Things shoppers say

[Chas]

I have thought often about collecting a list of the funny things that shoppers say while on my showroom floor. But it dawned on me that they really aren't that funny - they are usually statements that show a person is thinking wrong, or has been steered wrong (often by well-meaning friends or relatives) or simply doesn't have all the info collected yet.

So - instead, here is a list of things I hear on my showroom floor which, if left alone, can easily lead a shopper to make a bad decision! I will follow each one up with a shopping tip.

"It looks way too big." If they are not holding a tape measure at the time they say this, then they are most likely wrong. Measure before you go shopping - standing in a showroom, surrounded by spas, it is very difficult to gauge the size of anything by eye.

"It looks way too deep." See above, but also note that I have had identical spas, side-by-side and had shoppers argue with me that they were NOT the same depth. One was a different color, or the biggie: one was full of water.

"It looks way too shallow." See above, but also note that most tubs have about the same seating depth across their entire line of models. The footwell area may be much deeper on tall models, and that is only important if you KNOW you will entertain in your tub. Otherwise, you will most likely not sit upright in a seat as if you were at a desk: you want to relax! You will end up putting your feet on the seat across from you or spreading out across the seats. Most makers DO put in seats that vary in depth, but its usually only an inch or two: they have to hit the 'average' bather most of the time. Use a tape measure. This is the ONLY time it makes sense to sit in a tub dry: to check the depth on you.

"I want a big tub so I can entertain." Most people who say that never do. If you have had a tub and you entertained all the time, fine: you are the exception.

"I can get it cheaper on line." You are most likely NOT getting the same thing. For one thing, you are not getting a dealer who can support you down the road. This is a specialty product, and buying it without seeing it seems crazy to most people. Buying it without wet-testing it seems crazy to most dealers.

"I can get it cheaper at Costco (or other big-box)." Fine, but you are most likely not getting the same tub. Manufacturers all dream of hitting it big and selling a whole bunch of spas to one customer. But places like Costco, Walmart etc. place strict price demands on their vendors. To reach those low prices, most makers have had to trim the quality down a notch or two. Or at least, simplify some of the options or features. So you can buy a tub that looks a lot like the one down at your local dealer, but it will NOT be. If that's what you want, then bless you. But know before you buy.

"I don't think I can afford a top-quality brand." You will pay down the road then. And it may come out cheaper, but usually it costs you more in the long run.

"I don't know for sure if we will use it." Then by used from a local dealer, and have him give you a trade-in promise of some kind.

HTH

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

cool idea for a thread...being in sales can be interesting based on the various types of people/shoppers you run into.  I have tons of funny encounters over the years but some of my favs are:

a NFL player who last year signed a 25mill. contract with 15mill. guaranteed asking for an additional $500 off to "seal the deal".....lol really dude 

A customer who told me she liked the idea of brand XYZ better because they have silver filters so you never have to add any type of sanitizer...lol ya ok

A customer who liked brand XYZ better because they have "chamber insulation" and the sales guy told her it was the best on the market with no numbers or proof to back up his statements....so basically you believe everything your told?

A customer who was told by another company that a 6 person 400 gallon spa would cost $5 per month to operate...yes no joke he actually told her $5 per month to operate a spa in MN

and of course the folks who want to compare a 4k chinese tub from Costco to a 11k Grandee...because you know "a spa is spa" no matter the brand....yup your right a spa is a spa just like a 15k Kia is exactly the same as a 75k BMW 

[Waterbug]

yup your right a spa is a spa just like a 15k Kia is exactly the same as a 75k BMW 

It's all a matter of perspective.  If you work for Ford or GM, there's no difference in a Kia and a BMW.  If you've just been run over, there is no difference in a Ford, GM, Kia or BMW. 

[wmccall]

I
"I want a big tub so I can entertain." Most people who say that never do. If you have had a tub and you entertained all the time, fine: you are the exception.

HTH

That's the only one I was guilty of.   In 9 years the tub has only had 6 people in it once, and 99.9% of the time its 2 people.  At least it is still getting used.

[Chas]

I love to hear that a tub is getting regular use! I have a customer who's tub has developed a leak. I'm going to pick it up and repair it in the shop (MUCH easier and faster that way).

But I have to leave her a loaner tub!! She can't go without!

My kind of people.

 

[TwinCitiesHotSpring]

I love to hear that a tub is getting regular use! I have a customer who's tub has developed a leak. I'm going to pick it up and repair it in the shop (MUCH easier and faster that way).

But I have to leave her a loaner tub!! She can't go without!

My kind of people.

 

hardcore tubbers  I have a customer who has a "summer" home here and he has 2 Grandees at 1 house...attempted to put a 3rd in, but the room where he wanted it would had to have a wall pulled out so he didn't move forward with it

[Chas]

"I want gas heat." - I had a shopper ask for this yesterday, and I admit it has been a very long time since the last time this came up. But the truth is: Gas heaters are very expensive to buy, expensive to install, and they have to have a larger pump, using electricity, to move the water through them so they can do their job.

The ONE and only benefit is that you can bring a stone-cold tub up to temp faster than most electric tubs. But, of course, if your tub is a current machine with good insulation and a good cover, you can keep it hot all the time for pennies. So why let it cool and then heat it again?

Large, high-volume tubs, especially wooden tubs, need a gas heater. People overcome the waiting by running a simple timer system to have the tub hot when they generally use it. You can get the costs of operation down quite a bit with a good cover, and insulating the plumbing if you live in a cold climate. Encasing the tub in a deck or protecting it from wind is important. Of course that can make the tub look nicer, and protects the USERS from wind as well. But it all adds to the cost.

If you love the look and feel of a wood tub, you will be willing to pay the price for the extra work of installation (decking) and you would most likely be willing to pay for a gas heater (and the cost of keeping it alive as it ages). I never knock these customers, they know what they want and are glad to get it. But most of my customers who ask for 'gas heat' are asking for 'less expensive heat,' and they are glad to find out that all the major name-brand tubs are much less expensive to operate than they expected.

 

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 I always like the one?
 
 Do your spa's use chlorine?   They can, what have you been using in your current spa?  OH we Bromine, were allergic to chlorine.  Bromine can be hard to balance sometimes and we always smell like it when we get out, so we have to shower after use.  But we really can't use chlorine, it smells and just dries our skin out.   

[Chas]

I do get that one as well. Wow - this thread could almost be converted to a FAQ for shoppers - hopefully with some input from owners as well.

Bromine and Chlorine are both halogens, and most bromine products contain close to half (generally somewhere around 45%) chlorine. So 'Using Bromine to get away from Chlorine' just doesn't work. "Brilliance" brand products ARE chlorine-free. But the real answer is this:

YOUR spa is not going to smell like the one at the Hotel you were at on vacation that time. If you run a Dichlor regimen, and do it correctly, you will soak in water with less chlorine than the tap water you showered in this morning. AND dichlor, if added after each soak - and allowed to breath with cover off and jets on - will add years of life to headrest pillows, cover, and such things as seals and o-rings in the equipment.

HTH

[clover]

I was always amazed at, "How do you drain them?", which always followed the first question, "How do you fill them".

But the one thing you know right away, no sale today.  Usually a "one legger" who is in the educational mode, and there will be no financial decisions.