The great big, all-inclusive Leisure Pro note

[SterlingDiver]

Consider how many orders they fill daily, if you calcalute the mistakes I'll bet it's a pretty low precentage. This sort of thing usually happens to me, but hey Sh#* happens.

Let me say first that we have 4 LDS in about 50 miles of here and so far I haven't figured out how to have a decent relationship from any of them. So to satisfy my dive habit I have been using online sources.

I have placed 3 orders with LP in the last 6 months. One went well as planned, but the last two have had significant problems. Not too good of percentages, ColdH20diving. As the end consumer, obviously, I am going to make my buying choices based on my experiance and not LP company wide averages.

I ordered $350 worth of odds and ends Dec. 12, online, I finally received that order on 1-13-04. A snorkle and knife from the order are defective. The knife looked used and abused. I spoke to customer service four times during the last transaction and they lied to me three of those times. The fourth time they let me know if I was unhappy, tough! return the order when it comes. Of course they had my money the whole time during this poor experiance.

Anyway, I have had all of the fun I can take for a while with LP. We will see if they can replace the defective items any quicker then they shipped the original order.

BTW, I amazed at how good the LDS options are for you in FL, CA, etc. (competition!, it is a good thing) I suspect that the majority who are big proponents of their LDS come from these areas. I don't think that is the case in other parts of the country. I am a fulltime business consultant and have never seen such a poorly managed sector as the LDS are here.

My .02.

SterlingDiver

 

[ClassAction]

I read a few posts that were critical of the LP in-store experience. Just wanted to say that I spent nearly an hour with a LP salesman today (David), and he was extremely helpful. I got good advice and was very happy with the store's prices. Just my two cents...

 

[archman]

Now that I actually noticed the LP ad that has been at the top of my screen for lord knows HOW LONG, it has occurred to me that almost certainly their management or some employee of theirs follows posts like this (I mean jeez there are LP postings on a continuous basis here).

This is an excellent venue for them to improve their services. I wonder if a representative is allowed to post... maybe they're reading this as I type it... creepy.

 

[H2Andy]

i've bought tons of stuff from leisurepro and never had a problem.

just my 2 cent's worth.

 

[DivePartner1]

. . . . I haven't looked at any case law but I'm pretty sure that a manufacturer that would not honor its warranty outside of Europe could be successfully sued in Europe as this is clearly construed as a market limitation.

Hi, Arnaud,

One way they may be avoiding this is with the "which entity" trick: i.e., the lawyers favorite of creating subsidicairies for different jurisidictions. My sense is that the structure for a watch manufacturer would be to operate in the U.S. via franchises offered by a U.S. sub. rather than a European or parent or holding company offshore. This gives the U.S. entity several degrees of separation and may excuse its refusal to honor 'someone else's" warranty. Buying in the Carribean I've been given addresses and warranty information to ship directly to the country of manufacture and warned that the U.S. affiliates would not honor the warranty. Since warranty coverage exists, this might satisfy the EU rule.

As to your first point, I agree that good arguments can be made about the decline of a free market economy in the U.S.--what' eles is to be expected where most aspects of business and life are driven by a needless complex tax code?(would Enron have been possible without the incrutable accounting system spawned by an incomprehensible tax code?). But EU may not be far behind with the bizarre micro-regulation coming our of Brussels. Vaclav Havez did an elequent essay in the last month or so arguing that the EU-ization of Europe is threaten a new aribtrary anti-trade despotisim in a manner that not far from Soviet dictate. I think it's posted on the Cato site but I can forward it if you'd like. We're all the victims of generous governments catering the loudest special interests by steam-rolling over everything else.

 

[SCDiver]

I agree with cyklon300 & H2Andy, I have ordered quite a bit from LP before, and have yet to have a problem with their customer service. Also, my wife ordered something from me for christmas 2002 from them that was wrong, our fault. They drop shipped the right item and i sent the other back and they reimbursed me for the initial shipping. I purchased everything online, I think this is better than having to call. I was able to chk the email confirmation and noticed it was the wrong thing.

You could have this same situation at any LDS... depends on the person, the LDS, etc... CHILL OUT PEOPLE ON THE LP BASHING HERE, ITS GETTING OLD!!!

Just my thoughts....

 

[2 Bar]

I've oredered from them, but mostly go straight to their store. I've had nothing but good experiances with them, and they have hooked me up in the past with good options when they were out of what I went to get. Their show room is small, since space in Manhattan is tight, but they have more in that little shop than I have seen in the largest dive shops.

I have ordered a wet suit on the phone once, because stock was limited and I couldn't get there for a few days. The suit came quickly and was too big. I made it to the store a few days later, tried on another suit, and made the swap with no incidents at all.

 

[divad]

is the tip of a several story block-long (18th to 17th) iceberg seviced by a dumbwaiter. If you know what you want to compare, have them bring everything up and compare it. They don't seem to mind at all unless you're
"just shopping." Their "weirdness" has nothing to do with scuba sales and you probably should not ask them for advice because they don't seem to know that much about scuba equipment (what's to know? Its your size isn't it).They're just businessmen selling you what you want, if you know what you want, at a good price. What do you want? I like them fine.

 

[Sean326]

I've had nothing but positive experiences.

ditto

 

[MaxAlegraD]

I run an Internet online shop and believe me that mistakes can be done. And it happens on both sides...

Maybe on a LDS you wont make the mistake of changing the type of a bag but what about size, color, etc ? When you arrive at home and give the gift your buddy says: "Hey I loved the yellow, not the red..." or "This is too damn big..." etc.

From our side we try to always solve the problem. Either by paying the returning shipping costs, exchanging for a better product, etc. But still have customers who are somewhat difficult to understand that behind the PC monitor and running the website are human beings like him or she that are 100% possible to fail.

So if you are dealing with HONEST people I have learned that I should give them the chance to fix the problem.