Hats off to?

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Hot Spring spas.  Ok you can get up off the floor now 

  In short I like to keep up on what other manufacturers are doing to keep a so called edge when shoppers come in and tell me what they are looking at.  Anyway I must say that Watkins has really done a fantastic job in covering all the bases to offer a great selection of spa's with today's economy with the limeight and new hot spot series.
  I only wish Jacuzzi and Sundance would do the same, Sundance does have a few more spa's in there 700 series than Jacuzzi does in their 200 and 300 series, and  I have yapped with our rep about them coming to the table with a good quality no real frills (well some frills) spa even before the economy took a dive. I really think it makes a difference in this economy.   For me to be saying that about Hot Spring's would be considered blaspheme to most if not all dealers but I feel it needs to be said.

 I am still standing behind Jacuzzi and Sundance and am very proud to be selling the Jacuzzi line, I think there spa's are still some of the best built.  I just feel they could have stepped up to the plate with something creative spa wise in this economy.

 Good job Watkins. 

 Will see how long it takes to get back to our rep? 

[Vanguard]

Now that my jaw is off the floor, they have really been doing a lot to change their value priced spas.  I agree with you.  They have done a great job with this.

[Water Boy]

I agree with you too Jim. Watkins has done well with this. And I too am not a Watkins dealer. But I would agree, why not get a much bigger piece of the pie then just some of the pie. But, Watkins isnt the only company that I feel does a good job of this. Many of you know that I am an Arctic dealer, and I think they have done well in this area too. Not only does every Arctic come in at least four different jetting packages(which makes it available in at least four different price points), but they also have the Coyote line of spas, as well as the Apollo line. This year, they have made some Arctic models available with the no frills, less bells and whistles, as well as a lesser warranty. This seems to work well as there are many different price points available to the consumers. Customers might be able to afford more spas at your store then just walking in and seeing the premium brand and being shocked by the price.

I will say one thing though. I think sometimes this can be overwhelming for some folks, as they see too many choices to choose from. It can be tricky sometimes from a sales standpoint as to which spa to show the customer first. Sometimes they want every brochure for every spa in your store. So they get 3-4 brochures from me, 4-5 from the HS store, four from the local Master dealer, etc. This can be very overwhelming and a lot of information for some people to digest, thus sometimes scaring them away from a spa all together. But, if you can find their budget and what they are looking for in a spa, it it much easier to find what they want when you have lots of options to pick from.

[Vanguard]

I used to do pool renovations.  I had several tile companies that I could choose from.  I only gave my customers one tile catalog to choose their tile.  When I gave them all the catalogs, they would have a really difficult time choosing.  When I started giving them one, they made the choice very easily.  Only when they couldn't find something in that catalog would I offer another one.  By that time, I had a pretty good idea of what they were looking for, so I gave them the catalog with what I thought had the tile they were looking for.

That made the whole process so much easier because the customer didn't get overloaded.  I agree that a lot of customers get the old "analysis paralysis."  Too much information to decide from, so they end up just not deciding.

[ejf The Spa Guy]

I would agree with you guys, Hot Springs has done a very good job with there selection. which i do not sell , i sell the D1 line and also agree they are on the tops as well> Yes they have added a lot of spas but i think depending on the marketplace it can be confusing to a consumer to get so much info thrown at them, i also agree with Vanguard i give out one brochure, and those customers usually  bring in competitors brochures and usually 3-4 brochures from each...Sorry Beerman I am not a fan of Apollo they are made in my backyard, since Arctic owns them now, kind of hard to when all there sales guys boasted that the Apollos were the best , Now that Artic owns they do not say that anymore, But Arctic does have a nice selection of spas to choose from as well......