perspective Oceanic needs to be cautious about being scammed by customers, but I feel like this level of suspicion is excessive and a little silly. I happened to get a lemon, these things happen. It doesn't turn me off of Oceanic, but the treatment I am receiving as a customer both from my local dive shop and from Kevin certainly is turning me off of the products.

The reason I tried to deal with the Canadian branch is so that if we do ship a replacement we can avoid paying duty and other fees at the border. I am fine with paying to mail the broken fin in at my own cost if there can be some sort of assertion that a warranty replacement shipped NOT at my expense will follow it.

I am happy to send you more pictures and the copy of my receipt if need be.

Thanks for your help,
----------------------------------------------------------

I am surprised that I have heard nothing in return, but have decided to re-post this email on the forum here because that was what got a quick response last time.

I have twice been told in writing (once via email from Mark Lane, and once here on the forum) that a warranty replacement is possible, but each time when I try to actually get the replacement I am ignored or told something that is not really fair. I would be happy to send in the fin at my own expense if there was some assurance that I would be receiving a replacement.

I am starting to feel like this is a wholly unreasonable request, based on the response I have gotten both from the local dive shop and Oceanic.

Edit: I would also like to point out that if and when we do resolve this, I will post on the forum to let everyone know. I am not trying to put bad press out there for no reason, I just want to resolve the issue, and wish I could tell everyone that there is a happy ending.

 

[Arabidopsis]

What SCUBA store do you deal with that would not replace your fins? I deal with IDC (International Dive Center) and it's really close to Burnaby. IDC has an awesome young staff and a great owner that treats his customers right. Prices are not the lowest but the service makes up for it.

Carl

IDC is a great shop, as is Ocean Quest (where I ultimately purchased all my gear). I have received great service from Ocean Quest and would recommend them to anyone.

I feel like it would be unfair to post the name of the local dive shop, as I'm not sure that they have a representative on here to defend themselves.

 

[Doug Krause]

Sorry Arabidopsis - I did not receive your email - and have just found that Kevin is out of the office until May 5 - please PM me your shipping address. I apologize for all involved for the hassle. We'll get you a new pair of fins immediately.

 

[Arabidopsis]

Just an update for everyone; I PM'ed Doug with my shipping address. I'm sure this whole thing was just an unfortunate communication issue!

Thanks a lot for your help Doug.