It gets worse though. Write him as a new diver, digging in and trying to learn how our equipment works. Tell him you're interested in part A to go with regulator B. He writes back and says something to the affect of, you're close but you really want part C. Then part C shows up and it works flawlessly. The other annoying (/s) part about dealing with VDH is when they send you to another small business they work in proximity with and those items work perfectly as well.
Good advice and not afraid of sharing the pool with other good vendors. Crazy talk, I tell ya. Crazy talk.