Eco Dive Center customer (don't) care????

[aainslie]

Then about a year or so later things changed. Following a tank rental for a boat trip I was accused of dropping a tank and bending a valve. I discussed it briefly with Ron, but I swore to him I had not done it, yet he insisted on me paying for it. Nothing happened at the time but a few days later, there was a $47.00 charge on my credit card which I was not informed of previously. My wife couldn't identify the charge, so she reversed it. I eventually paid the charge, even though I didn't feel good about, just to try to keep from ruining a previously good thing.

Hey Randy,

I remember your tank incident well, since I was the DM that day. The bit that you forget is that I lent you my personal tank so that you didn't have to spend the day sitting forlornly on the boat - something you're not giving any kudos to Eco about. We saved your day.

The reason we worked out that you had to have damaged the tank is that it was filled up successfully minutes before you grabbed it - and then magically suddenly became damaged to the point that neither a compressor connection nor a regulator could be connected to it. Hence the rather obvious deduction that the tank was damaged AFTER it had been filled - and since it had just been filled, that must have happened while it was in your possession. Doesn't need a PhD to work out that... well, that must have been damage done by you. I think it may have happened without your noticing it - perhaps it dinged something when you went around a corner - but it just had to have been damaged by you.

I can't speak for the rest of your experiences, so let's leave those out of this.

What I will say is that I've never been paid a cent by Eco. I din't get (or ask for) key man discounts even though technically I could. I occasionally DM for them or help them around the shop just because they happen to be the best damn store I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with and I want to help make sure they stay in business. Yes, Ron can be a bit irascible occasionally - but that's just because he's a bit larger than life. If you take the frequent good with the occasional bad, you'll find someone who's a blast to be around, a damn good instructor and who has started a shop that's helped shake up the LA dive community in a positive way.

Not to mention the other Eco characters. Beth is fantastic. Brian is a star. Amelia is probably the most methodical OW instructor I've ever seen. Philippe has incredible energy - and is a pretty good person to hang out at a bar with, a key component of choosing the right dive instructor.

I've tried to mix a bit of light-heartedness with a more serious point - that it's easy for people to focus on the negative. There's a lot of positive aspects of Eco. I've probably dropped $10 to 15k on dive gear there and I'll be dropping more - they're a good operation.

To the guy who's so miffed about the $10 - my email is andrew.ainslie@anderson.ucla.edu. Email me your paypal account and I'll send you $10. Okay? Enough already!

Oh - and veering a little off topic, I can't believe a couple of people were taking pot shots at Dan Rood - you have to be kidding me. That guy has done more for the diving community in LA than any other private individual I can think of. Divevets has gotten dozens of people who probably would have dropped out of the sport to stay in. It has galvanized many stores' business, and filled many boats. We're lucky to have him around.

I'm probably also going to get some whines about my infrequent posts. Sorry - I admit I don't post here that often. It's just that I read rather than post on this board (the same isn't true of other boards - divevets, thedecostop inter alia) - but this time I felt I had to comment.

 

[nzdiver]

Now, I know it is only $10 but it is the principal of the whole thing and the way that this person handled my request.

For some who may not have read the original thread and wish to derail it by picking on other posts...

 

[fishfood]

You're accusing the dive shop of stealing beer from charter captains? That seems a little far-fetched.

Marc

it was rum and its because they are pirates yo ho

 

[randog]

Andrew,
My thanks to you for saving the day when I couldn't have dived at all had it not been for you loaning me your massive 120. My beef is not with you, or Beth or Brian or anyone else but Ron. Ron has some great folks working for him. I have to say that Beth has been especially nice to me. I won't beat a dead horse, but since you were so candid in your post, I want to elaborate on the details from mine. By the way Ken, I'm not a "sock puppet" but Randy Smith from Culver City, okay? Anyway, on the fateful day, my tank was full from its rental at Eco when I got on the boat. The minute I connected my regulator to it and opened the valve, it started leaking. In other words, it held air as long as the valve was closed. I transported it to the boat in a foam cradle in the back of my vehicle, and was very careful driving there. The bottom line here is how I was treated. The tank was returned and I told Ron it was leaking right away. Nothing was said, and I thought I was doing a good thing by telling him, so he wouldn't rent it to anyone else. A month and a half passed before I was told that I bent the tank. Ron mentioned the incident in front of a friend of mine when I was in the shop, and frankly I felt a little blind-sided. (He should have had a private one-on-one in his office) He told me that I owed him $35.00, and I quickly said "uh okay" even though I knew I had not damaged the tank. Days later there was a $47 dollar charge on my credit card. If we had verbally agreed on $35 then that it what it should cost. (Not too unlike the $10 difference for the boat trip mentioned by another poster, not to mention he didn't give me a courtesy call to let me know he was going to charge my credit card.) On several occasions, Ron offered me a good deal on a piece of equipment and a day or two later when I came in to pick it up, he asked me what he quoted me, and when I told him he would always "bump" it up $10-20 more. Shades of "bait and switch"... Even after I finally paid him for the tank valve, Ron proceeded to treat me like crap, possibly realizing I now owned all of my own equipment and he no longer needed to treat me well to insure future business. It got to the point that I would try to avoid coming in when Ron was there. So far, nobody here has disputed that Ron needs an attitude adjustment, even his friends. Yes, he is very charismatic and fun to be around, especially when he has had a few beers. To his credit, he is also an excellent instructor as are all of his staff. (Beth and Ron were my AOW instructors) But if they want the store to prosper, they should keep him away from the retail side of things, and let him do what he does best, dive and teach. One last thing before I step down from the soapbox.... The straw that broke the camel's back was when I went in to have my HP100 filled for a beach dive at OML. I left it with Beth in the morning and picked it up at 6:00 before the shop closed. It felt a little light whe I picked it up, but I never had a problem before so I didn't check the pressure. (lesson learned on this one-always check it before you leave the store) I got to OML and rigged up my regulator and the tank held 537 PSI. (Identical from what I brought it to the shop with. Hmmm... Thankfully a close friend lent me his steel 72 to do a single dive.) I called Eco reluctantly, and of course, Ron answered. I told him about the tank not being filled and he said "That's impossible, I filled it myself". Hmmmm... After some haggling (we are talking about $5 of air here) he grumbled "Bring it in". Sure, he would have filled it for nothing, but I don't need attitude over $5. Anyone else would have apologized and immediately promised a free fill - mistake or no mistake. Its really sad for me to have to blow off a dive shop I could walk to because of an attitude problem with one of the owners. Beth has told Ron to "shut up" more than once because Ron just didn't know when to quit spouting off. Kudos to his staff for putting up with that stuff. What I want everyone to know, is that the reason for my post was not due to one incident, but many. I am normally pretty non-confrontational, but felt it was time to speak up. Okay, I'm REALLY done now.

Randy

 

[wrinkles]

Oh, and someone that simply posts under a pseudonym is not a sockpuppet, a la wrinkles, mo2vation, hbdivegirl.... etc. Many things, maybe, but sockpuppets, no.

:blinking: yes, many things maybe but sockpuppets no.

 

[Robert Phillips]

:blinking: yes, many things maybe but sockpuppets no.

Maybe a HOT-puppet!

 

[Empty V]

Maybe a HOT-puppet!

duh-duh chhhhhh!

Nice Robert

 

[Robert Phillips]

If the sock fits!

Your avatar is wrong in so many ways.

 

[Empty V]

I saw on the Sunfish's website that Eco Divers has been removed from all of their charters. I was planning on booking through them because they were full charters, anyone have any idea on why this happened? I love that boat and don't mind booking through a shop if I can't go through them directly.

Billy

 

[JDog]

Maybe a HOT-puppet!

I second the "HOT-Puppet". What a smile. All in favor say ...Aye