Kudos to Henderson and ST

[Zenagirl]

We bought 3mm Gold Core zip booties from ST last year prior to our first trip to Bonaire, and they were very comfortable and perfect booties for all the shore diving we did.

This Christmas we spent 2 weeks diving on Maui and noticed that the booties were developing holes where the stitching was at the bottom of the zippers. We were very disappointed that the booties were falling apart with less than 50 dives and being only six months old, so I immediately e-mailed Joe upon our return home.

Joe told me they would send them back to Henderson for us under warranty and we'd see what happens. Since we've always found Henderson to have excellent products and good customer service, we fully expected our booties to be repaired or replaced.

But low and behold, I get a call from ST that Henderson discontinued the Gold Core booties and would we be agreeable to having Instadry boots instead? Uh, those are more expensive boots....duh, YES of course we'll accept that exchange.

THANK YOU Henderson for standing behind your product, we will continue to be happy and loyal customers. And of course thanks to ST for such great customer service in dealing with our concern.

[Diver Kat]

Yeah ... Henderson has great customer service. My 3 mil full Hyperstretch had a seam start to unravel maybe a year or two after I bought it. Surprisingly, my LDS mailed it to them, they restitched it, and mailed it back - all at no cost to me. I figured at a minimum I'd have to pay postage, but they took care of it all. So when I needed a shorty, of course I bought Henderson.

[Vercingetorix]

Twice, the zipper on my Henderson boots broke. Twice, Henderson replaced the boot at no charge to me.

Excellent customer service!!

[CompuDude]

Henderson makes comfy suits. And the InstaDry stuff rocks. And it's great that they stand behind their products when they fail prematurely.

It does bother me, however, that they seem to continue failing prematurely. It's nice that they fix the problem... but wouldn't it be better if the problem wasn't there in the first place?

To the OP, I'm not clear: Did Henderson replace the boots for you (good for them, standing behind their product) with ST as an intermediary, or did ScubaToys step up and take a loss (no help from the manuf) to keep their customer happy? (good for them, up to their usual over-and-above standards, but a shame that they have to take a loss due to poorly made products)

[ScubaToys Larry]

Not to sound like I'm trying to big time it here... but part of the benefit of our success is that manufacturers will always take care of us. We seldom have to eat a product - as we simply call up the manufacturer and say, "Yea, Francis... we wanted to place another order for 350 suits... oh, and by the way, we have one we have to replace for a customer since the thingy ripped... no problem replacing that for them is there??"

They never have the guts to say no! Not to say that a lot of the quality manufacturers would do it as well for a store that only buys 2 suits a year - but when we are moving as much product as we do - there are not many that will not take care of us.

Actually, one exception to that rule was Cressi - they would not take care of things that were straight out their fault - so we ate some product there, and dropped the line - but all the lines we carry now have been long standing good relationships and we never blink an eye if we need to take care of a customer - knowing the manufacturer will probably take care of us... and if not - so be it... all part of the cost of doing business.

[Straegen]

I will keep that in mind if I shop for Cressi in the future.

[Zenagirl]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

To the OP, I'm not clear: Did Henderson replace the boots for you (good for them, standing behind their product) with ST as an intermediary, or did ScubaToys step up and take a loss (no help from the manuf) to keep their customer happy? (good for them, up to their usual over-and-above standards, but a shame that they have to take a loss due to poorly made products)

Henderson replaced the boots for us, ST was just the intermediary. Even as the intermediary, they had to take the time to deal with the manufacturer, deal with the packages (if required), call me to make sure the switch was okay, and ship the new booties to me. Still took some time and effort on ST's part, and they could have done what I've heard some shops do...say "send it back to Henderson yourself".

This dedication to excellent customer service (and their great prices) has me spending FAR too much money at ST, and keeps me as a loyal customer.

[fanatique]

Wow Larry, I'd take note of Cressi. I thought they sell quality stuff, but it's a real questionable business practice to not stand by the gear you sell.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by Zenagirl

Henderson replaced the boots for us, ST was just the intermediary. Even as the intermediary, they had to take the time to deal with the manufacturer, deal with the packages (if required), call me to make sure the switch was okay, and ship the new booties to me. Still took some time and effort on ST's part, and they could have done what I've heard some shops do...say "send it back to Henderson yourself".

This dedication to excellent customer service (and their great prices) has me spending FAR too much money at ST, and keeps me as a loyal customer.

You and me both.