Dacor Website?

[Phil Mintz]

Hello to all,

I am the Director of Sales for Mares/Dacor Diving in the U.S. You are all correct about the current Dacor Website not functioning, it will be fixed in the future, but I do not have the exact time frame. While there have been many issues with the service and availability of parts for Dacor products, in the past six months (since I have taken over) many of the issues have been resolved including one of the main reasons for the issues, poor communication.

The HEAD company's other divisions have very high service levels and are known for being the most innovative within their categories (I have worked for HEAD for 15 years managing another division). It is unfortunate that this has not been the case with Dacor, but we are trying to move forward and correct. One of issues when Mares purchased Dacor, we moved production to our facility in Italy. Many of the parts suppliers for older Dacor products no longer produced these parts which made it impossible to repair products produced in 1999 or prior. We recently introduced a Reg upgrade program for older products (see release below) in order to address an issue that should have been addressed a few years ago.

While many of our dealers are only selling Mares products, we still have many good Dacor dealers. Any of the current products we sell can be serviced, and we honor our warranty on all of these products.

Phil

Mares/Dacor Diving Announces Dacor Regulator Upgrade Program



DACOR REGULATORS PRODUCED IN THE U.S. PRIOR TO THE YEAR 2000 MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN UPGRADE PROGRAM, SEE YOUR PARTICIPATING AUTHORIZED MARES/DACOR DEALER FOR DETAILS.



NORWALK, Conn. (August 1, 2005) MARES/DACOR Diving Division of HEAD USA will offer 4 options for consumers to upgrade their Dacor Regulators that were produced in the U.S. by the old Dacor manufacturer prior to it’s acquisition by Mares Diving in 1999.

Phil Mintz, Director of Sales and Marketing states “Unfortunately the parts suppliers for regulators produced by Dacor prior to our acquisition destroyed the molds when we moved production to our facility in Rapallo, Italy”. “In order to clarify which regulators can be serviced, a complete list has been sent to our Authorized Dealers along with the eligibility and required forms for the upgrade program”.

Consumers who qualify for the upgrade can choose from four options: two entry priced regulators (Dacor Eagle Sport or Mares MR12 Rebel) and two premium regulators (Dacor Eagle DPD or Mares Abyss 05). Details and pricing are available at participating Mares/Dacor Authorized Dealers. This program will be valid through September 30, 2006. Offer only valid in U.S. & Canada.

HEAD USA is part of the HEAD NV Group which is based in the Netherlands and listed on the New York and Vienna Stock exchanges. The HEAD NV Group is a worldwide sporting goods company that manufactures and markets products under the HEAD brand (racquet and winter sports), Penn (world’s #1 tennis ball and racquet ball brand), and Tyrolia (wintersports bindings), in addition to the three diving brands (Mares, Dacor and Sporasub). HEAD NV’s Chairman is Johan Eliasch.

The telephone number for the Diving Division is 203 855 0631; fax 203 866 9573; www.mares.com, www.divedacor.com, www.sporasubusa.com. For HEAD USA information, log onto www.head.com.

 

[undrwater]

Thanks, Phil for responding! I appreciate you taking time out to respond to us.

One recommendation I might make for the website...at least put up a "site under construction" page, and an email link for communication. This way people can at least see that there is some progress.

This would also give me some personal confidence that you are willing to respond to your customer's needs.

Is there a place to find a list of Dacor dealers that can perform the upgrade? Would this be the same as the Mares dealer list?

Thanks,
Russell

 

[Debraw]

Yes any Mares dealer can offer the trade-in. We are an Authroized dealer and we have the list of new regs you can trade it in for . One of them is the Mares Abyss the '05 model. Pretty good deal!

 

[Phil Mintz]

Russell,

Thank you, good suggestion I will try to get it fixed. As Debra states, any Authorized Mares or Dacor dealer can offer the upgrade.

Debra,

Thank you for jumping in, I am sorry we never got to meet on my last trip to TX, hopefully we can on my next trip. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or I can help.

Phil

 

[Debraw]

Not a problem Phil. I think the trade-in deal is an excellent idea. I hope people take advantage of it. We are certainly excited about it! Mares/Dacor could have done absolutely nothing but they didn't, they are trying to make it right. I for one as a retailer say, thank you.

 

[scubapro50]

can you provide more details .... I might be insterested in the Abyss for $180 ... what are the requirements of the program ? I have 3 Dacor 360's I purchased for the wife and kids that I might want to trade up. How about the octs purchased ? Do they count and do we get a allowance for them also ?

 

[undrwater]

Yes any Mares dealer can offer the trade-in. We are an Authroized dealer and we have the list of new regs you can trade it in for . One of them is the Mares Abyss the '05 model. Pretty good deal!

It's not supposed to be a deal is it? It seems more like a peace offering. As Phil mentioned, there were communication problems within Dacor, and the customers suffered. Hopefully customers who have felt burned as a result of this communication problem will value this offering.

Phil: I noticed there is no page up as yet...I believe this to be critical.

Are the Mares/Dacor dealers/shops informing their customers of the trade-up option? I haven't seen any advertising yet.

Either way, it's nice to see this kind of resolution taking place.

 

[scubapro50]

I have already contacted a dive shop that carries the Mares/Dacor line to arrange a trade up ...... three dacor 360's for three Abysses .... The offer from Mares/Dacor does go a long way to help improve their "tarnish" image. I have been very vocal about how I felt about their service and parts policy for older regulators. I'm willing now to give them another try and will report on the results later by updating previous posts.

 

[Debraw]

Maybe you could say a "deal" or maybe not. I think I just meant that as an add on to my post. You know just something I said. Anyway Yes it is an option and a n peace offering for people with the older model regs. Do you have one you want to trade in? I can help you. Just let me know.

It's not supposed to be a deal is it? It seems more like a peace offering. As Phil mentioned, there were communication problems within Dacor, and the customers suffered. Hopefully customers who have felt burned as a result of this communication problem will value this offering."

 

[jonnythan]

Phil, thanks for the information.

I personally would like to see Dacor make a comeback to being one of the premier names in the industry. It seems that there's a bit of a way to go before you can reestablish a reputation for excellent products and service, but it shouldn't be impossible.

Best of luck.