You Wouldnt believe it!!!!!

[bosco0633]

to tell you the truth, I dont know where I would be without the forum.  When I left 2 messages back in February, I never recieved one call back.  So without tom and the site, I may still be waiting for a call back.  

As for the service department, I really think that this forum has made them very uncomfortable because of the bad press.  But really thats too bad, because I was not trying to make  a feeding frenzy, rather, I was trying to post the difficulties that I was having with my arctic tub.

I dont think that things will change in the way they diagnose over the phone, charge gas fees now when they shouldnt, warn you to the point of paranoia about potential to pay 100.00 an hour rather then sending someone out under warranty just to look at the tub. And lets face it, critiscm only makes you stronger, but in this case, based on comments that I have heard, the department took this personal, obviously very personal.

The service center is in Oakville as it turns out so a little bit far for me to go and see, but the local dealer is around the corner but they say here is the number for our service department give them a call.

The bottom line here in my opinion is this.  Arctic has won several awards for there tubs customer service etc, but could this be because they were a new company, out there appealing to everyone, there needs without care about small costs.  Now that they are bigger and more popular, it seems like the need to please is slowly faiding, but that is just my opinion.

I would love to know where the 20.00 trip charge goes, who really gets that money?  Does that service tech get the money for gas?  When you do  5 or more calls a day, that covers gas and then some, so where does the rest of the money go??  I agree that the price of gas has gone up, but 20.00 a pop, way to much.

Anyway, enough is enough, I hope I can put this issue to rest and complain about it being to windy while soaking or posting about the starts in a few nights.

[Too Tense]

Glad to see your back up and running. Enjoy!!!!!!!!

[Zep]

very poor PR
it's too bad Mary was put in this position
management should know better

[bosco0633]

what do you mean zep

[Vinny]

I'm going to get on my soap box!

I don't know where this service is coming from but it doesn't seem it's from Arctic Corporation nor the dealer - seems like an independent area service center. If this is the case then that explains some things, I stopped looking at one brand by me because of this fact.

I have mentioned that I do service for a living. I never mentioned that I run a service department. I've been doing that now for 17 years. Having a tolerent customer who has put up with some things puts that customer up front in my service log. We all have good customers and bad and honestly I treat people who are good better than those who are bad. Good customers will always be there for you, bad ones will not. Fixing the customer is sometimes more important than fixing the problem!

ANYONE who forgets that the customer is the one who puts food on our - SALES AND SERVICE - table should be shoveling poop for a living. I know many managers and techs who should be!

I personally think Tom is doing what he is paid to do - a good thing but if this service center is not under the dealer nor Arctic - it's not going to go far. If Arctic management isn't on board either - forget about it. This service center most certainly needs to change how it does business.

I'm glad Bosco is OK, sorry that someone in service took whatever Bosco said personally - GET OVER IT! Bosco has been very tolerent with his very expensive purchase with apparently a few problems that seem to not be resolved until now - no forum complaining, no fixing is how I see it.

If I treated my customers like the way Bosco was treated - I'd be out of a job in a flash.

I'll get off my soap box now!!

[Steve]

If all the dealers were to be 100% honest, we would say that a similar scenario has happened to one of our customers unfortunately.

As much as I feel for Bosco and feel he has been more than patient with all of this, sometimes customer service slips (for whatever reason) and people are left out in the cold. This service issue is NOT a true reflection on Arctic Spas but instead, a reflection on customer service and the problems that can happen. I've got half a dozen stories I could tell just from the last month with purchasing various products!!

I don't say this because I consider Tom a friend nor the fact that he has been a pillar on this forum and has gone above and beyond in MANY cases, but rather because I know Arctic Spas and MANY other manufacturers out there in depth and so I wanted to make it clear that this one issue can not and SHOULD not, reflect on any one company.

If people come here and see some shmuck (not you bosco) say how they HATE a certain brand and scratch them off of their shopping list due to ONE individual, then they are certainly in serious trouble and can be lead around by the nose very easily. These same people will believe ANYTHING and they end up with some overpriced POS. We've all seen it a hundred times.

Lets also be clear that less than 100 people (a guess   ) frequent this forum on a regular basis and no ONE story is a true indicator of a given company. Although we'd like to believe otherwise, this forum reaches about .0001% of the spa buying public. We just happen to have some key individuals that can certainly assist with given cases. I did a number of them myself while with Beachcomber and a couple of them were worse than boscos (not trying to make light of your situation).

I guess what I'm trying so eloquently to say is that as bad as this seems (and IS for Bosco), it's something every manufacturer has experienced at some point and it certainly isn't exclusive to spas. I'm just trying to keep some form of perspective here.

We've all screwed up at some point and the internet has provided a vehicle (good or bad)to expose these and provide a platform to allow mass criticism.

Steve

[starsky]

"If people come here and see some shmuck (not you bosco)  say how they HATE a certain brand and scratch them off of their shopping list due to ONE individual, then they are certainly in serious trouble and can be lead around by the nose very easily. These same people will believe ANYTHING and they end up with some overpriced POS. We've all seen it a hundred times"

Heck, it coulda been me. Hot tubs for the most part don't have a lot of research data available to the consumer. I as a consumer usually have to rely on the dealer, who will typically infer everyone sucks and theirs is the best (I'm exaggerating to make a point) or sites like this. Since I don't know anyone personally who owns an Arctic it would be reasonable for me to see an issue like this and have it dissuade me from that brand. If Consumers Report did testing on Hot Tubs then I guess I wouldnt have to rely on word of mouth but they dont. So with all things being equal, and I have 5 hot tub companies in my purchase area, it wouldnt be stupid of me to eliminate, or at least have second thoughts about a tub someone is having such difficulties with. I know every tub has its problems, but given the limited information available, every bit counts.

And I'll go ahead and say it to save someone else from having to.. If I looked long enough, or hard enough on this site I could probably find a similar situation with most of the brands represented. But I have to respectfully disagree that if someone decided against Arctic because of this thread, it wouldnt indicate they could be lead around by the nose in other aspects of their lives, or.. in other purchases where there is a larger base of information available to research.

[bosco0633]

steve i couldnt agree more, my post a few ahead, telling the guy not rule out arctic just based on a run of my bad luck.

As for tom, I think that he has handled this situation very well.  Perhaps his influence from head office down here, has caused much of the discomfort that the service department is feeling, and maybe thats why this whole expierence has become personal with them and not just the cost of doing buisness.

I have said it so so many times, I love my tub, I love arctic tubs, they are so great in my honest opinion.  A ball was dropped, and some warranty issues and service policies I do not agree with, but I still love this tub of mine.

Have I mentioned that I love my arctic!!

[Zep]

"what do you mean zep" [/i]

Bosco lets just say at my company it would not be handled that way,
but let me also say I am probably not privy to all the details and background
of this situation. (btw - I am not in the spa business)

after reading Mary's response I dont know about anyone else, but I did not
get a feeling of "Boy this company really cares about it's clients and wants to
help a customer that is not happy".

in my opinion it was "well if it's this it aint covered!" and "we are documenting
your complaints so if it aint covered it aint covered" and "well you're in line
with everybody else that called this weekend complaining" I know it wasn't
intentional but it made ya think...wow just how many people called this weekend
complaining that I am in some kind of line?...i dunno.....it just made me feel like
finger-nails on a chalkboard.....not great caring customer service.
TAKE A NUMBER DAMN-IT!

it just seems kind of silly to send your service dispatcher or whatever the
title on to a message board to debate/discuss an individual customer complaint...
why not have the management rep come on and just keep it upbeat and
simple....like "hey Bosco I am the VP of operations at Arctic and I will
PM you my direct telephone number at Arctic and I will personally make
sure your problem is 100% solved to your complete satisfaction because
at Arctic we take care of our customers and stand behind what we sell!"
I think that sounds alot better than what Mary said. But hey....thats just my opinion.
And btw all companies have their good days and bad days of PR, and from
what I hear Arctic makes a great spa....this is just one incident not the whole story
of a company.

[drewstar]

 

If all the dealers were to be 100% honest, we would say that a similar scenario has happened to one of our customers unfortunately.

All companies have service issues. Nothing is perfect.  What seperates great companies from every one else is how they handle and react when they have a problem.

This service issue is NOT a true reflection on Arctic Spas but instead, a reflection on customer service and the problems that can happen. I've got half a dozen stories I could tell just from the last month with purchasing various products!!\

I disagree. Customer service is part of the  product the customer paid for.  I think far too many companies turn a deaf ear to that, and is a shortfall. If Customer Service is failing, then the main product has a failing.  This is a reflection on Arctic.

I don't say this because I consider Tom a friend nor the fact that he has been a pillar on this forum and has gone above and beyond in MANY cases, but rather because I know Arctic Spas and MANY other manufacturers out there in depth and so I wanted to make it clear that this one issue can not and SHOULD not, reflect on any one company.

Tom is a huge assest to this forum, and although I don't know him,  I can tell by his demaner, proffesionalism and atttidue (even when I try to goat him), he comes across a sincerly a really nice guy.  

However, it's my understanding that Tom get's paid to be here policing the internet, being a spokesman for Arctic, putting out fires,  and attempting to stop "feeding frenzies" .   He does a good job at it too.  Tom, is my understanding correct?

If not, Arctic is damn $#@$!@#$ lucky to have you doing this out of you dedication to the product.

If people come here and see some shmuck (not you bosco) say how they HATE a certain brand and scratch them off of their shopping list due to ONE individual, then they are certainly in serious trouble and can be lead around by the nose very easily. These same people will believe ANYTHING and they end up with some overpriced POS. We've all seen it a hundred times.
 

Lets also be clear that less than 100 people (a guess   ) frequent this forum on a regular basis and no ONE story is a true indicator of a given company. Although we'd like to believe otherwise, this forum reaches about .0001% of the spa buying public. We just happen to have some key individuals that can certainly assist with given cases. I did a number of them myself while with Beachcomber and a couple of them were worse than boscos (not trying to make light of your situation).

I disagree with that assumption.  Is it representative? It's hard to tell, but to shrug it off as an isolated case is foolish.   I've read statistics that for every complaint reported, 20 went without.   I have a hard time beliving that Bosco is the only customer from this dealer to be treated with less than what they thought they were paying for.

Companies really need to forge GREAT relaitionships with thier dealers and invest in them, because they are the face of the company to consumers.  

I guess what I'm trying so eloquently to say is that as bad as this seems (and IS for Bosco), it's something every manufacturer has experienced at some point and it certainly isn't exclusive to spas. I'm just trying to keep some form of perspective here.

We've all screwed up at some point and the internet has provided a vehicle (good or bad)to expose these and provide a platform to allow mass criticism.

Steve

Once again how a company reacts to problems is a great indicator of who you are dealing with.   I think it's a neagative that Boscoe had to escalate this to the internet to be resolved and it's an area for improvement for Arctic.  

[Summitman]

[glow]"I disagree with that assumption.  Is it representative? It's hard to tell, but to shrug it off as an isolated case is foolish.   I've read statistics that for every complaint reported, 20 went without.   I have a hard time beliving that Bosco is the only customer from this dealer to be treated with less than what they thought they were paying for.  
 
Companies really need to forge GREAT relaitionships with thier dealers and invest in them, because they are the face of the company to consumers.   "[/glow]



So in turn we can assume (since the the HS thread was brought up in Boscos thread) that their were twenty other ticked off HS buyers from that dealer?

[East_TX_Spa]

How can a spa dealer not have a service department?

Good grief....if we sell a product to a customer, we are not about to rely on some goober company to service OUR customer!  That scenario is full of fail.

We get service calls nearly every day.  While most of them are piddlin' problems, we get to work on them ASAP.  Taking responsibility for OUR customers is a huge advantage and the fact that most of our local competitors do not service THEIR customers oftentimes translates into them becoming OUR customers (after we haul their old spa away).

My boss always goes above and beyond in his efforts to please the people who've chosen to do business with us.  You just don't nickel and dime your bread-n-butter.  That's why our referral rate is at nearly 70%.

Hot tubs and customer service ain't like sendin' men into space to gather green cheese, although some like to make them out to be similiar.

Terminator

[drewstar]

[glow]"I disagree with that assumption.  Is it representative? It's hard to tell, but to shrug it off as an isolated case is foolish.   I've read statistics that for every complaint reported, 20 went without.   I have a hard time beliving that Bosco is the only customer from this dealer to be treated with less than what they thought they were paying for.  
 
Companies really need to forge GREAT relaitionships with thier dealers and invest in them, because they are the face of the company to consumers.   "[/glow]



So in turn we can assume (since the the HS thread was brought up in Boscos thread) that their were twenty other ticked off HS buyers from that dealer?

 

Why would you assume this.  Did this dealer sell HS?  


And if so, it's seems  that IF the  HS customers did have a problem, it was  resolved without having to make it an internet feeding frenzy before the right people got involved.  That's the point of my entire post.  Thanks for helping me make it.

But the most probable answer is the HS tubs didn't require service!  
 

[Summitman]

 

Why would you assume this.  Did this dealer sell HS?  


And if so, it's seems  that IF the  HS customers did have a problem, it was  resolved without having to make it an internet feeding frenzy before the right people got involved.  That's the point of my entire post.  Thanks for helping me make it.

But the most probable answer is the HS tubs didn't require service!  
 

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1146099616

And yes it was a HS

[Tom]

Tom get's paid to be here policing the internet, being a spokesman for Arctic, putting out fires,  and attempting to stop "feeding frenzies"...Tom, is my understanding correct?

Pretty close.  It's a small but important part of my job description as summarized here:

The Communications Officer shall regularly monitor spa forums on the internet to
a) identify and counter "brand bashing"
b) provide accurate factual information as required
c) act as a corporate spokesman in a manner which is professional, neutral, and impartial
d) intercept customer issues and arrange for them to be dealt with