Sad day for my Force Fins.

[meesier42]

Jim,
I just spoke with Vicki, she was VERY suprised to hear that "Tony" would say something like that unless they did not fit properly. she asked that you call her directly and she will look at your fins to ensure that you have a proper fit with booties and you will be good to go.

 

[castanagajt]

Meesier42, I talked to Ron Ruiz the owner and they gave me the okay to use my fins. Hooray! So all is well again. Maybe I can have pictures of me open water diving with my Force Fins and add them to the Force Fin file by the end of the month.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

UH- OH....I bet that store is gonna be on here soon....LOL....I know some of the people in this thread have probably already called or sent an email about this.....

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

LOL....I didnt even see this page....Someone already called...Problem fixed

 

[peterbj7]

I hope the store does come on here and give their version. Something just doesn't gel at present.

On the comment that someone made suggesting that a dive store employee might reasonably believe that Force Fins were only suitable for snorkelling - that is (or should be) nonsense. You can tell by looking at their design and stiffness that they're not designed for snorkelling, and probably wouldn't be very good for that use. Even if you've never seen them before.

If the OP wants to donate any of his unwanted/unused gear to a worthy cause I could help him out!

 

[meesier42]

I will start with the shop. I hope they do see this thread, even IF they have a different story,
The point is that it came across the way that the OP stated, which is the real problem. So it doesn't matter what the instructor actually said or did, for an instructor to be so ignorant/arrogant as to even imply that he MUST BUY different fins to procede with his class has absolutely no place in the world of consumer relations and he needs to find a new job. Yes, I know that sounds harsh, but this is exactly the type of high pressure sales that almost all dive companies take issue with, not to mention is bad for repeat business. If this were me, I would go to the LDS owners and 1) make sure the owner understands the sales pressure that was applied and how it negatively affected my view of the operation, 2) demand that the owner makes it right by assigning a different and more qualified instructor for the remainder of my course

As for snorkelling, the Originals, Foil Force, and Beaver Force, and Rip Force, all work quite well for snorkelling. Personnally, I have found the Foils work the best for me. I often pick the Extra Force TanDelta though... but I normally am freediving more than I am snorkelling.

 

[spectrum]

Meesier42, I talked to Ron Ruiz the owner and they gave me the okay to use my fins. Hooray! So all is well again. Maybe I can have pictures of me open water diving with my Force Fins and add them to the Force Fin file by the end of the month.

I should hope so.

They are offering an OW course, not commissioning you as a navy seal. Lets not get into what your Force Fins are suitable for. My point is that any gear not on the verge of failure should be acceptable for OW cert work. The whole tale smacks of gorilla merchandising.

 

[uncleavi]

Good Point!
Since I am an army of one I have a number of pairs of Force Fins at my house and my students are more than welcome to use them and then after their course I often Call Bob and say that a Student wants to buy a pair. No Pressure and we have fun and everybody wins.

 

[BKP]

Glad to see it worked out.

Nothing wrong with supporting your LDS, however, if you already own well regarded gear, it's a bit suspect to de-force you into something else...

 

[fisheater]

They are offering an OW course, not commissioning you as a navy seal.

Heck. If they WERE commissioning you as a Navy Seal that might require Force Fins.