SNaslund
Registered
I have not been a member her efor very long but I have noticed the long running debate on internet vs LDS purchasing. I thought maybe I could add something since I am a fairly new diver and have formed some definite opinions on this.
1. During open water training, our class was provided with the equipment for the open water portion of the class. The BC I was given had a gash through the outer covering exposing the bladder. When I asked for another one, I was told that it was fine. Not knowing any better I accepted this advice. During the training, I had to stuff the bladder back into the BC several times and during my third dive the power inflator became completely disassembled. Luckily I remembered the training I was given and disconnected the inflator hose and completed the dive using oral inflation. Other students experienced free flows and had regulators with broken grills. The instructors (who by the way were fantastic and redeemed the entire experience) agreed that the rental equipment was pretty shabby. No more rental gear from this LDS for me.
2. On the advice of my instructor (did I mention they were great), I decided to purchase my own equipment. After much studying here and talking to people I bought a BCD from my LDS. On their specific advice regarding weighting, I was given a set of soft weights for the BCD. Imagine my surprise when reading the BCDs manual at home I found that the manufacturer does NOT recommend soft weights for the BCD since they can interfere with the ditching mechanism. I returned the soft weight and was told that the manufacturer does not know what they are talking about. Boy that was a real confidence builder. I called the manufacturer and they very patiently explain that the reason they don't like soft weights is that they can settle in the pockets and bulge at the bottom making the weight harder to ditch. I am an engineer so this made a lot of sense to me. Seems to me that the LDS could take two minutes to read the instructions for the equipment they sell.
3. Bought a Suunto D9 computer (I know its kind of over the top for a noob but I can afford it and I like the computer a lot) from the LDS. I went to the Aqua Lung web site to get an electronic copy of the manual (the paper one is a bit small to read), I find out that the D9 I had was a early model which was recalled over a year ago. I called Aqua Lung and they said to verify the software version since the LDS should have returned it for a software upgrade when they got the recall notice. Sure enough, the LDS never did anything about the recall and I am going to have to send it in for service. Sending it in does not bother me. What bothers me is that the LDS received a manufacturers recall directly affecting safety and did not check their stock to see if it was affected. This is a potentially life threatening issue. Its also not nice to sell a computer that has to be returned for battery replacement that has been sitting on the shelf for over a year. So this brand new, top of the line computer, needs a software change and a battery replacement before use.
4. Being tired of my LDS, I went to another LDS and bought a dive light. It was the highly rated UK Light Cannon 100. Upon getting it home, I was surprised to see everything just kind of jumbled up in the box. Also, batteries were already in the light, hmmm. I read the instruction (again the engineer in me shows up) and find that the lock for the switch is broken and the light can easily be bumped from on to off or vice versa. I am going to return this one today. So here we have equipment that was obviously returned by one customer, sold to another customer, and still defective. Again I am concerned that this light is equipment that some is counting on and their safety could be affected if it is not working correctly.
5. Now I was looking for one of those safety sausages (I dive in a lake with quite some boat traffic). I read about the Aqua Lung Surface Observation Signal which is a type of safety sausage that attaches to a BCD dump valve (by the way, it works great). I wanted to buy one of these so I contacted the two dive centers above and a third and received pretty much the same answer. "What's that ?" or "I never heard of that". Well, all of these LDS are authorized Aqua Lung dealers and all had the nice glossy brochure from Aqua Lung that clearly pictures this product. Not one of these LDSs cared enough to look it up or offer to order it. I contacted ScubaToys and got one within a couple of days with no muss or fuss. Thank you ScubaToys. Hey, LDS owners, if you are a dealer for a manufacturer, crack a catalog once in a while and see what they offer. Pretty bad when a noob knows whats available more than you do. If your customer wants something you don't have offer to order it or they will go to someone who will and skip the middle man next time.
I think its about time that the LDS owners stop complaining about customers who don't buy from them and find out why. We do not owe you anything, you owe us. WE are the customer. I absolutely prefer to buy from an LDS since I like to browse and see what I am getting, but I can't do this when I can't trust you. You are not selling donuts, you are selling life support equipment. I think a little more professionalism is in order here.
Sorry for ranting so much.
1. During open water training, our class was provided with the equipment for the open water portion of the class. The BC I was given had a gash through the outer covering exposing the bladder. When I asked for another one, I was told that it was fine. Not knowing any better I accepted this advice. During the training, I had to stuff the bladder back into the BC several times and during my third dive the power inflator became completely disassembled. Luckily I remembered the training I was given and disconnected the inflator hose and completed the dive using oral inflation. Other students experienced free flows and had regulators with broken grills. The instructors (who by the way were fantastic and redeemed the entire experience) agreed that the rental equipment was pretty shabby. No more rental gear from this LDS for me.
2. On the advice of my instructor (did I mention they were great), I decided to purchase my own equipment. After much studying here and talking to people I bought a BCD from my LDS. On their specific advice regarding weighting, I was given a set of soft weights for the BCD. Imagine my surprise when reading the BCDs manual at home I found that the manufacturer does NOT recommend soft weights for the BCD since they can interfere with the ditching mechanism. I returned the soft weight and was told that the manufacturer does not know what they are talking about. Boy that was a real confidence builder. I called the manufacturer and they very patiently explain that the reason they don't like soft weights is that they can settle in the pockets and bulge at the bottom making the weight harder to ditch. I am an engineer so this made a lot of sense to me. Seems to me that the LDS could take two minutes to read the instructions for the equipment they sell.
3. Bought a Suunto D9 computer (I know its kind of over the top for a noob but I can afford it and I like the computer a lot) from the LDS. I went to the Aqua Lung web site to get an electronic copy of the manual (the paper one is a bit small to read), I find out that the D9 I had was a early model which was recalled over a year ago. I called Aqua Lung and they said to verify the software version since the LDS should have returned it for a software upgrade when they got the recall notice. Sure enough, the LDS never did anything about the recall and I am going to have to send it in for service. Sending it in does not bother me. What bothers me is that the LDS received a manufacturers recall directly affecting safety and did not check their stock to see if it was affected. This is a potentially life threatening issue. Its also not nice to sell a computer that has to be returned for battery replacement that has been sitting on the shelf for over a year. So this brand new, top of the line computer, needs a software change and a battery replacement before use.
4. Being tired of my LDS, I went to another LDS and bought a dive light. It was the highly rated UK Light Cannon 100. Upon getting it home, I was surprised to see everything just kind of jumbled up in the box. Also, batteries were already in the light, hmmm. I read the instruction (again the engineer in me shows up) and find that the lock for the switch is broken and the light can easily be bumped from on to off or vice versa. I am going to return this one today. So here we have equipment that was obviously returned by one customer, sold to another customer, and still defective. Again I am concerned that this light is equipment that some is counting on and their safety could be affected if it is not working correctly.
5. Now I was looking for one of those safety sausages (I dive in a lake with quite some boat traffic). I read about the Aqua Lung Surface Observation Signal which is a type of safety sausage that attaches to a BCD dump valve (by the way, it works great). I wanted to buy one of these so I contacted the two dive centers above and a third and received pretty much the same answer. "What's that ?" or "I never heard of that". Well, all of these LDS are authorized Aqua Lung dealers and all had the nice glossy brochure from Aqua Lung that clearly pictures this product. Not one of these LDSs cared enough to look it up or offer to order it. I contacted ScubaToys and got one within a couple of days with no muss or fuss. Thank you ScubaToys. Hey, LDS owners, if you are a dealer for a manufacturer, crack a catalog once in a while and see what they offer. Pretty bad when a noob knows whats available more than you do. If your customer wants something you don't have offer to order it or they will go to someone who will and skip the middle man next time.
I think its about time that the LDS owners stop complaining about customers who don't buy from them and find out why. We do not owe you anything, you owe us. WE are the customer. I absolutely prefer to buy from an LDS since I like to browse and see what I am getting, but I can't do this when I can't trust you. You are not selling donuts, you are selling life support equipment. I think a little more professionalism is in order here.
Sorry for ranting so much.
