Almost 2 years with Cal spa

[stuart]

Well, I'm well over my first year with Cal and here is my overview...The product is very overbuilt, it's a good value and price points are unbelievable.

On the negative side...Getting any help at all from Cal is almost impossible, if there is a problem with the order or damage from the factory or shipping they will take no responsibility, it’s our fault. Warranty issues that are not cut and dried are very tough to get someone to understand you. Asking for anything outside the way they do it is ignored. Questions to engineering are completely ignored and no one else can answer them.

Last, I'm not so sure Cal cares about dealers that sell less than 300 spas a year...They sell at the box stores and online competing against their dealers yet do nothing for the dealer in the process other than take sales away.

Overall, I've started looking again for another line to work with as a second line hoping to find someone that knows we are a customer!

Sad thing is that I really like Casey and admire his passion but feel that he needs someone there that understands customer service.

[Vanguard]

It sounds like Cal hasn't really changed at all.  I was curious when you said you had picked them up.  It is hard to believe it has been over a year. 

The complaints you've mentioned have been the complaints with Cal all along.

[Bonibelle]

So Robert, do you still carry Marquis? My dealer has Marquis and Caldera and it seems to be a good fit together..just saying

[Chas]

I did warranty work for Cal just about twenty years ago - sounds exactly the same even though so much (and so many people) have changed over the years.

[Water Boy]

Thanks for sharing your story with Cal Robert. Its good to hear you tell it like it is. I am curious of one thing though. I know that before you switched to Cal two years ago, you switched from a previous brand to Cal, which I believe was D1. Now that you might switch from Cal to another brand, I am curious about what happens to the tubs that are still under warranty? Does the manufacture's still send you parts for warranty after you have stopped selling that brand. I know that the manufacturer is still responsible to warranty the spa, but will they still pay you to fulfill the warranty once you have stopped selling their brand? I have never switched lines of spas since I have been selling them, so I am just curious as to what happens on your end with these types of things occur? Thanks Robert!

[stuart]

I still service every brand of spas I've sold...I firmly believe that it's more about my customers than it is about the manufacture. In over 25 years I've never seen a brand that was "the best" consistently for the whole time.

I'm loyal to what is best for my customer not to a brand name...If that means I need to change in midstream then so be it.

I'm not dropping Cal, I still think they are a great value and have really had less service calls on them than any brand I've sold so far but I'm not sure that long term we will be able to deal with the lack of dealer support....

I do still service D1, Marquis, Master, Maax and even several Hot Springs...I've got quite a few happy customers from each brand although it's interesting to watch how each brand wears long term and how they are supported long term.

Again, I think often a dealer continues to be loyal to a brand long after they’re as good as what that dealer originally bought. I think it's easier to continue with the story and the look of your dealership than it is to change brands but I refuse to support a manufacture over my customers...I sell to the public and they deserve the best I can offer. If I no longer treat them with value then I expect them to look elsewhere. Often spa manufactures don’t understand this.

I think it's crazy how much POP manufactures make dealers buy because the dealer should sell the customer on them not the manufacture. Brand loyalty and brand recognition should fall on the shoulders of the manufacture but they seem to forget that.

BTW, I’m talking generally here…Not necessarily about Cal. I’ve seen it from many, many manufactures and again, I’m not dropping Cal.

It broke my heart to not sell spas from the manufacture that treats their dealers the best… I thought they were great people with great customer service but their product failed so much that I couldn’t continue selling it. Likewise, I was selling a brand that seemed to be the highest technologically advanced product around yet they where so complicated and had so many glitches that I couldn’t feel good about continuing to push the brand.

One brand I stopped selling preached ethics and profit in the same sentence yet turned out to be one of the most unethical companies I’ve seen yet.

In every case, we stopped selling a product because we lost confidence in the manufacture for one reason or another. Rather than ignore that lack of confidence and sell despite our personal feelings we chose to be an advocate to our customer.

Sorry, but I’m not one to “settle”…I still think there is a higher level that can be achieved in this industry and it isn’t all about just the profit.


 

[Spa Idiot]

WOW

Do I understand this right?  "Stuart"  is unhappy with CAL SPAS? Imagine that!

[Spa Idiot]

Should I start now?

[Spa Idiot]

!

[Water Boy]

WOW

Do I understand this right? All mighty powerful Robert Stuart "Stuart"  is unhappy with CAL SPAS? Imagine that!  I would love to post every  exchange I had with him when I was working for Cal Spas of Denver and how bad they were in ROBERTS WORDS. How he posted every law suit, all the problems, blah blah.

Robert, I'll return you the favor.

Ian

Oh boy.....

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 Least he got his login name right,  SPA IDIOT! 

[Spatech_tuo]

WOW

Do I understand this right? All mighty powerful Robert Stuart "Stuart"  is unhappy with CAL SPAS? Imagine that!  I would love to post every  exchange I had with him when I was working for Cal Spas of Denver and how bad they were in ROBERTS WORDS. How he posted every law suit, all the problems, blah blah.

Robert, I'll return you the favor.

...but it sounds like Staurt gave them a chance to prove his previous thoughts of Cal wrong but his recent experience simply validated what he had previously thought. How does this make you feel better if you disagreed with his original thinking?

[soak-king]

And why delete your post?  

It said that you had every post and comment by Stuart about Calspa bookmarked because Calspa was thinking about coming after him. WTF is that about? Did you change your mind about that or you didn't want Stuart to know in case they are still thinking about coming after him?

[stuart]

Again, I'm very happy with the CalSpa product but disappointed in customer serivce for dealers.

Ian’s drunken ranting got him booted of the forum before and might again, I had a much bigger problem with CalSpa of Denver than the factory.

Casey Loyd has done a lot for Cal Spa and has done more in the last 5 years than ever. My hope is that he finds a way to make dealers feel needed and wanted more than what we are experiencing.

I share my experiences with you guys openly and honestly just as I do with customers. I don't think I've ever not backed my claims without some form of verification or my opinions without the justifications for them.

WTB has had such a dive in member support over the last years that I would suggest booting anyone that is snide, volatile and attacking. We don't need more childish displays here like we've had in the past.

BTW, regardless of the outcome of my disappointment. I'm much more impressed with the Cal Spa product than I ever thought I would be. I do think it's a good value for a customer but as a dealer I'm saying it's a bit tough negotiate what we need.

[Bonibelle]

Mr. Idiot,
Kindly keep your personal comments to yourself. Stuart is well respected on our forum and has expressed an honest representation. Mud slinging doesn't benefit any of us here and the purpose of this forum is to educate and support the members.


Thank you
Boni