My experience with North Atlantic Scuba in Marshfield

[dave4868]

It's clear from your questions you did not read all the information discussed in the thread. Or you chose not to believe the information already covered, which is your choice.

This was about business 101. You never know what opportunity exists when dealing with a customer. Maybe it's a $75 service job, maybe it's a customer testing the waters to see where they would like to buy a rig. Maybe it was someone who spent $8000 3 years ago equipping their family for diving, or in my case $1500 10 years ago and has since moved back to the area. Maybe it's the president of a 100 member dive club. This is the most basic example of business fundamentals.

I think it's also important to mention the fact that the mods changed the title of the thread. This strikes me as censorship, particularly since they did not disclose the fact that the change was made in the thread itself.

Was the OP's report about Business 101 or Defamation 101? Seriously.

The OP's comments went so far as to suggest this wasn't a shop worth doing business with and expressed the goal to make that known to others, clearly intending to harm the business.

OP (matt_unique) quote: "No problem, I can find another solution and warn everyone in my network to avoid the store."
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Any legal eagles out here?

Dave C

 

[matt_unique]

Was the OP's report about Business 101 or Defamation 101? Seriously.

The OP's comments went so far as to suggest this wasn't a shop worth doing business with and expressed the goal to make that known to others, clearly intending to harm the business.

OP (matt_unique) quote: "No problem, I can find another solution and warn everyone in my network to avoid the store."
​

Any legal eagles out here?

Dave C

Considering your comments from July of this year, I'm surprised you cannot understand my frustration with the experience:

>>Originally Posted by Tampico_ED
Hi,

I was wondering, if someone has an idea of a figure ($$$ a YR) how much is reasonable to 'support' 'your' shop ?

Maybe a memership $200/yr?

Should we ask them? Has anyone really made happy his LDS?

It has not been clear to me in some shops what is expected from me as a customer to get service... free of BS....do not buy online...if you buy it online do no bring it here....bad faces ....are you going to signup for the trip?....Did you buy that in other shop?....you just come for the air and no buy anything etc etc...etc...

Any ideas are welcome.....I promise to try them with my LDS.

Thanks<<

Posted by Dave C...."Thankfully, my LDS owner runs his shop like a business and doesn't use any lame pressuring techniques to generate revenue. My LDS owner doesn't expect to receive charity to stay in business. He's simply a well-liked, generous guy who provides excellent service and products at very competitive prices. He runs his business well".......
<<
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...07-what-would-take-make-your-lds-happy-2.html


I was just hoping for the same when I contacted NAS.

 

[dave4868]

Considering your comments from July of this year, I'm surprised you cannot understand my frustration with the experience:

Posted by Dave C...."Thankfully, my LDS owner runs his shop like a business and doesn't use any lame pressuring techniques to generate revenue. My LDS owner doesn't expect to receive charity to stay in business. He's simply a well-liked, generous guy who provides excellent service and products at very competitive prices. He runs his business well".......
<<
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...07-what-would-take-make-your-lds-happy-2.html

I was just hoping for the same when I contacted NAS.

In this thread, I'm mainly addressing how one should handle such frustration.

Defaming the other party isn't the way, IMHO.

Wasn't the original posting defamatory?

Can someone here provide a legal view?

Dave C

 

[RIOceanographer]

In this thread, I'm mainly addressing how one should handle such frustration.

Defaming the other party isn't the way, IMHO.

Wasn't the original posting defamatory?

Can someone here provide a legal view?

Dave C

I am obviously not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that for it to be legally considered "defamation" the OP would have to be intentionally lying to damage the shop's reputation. In other words he would have to be committing slander or libel.

As long as he has been factually accurate, the OPs opinions are protected by the First Amendment, whether you agree with him or not.

 

[RonFrank]

It's clear from your questions you did not read all the information discussed in the thread. Or you chose not to believe the information already covered, which is your choice.

I read the information in the first post, and there is very little there. You did not have a bad experience with this shop, you had a non-experience as you never stepped foot in the door.

There are a number of reason they may have not wanted to work with your gloves/suit including that you did not purchase it from them. All it seems is that you need to find a shop that is willing to service your gloves and get on with things.

I think there is more of an agenda here than a simple phone call, but maybe I'm misreading the intent of the thread.

I don't think smearing a company is warranted based on a phone call where they refused to service old gloves that were not purchased from them. I agree that the shop could have handled it much better, but that kinda goes back to if there is any history that I am not aware of.

We have a dozen shops here in the Denver area, and if I called one an asked if they would service my dry gloves, and they said no, it would not even occur to me to post such a negative response on SB. I'd just find a shop that wanted the business.

 

[dave4868]

I am obviously not a lawyer, but I am pretty sure that for it to be legally considered "defamation" the OP would have to be intentionally lying to damage the shop's reputation. In other words he would have to be committing slander or libel.

As long as he has been factually accurate, the OPs opinions are protected by the First Amendment, whether you agree with him or not.

Good point.

My thought was that the original post expressed an implied opinion that the shop was not worth dealing with because of the way they treat customers.

I'm wondering if expressing that opinion might constitute a false statement regarding the shop.

To be defamation, I can see where it might need to be a more specific false claim pertaining to an action of the store, rather than an opinion of their actions.

Thanks.

Dave C

From Wikipedia, Defamation defined:

In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. Slander refers to a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts which arises where one person reveals information which is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person.[1] "Unlike libel or slander, truth is not a defence for invasion of privacy."[2]

Defamation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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[ScubaSarus]

I remember an Oprah controversy years back and the vinal verdict they came up with is that" one has the right to tell the truth" as long as one is telling the truth it is not slander or defamation. Its simply just stating truthful facts.

Now I Emailed NAS last year about wrist seals and got a reply like 2 months later. Make your decision about that as I believe Matt's story based on my experience.

 

[RIOceanographer]

I'm wondering if expressing that opinion might constitute a false statement regarding the shop.

If you want to wade through all the legal jargon here are two Supreme Court cases covering the issue:

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertz_v._Robert_Welch,_Inc.

 

[Twosocks]

Not for nothing but, this whole argument/position/feeling that people seem to have about this LDS vs that LDS vs another LDS and why they should not be obliged to service a brand that they sell strikes me as very odd. If you compare this thinking to another type of business, say automobiles, it seems foolish to me. If I had a Chevy and brought it to the dealer in Milford, and it turns out that I had bought it in Westboro, there is no way in hell the Milford shop would turn me away. This whole notion of somehow pledging allegiance to one particular shop is something that I have not noticed in other sports or industries that I have been familiar with.

 

[Tampico_ED]

Twosocks,

You could not have picked a worst example ...cars. Soon, they will be for sale at your Local Dive Shop.

SCUBA Car!*Video

Not for nothing but, this whole argument/position/feeling that people seem to have about this LDS vs that LDS vs another LDS and why they should not be obliged to service a brand that they sell strikes me as very odd. If you compare this thinking to another type of business, say automobiles, it seems foolish to me. If I had a Chevy and brought it to the dealer in Milford, and it turns out that I had bought it in Westboro, there is no way in hell the Milford shop would turn me away. This whole notion of somehow pledging allegiance to one particular shop is something that I have not noticed in other sports or industries that I have been familiar with.