New tub suggestion

[michiganwinter]

I am thousands of miles away from you, but the fact that you need to delete your posts shows me what type of person you are. I could read right thru this. There is always 2 sides and you have already shown to be unreasonable, excitable, and not completely truthfull.
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I deleted them because they were inflammatory and I didn't think that was necessary. I rethought it and thought it was better to stay professional, and deleted them within a couple of minutes. If that says I am unreasonable, excitable and not completely truthful it is rather surprising. I would think it meant that I rethought a rash response.

[Kialda]

I bought a new chevy truck last month,

I love the truck, the dealer, they have been around 30 years and have no BBB issues.
It is the model I want, everything works great, and it was delivered on time.

After driving it for a couple weeks, the damn truck keeps running red lights. I sent numerous emails to the dealer and he offered to give me operational lessons but I just dont think that is enough as I keep running red lights.

I now hear if chevey does not get the intended bail out they may go bankrupt. I asked the dealer if they would also provide in writing to me that they would give me a personal warranty above and beyond the chevy warranty as I am concerned about them going bankrupt. I heard some Ford guy talk about this on a thread and I believe it cause hey, someone typed it..

Since I am not happy with my resolution to my operational issues so far, and I have got no response as to the new warranty guarantee I would like, I am going to file with the BBB, I am going to complain on threads on the internet and I am going to return my truck..

[michiganwinter]

you still have not said what you would do.

If you had the option to return the truck, would you?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

I would say do what you need to, to be happy!!    But,  I think you should stick to what you have and seek advise elsewhere chem wise.  

[Cdn HockeyPuck]

I agree with JJ. Everyone is has their own happy point, some might be on it being happy the spa and living with the occasional glitch from a dealer, others want a dealer at their beck and call.

The problem with email is it doesn't show emotion, so your emails from the dealer could be confusion. I don't know.  If you talk face to face with them does it seem like they don't care about you. Body language says the most during a conversation than words or how it sounds (or so all the courses on communication I've been on say).

If you've wet tested other spas and this is the one you really liked it could be the reason to keep it. For a dealer that's been around 30 years and no complaints on the BBB they must have some happy customers. See if you can contact some of them to get their experiences with the deaier.

Also, I had the same problems with water chemistry my first month, you're not alone, this forum is a gold mine for information on trying to fix it.  I haven't used my dealer for water chemistry issues and have relied on this forum.

Good luck in your decision!

[Vanguard]

I can't say I would require the dealer to be responsible for honoring Sundance's warranty if Sundance goes out of business.  That is unfair to the dealer.  The dealer relies on Sundance to reimburse them for parts and labor for warranty issues.  Trust me, they are not eating the cost of warranty work.  If the dealer had to eat the warranty work, the spas would be much more expensive.

Sundance is a public company.  As such, they should have a warranty reserve for every spa they have built.  I don't know who would administer the warranty reserve should a company go out of business, but that reserve is there for the protection of the consumer.  

I remember folks at Watkins talking about their reserve and how much it costs them for every spa sold.  They have to put it in a separate account that they can't touch.  That is part of the reason spas from public companies are more expensive.  They are held to a higher standard in regard to their warranty reserves.

So, should any publicly held company go out of business, their customers should be taken care of.



Now, I don't know what other issues you're having other than water chemistry, but if that's it, I don't think you should return your spa since you really like it.  Just find another dealer to buy your chemicals from.  They all do free water testing when you buy from them.

[michiganwinter]

I am sticking with the tub because it is what I wanted and I am not going to let them ruin my enjoyment of it. I am very angry though and am going to voice this with the appropriate parties since I did not reach resolution.

For the dealers out there, remember customer service is such a large part of this business. The dealer does have a huge role to play in the decision making process and can alienate customers quickly by being snappy and less than helpful. Prompt response and being polite goes a long way to helping keep satisfied customers. Since customers are what pay the bills, and this is a very large purchase, customer relations should come first. The first dealer turned me off with puffery and negative comments, the dealer I ended up with turned me off with what I believe to be false advertising. While the customer isn't always right, the customer should never be treated with condescension or derision.

Cheers, Rachel

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  So what kind of problems are you exactly having???

[hottubdan]

I can't say I would require the dealer to be responsible for honoring Sundance's warranty if Sundance goes out of business.  That is unfair to the dealer.  The dealer relies on Sundance to reimburse them for parts and labor for warranty issues.  Trust me, they are not eating the cost of warranty work.  If the dealer had to eat the warranty work, the spas would be much more expensive.

Sundance is a public company.  As such, they should have a warranty reserve for every spa they have built.  I don't know who would administer the warranty reserve should a company go out of business, but that reserve is there for the protection of the consumer.  




.

I thought when Apollo bought Jacuzzi/Sundance they took it private.  I think Watkins, as part of Masco, is the only publicly traded manufacturer in the industry.

[Zep]

Michigan......sometimes when I get something new I micro everything and tend to panic
if something is not just right.....but later when I look back I tell myself jezzzz it wasn't
such a big deal after-all.

Look...you have a great tub made by a top of the line company that has been around a
long time. Sundance is probably not going under and even if they did someone would buy
them. It's highly unlikely they would just shut down.

Everybody at first gets frustrated by the chemical issues.....don't panic.

Talk to owner of the dealership.

A month from now you be happily soaking instead of starting over.

Enjoy your Sundance....it's a great tub!

[Bonibelle]

Michigan, For what it's worth, I think that you may have a bit of buyer's remorse complicated by the fear that the brand of tub that you purchased must not be of good enough quality to stay in business. That is not true.

Because I sometimes succumb to the same kind of thought process, I will tell you to relax.
Your issues are probably not as big as you have imagined them to be. If you are like me, you wake up at night and they are HUGE....

So maybe look at things like this: You have a beautiful tub that you researched and chose for all the right reasons. EVERY business is questionable in this economy, so buying another brand will not guarantee that the dealer or even the company will survive this economic mess.
YES 10,000 is a chunk of change and I am thinking that it is not just the threat of Sundance going under that scares you about spending that kind of money..it's the reality that spending that much money today for anything is just plain scarey!! So if you do return the tub, will you really purchase another or will you feel the need to hang on to that money?

Your water issues shouldn't even be a real issue. No one pestered these guys or asked goofier questions about water management than I did..I am laughing now because I bought a white board and posted it by my back door to write a log of everything that I was doing to analyze my gooped up tub. A couple of the guys on here couldn't believe it! So if nothing else, we can help you solve you water problems.

After tomorrow, there will be nothing that you can do. So let tomorrow come and go, enjoy your tub and don't worry about needing warranty work. As my husband always tells me.."Don't cry before you're hurt". It will be fine and once you are past tomorrow, your buyer remorse will go away and you will be glad that you have your tub.
Oh..and to put all the anxiety to bed..you need to have a nice talk with your dealer. I am sure he will understand.

[Bonibelle]

Oh Zep...you amaze me...Men are NOT supposed to understand us...

(and you beat me to every point to boot!!)

[michiganwinter]

Unfortunately it was the owner of the company who I believe caused the trouble. Had the owner simply put in writing that they couldn't warrant it if the Sundance went under, but would do everything in their power to try and make things right if there was an issue, then everything would have been fine. It was the refusal to put anything in writing that bothers me. I asked to have them stand by the warranty OR tell me what they could do. That never got answered until the dealer said I had the tub for 30-day, relax and enjoy (perhaps it was nothing nefarious, but the refusal to answer for 20+ days and then answering at what they thought was the 30-day mark really bothers me). Even then I wouldn't have been too bent out of shape had I not been basically chastised for asking too many questions about balancing the water.

Spending a large chunk of change definitely is worrisome in this day and age, but I have high blood pressure and sleeping and relaxing problems, so bought a tub to help so I don't have a coronary with excessive stress (job related). It is money well spent and I like the tub a lot and am happy with it. I am just very unhappy being treated like I am on the slow side and don't understand. I was referred to read the owners manual if I had questions, yet the owners manual refers me to talk to the dealer about water chemistry. I couldn't find the ozonator symbol light on the tub and it isn't in the manual. I simply asked the sales person about it and if it was possibly not installed, but then Monday morning I saw the light on (finally) and wrote to tell them it was on and no worries. That is when I got the letter back stating I was asking way more questions than normal and to refer to the manual, that they wouldn't warrant the tub in the event of Sundance going under, and I had the tub 30-days so relax.

When I first posted this thread, I wanted to know if there were other options, not air a gripe. I am sorry I did, but I also think it is important for dealers to know what goes through the minds of their customers, and that customers do matter, for without us, none of them would have any business. I am not going to air any of my grievances on this forum any further.

I really appreciate those who offered positive input. Thanks for offering a freaked out newbie some help. This is how a internet forum helps when experienced people offer sound advice. Thanks

[Kialda]

Well you did buy a spa, and you bought a great spa with an outstanding warranty. It is truly sad that some Hot Springs salesman got you worked up and felt you had to attempt to pressure the company you purchased that spa from for an addl warranty guaranteed by them.
   Here was a 30 year old company without a single BBB complaint against them. Well they now have one. Those dont go away. I hope in the future when you need real service and you call that dealer, you come back on here and post how they came out and repaired your spa.
   5 Years is a long time, and I am sure you are aware this was a difficult way to begin that relationship. If they have been in business that long and have that great of a reputation, I am sure they will not remember that when you call them for service on a friday night. Again I hope you will take the time to come back and tell everyone how you have been treated over the next 5 years.
   The BCB " Better Consumers Bureau" was started many years ago. It is a private company for profit like the BBB with a data base for retailers for consumers that have not paid bills, bounced checks, acted rudley,  posted trash, DOA  "Drunk on arrival". And many other reasons. As a consumer you can pay to be a member and you are guaranteed you will never have a complaint against your name. I dont know if Your dealer is a member, but I am sure they will not list you.
  Everything has two sides, most problems can be resolved with communication. Most people enjoy doing good business with good people.. Most people will go out of there way to make someone else happy, a simple thank you goes a long way. You catch so many more bees with honey..

[Kawwboy]

What she said!!!

After having my tub for a year now....I can understand why my dealer would roll his eyes at me when I would ask him about chems. Then he would say, don't over think it.

The other day I stopped in to pick up some supplies. We talked about Sundance and warranty. He said he would try and take of any issues...did not seem too worried at all. Not many problems with the tubs. Makes you feel better.

Warmer here today....just got in from a -2 soak.
I was sitting in the tub wondering, if the three feet of snow along the path, to the tub, would hurt my deck.