Another report of above-and-beyond customer service: Teric battery

[DavidFL]

When the Teric was announced, I was right at the point of buying a second Perdix for technical diving. Normally I try to avoid buying the first version of a new product; particularly before the product has even begun shipping. But I bit the bullet; pre-ordered the Teric; was glad I got mine before the big out-of-stock. I've been really pleased with it. Recently the battery performance seems to have deteriorated. Sometimes it acts as it always has, but there have been a couple of surprise battery degradation to zero in a few weeks, and not taking a full charge after being on the charger overnight. Could be operator error I think, but I have slowly been eliminating those possibilities.

But the customer support story is the newsworthy part. I know others have submitted similar reports, but it still surprised me. I sent a very tentative email query, basically saying I was wondering about the battery. Without cross examining me or asking me if I was doing it right, my email was forwarded within Shearwater, and they initiated two things: an RMA form for me to fill out and return AND initiating within Shearwater in BC shipping of a new Teric.

The new Teric arrived one day later than hoped, but nevertheless was shipped before I even shipped, much less being received at Shearwater, the original DC.

I'm posting this so we don't get into a "normalization of deviation" and stop acknowledging excellence in customer service, even when it has become the norm and expected from Shearwater.

BZ!

 

[vovanx]

Shearwater customer support is exceptional.

 

[Coconut Monkey]

When the Teric was announced, I was right at the point of buying a second Perdix for technical diving. Normally I try to avoid buying the first version of a new product; particularly before the product has even begun shipping. But I bit the bullet; pre-ordered the Teric; was glad I got mine before the big out-of-stock. I've been really pleased with it. Recently the battery performance seems to have deteriorated. Sometimes it acts as it always has, but there have been a couple of surprise battery degradation to zero in a few weeks, and not taking a full charge after being on the charger overnight. Could be operator error I think, but I have slowly been eliminating those possibilities.

But the customer support story is the newsworthy part. I know others have submitted similar reports, but it still surprised me. I sent a very tentative email query, basically saying I was wondering about the battery. Without cross examining me or asking me if I was doing it right, my email was forwarded within Shearwater, and they initiated two things: an RMA form for me to fill out and return AND initiating within Shearwater in BC shipping of a new Teric.

The new Teric arrived one day later than hoped, but nevertheless was shipped before I even shipped, much less being received at Shearwater, the original DC.

I'm posting this so we don't get into a "normalization of deviation" and stop acknowledging excellence in customer service, even when it has become the norm and expected from Shearwater.

BZ!

I heard the similar story too in this forum, some people who pre-ordered Teric and have the same battery problem, they got replace ASAP.

 

[Micheal]

I reported my Teric Battery issues 2 days before leaving for ITC, on a Wednesday Night New Teric arrived on Monday, and they waited patiently for me to return from ITC to send my old one back.

 

[wedivebc]

I now own four Shearwaters as of last week when my new Megalodon Tiburon came with one. They are world famous for this kind of service. I have had remarkable customer service in the 15 or so years I have been a Shearwater owner.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

A tech instructor I know recently posted that he broke the mount for his NERD for the second time, his fault, and it's a $200 part. They sent him a newer version of the part (a design improvement) free of charge.

I was convinced enough that I broke down and got myself a Perdix. Still need to hook it up and get it wet....

 

[vovanx]

there have been a couple of surprise battery degradation to zero in a few weeks

wait, is this a malfunction? my Teric eats about 15% of battery in watch mode every day. So lasts just about 1 week with no dives.

 

[doctormike]

Yes, exactly. Customer support is extremely important for anything you buy, especially a dive computer.

I always think of this when someone posts that a recreational diver doesn't need a Shearwater with "all of the bells and whistles", completely missing the point. I'm not saying that every diver needs to spend $800 on their DC, but if it's in the budget and if you are comparing computers in similar price range, that outstanding customer service is certainly worth paying a bit more for. Especially since they are awesome computers for other reasons as well!

 

[scrane]

It is great that Shearwater is willing to readily correct manufacturing defects.

 

[doctormike]

It is great that Shearwater is willing to readily correct manufacturing defects.

I think that all manufacturers will eventually get around to admitting and correcting manufacturing defects. Very few will take care of problems with this degree of speed and customer convenience.