Posted by tleemay@diver.net on July 22, 2000 at 23:06:22:
In Reply to: Re: Discount Brain Surgery posted by Jim info@diversdiscount.com on July 22, 2000 at 12:06:27:
Since you aired this in public as a retailer responding
to what you obviously feel is a slighted complaint, I
shall respond in kind.
I must preface this in that I have only ever dealt
with the DDS at Universal City.
First of all Jim, you and I have met. Once at DEMA
in Las Vegas in January and once at SCUBA-2000 in June
with Dale Scheckler within arms length - both times.
In fact we talked twice during SCUBA-2000, once on
the floor and once at Casino Night. I have had
discussions with Melinda many times concerning visitng
Japaneese divers wanting to dive CA on the QT.
Melinda and I have had lengthy discussions on ironing
out their particular equipment demands and purchases.
Run that and my e-mail addres by Melinda and see
who salutes.
As far as my complaints concerning Ocean Master's
clear framed "moustache mask", ask the former
manager of the Universal store. Bill will remember
me and my problems with that mask. By his own
admission at that time, the Ocean Master mask line
was inferrior compare to the Apollo line - or was that
just a sales line he fed me to sell the Apollow mask?
Ask Bill (and check you repair records) as to my old
7mm wetsuit I purchased from DDS was returned for
"warranty work" twice in 30 days and only 18 dives
for stitching unraveling.
And the mask issue was only one a few returns for warrenty
repair with DDS. There have been a two wetsuits
that came unravelled, that series of masks that
kept cracking (Bill wrote it off as a bad plastic
production run - or was he lying to me?), one
Apollo mask light that broke (thank God for Apollo's
over the counter guarantee - one of the reasons I settled
on the Apollo line), one Oceanic Alpha regulator/
octo that wouldn hold a yearly tune for more than
six months at a time (perhaps the only un-eventful
purcahse from DDS). I did buy an Apollo A-107
regulator from DDS that did do reasonably well for
about a year and a half before I decided it wasn't
going to breathe dry any more even after a ceritified re-building by the
DDS's repair facility - and I mean moisture well beyond the mositure wick
capabilities in the A-107's first stage. I had since
sold the reg in the Recycler.
There was the Ocean Quest regulator set my ex purchased
that wouldn't hold a HP seat for longer than 90 days
at a time, and there was the original Oceam Master Pro
BC that had a problem with the velcro separating from
the cumberbund. There was the Parkway polar fleece
skin I bouth from DDS that kept popping zipper, and it wasn't
even a tight zip. After sending it one to the DDS repair
facility, I finally had Sundance Apparel in Van Nuys sew a
different, more beefy zipper into the suit. Granted this
zipper problem may have been inheirent to the Parkway line,
but it took some one other than DDS to make it right.
These were all repairs that were sent through the Universal
store for repair. I am sure you can track these repairs.
By your former manager Bill's own words in paraphrse; I
dive much more often that the typical customer at DDS.
Does that make me special, Hell no - but that does make
me demanding of the gear I purchase and from whom I
purchase it from. To date DDS has not met the demand.
DDS has not been able to meet my requirements for quality
dive gear, nor my ex-wife's who only dives 3 trips
a year. Her particular suit had come un-stitched,
her Ocean Quest BC had to be sent back to the repair
facility after one trip to Cozumel and two Catalina boat
dives for a leaky inflator, leaky bottom dump valve and
cumberbund stitching that came unravelled - all on a
single repair ticket. Check you records or check with
Bill and the current manager of the Universal store.
Bill suspected it was the way I was caring for the
equipment inbetween dives - sorry, ask anyone else on
these boards or scuba lists, I am meticulous in
maintaining my gear. I have gear right now that
has over 2000 dives on it - it is perfect shape, no
tears, no separating velcro straps, no leaky regulators,
no unravelling wetsuits.
The bottom line is that I had these problems for the most
part with the Ocean Quest and Ocean Maser lines.
If you are telling me, and the others who read
this board things have changedm in regards to the
gear sold and service quality - including warranty work -
at DDS - well, then convince us in another way other
than trying to mitigate my complaints in public,
that's bad business form.
And as far as only instructors being the sales force
at DDS, ask Hal at the Universal shop why a 1.4 PPo2
is safer than a 1.6. You will probably get the same
inane "why would you want to dive a PPo2 of 1.4" answer
I received a year ago.