Terrible santi service

[cameron]

[h=2][/h]

I ordered a custom set of undies from santi in March and waited 3 months for them to be delivered. The cut was terrible and I sent them back to be recut. It's now been an additional three months waiting for the recut and I've received absolutely no response from dealers or distributors.

Is this a common experience or is mine a one off? I understand there's been a distributor change in Canada but the new distributor is useless, not responding to emails.

I know santi stuff is supposedly top notch but the BRUTAL service has turned me off.

Cam​

 

[Santi Diving]

Hello Cameron,

I am sorry you have had bad experience with Santi service so far. From our side we can inform you that your order for MTM undersuit was confirmed for order by the distributor on 25.05 and within few days, on 03.06 it was already ready and shippet to Canada. We didnt hear anything back regarding any service request. Can you please let me know the the path of your claim? When did you return it to the dealer? We will try to find out where is it now by contacting the previous distributor who should have been responsible for shipping the undersuit back to us. I hope we can track the undersuit whereabouts quickly and inform you about the status asap. In case of any issues, please contact Santi directly through santidiving.com or of FB page. We are sorry for your inconvenience.

 

[cameron]

I ordered the suit March 21 through custom diving services.
I received the suit June 26th and it did not fit
i returned the suit to be recut on June 29th and I'm still waiting.

I contacted head office and they have NO record of receiving the suit for alterations.

The only response I get from anyone is "I'll look into it and get back you you" or they get defensive and tell me how it's not their fault. As a customer, I should not have to check the status of my order at every step on the way from dealer to distributor to head office and back.

I hate to bring this stuff up on the boards but I can't get a response any other way.

I sent eat an email to all parties I e dealt with so far including Katarzyna at head office. If you can help at all, I'd be very appreciative.

Thanks
cam

 

[Rosborne]

I had a similar experience with what I consider to be really poor customer service. I was experiencing an inordinate number of punctures in my Santi E-motion. Eight in the past two years, many happening at points where the material seemed to be pulling away from harder fixed parts of the suit (i.e. p-valve) I've owned two previous suits--both Whites--and in eight years had three holes, so I don't believe I'm hard on my suit. I asked Santi to look into it. I paid to have it shipped to Halcyon's workshop in Florida. Their bottom line "mechanical failure." Which they essentially said means its all my fault for being hard on my suit. But I found out I'm not the only one who's experiencing this kind of issue with the E-motion. Talked to a dry suit repair facility and they said they see it all the time. To add insult to injury, I'm having to pay for the repairs on the suit and the shipping though the suit was supposedly still under its two year warranty. All in all a very unsatisfying experience. Anyone else out there have a similar story.

 

[Wookie]

I had a similar experience with what I consider to be really poor customer service. I was experiencing an inordinate number of punctures in my Santi E-motion. Eight in the past two years, many happening at points where the material seemed to be pulling away from harder fixed parts of the suit (i.e. p-valve) I've owned two previous suits--both Whites--and in eight years had three holes, so I don't believe I'm hard on my suit. I asked Santi to look into it. I paid to have it shipped to Halcyon's workshop in Florida. Their bottom line "mechanical failure." Which they essentially said means its all my fault for being hard on my suit. But I found out I'm not the only one who's experiencing this kind of issue with the E-motion. Talked to a dry suit repair facility and they said they see it all the time. To add insult to injury, I'm having to pay for the repairs on the suit and the shipping though the suit was supposedly still under its two year warranty. All in all a very unsatisfying experience. Anyone else out there have a similar story.

I can tell you that I have seen this numerous times on my boat.

 

[eelnoraa]

..... From our side we can inform you that your order for MTM undersuit was confirmed for order by the distributor on 25.05 and within few days, on 03.06 it was already ready and shippet to Canada. ...

I ordered the suit March 21 through custom diving services.
I received the suit June 26th and it did not fit
i returned the suit to be recut on June 29th and I'm still waiting.

cam

I wonder why the order was placed on March 26, but Santi didn't receive it until May 25, that is 2 monthes later. I assume sending measurement detail across the Atlantic is done electronically, so it should take no time. Unless someone decided to do it old school by sending paper via boat. But more likley, the dealer sit on the order and didn't send out???

Maybe Santi should look into that as well.

 

[Rosborne]

I can tell you that I have seen this numerous times on my boat.

That's what the guy at the drysuit repair shop suggested. My take away from this--customer service is everything. I don't mind paying more if the service follow up is solid.

 

[Wookie]

That's what the guy at the drysuit repair shop suggested. My take away from this--customer service is everything. I don't mind paying more if the service follow up is solid.

From what I've heard, Santi makes their drysuits from a number of different grades of tear resistant materials. Some are more tear resistant than others. They are up front about it when they sell a suit that material A is not as resistant to tearing as material B, but material A costs less. Divers, being what they are, decide that material A will be good enough, after all, they aren't going to ride a speared amberjack into a cookie cutter barnacle on a rig leg, so they opt to spend $500 less than for material B, then they get all bummed out that they brushed up against a sharp piece of shipwreck (I hardly touched it, honest) and slice the suit like a hot knife through butter.

That's what I see, but my opinion is that the suits do not go back to Santi or a dealer for repair, they go to a drysuit repair facility in North Florida or Maine. Santi then gets no feedback on the suit, the distributor gets no feedback on the suit, but the drysuit repair facility in North Florida or Maine sees all kinds of ripped Santi suits. The distributor and dealer have no way of knowing how many suits are really ripping, so they can't give feedback to someone buying a new suit (here, spend the extra $500, you'll be happier) but the repair facility thinks that Santi suits have a reputation for tearing.

 

[Rosborne]

From what I've heard, Santi makes their drysuits from a number of different grades of tear resistant materials. Some are more tear resistant than others. They are up front about it when they sell a suit that material A is not as resistant to tearing as material B, but material A costs less. Divers, being what they are, decide that material A will be good enough, after all, they aren't going to ride a speared amberjack into a cookie cutter barnacle on a rig leg, so they opt to spend $500 less than for material B, then they get all bummed out that they brushed up against a sharp piece of shipwreck (I hardly touched it, honest) and slice the suit like a hot knife through butter.

That's what I see, but my opinion is that the suits do not go back to Santi or a dealer for repair, they go to a drysuit repair facility in North Florida or Maine. Santi then gets no feedback on the suit, the distributor gets no feedback on the suit, but the drysuit repair facility in North Florida or Maine sees all kinds of ripped Santi suits. The distributor and dealer have no way of knowing how many suits are really ripping, so they can't give feedback to someone buying a new suit (here, spend the extra $500, you'll be happier) but the repair facility thinks that Santi suits have a reputation for tearing.

My suit went to the facility in north Florida. It's Halcyon's facility and they were very nice. In fact they did take pictures and sent them to the folks in Poland. The technicians in Poland determined mechanical failure was the cause. Okay. But every hole is a mechanical failure. What they didn't determine was why that failure was occurring. I have an E-motion and its supposed to have the latest ripstop fabric. Yet its pulling away from fixed points in the suit and causing holes. I've even written to the president and head of sales of Santi to let them know and so far--no reply. So they know. Whether they act is another thing. I'll keep people posted.

 

[dreamdive]

I am surprised to hear about all these issues with SANTI. In my experience and from all the diver's I know who dive theirs, the SANTI suits appear to have less to no issues compared to other dry suits. I have an Elite and boy am I rough on it in the caves. This is my 5th dry suit and the best I have ever owned! It certainly keeps me dry and other than replacing the latex seals, I have had no problems! I can speak for Peter who has owned his longer than I have owned mine and he had no problems either.

I sincerely wish you good luck and speedy resolution with your issue.

---------- Post added September 15th, 2015 at 12:43 PM ----------

This same complaint was also launched on another forum. Peter does not participate SB but I took the liberty to post his response from TDS here:

Re: Santi and terrible service.

I'm sure some will feel that I am supporting Halcyon/Santi due to the fact that they are supporters of this forum and that I am a dealer for both of their products. To those who feel this way, you are clearly entitled to your position, but it will not prevent me from not defending a product or a company that I feel strongly about.

For years I have sold Santi products. For years I have been diving them and subjected to them to the most unkind conditions. Hands down its the best suit I have ever had because it survives me all the time. Same is true for my dive team.

As a dealer for Santi, i have sold so many of these suits that I have lost count. I have never had one returned for defects of any kind. This is not imply that there have been no defects, but I have never seen it. I only wish I could say the same for all of the other manufacturers listed in this post...those products are less than perfect. I know this as a retailer and a diver. So for those who abandon a Santi for another product...best of luck.

Most of all, to attack the integrity of Halcyon is seriously laughable. As a dealer for currently over 50 manufactures and probably another 100 over the years, Halcyon always sets the standard for customer service and integrity.

There are always those special kinds of people that will ALWAYS blame everything on the manufacturer. The reason they do this is they want something for free. It is clear to me that the gentleman that started this post is just that sort of person. He should learn to take responsibility for his own actions and not ask others to pay for his mistakes.

I know the remarks are coming..so bring it on...

---------- Post added September 15th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ----------

Robert, here is the response from today 14:52 on TDS where you posted. I am including it here since you did not and I don't want people to think there never was a response.

Originally Posted by rosborne I have to say I agree with you Cameron. I had a terrible experience with Guy the other day. My suit is leaking like a sieve. Some of it is clearly the material coming away from fixed points. I sent the suit to Halcyon and asked them to look into it. They decided it was "mechanical failure" which as near as I can tell means its somehow my fault. I thought the suit was under warranty and the repairs and shipping would be covered by Santi. Guess again. I had a rather unpleasant conversation with Guy who essentially told me they could do nothing to help. So now I'm the hook for the repairs, the shipping and I still have a suit that developed leaks every time I so much as look at it. For the record, I've owned two Whites' suits and in eight years I had only three leaks. I also spoke with someone from a drysuit repair facility in Canada and he says he's seeing the same thing with the Santi E-motion, the material might be too light. Anyone else have similar experiences?
Robert,

As per the photos of your suit which we took at our factory and forwarded to Santi HQ, your suit leaks were deemed to be “mechanical” in nature which means that they are not caused by a failure in the suit material but by an outside source. We couldn’t speculate on what would cause these holes and cuts but Santi and Halcyon dry suit experts agree on the nature of the damage. One mark on the back of your suit lines up perfectly with the bolts that attach a set of double tanks to a back plate and I would be willing to wager that this is the problem in that one area. I have personal experience with this but, again, this is just a best guess on my part after viewing the several photos we forwarded to Santi. With respect to your comments about the warranty, it does not cover mechanical damage. As the Santi experts wrote, Emotion material is tough but it isn’t indestructible. We were not the Halcyon dealers when you purchased your suit approximately two years ago but the better choice at the time may have been the Enduro suit or even the Elite. The fabric in both of those suits is not as flexible or as light as the fabric in an Emotion but it is more durable, much like a truck is more durable than a sports car.

Regards,

Guy Shockey
Sales Director
Halcyon