Aqua-Andy
Contributor
NO, we just don't like you and send you all the broken stuff
:mooner: Well we'll see how the new super duper DRIS light works for me.
3 months for a custom suit. HUH? Serioulsly!!!
- Thread starter Freezerbrn
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
:mooner: Well we'll see how the new super duper DRIS light works for me.
- Messages
- 17,688
- Reaction score
- 9,933
- Location
- Somewhere between here and there
- # of dives
- 2500 - 4999
Given today most gear will perform similarly, cheap pricing on most items can be found if you shop around enough but it's this type of continued customer service that is the ultimate decider for me. Chris FWIW I continued to be impressed with the way you conduct business. My next reg set will definitely be HOG, heck I might even sell one of my Apeks reg sets. Cheers.
USIA
Contributor
I don't think it's any great surprise, but USIA does manufacture custom suits for Edge/HOG. I don't think in our years working together anything like this has EVER happened. And Unfortunately, the customer did get the short end of the stick. But Edge/HOG had no liability in the matter. The problem was the LDS the suit was purchased from. Not only did he refuse to use the proper custom forms, he left out a bunch of stuff off the initial order, like the Replaceable Neck ring. Then he had the gall to tell us to add it for free AND include a set of Dry Gloves with it. 99 times out of 100 I would have done this no questions asked. But when the owner of the shop continued to call USIA and be rude to my employees, I refused to do anything to the suit free of charge. I really feel bad for Chris and his great company for this, and I feel even worse for the customer.
Edit to add:
And one of the factors that continued to delay the process of shipping the suit back to the customer was that the LDS TWICE provided incorrect addresses. TWICE this suit was sent back to us by UPS. And all this came out of our pocket.
Edit to add:
And one of the factors that continued to delay the process of shipping the suit back to the customer was that the LDS TWICE provided incorrect addresses. TWICE this suit was sent back to us by UPS. And all this came out of our pocket.
Last edited:
dv
Contributor
Just ordered an EDGE drysuit myself. Can't wait to try it out!
gcarter
Contributor
OP
Freezerbrn
Contributor
OK well I have read all the posts up to this point. I see that there is a fan base for Edge/Hog and USIA. I guess my situation is unique from what I see here. Blame no matter where it may lay, for me, I was just a new diver who saved all his penny's to but a custom suit. There is no stock size for a tall skinny diver with big feet. This is my first and only experience buying a custom suit. I have now heard all 3 sides as to what happened for the past 3 months. For me, the waiting sucked. Not really knowing why it was so complicated, no clue. I think not being informed or directly involved with all who were a part of it was the most frustrating. I just didn't know why it would take so long. I went from diving twice a week year round to nothing for 3 long months (in cali yr round diving is great).
It's over now I got the suit. I dove it for the first time Sunday March 6th. It fit nicely and it seems durable and well constructed. The pockets could be a little bigger and have "D" rings in them a long with a ringed hole near the top for a bungee loop. Other then that I like it and would recommend it. I don't have any experience with customer service as i was never in contact with USIA of HOG during it's construction. I will take their word that my buying experience is not the norm. I only know of one other person in Southern California that has this suit and i don't know what his buying experience was like.
All in all, I have one dive with the suit and it worked out fine. I like the high profile Si Tech valves and venting air was no problem. The re enforced knees and butt areas come in handy. I put it to a 90 min dive and swam thru a very narrow cavern with surge, I bumped the rocky wall a few times and not a mark on the suit.
Thank you DIRS (Mike) HOG (Chris) and USIA Rep for responding to this post. I am better informed for my future Dry suit needs. I'm just happy to be back in the water and training for my next class.
Respectfully,
Dennis
It's over now I got the suit. I dove it for the first time Sunday March 6th. It fit nicely and it seems durable and well constructed. The pockets could be a little bigger and have "D" rings in them a long with a ringed hole near the top for a bungee loop. Other then that I like it and would recommend it. I don't have any experience with customer service as i was never in contact with USIA of HOG during it's construction. I will take their word that my buying experience is not the norm. I only know of one other person in Southern California that has this suit and i don't know what his buying experience was like.
All in all, I have one dive with the suit and it worked out fine. I like the high profile Si Tech valves and venting air was no problem. The re enforced knees and butt areas come in handy. I put it to a 90 min dive and swam thru a very narrow cavern with surge, I bumped the rocky wall a few times and not a mark on the suit.
Thank you DIRS (Mike) HOG (Chris) and USIA Rep for responding to this post. I am better informed for my future Dry suit needs. I'm just happy to be back in the water and training for my next class.
Respectfully,
Dennis
- Messages
- 22,171
- Reaction score
- 2,798
- # of dives
- 5000 - ∞
Dennis, it is really a drag that this happened to you. I hope you enjoy your suit. If you get to Hawaii, drop me a line and I'll take you out snorkeling with wild dolphins, just to ease the pain.
gcarter
Contributor
Dennis,
I do not (yet) own any HOG gear, although my son is in process of buying some - so I have no direct experience upon which to base "fandom".
Having said that, the test for me of any company or product has ALWAYS been - how do you handle a problem when it arises? (Hint: every company will have problems sooner or later - it's that Murphy guy! LOL)
I know people who, when they have issues with a product or supplier just walk away, abandon it (them). No chance is ever given to rectify. "If they knew what they were doing there would not have been a problem in the first place". I have personally always viewed that as a pretty naive view. Mistakes happen. Even six sigma isn't perfect.
My approach is to allow the opportunity to fix things. Make it right, service me right (and no I do NOT, emphatically NOT mean the "servicing me right is giving me lots of free stuff to keep me quiet" thing), but real service, truly make it right and not buy me off. Do that and you get a gold star, and your product gets the opportunity to rise or fall on its merits while your company gets an A+ for effort.
At the end of it all, I may or may not be really happy with the product. It may or may not be quite what I expected or fit my needs.
But the buying experience will not leave a sour taste in my mouth.
From what I have read here, your LDS is a POS. They have not done right by you.
From what I read on here and generally, Edge / HOG bends over backwards to do right by you.
Kudos to you for being willing to acknowledge the efforts / extension of support from the companies involved, and to weigh your assessment of the product on its own merits and not on the (lack of) service from your LDS.
I really hope this works out for you.
Cheers
Similar threads
