Business ProfileforSimple Unmanned LLC

If there was ever a company I would recommend NOT to deal with, this would be one of them. My partner and I invested thousands of dollars into a system which basically turned out to be a brick. It was clear in the end that we were the guinea pigs or beta testers of his "latest technology" when in reality, the product purchased from ****** never really worked from the beginning. From repeated radio and wifi disconnects to horrible latency to compass errors to overheating temperature issues (heck we live in Canada for gods sake), the list goes on. After the first season of trial and mostly error, we packaged the boat up and sent it back to ****** for "warranty work". The boat was sent in November 2020 with an expected return of April 2021, just prior to our season start and it never made it back until 1 YEAR LATER! And to add salt to the wound, he never fixed anything. In fact, the same packing material was on the boat when we originally sent it to him. He never fixed nor field tested anything and we are stuck with this POS boat and out 10s of thousands of dollars. As for ****** and his support, it was pretty much non existent. He NEVER returned calls, emails or text messages. My partner and I were extremely patient as he had one excuse after another, but we have reached our end of patience and want everyone else to know. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH SIMPLE UNMANNED OR ******! He will take your money and give you unsupported garbage in return. Thankfully we were able to salvage our contracts in 2021 by building our own vessel that actually works for a fraction of the cost. If you want to buy something that works, and don't want to get bent over on price, you're better off contacting me instead.

I am disappointed that this transaction with this Aquavision did not go as we both had hoped it would. But I hope anyone reading this can understand that there are two sides to every story. While there is less objectivity with Aquavision, I will tell my side as objectively as possible first, followed by a response to the key criticisms laid out by Aquavision:My Story:Aquavision initially contacted me in order to put together a *** to house a sub-bottom profiler (***). I had not previously worked with a sub-bottom profiler, but was excited by the potential. We reviewed the specs together and decided to move forward with a monohull design with seachest large enough to house the **** Initially, I was under the erroneous impression that we could flush mount it with the bottom of the hull with the face exposed to the water, but upon receiving the profiler, it was clear the entire unit had to be submerged. Normally, I would design a new boat in such a situation, but Aquavision was extremely aggressive on their timetable and engineering such a change cannot be done in days. It is true that we were all Guinea pigs here - but I was clear about the situation, and we all did due diligence in researching the equipment prior to the transaction. Anyway, under significant pressure, I decided to modify the boat so the *** hung off the bottom instead of being flush mounted in order to get it to them quickly so they can meet their timelines. I did test it and it did work. I didnt test it as much as I would have liked; usually I do several full test surveys with each boat before shipment - and much more with customized designs. In this case, due extreme pressure to ship it immediately, I only had one evening to run some tests and missed the poor radio range issue, which I later corrected. The boat and *** performed as advertised during the test but were bulky. Once they received the boat, we spent a large amount of time with training, instruction via video chat, email, text and phone. Perhaps the highest amount ever needed on a single customer, especially for a single unit. There were issues with the **** (which I corrected) as well issues with their understanding of the profiler (which they did not purchase from me) and general knowledge. For example, they were unhappy with *** performance because it wouldnt get a good reading on sloping topography, work in very shallow waters, etc. Unfortunately, I was not an expert with *** equipment, but I spent many hours with them trying learn, trouble shoot and get it to work. The reality was that this *** will not work well in ultra-shallow conditions and the acoustic properties limit performance on strong slopes. During my testing in a natural lake, it worked great. Their experience on sludge lagoons was different. At this point our relationship became strained. I was unable to answer every call on the spot. For example, in one case, they reinstalled software on their controlling computer and didnt properly configure the settings, leading to poor navigation. They also moved the **** base during a scan which further created nav issues (as well as bad data). They called about this while I was on-site with another client, so I was unable to take their call; I did get back to them, at which point they requested we setup yet another video chat to go over the issue. I had a flight scheduled for the requested time but said I would reschedule it so I can meet their time frame. That video chat was nothing more than a meeting to express how I made them look like a joke and they were disgusted with me/my performance etc (THEY reinstalled the software, THEY moved a **** base during a survey) and the system was not even there for the zoom meeting. They wanted to setup another call the next day to actually sort out the problem. This was frustrating, but even still, I agreed and rescheduled my client and took their call, at which point we found the problem. Its also worth noting that after I sent new ****, they were still complaining while it appeared they had not even tested them at that point. During all this, they were not happy with how bulky the boat was; which is true, we had wanted the *** to be flush mounted and having it hang down below made deployment difficult. While the boat did perform the intended function, I previously said I was planning on designing a catamaran and would upgrade them to it once it was available; and I made a good faith effort to do so. They returned the boat for warranty work, both sides hoping that they would get the new catamaran in lieu of the original design. I designed the catamaran originally to be molded. But, covid was in full swing and I was unable to get it molded, so I redesigned one to be made locally from metal; and then was unable to find a metal shop willing to do the work. I ordered the metal working hardware myself, CNC plasma, tig welding equipment and a metal brake; spent weeks gaining proficiency with it; but unfortunately, the metal brake was lost in transit and ordering another would add more time. Yes, these are excuses. I realize it's not a good situation, but it is what it is. This all took a long time, and the pressure was on to get it done, I realized that I was not going to be able to deliver the catamaran design before the ice melted in their location, it would require 100s of additional hours or work. I told them I was unable to provide the catamaran but I did offer to exchange their boat for another one our boats in exchange or repair/improve this one. They wanted me to repair/improve this one, which I did. They said I didnt, but I guess they didnt bother to look. Changes/Improvements: New Onboard PC which wont overheat and is vastly superior to the original model New Networking hardware and config which improves performance New module in the R/C transmitter which improved range New R/C receiver, which improved range New Antennas, new cabling to antennas New LAN Box Battery system Replaced Broken Anntena ports Replaced torn wiring Updated Software Several of those things were not even on their list, but I did it was a goodwill gesture. I did not test the boat on the water since I didnt have the *** and there would be no point (that changes the dynamics), but I went through each system and confirmed proper operation and range tested it using a truck. Once they received the boat, they had another issue to which I sent the solution. They never responded back, other than to send a scathing email **** with personal attacks, making it clear there was no possible way I would ever be able to help these people, while it's subjective, I believe they were looking for a full refund or perhaps more; on threat of a BBB/social media attack. To that, I did not respond. Summary: I dont think anyone here is a bad person, the situation simply went south. They were unhappy because of unrealistic expectations for *** hardware and I am the person to blame in their mind. They are not, in my opinion, being truthful about the support, my wife would attest to the weekends/evenings were spent trying to help then and many sleepless nights worrying about it, while they blame me for all the ills in their world. They even stated I took so long that they lost their opportunity to test the ***; but they had the *** in their possession. They got personal, but at the end of the day I am not their employee or life-long servant. They even said in a recent email I think you knew you were in too deep at the beginning but this was lost in seeing the pile of money that came your way." That pile of money was about $3000 net, which was quickly turned red by just shipping costs. They said A little bit of research confirmed that it looks like we are not the only ones in the same situation with your company. These are not productive statements, at which point I am done responding. I have around 140 boats out there, about 4 customers are very unhappy; although this is by far the worst. I strive to offer a good product and provide good service; but you cannot please everyone. There comes a point when one must accept reality: Aquavision is going to be unhappy and they will do the most damage to me as a person and my business as they can. The fact that they choose to attack me as a person and not just the situation or business highlights this fact. But it's not all for nothing, a valuable ****** was learned. I will not be accepting customization requests going forward, except under some circumstances (such as having the equipment on hand to inspect or traveling to the customer site to review the equipment and environment prior to quoting the project) That entire "pile of money" wouldn't have covered airfare, shipping and lodging and thus should have been a red flag. I went deep in the red trying to help this customer make the best of a sub-optimal situation, but once it became personal and threats started flying, I backed away. Point by point breakdown: Comment: If there was ever a company I would recommend NOT to deal with, this would be one of them.Response: The feeling is mutual. Prepare to soak above average time in support and have the truth bent if/when things dont go as planned. But, Ill stop short of plastering my business ******** with warnings about Aquavision or filing BBB reviews, depsite my personal feelings regarding this situation. Comment: My partner and I invested thousands of dollars into a system which basically turned out to be a brick. It was clear in the end that we were the guinea pigs or beta testers of his "latest technology" when in reality, the product purchased from ****** never really worked from the beginning.Response: You had unrealistic expectations for an **** I was unaware of the limitations, your specific environment and didnt know to steer you away from it in that situation. For that, I am sorry. You did not purchase the *** from me. Its not my latest technology I built a boat to house a specific piece of hardware. Comment: From repeated radio and wifi disconnects to horrible latency to compass errors to overheating temperature issues (heck we live in Canada for gods sake), the list goes on. Response: These were addressed and would normally be identified and corrected in a normal build-test cycle. Comment: After the first season of trial and mostly error, we packaged the boat up and sent it back to ****** for "warranty work". The boat was sent in November 2020 with an expected return of April 2021, just prior to our season start and it never made it back until 1 YEAR LATER! And to add salt to the wound, he never fixed anything. In fact, the same packing material was on the boat when we originally sent it to him.Response: I detailed that above, but to recap; I did address the issues and replaced a lot of things. Aquavision is just mad and looking for a punching bag. Youre welcome. Comment: He never fixed nor field tested anything and we are stuck with this POS boat and out 10s of thousands of dollars. Response: As usual, truth is flexible here. You paid less than $10k for the boat, including freight. Initially, I did field test but indeed not as much as Id like due to extreme pressure to ship immediately. Wont make that mistake again. And, again, I did fix it. Comment: As for ****** and his support, it was pretty much non existent. He NEVER returned calls, emails or text messages.Response: We spent so many hours working on this together I am not even sure what to say to that. Now, it is true that in the last 6 months I didnt answer most calls and texts or agree to more video chats; though I did respond to emails. But lets be realistic, there comes a point when one must finally succumb to reality. Comment: My partner and I were extremely patient as he had one excuse after another, but we have reached our end of patience and want everyone else to know. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH SIMPLE UNMANNED OR ******! He will take your money and give you unsupported garbage in return. Response: Preach it, brother. In your emails, you love to mention how your reputation was tarnished by me (aka, this unfortunate situation) Now you are going to do your best to tarnish my reputation. Was it fair for your reputation to be tarnished by your own lack of understanding of the equipment and in an attempt to learn and grow which went south? Perhaps. Perhaps I deserve this for the same reasons. Im taking my licks, ******s learned and I am moving on. Comment: Thankfully we were able to salvage our contracts in 2021 by building our own vessel that actually works for a fraction of the cost. Response: I'm glad to hear that. But it's worth noting your vessel is a bathycat with an SS510. An SS510 is a fraction of the cost and size of a sub-bottom profiler. A entire bathycat is probably less than the metal shop **** for that custom tig welded boat for the profiler. If you recall, I actually offered to exchange your system to another well tested design with an SS510 with simmiliar costs, allowing you to get quality results with the *** and re-deploy the *** on a *** boat. (Heck, you bought that SS510 from someone else and asked me for to help hook it up) And before you say But what you sold us was 10s of thousands wait.. wait... no, you did not buy the *** from me. What you paid for was a huge metal boat, hours of support, trial and error, all of which was only a bit more than that of a simple bathycat. The freight alone for this thing was approx. $1000 on the final return trip; so of course "your own vessel" is a fraction of the cost. That's like saying a skiff costs less than an ocean going hydrographic survey ship, even though in retrospect the skiff if probably better suited for use on the small lagoons you scan. Comment: If you want to buy something that works, and don't want to get bent over on price, you're better off contacting me instead Response: I realize you are not happy with the situation, nor am I. You are portraying this to be as destructive as possible to my business and worse yet, to me as a person - followed by a shameless plug. Good luck.