This is probably going to be a lengthy post. I apologize, so please
bear with me. It is my hope though my tribulation that someone else
may
be spared from the aggravation and financial loss that I have incurred.
I was seeking to order a drysuit. Very large investment, my first
drysuit ever. Because of that I was counting on the dive shop's
expertise on this matter. I knew I wanted a Bare ATR HD. A friend found
a place in Canada who is an authorized Bare dealer. I called them and
they could beat US prices by almost $1000 because of the healthy
exchange rate we currently enjoy between Canada and the USA.
I called Dan's Dive Shop in Canada to place my order. The requested
that
I take quite a few measurements of my size. I told them the truth that
I'm slightly shorter than an average person and heavier in body weight.
Most divers would imagine that I don't fit the dimensions for a stock
suit - myself included.
I was told by a salesman at Dan's that Bare offers a semi-custom suit,
meaning that he would order me a stock suit but Bare that would shorten
the arms and legs to fit my needs. I also ordered the suit with a
Halcyon P valve, and the Diving Concepts dry gloves with rings (or so I
thought). They installed the P valve for me, and the dry gloves. When
the suit arrived I realized that the gloves appear to be a 'bootleg'
version of the Diving Concept gloves. I was, however charged $160 US
for
them!
After 7 weeks I finally received the drysuit. When I tried it on it was
HUGE, to say the least. But I figured that since I didn't have the
heavy
undies on under it, that it should fit once I did. Well, after putting
on the undies and then the suit it was still way too big on me. The
legs
were WAY too long, and so were the arms. You can imagine my
disappointment after waiting for 7 weeks and spending $1400.
I called Dan's and spoke to Dan (the owner of the shop). He advised me
not to worry. He told me to try the suit and that he was sure it would
fit me fine while diving with no problems. In addition, the vulcanized
boots are quite big on me even with heavy fleece socks.
I signed up for a dry suit course. When I went to the course, the
instructor had me don the suit. He was amazed at how ill fitting it was
on me. He told me I needed at least 4-6 inches taken up in the legs. He
also told me that I needed at least an inch if not more taken up in the
arms.
As you can well imagine I became more distressed after hearing this -
which is what I already suspected. My pool session with the instructor
didn't go to well either. The legs were SO long that my feet weren't
even in the boots. As I tried to swim the overly long legs extended and
my feet were (for all intent and purposes) out of the boots! I was
barely finning with my toes.
I had made plans to attend the April 12/13 Dutch Springs dive and meet
everyone form this message board but had to cancel this because of the
suit not fitting me correctly. Again, I called Dan's - this time the
day
after my drysuit class. I spoke to a sales associate (again) who was
very nonchalant about my ordeal. I felt he wasn't being very attentive
to my dilemma and the fact that I had just spent $1400 on a suit that
didn't fit correctly!
He informed me he was going to contact BARE directly and get either get
back to me on Friday or Saturday. Today is Sunday and I have not
received a call from them about my problem.
I took it upon myself to call Bare and inquire about my drysuit and was
pretty much told by a customer rep that there was nothing more that
could be done about my fitting problem. She then pulled the order
placed
by Dan's Dive Shop, and informed me that they ordered me a 'stock
sized'
suit. What is so upsetting to me is that they charged me (and informed
me) a 'adder' fee in lieu of the fact that I was getting a semi-custom
drysuit.
I was annoyed with her seemingly lack of competence after she informed
me that the only way they MIGHT be able to shorten the legs was to add
soft socks and trek boots. She informed me that I would have to PAY an
additional $160 for this, and was not guaranteed this would help. I
might mention at this time that my original drysuit was ordered with
vulcanized boots. So, if I digested this properly this would mean that
I would lose my vulcanized boots ( which I wanted and still want), pay
and ADDITIONAL $160 fee, purchase trek boots for an error that wasn't
mine!
I requested to speak to the manager about my problem. I did and he told
me that the drysuit legs were shorted by 2 inches when the suit was
made. By this time I measured the inseam myself. I then asked him the
inseam length before they shortened them and he told me 34 inches. When
I measured them I came up with 36 inches. He then told me that I must
have measured them wrong. Could I be THAT poor with a tape measure that
I could have come up with this difference? Maybe, but I don't think
so.
The manager then asked me where I live. I told him southern New York.
He
asked me why didn't I go to a local Bare dealer for my suit, and I told
him because of the big price difference. The way he spoke to me it was
clear he was implying "this is what you get when you order something
like this by phone or via online." He then told me that he had spoken
to
an associate at Dan's shop that this gentleman SUPPOSEDLY advised me to
have a custom suit made. That's just not accurate and indeed untrue. It
was simply never offered nor mentioned. With the money I had saved in
purchasing it from Canada vs. NY I would have been an idiot NOT to
order
a full custom suit for an additional $200 US. I was also told by the
owner that Bare DOES NOT offer custom suits. I relayed all of this to
the manager at Bare. He told me that they should have known better.
I asked him what was gonna be done to accommodate me and he sounded
like
he couldn't be bothered as well. It's pretty disappointing that Dan's
(an authorized Bare dealer) and a direct spokesperson for Bare
basically
are not will to do anything for me to remedy this situation.
The manager at Bare told me he left Dan's a message for them to contact
me. This was Friday night. They were open all day yesterday and I never
received a call. He told me I will be compensated and my suit would be
fixed, but he's trying to dump the responsibility on Dan's for the
error.
I will be calling Bare AGAIN tomorrow to see how much more of a run
around I get with this and how much longer it will be before I am able
to use my drysuit.
I'm seriously considering using a firm at www.drysuitrepair.com to
repair the suit, at MY expense. When I called them I spoke to Mark at
drysuitrepair.com and explained my ordeal to him he informed me they
could shorten the arm, legs, and save my Bare leg gators with ABSOLUTLY
NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. How is it that they could shorten the legs and
the manufacturer can't, I wonder?
I will report additionally on this saga as soon as I speak to Bare
again
on Monday 4/14.
Hopefully my diving friends on this message board can be saved for the
hassle, aggravation and loss that I have endured.
__________________
bear with me. It is my hope though my tribulation that someone else
may
be spared from the aggravation and financial loss that I have incurred.
I was seeking to order a drysuit. Very large investment, my first
drysuit ever. Because of that I was counting on the dive shop's
expertise on this matter. I knew I wanted a Bare ATR HD. A friend found
a place in Canada who is an authorized Bare dealer. I called them and
they could beat US prices by almost $1000 because of the healthy
exchange rate we currently enjoy between Canada and the USA.
I called Dan's Dive Shop in Canada to place my order. The requested
that
I take quite a few measurements of my size. I told them the truth that
I'm slightly shorter than an average person and heavier in body weight.
Most divers would imagine that I don't fit the dimensions for a stock
suit - myself included.
I was told by a salesman at Dan's that Bare offers a semi-custom suit,
meaning that he would order me a stock suit but Bare that would shorten
the arms and legs to fit my needs. I also ordered the suit with a
Halcyon P valve, and the Diving Concepts dry gloves with rings (or so I
thought). They installed the P valve for me, and the dry gloves. When
the suit arrived I realized that the gloves appear to be a 'bootleg'
version of the Diving Concept gloves. I was, however charged $160 US
for
them!
After 7 weeks I finally received the drysuit. When I tried it on it was
HUGE, to say the least. But I figured that since I didn't have the
heavy
undies on under it, that it should fit once I did. Well, after putting
on the undies and then the suit it was still way too big on me. The
legs
were WAY too long, and so were the arms. You can imagine my
disappointment after waiting for 7 weeks and spending $1400.
I called Dan's and spoke to Dan (the owner of the shop). He advised me
not to worry. He told me to try the suit and that he was sure it would
fit me fine while diving with no problems. In addition, the vulcanized
boots are quite big on me even with heavy fleece socks.
I signed up for a dry suit course. When I went to the course, the
instructor had me don the suit. He was amazed at how ill fitting it was
on me. He told me I needed at least 4-6 inches taken up in the legs. He
also told me that I needed at least an inch if not more taken up in the
arms.
As you can well imagine I became more distressed after hearing this -
which is what I already suspected. My pool session with the instructor
didn't go to well either. The legs were SO long that my feet weren't
even in the boots. As I tried to swim the overly long legs extended and
my feet were (for all intent and purposes) out of the boots! I was
barely finning with my toes.
I had made plans to attend the April 12/13 Dutch Springs dive and meet
everyone form this message board but had to cancel this because of the
suit not fitting me correctly. Again, I called Dan's - this time the
day
after my drysuit class. I spoke to a sales associate (again) who was
very nonchalant about my ordeal. I felt he wasn't being very attentive
to my dilemma and the fact that I had just spent $1400 on a suit that
didn't fit correctly!
He informed me he was going to contact BARE directly and get either get
back to me on Friday or Saturday. Today is Sunday and I have not
received a call from them about my problem.
I took it upon myself to call Bare and inquire about my drysuit and was
pretty much told by a customer rep that there was nothing more that
could be done about my fitting problem. She then pulled the order
placed
by Dan's Dive Shop, and informed me that they ordered me a 'stock
sized'
suit. What is so upsetting to me is that they charged me (and informed
me) a 'adder' fee in lieu of the fact that I was getting a semi-custom
drysuit.
I was annoyed with her seemingly lack of competence after she informed
me that the only way they MIGHT be able to shorten the legs was to add
soft socks and trek boots. She informed me that I would have to PAY an
additional $160 for this, and was not guaranteed this would help. I
might mention at this time that my original drysuit was ordered with
vulcanized boots. So, if I digested this properly this would mean that
I would lose my vulcanized boots ( which I wanted and still want), pay
and ADDITIONAL $160 fee, purchase trek boots for an error that wasn't
mine!
I requested to speak to the manager about my problem. I did and he told
me that the drysuit legs were shorted by 2 inches when the suit was
made. By this time I measured the inseam myself. I then asked him the
inseam length before they shortened them and he told me 34 inches. When
I measured them I came up with 36 inches. He then told me that I must
have measured them wrong. Could I be THAT poor with a tape measure that
I could have come up with this difference? Maybe, but I don't think
so.
The manager then asked me where I live. I told him southern New York.
He
asked me why didn't I go to a local Bare dealer for my suit, and I told
him because of the big price difference. The way he spoke to me it was
clear he was implying "this is what you get when you order something
like this by phone or via online." He then told me that he had spoken
to
an associate at Dan's shop that this gentleman SUPPOSEDLY advised me to
have a custom suit made. That's just not accurate and indeed untrue. It
was simply never offered nor mentioned. With the money I had saved in
purchasing it from Canada vs. NY I would have been an idiot NOT to
order
a full custom suit for an additional $200 US. I was also told by the
owner that Bare DOES NOT offer custom suits. I relayed all of this to
the manager at Bare. He told me that they should have known better.
I asked him what was gonna be done to accommodate me and he sounded
like
he couldn't be bothered as well. It's pretty disappointing that Dan's
(an authorized Bare dealer) and a direct spokesperson for Bare
basically
are not will to do anything for me to remedy this situation.
The manager at Bare told me he left Dan's a message for them to contact
me. This was Friday night. They were open all day yesterday and I never
received a call. He told me I will be compensated and my suit would be
fixed, but he's trying to dump the responsibility on Dan's for the
error.
I will be calling Bare AGAIN tomorrow to see how much more of a run
around I get with this and how much longer it will be before I am able
to use my drysuit.
I'm seriously considering using a firm at www.drysuitrepair.com to
repair the suit, at MY expense. When I called them I spoke to Mark at
drysuitrepair.com and explained my ordeal to him he informed me they
could shorten the arm, legs, and save my Bare leg gators with ABSOLUTLY
NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. How is it that they could shorten the legs and
the manufacturer can't, I wonder?
I will report additionally on this saga as soon as I speak to Bare
again
on Monday 4/14.
Hopefully my diving friends on this message board can be saved for the
hassle, aggravation and loss that I have endured.
__________________
