Atomic Blade Fins - FAIL; Atomic Customer Sevice - FAIL

[Wookie]

I feel somewhat bad for the OP. He is a victim in a sea of folks who don't really care about his victimization. It was very popular only a few years back to be a victim, you could get lots of sympathy and gosh, you might even get an award from a jury, but as all good things must come to an end, many normal citizens are getting a little tired of the folks who are routinely victimized. They want the victims to <gasp> take personal responsibility for their actions.

Tell ya what I'll do for you. Here is the number for Atomic Aquatics Customer Service. 714-375-1433. I don't know who is there anymore, but tell whoever answers the phone your problem, and they will send you to the right place. I would refrain from telling them you bashed them on the internet, but you should do what you feel is right.

 

[Rockne]

In the time it took you to type that email you could have picked up the phone, called them, gotten transferred to the right department, spent two minutes on hold, and spoken to someone directly.

But that's not as much fun as bashing them online, I suppose.

Except that a) they (Atomic) told me to go to the LDS (I thought I had spelled that out, but perhaps I did not), and b) that has already happened (they have the fins) and I am still waiting.

---------- Post added May 5th, 2015 at 01:24 PM ----------

---------- Post added May 4th, 2015 at 07:07 PM ----------

Email is a crap shoot, and going to an LDS for anything not involving a tank fill strikes me as just begging for more hassle than necessary.

I agree with you completely, w/re to the hassle of the LDS. As mentioned elsewhere, though, it was ATOMIC that directed that course of action.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I agree with you completely, w/re to the hassle of the LDS. As mentioned elsewhere, though, it was ATOMIC that directed that course of action.

Yeeeaaahhh...in that case, I'm largely going to agree with your level of irate.

I sent the same Cobalt back to them three times, with the third being for warranty replacement after the computer imploded at 190'...I was always very happy with Atomic service because they didn't pull crap like that, let me deal with them directly, and were always getting stuff fixed and back to me very fast. If that's changing, then I expect their service/support reputation will last about as long as a pair of 'designed in magical expensive CA location, manufactured in China to cost-effective tolerances' fins.

 

[RJP]

Except that a) they (Atomic) told me to go to the LDS (I thought I had spelled that out, but perhaps I did not), and b) that has already happened (they have the fins) and I am still waiting.

---------- Post added May 5th, 2015 at 01:24 PM ----------



I agree with you completely, w/re to the hassle of the LDS. As mentioned elsewhere, though, it was ATOMIC that directed that course of action.

Not that it matters much... but did you return the fins to a different dive shop than where you bought them?

When I've had occasion to return a defective item - to the shop where I purchased it - they and the manufacturer have been only too happy to hand me a new item from store stock and then the mfr and the LDS work it out. I wouldn't expect my LDS to dip into their own inventory to make good on an exchange on a piece of gear I bought elsewhere.

Either way, I suggest you get a good 7mm wetsuit. With such thin skin you're gonna have a rough go of it in this hobby.

 

[ams511]

Yeeeaaahhh...in that case, I'm largely going to agree with your level of irate.

I sent the same Cobalt back to them three times, with the third being for warranty replacement after the computer imploded at 190'...I was always very happy with Atomic service because they didn't pull crap like that, let me deal with them directly, and were always getting stuff fixed and back to me very fast. If that's changing, then I expect their service/support reputation will last about as long as a pair of 'designed in magical expensive CA location, manufactured in China to cost-effective tolerances' fins.

Don't you think that sending a computer back three times is a bit excessive? Their service might be great but the quality of the product is suspect.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Don't you think that sending a computer back three times is a bit excessive? Their service might be great but the quality of the product is suspect.

Honestly, no, though I would not dispute that as a new product it was more likely to suffer failures than a more established, simpler, less useful computer like a Zoop. So I suppose it depends on what you mean by "suspect."

The first time was a tiny, tiny thread of sealant someone had left across the battery compartment o-ring that let it leak enough salt water over several dozen dives to kill the battery. Sloppy work and QC process, but it being well-handled by RonR and AA (and not showing up when I needed the computer) made me not care. The second time was over a year later, when one of the magnetic effect buttons ceased functioning correctly due to a known corrosion issue. Ill-considered design, but the only reason I needed to send it to AA rather than just having a new keypad overnighted to me was to let them do the recall check at the same time. I viewed it as 'I can have a great interface that's unlike the simpler ones used on other computers...but the design has minor bugs that are getting ironed out'...NBD to me, and I had a Petrel as well at this point.

The implosion I never got an answer about, so I can't say what conclusions I'd draw from the defect. What I got was a whole brand new in box Cobalt in exchange for a 2 year old Cobalt, and I promptly sold it for more than a second Petrel cost me. Am I done with the hosed AI Cobalt? Yes. Would I dive a wristmounted, non-AI Cobalt without hesitation? Yes--but like any computer, I'd not take it on a tech dive without at least one backup. And yeah, probably two backups because it's a Cobalt

 

[Rockne]

Either way, I suggest you get a good 7mm wetsuit. With such thin skin you're gonna have a rough go of it in this hobby.

The idiom "thin-skinned" applies to how people handle criticism, and has nothing to do with one's tolerance for a lack of quality. If you'll note, I haven't even responded to others' less-than-complimentary things said about me/my situation on this board. They don't know me and I don't know them, and that sort of anonymity lends itself to folks saying all kinds of things that they wouldn't say to someone in person. So perhaps you don't mean "thin-skinned", but mean "high-maintenance"? If so, I think I agree with you. I am high maintenance to the extent that when I pay a premium price for a premium product, I expect to have excellent quality and excellent customer service. Take this as an example:

I purchased an over/under sporting clays shotgun last week and received it yesterday . . . well, kind of. The seller (a very large gun shop in Minnesota) sent me the completely wrong gun. Bummed that I couldn't go play with my new toy though I was, I made a call first thing this morning to them. After a quick check of the documentation (I mean about 5 minutes total), I received a call back saying that the clerk with whom I had spoke wrote down the wrong sku number and said that they'll be shipping the correct gun out today with a prepaid return label for the other gun, and just asked that I bring the wrong gun back to the firearms dealer (can't ship firearms directly to an individual). In essence, they're drop shipping the gun. I made sure that they knew that I had the gun in my possession, and they were fine with that. I didn't bark at them because I'll have to pay another $35 transfer fee because a) they handled the matter so quickly in a way that was satisfactory to me, and b) because I saw how they handled the situation, I'm confident that they'll figure out a way to make it up to me on the next purchase.

Note that the seller didn't require me to "send any pictures" proving that they sent the wrong gun. They acted quickly and decisively. I'm confident that if there were no federal law requiring them to send guns to an FFL, they would have sent it to me directly and just asked me to send back the other gun. I call that "good" customer service, and Atomic could learn from that. It's not as good as if they would have either a) sent the correct order in the first place or b) sent me an upgraded gun, but it is still good. Also important is that they admitted their mistake and didn't even suggest that it was my fault because I could have prevented it by paying closer attention to the receipt they emailed me.

So, yes, I expect this kind of customer service and if that is high maintenance, then I am that. Otherwise, I couldn't care less about what people say about me as long as it's not a blatant lie. In other words, you can call me whatever names you want to call me - if it's subjective (an opinion), then by all means, say every negative thing you want to about me. As long as you don't say that I did something that I didn't, I'm going to let the rest of it slide even though I may disagree.

To sum it up: High Maintenance? Yes. Thin-skinned? No.

 

[Wookie]

Do you expect that, when you get the correct shotgun, if the firing pin should break through a manufacturers defect on the 20th box of shells (I easily shot 20-40 boxes of shells every Saturday when I was shooting competitively) that the shop (maybe they are also a smith) will offer to replace the gun, repair the gun, or refund you when you ask to return it?

 

[BoltSnap]

To sum it up: High Maintenance? Yes. Thin-skinned? No.

No, I don't think so, it is more like the third option, a spoiled cry baby. That is indeed you for sure.

 

[RJP]

No, I don't think so, it is more like the third option, a spoiled cry baby. That is indeed you for sure.