[nickb]

Well, I’ve had both good and appalling service from DUI in San Diego, followed by great service from Hydrotech:

I bought my DUI CLX450 second-hand in 2006. It was just over a year old at the time and in great condition.

The off-the-peg Large DUI suits are a good fit for me apart from the socks which are XL and I need a ML (2 sizes smaller). Fortunately the suit had been altered by the original owner with ML socks – brilliant. It also came with 2 DUI bellows pockets in the right place – fantastic. Oh, and Zip Seals already fitted – perfect.

The only drawback was that the sleeves had been shortened by a couple of inches, but I could live with that until I got a chance to send the suit to DUI for replacements. DUI had quoted me $165 plus the charge for a pressure-test which I considered very good value.

I used the suit as it was for the rest of that season and all last year. Then, in early November 2007, I sent the suit back to DUI in San Diego for new sleeves. It cost around £60 for insured shipping.

I got an email back from the Service and Repairs Department saying that the suit needed a new zip, $305 fitted. Fair enough; I had been getting a bit damp in the area that they said was at fault, so I told them to go ahead and also to throw in some new neck and wrist Zip Seals as they’d be cheaper direct from them.

I was kept informed of the progress and emailed with the tracking number when they returned it. I received it back on 13th December.

When I opened the box, the suit looked brand-new. They had fitted new seals & valves and the repair work looked superb. Then I noticed the copy of the repair card and spotted that they’d also replaced the socks under warranty "R/R Sock w/XL". Oh Fuck! When I looked at the socks I could see immediately that they were enormous: I could have worn the suit with my shoes on inside.

I emailed them immediately pointing out the mistake and asking how it could be resolved. 2 days later and no reply, I sent another email, this time copied-in to the Customer Service Department.

2 more days went past and I got the following reply from International Customer Services:

Originally Posted by DUI

Hi Nick,

I have pulled the paperwork from your repair as xxxxx is in charge of the Repair Department and handles all repairs. When your suit was initially evaluated, it was noted that the socks were worn and needed to be replaced. The sock size on your suit at the initial inspection was XL which is why the socks were replaced with an XL. Our service department would not have changed the size of the sock unless otherwise requested by yourself.

However, if you wear a mens size 8, the sock size for this shoe size is ML. If you would like to have your socks replaced, our distributor, Hydrotech in the UK does repairs. You can send your suit to them and they would be able to make the change for you. I do not believe this is under warranty as the socks replaced here at DUI were the same size socks that were originally on the suit.

Thanks,

yyyyy

Naturally, I was less than impressed and immediately fired off a response:

Originally Posted by Me

Thanks for your reply although I have to say that I'm a little more than disappointed at the attitude you've adopted.

The socks that were on the suit that I sent you fitted me, therefore they could not have been the same as the ones you've replaced them with, as the new ones are enormous. Had someone pointed out that the socks needed replacing I would have stressed that the size needed checking as they were not the stock size supplied with a standard Large suit. The suit was originally supplied with size 8 rock boots and the socks would have been appropriate to the boots. .

This repair has already cost me over $1000 and you're now suggesting that I pick up the tab for rectifying DUI's mistake.

If you still maintain that the socks that were on the suit were XL I would ask that you produce the evidence and provide me with the details of the person to whom I can escalate this issue.

They had clearly ramped-up their performance as I got the following reply within hours:

Originally Posted by DUI

My apologies that you feel my response was not appropriate. I was only giving information that I found from the paperwork filed with your repair. Therefore, I have forwarded this e-mail to our repair department as xxxxx would have the information you are requesting and would have made the call to replace the socks without contacting you in advance. xxxxx should be able to assist you with the remainder of your questions and concerns.

I responded:

Originally Posted by Me

Can you tell me whether xxxxx is at work right now? I ask as I emailed her on Thursday as soon as I discovered the error and have yet to get a reply.

You're correct that I felt your earlier mail was inappropriate. Stating that " the socks replaced here at DUI were the same size socks that were originally on the suit" implies that you think I am lying to you about this for some inexplicable reason. As I stated in my original mail, the repair tag states "R/R Sock w/XL". This does not provide any evidence that the socks that were removed were XL; only that the person that assessed the suit made an assumption based on the fact that the suit was a size large.

I stress again that the suit was not a stock large, hence the original requirement for the sleeves to be replaced. If you are able to look up the original specification for this suit you'll see that it was ordered with size 8 boots and a 2" reduction in sleeve length.

As you can hopefully understand, I am eager to get this sorted out quickly as the suit is unusable in its current state and I've already been without it for a month.

They replied:

Originally Posted by DUI

xxxxx is in the office today. I believe Thursday she was not in. She has been in and out of the office as she has just undergone surgery so I apologize for her not responding. I informed her today that I forwarded the e-mail to her and she will respond. However, if you do not hear from her by the end of today, please let me know and I will follow up with her.

As for my initial e-mail regarding the socks. I did not in any way believe that you were lying, so I apologize this was what was understood. The initial inspection done when the suit arrives concluded that the socks were XL, this is where my information came from. They measure the socks on the suit as well as matching them to a molding of the sock sizes to ensure their sizing is accurate. They do not assume sock sizing based on the size of the suit because many people do change the sock size when the suits are purchased or have the suits sent in to repair to have the size changed. xxxxx may be able to forward you the information from the initial inspection to provide you with the information I was seeing.

I will remind xxxxx again about the e-mail to ensure you receive a timely response. I do understand that this is an urgent matter and will see that it is taken care of.

Finally, the Repairs Dept respond:

Originally Posted by DUI

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. I'm still recovering from my surgery and getting up out of this mess that greeted me here back at work. yyyyy asked me to follow up with you on the sock replacement we did for you when the suit was in for repairs.

Your suit is a Stock sized LG and comes standard with an XL boot or sock. We replaced out your sock with the same size XL. Now with your shoe size being 8 Mens, that would be a size ML and that is why the socks are too big on you.

We did not install a larger sock than what was on the suit. Since this was done under warranty and at no charge to you, we can replace the sock out for a smaller size but you would be responsible for the cost of the replacement.

Having had enough of the “Oh yes I did, Oh no you didn’t” malarkey, I reply to the pair of them:

Originally Posted by Me

It's now been a week since I first raised the issue of the incorrect socks being fitted to my drysuit whilst it was with you for repair. Whilst I appreciate that xxxxx has been recovering from surgery, I don't believe that this situation has been handled with the attention I would have liked.

All I've had from you both are statements maintaining that you replaced the socks with the same size that were on the suit when I sent it to you.

This flies in the face of logic. If, as you say the suit had XL socks when I sent it to you, why on earth would I be complaining about this now? Surely it must be apparent that for me to have been using the suit for the past two diving seasons, the suit would have fitted me.

In xxxxx's email, she refers to my suit being a stock Large; therefore the socks would have been XL:
xxxxx: We did not install a larger sock than what was on the suit. Your suit is a Stock sized LG and comes standard with an XL boot or sock. We replaced out your sock with the same size XL.

I had already pointed out to yyyyy that this was the likely source of the confusion but she claimed that your procedures should have eliminated that possibility:
yyyyy: The initial inspection done when the suit arrives concluded that the socks were XL, this is where my information came from. They measure the socks on the suit as well as matching them to a molding of the sock sizes to ensure their sizing is accurate. They do not assume sock sizing based on the size of the suit because many people do change the sock size when the suits are purchased or have the suits sent in to repair to have the size changed.

However, I've already forwarded a copy of a message from the original owner, stating quite clearly that he had the socks replaced with UK size 7 here in the UK at Hydrotech. Those were the socks that were on the suit when I sent it to you.

You can state, as many times as you like, that they were XL, but that does not make it true. Are you so sure that your procedures are that robust that it would not be possible for a mistake to be made?

I've asked the original owner to try and dig out the paperwork relating to the sock replacement at Hydrotech. If he fails to find any, I will ask Hydrotech if they keep such records. Failing this, I can produce statements from my usual diving buddies that will back me up about the size of the sock that was on the suit. They are well aware of my shoe size as I had to have my previous dry suit modified with smaller boots.

If you still refuse to accept that I am telling the truth about this, please forward the name of the person to whom I can escalate this issue. I am not going to drop this as I've spent around $1000 only to end up with a suit I cannot use.

I appreciate that the holiday season is upon us and that xxxxx has been unwell and will have other things to deal with, but I would like to have, by return email, either an acknowledgement that you are prepared to investigate this further or for the contact details of the person with whom I can take this issue up.

Finally, from Pam Oliva, DUI’s Assistant Production Manager on 20th December:

Originally Posted by Pam Oliva

Please allow me to apologize for the back and forth banter about what was, is or should have been. This error should have been taken care of immediately. Please send your suit to our UK partner Hydrotech to correct the problem. I will contact Hydrotech to expect your suit and replace the socks under warranty. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience that we've caused you.
I will have a credit issued against your credit card in the amount of $60.00 for the test fee that you were charged.

So, I sent the suit to Hydrotech over Christmas and they were great. They offered to send me a loaner whilst the suit was with them, I declined. They replaced the socks and fitted yet another inlet valve under warranty. I got the suit back towards the end of January and it’s now bone-dry.

Mal, you're correct in suggesting that the high price of a DUI suit requires them to back it up with an outstanding customer service. DUI did come through, but it took a week of ridiculous email conversations and the two people responsible for that have left me with a nasty taste in my mouth, which was only slightly ameliorated by the superb response I finally got from Pam Oliva.

Now that Hydrotech have also done a great job and I've got the suit back in fantastic condition, I'm happy. But I will not forget this experience, which is in stark contrast with the never-less-than-faultless customer service I always experienced from O3 with my previous suit.