Warning!!

Avoid The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet

As a fellow consumer and SCUBA diver, please let me urge you not to do business with this dive operator. Unfortunately for many of us, they are the only dive shop within an hour's drive. I have had a sufficient number of incidents with this dive shop that I will no longer patronize it.

I have only bought one piece of equipment there...my wife's regulator...and I wish I had bought it anywhere except at The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet.

As you might expect, I will relate the instances where we (my wife and I) have been treated outrageously and rudely.

General Irritations

When I first became interested in diving, I asked around at work where I knew many other fellow engineers were also avid divers. Of course they were all encouraging and enthusiastic, but no fewer than 5 people (including our dive instructor) warned us that The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet was not a good place to purchase SCUBA equipment from should we decide we wanted some.

Given that there was no other dive shop in the area, I ignored the good-natured warnings of my colleagues and we went for visit to the shop. It looked proffessional and had a good selection of equipment. Unfortunately, the owner and staff (hereby referred to as "the jerks") are terrible.

Within 30 seconds of walking in the door, I had the impression that "The Jerks" were all failed used car salesmen of the worst kind. They are only interested in selling you the most expensive piece of gear they can push you into buying. Once I was in the door, they were pushy and high-pressure types. They didn't suggest or recommend things to try. They took the attitude of "this is what you should get."

Keep reading.....it gets much worse....

Outright Lies by "The Jerks"

"The Jerks" will also claim they use a particular product as their personal dive gear because it is "the best". I have had one of "The Jerks" claim on three separate occasions he uses three different Bouyancy Compensators. Each time "the only one I will ever use" changed to whatever brand he was pushing on me that particular visit as he didn't seem to remember he had used the same line on me during previous visits.

I had wanted to buy my wife a BCD for Christmas one year. I reluctantly went to The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet. After mentally steeling myself for the usual pushy salesman crap, I patiently explained what I needed. They presented me with only two options. My wife is particular about color, so I asked if one of the BC's came in a different color, and if so, could they order it. They said it only came in black/aqua. I broke down and foolishly bought the one they had.

Upon arriving home, I suspected I had been lied to by "The Jerks" and that "it only comes it black/aqua" meant "we only have this one color." I looked up the BCD I had bought in the manufacturers' catalog and found that it was actually available in 5 other color combinations.

Sure enough, my wife didn't like the color, and it didn't fit her as well as I'd hoped. The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet has a "No Returns - Only Exchanges" policy. I took a gamble with this policy and my wife and I reluctantly exchanged the BCD for a regulator my wife liked....for a mere $100 more than we could have purchased it elsewhere. This is still a mistake I regret to this day.

The Final Straw

My wife's regulator was only 4 months old, only having been used on 4 dives when it malfunctioned during a dive trip in Florida. In between dives, the high pressure seat in the 1st stage began leaking. The local dive store offered to fix the problem....with $10 (retail) worth of necessary parts,and probably would have waived or reduced the labor charge. We explained that it was a new regulator and should still be under full warranty from defects by the manufacturer, and that we would prefer to have it fixed by the store from which it was purchased.

Upon returning home, my wife gathered her warranty card, and her original purchase receipt and went to the dive store. The owner spoke with my wife, and after hearing the problem insisted that the warranty card my wife had was not for her regulator....even though it clearly said "Warranty Card" in big letters across the top and had the manufacturer, model, and serial number of the regulator on the card. "The Jerks" then insisted she needed further proof of warranty, even though the back of the card clearly states that this was the only "proof of warranty that would be issued and must be kept to obtain warranty service."

Finally, the owner asked what my wife expected him to do..."fix if for free?" My wife said that it was clearly defective, and should still be covered by the manufacturer. The owner implied it may or may not be free...he would have to let her know. He was rude and arguementative during the entire conversation. My wife, exasperated by the owners behavior, left the store with her regulator. It was the last time we have patronized this place of ....robbery.

Incidently, I feel obligated to tell you how we got her regulator fixed. I called Island SCUBA and Travel located in Hilton Head, SC. This is where my wife and I purchased the remainder of our dive equipment. I spoke with the owner, who said as long as we had our warranty card, he could repair the regulator for free, after all, an Oceanic dealer is an Oceanic dealer anywhere. Not only did he cheerfully repair the regulator free of charge while we waited, they stayed open late just for us.

Another horror story about The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet from co-worker:

Well, 4% of 3000 isn't 500. My co-worker insisted the cylinders be filled to the recommended maximum capacity of nearly 3000 psi...a sensible precaution since extra air might be needed in an emergency. "The Jerks" gave him a hard time and argued with him, but eventually took the tanks to fill them.

My co-worker returned home with them to find both tanks filled to nearly 3500 psi....a potentially dangerous pressure. He has now joined the growing ranks of us who refuse to do business with The Dive Locker & Ski Chalet.