Dealers are not helping me purchase a Hot Tub

[IonHeaven]

Hi
I could use some advice. I have been researching and wet testing hot tubs for a few months now. It's been hard to find what I would like for the amount I can spend but I have narrowed it down to a few brands. Howerver, dealership and customer service around here is impossible! I really could use some help with my situation so please bear with me:

My Beachcomber dealer is brand new in business only one year. He has sold 13 tubs this past year, but been a Culligan dealer in the same location for 15 years. He seems very honest and willing to make sure we would be happy. Apparently, he calls the customer service line when there are problems and they talk him through the process. He hasn't had many problems yet in this first year.

My Marquis Dealer just upset me on the phone with a very poor customer service attitude. I have been trying to wet test a Reward for a month. He sold the one on the floor so I waited for the new one to come in. He called me early in the morning one day to let me know the new tub had arrived and been filled. So I called back within an hour to let him know I was on my way for a wet test. He then told me the tub would not be heated until the next day...the water was only 50 degrees or something.

Well, a week later he called me over a 2 day period when I was away on business to let me know the tub was ready. When I called him this morning he said he cannot be available after hours for me to wet test today. I asked if I could come in during business hours to do it and he said no. I said that I have been waiting to make my decison for the wet test and that he may lose my sale and he complained that I did'nt answer his call for 2 days. I found myself explaining to him???...well anyway, I do hear good things about the service from this dealership from a friend who has a built in pool from them, but no hot tub.

Next up is the Caldera Dealer. I called him and talked about what I was interested in. He asked me something and I let him know that I had also looked at other spas. He started raving about how no one else can match Caldera's warranty. I started to talk about the features I was interested in and inquired about the cost of the model that they had on the floor for wet testing. We were 'disconnected'. I called right back and apparently he was busy with a customer, so I left a message and was told he would call me back within an hour. Well, 6.5 hours later that hasn't happend yet.

Masterspa/Hydropool dealer is next up. I wet tested both spas and was very interested in making a purchase. I gave the saleman my name and let him know the spa was a bit out of my price range and that I would be wet testing other spas. I asked the salesman/Assistant Mgr. to call me and let me know if he could do any better on the price of the floor model and if so I would be very interested in purchasing it. Well he never called back. I went back to the store, the floor model was gone, the guy could care less about my sale. Apparently they sell alot of in-ground pools and that's their emphasis.

OK, whose left? The Sundance dealer I met at a home show. He invited to wet test at his store anytime and that he would be available. I called several times and left messages. Days went by. Finally I asked his employee if I could at least wet test a tub in the meantime. At first he said only the owner could do that after hours, but then said it would be ok. We went there and the Owner wound up being there. His store was in a garage like building with a bunch of hottubs wrapped up in it. He did have a small showroom set up with 3 tubs and one to wet test. He says he's been in business there for 12 years, but I don't think he has been doing hot tubs that long...it was unclear. The sundance was my least favorite tub as far as seat comfort and jets.

Last, the Hot Springs dealer. Better than the others...let me wet test, called me back...was very imformative. However he really down talked every other spa around, even the 'entry level' models he had in his own showroom. The Hot Srings Envoy is out of my price range and the Sovergn is a bit small for a comparable $7,000 tub.

I am so discouraged right now I feel like I want to give up and maybe start again in the slower winter months when the dealers might actually care about my sale. But all this anxiety makes me realize how much I need the spa for relaxation and hyrotherapy all the more.

This is definately harder than buying a car. Help!!

[bulmer4nc]

Wow... That's pretty sad.  We had 3 local dealers that wouldn't allow us to wet test so we ruled them out right away.  Everyone else was very helpful and willing to set something up for us to test.  The 3 dealers we did test with had to fill the tub we wanted to test with water (or pump it from another tub in the store).  At all three places we tested were offered the option of testing during or after business hours.  I'm surprised your Marquis dealer won't let you come in during business hours...  Good luck.  

[spahappy]

IonHeaven, Thats pretty sad not to mention very poor salesmanship by those dealers. I've cancelled weekend plans at the lake to meet people at 8:00 pm on a Saturday night for a wet test.
Where I'm from we have a saying ( Make hay while the sun shines. ) They must not work on commision.
If they are being this hard to deal with at the beginning think of what the service will be like down the road.
It's hard for me to belive that some dealers still don't belive in having wet spas on the floor for wet tests.
How many people buy a car without test driving it.
I hope you get somewhere and remember once you've found the right spa for you this will  be a distant memory. Good luck!
Spahappy

[pafoster62]

  do tell..what city is this happening in??? so we may all avoid these dealers... sorry to hear about your situation

[Jordy]

Very disheartening to hear of your experience. I know that in my corner of the world (Calgary, Alberta) dealers are generally much more accomodating for consumers, because if they're not, they're out of business. I wouldn't give my money to anybody who treated me like that. As a Jacuzzi Dealer, I respect the fact that for most people, purchasing a hot tub is a very important decision. If you think about it, for most people, it is the third largest single purchase (after their home and their car) that they will ever make. That deserves the proper attention and respect from any Hot Tub Dealership. Good Luck to you in your hot tub shopping experience, I'm sure it will end well.

[IonHeaven]

I live in the Adirondack Park, upstate NY. The best dealer of the bunch has been HS in Albany/Saratoga, but as I said, the prices are high. Someone on this forum just said they purchased a HS Vista for $8795...I need to talk to those folks! I would love an Envoy but the price is too high.

Anyway, the poor customer service providers I've spoken about are in the surrounding areas of Glenn Falls, Scotia, Caroga.

Also, there were two other dealers I visited for Saratoga Spas and Diminsion 1, but I didn't wet test at either of their stores, as there are many negative references from friends and aquaintances in the area about their service and reliability. One of the stores got out of the Beachcomber line and is selling out his floor models at very reasonable prices. However, if they weren't great about service before, I don't think that will improve once they don't even sell the brand.

Any thought on the Beachcomber guy (Culligan Man) that's only been in the hot tub business for a year?

He doesn't have much repair experience yet, but he's confident and assuring. The culligan business has been there for 15 years. He says when he delivers the spa, he stays to fill it and make sure everything is working. Then he shows you how to do the water care, etc. No one else in my area does that. The others have their delivery men drop it off and some charge for delivery over a certain amount of miles (which of course I am).

Thanks for any advice you may have.

IonHeaven

[ZzTop]

Sounds like you should go with the Beachcomber Dealer.

[empolgation]

What a terrible experience and very real in my area too.
Ruling out which spa to buy became easier than i thought as the awful dealer experiences that I've been subject to made it difinitive which brands i was not going to buy. Maybe it's just coincidence but I also found that the worst dealers were those who were a pool and spa biz - I guess pools is their money maker so that's where they place their customer service.
Stick with it you will find the right tub and dealer.

[chaz]

After reading this site and others for the last six months I would suggest considering the Beacomber dealer.  He has been in business for a long time, has added a upscale line to his existing mid-scale line and has been good to work with from the sounds of it.  Personally service means more than anything and from what some of the service people here have stated is that repairing a hot tub is fairly similar from one manufacturer to another, so I would not let his inexperience with this brand worry you.  I have yet to see Steve comment on this as he just quit being a Beachcomber dealer, so I am sure he will offer his opinion soon .  Everything I have seen on Beachcomber has been positive though I never ran into them selling here in the NW.

Good luck!  It will be worth it when you have it and you can soak all your problems away.  Don't give up.

[Lori]

FWIW, I say go with the Beachcomber.  My HotSpring dealer had sold HS for 5 years, been in the pool and hot tub business for 30 years, and I found out at the beginning of this year they quit handling hot tubs altogether.  They are strictly a pool and pond store.  *shrug*  Go figure!

Plus, all dealers have to start somewhere, right?  If he has been a business man for 15 years, just because he has only been in the hot tub business for 1 doesn't mean he won't take care of you for the long haul.

Just my thoughts!

[IonHeaven]

Thanks all,

You've been very helpful and reassuring! I'm curious to hear what Steve has to say...


IonHeaven

[doodoo]

I'm always amazed when I hear of such a complete failure in customer service. In the Ottawa region I found very high caliber, no pressure sales experience save one dealer.

Is it possible that these dealers are feeding off of each other, like in ''my competitors treat their clients like dirt I must do the same for if I offered a friendlier service I might lose market share.''  

Seems to me that this area is ripe for a new dealer that truly offers clients a valua added service.

Spahappy - Like you our dealer let us in his store after hours so that we could enjoy the experience 'au naturel' with a bottle of bubbly (plastic flutes).  After delivery we brought hima bottle of bubbly to thank him. Ya know were not loaded or anything but customer service makes one want to say THANK YOU!  

[wmccall]

I didn't go through what you did, but I wouldn't rule out the Marquis dealer yet.  Anyone who is a parent knows how difficult it can be to try and coordinate an entire family and an outside event. (and he is probably doing the same and his business)   He did have it ready once on a day when you couldn't (no criticism meant)  And for a lot of the year around here, when a tub is first turned on the water from the faucet can be 50 degrees or so.

Of the dealers in my area, some have private wet test rooms and the ones that don't ask that you come in after hours.   Having been in my house 20 years and married 24 I've been through so many problems with trying to coordinate schedules that I'd be willing to cut this one guy a little slack.

[Steve]

Hi All!
First off, I want to be clear that I didn't drop Beachcomber as a dealer (It wasn't my dealership to drop!   ). I left the company for other opportunities Chaz.

Most dealers can get UGLY once they realize they are up against others and you have done your homework.
My opinion won't be different than what you have read here except that I still believe Beachcomber to be one the top values in the spa industry. A new dealer doesn't equate to a negative purchase. This is a stable business person that most likely didn't get to that point by being sloppy or anti-customer service orientated.

How's that for earth shattering advice eh?
                                                     
Good luck with whatever you choose Ion.

Steve

[IonHeaven]

Looks like I will be checking out the Marquis spa again after all. However, it wasn't so much the inconvienience as it was the attitude. I'm a very, very busy parent and am patient in that way cause I know what its like to multi-task. It was the attitude that made me feel like he could care less about my sale. However, everyone has a bad day or two or three, so I'll give it another go and let you know what happens.

As for the Beachcomber dealer. I told him today that I would prefer to wet test the 720x model that I am interested in purchasing before making my final decision. He's been so accomodating and is working on making that possible.

Looks like I may be down to these two spas unless the HS dealer comes down in price.

I'll keep you posted...thanks for your support through the tough uncertain times!

IonHeaven