Inflator Hose Recall

[cppike79]

I'm hoping to get some feedback from other Fusion owners that have had to switch out their recalled inflator hose (i.e. how quickly were they able to do it for you, did they call you to inform you of the recall, did they call to let you know the hoses were in, etc.) Lets just say that my interaction with my LDS has been less than satisfactory, and I wanted to compare it with other peoples experiences.

First off immediately after learning of the recall my buddy and I called the LDS that we had purchased our Fusions from to inquire about switching the hose out. They told us they were ordering them and would have them shortly, and that we should "just check back." First off, if this were my shop I would go one step further and let everyone know to expect a call from me when they came in.

Next I come in one month later, thinking that they must have the hoses by now, and inquire about switching it out. The guy at the counter seems to have no clue about a Whites recall, and after making a few phone calls comes back and tells me they don't have them yet, and that they're still waiting for Whites to ship them. So I'm a little surprised by this, as I would expect that with a piece of dive gear that is recalled and could present a potential danger to divers, that both the manufacturer and the dealer would provide people the opportunity to get things fixed ASAP.

Then to top things off the guy at the dive shop said he didn't know when the hoses would be in, and that I should check back in a couple weeks (still no offer to call when they are in). Then he continued to say "its not that big of a deal and the hose is still safe to dive with"

In my opinion if a company makes the effort to recall an item then there is a very good reason for it, and it is likely not safe to dive with.

So all I can think is WOW no wonder the local LDS's are struggling against online sales, I probably would get better service from many of the online retailers that I know.

So I guess I just wanted to vent a little, but I also wanted to see if other people have had similar experiences, and if I'm just expecting too much from an LDS. Also maybe Tyler could chime in and let me know what the protocol for the dive shops acquiring the new hoses is.

Thanks for listening

Brian

 

[DiveJedi]

Thank you for expressing your concerns Brian, here is how it has been dealt with at our end.

When we issued the recall, a notice was immediately sent via email to all of our dealers, with protocall on what to do with the hoses. This protocall simply stated that the dealer should place an order for the number of hoses that they expected to see come back, if they ordered too many, they could be returned with no penalty. All hoses were priority shipments, so any orders would be put through right away.
Once all hoses were collected they were to be sent back to us to ensure none of the hoses were left in the market.

I am currently in Washington, and I am unsure which dealer you dive through so I am not sure if an order was placed or not - PM me with the store, and I can contact the office to check. 1 month seems like an awefully long time.

Now if I were a dive store...I know that these hoses are standard size, even a standard BCD hose would fit. Most stores have extras kicking around, if someone came in prior to receiving the hoses from Whites I would just lend them a rental, give them a new one etc...until the new ones came in. These hoses were in the public for 6 months, most stores have likely not sold heaps and heaps within that time frame. But I guess I'm not a dive store.

All hoses are made by SiTech.

Hope that helps...again let me know who your dive store is.

Cheers
Tyler

 

[skdvr]

I purchased my suit from Dive Rite In Scuba and Mike was good about letting me know what was going on with the hose. It did take a few weeks to come in but he kept me informed and let me know when he dropped it in the mail to me. Once I got it I sent him my original hose and problem solved.

I too would think that your LDS would have the courtesy to tell you that they would give you a call when they came in, instead of you having to go through the trouble of checking back all the time. I think that if it were me I would probably call every day and just say "Just checking to see if my hose came in yet?" Like tyler said there are not a TON of these hoses out to the public so I am sure it is probably a pretty short list of customers that they need to get hoses for. They could very easily put a list together to call when all the hoses come in. Just sounds like plain old laziness to me....

I hope you get it soon.

Phil

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

If you want, send me your hose and I will send you a new one

I still have some left that I need to trade with people, like you, or send back to Whites....feel free to send it to me

Phil, Im assuming you received yours...I got yours back the other day. You dont wanna go to Mermett Springs April 4-6 do ya

 

[cppike79]

If you want, send me your hose and I will send you a new one

I still have some left that I need to trade with people, like you, or send back to Whites....feel free to send it to me

Mike,

Thanks for the offer its too bad that not all dive shops operate with the same level of customer service. I'm going to give the LDS little more time and also wait to hear from Tyler to make sure that they actually ordered the hoses already. This interaction with this LDS imparticular just reinforces why I never shop from them, in fact, the only reason that I bought the drysuit from them is because the guys from Whites were there doing the demo days.

Brian

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

No worries.....Just let me know if you need one