Spent an hour with a Coast dealer

[wmccall]

Went back to the Ohio State Fair last night, saw a dealer we recognized from our search a year ago.  This dealer was the local D1 dealer who also sold Cal spas.  It appears they now sell Coast and Catalina spas . We probably would have walked on by but the spa they had up front was one clearly meant as a wow factor. I have definitely never seen anything like this Serenity tub, the entire front of the tub is a big waterfall.  Definitely gimicky.



We get into the fair free and go at least 5 times so I had no problem spending an hour looking here since I had never seen a Coast spa before. (I don't think we had a Coast dealer when we bought.)

A Coast rep from Michigan latched on to us. Dealers on this board forgive me, I wasn't honest with him, I just said we were looking at tubs and wanted to guage what he had to said vs what I already know.

He did a pretty good job pointing out the features of his tub.  One thing I did like was when you remove the filter you are outside the water surface so stuff doesn't fall off the filter back into the water.

He definitely said full foam is the only way to go if you don't live in Southern California and thermopane is simply a flawed concept (His opinion remember) He was definitely a bash the competition guy as I mentioned brands we looked at.

When mentioning Dynasty he said, "you have to watch mom and pop' operations that switch brands regularly as  you will be left without support,"  I found that amusing as he was hired for the fair by a dealer who was a D1/Cal dealer just a year ago.  

He bad mouthed Master Spas filtration system (I don't remember the details. )   Beachcomber he said something about, "You can't even get a ......." I can't remember what that one thing was.

Interestingly, his only comment about Hot springs was, "Its a fine tub."

[wmccall]

PS- I also found an interesting feature I hadn't seen before. COAST has a "stucco like" exterior as an option. It wouldn't look good at my house, but I could vision some places where it would make a nice looking addition to someone's outdoor motif.


Also, we talk alot about wet testing and I've listened to people and dealer's thoughts about the subject.  I've enjoyed all the opinions.  With the Serenity tub I pictured above, I would have to say wet testing would be a requirement.  The layout is unusual and with the waterfall it LOOKS like it might be difficult to get in and out of.  I might find out that isn't the case on a wet test, but I would definitely not buy something  this radical without testing.  ( I probably would also want to see how a cover fits on this model)

[knowsabit]

I've owned a Coast Extreme...Hated everything about it.  They only have the gimmicks and wow factor going for them.  Although the filter was outside the body of water crap still got in the tub when you re-start it after cleaning the filter.

[Chas]

I have to admit, I too will tell a salesperson "I'm looking at Cal Spas," - or whatever - just to get them going. But hey, if I'm standing in front of a Cal Spa, looking at it, I'm not lying....

I have learned some amazing things about HotSpring by listening to a competitor.

The best one was a group of show-team sales people who were telling people that I wasn't at the fair that year because I had gotten kicked out for bad business practices. They were among the few people in this world to hear me get really upset, and almost scream. Then they wanted their brochure and written bid back....

[Wisoki]

What a maroon, everyone knows HotSpring dealers don't typically participate in fairs and home shows.

I have to admit, I too will tell a salesperson "I'm looking at Cal Spas," - or whatever - just to get them going. But hey, if I'm standing in front of a Cal Spa, looking at it, I'm not lying....

I have learned some amazing things about HotSpring by listening to a competitor.

The best one was a group of show-team sales people who were telling people that I wasn't at the fair that year because I had gotten kicked out for bad business practices. They were among the few people in this world to hear me get really upset, and almost scream. Then they wanted their brochure and written bid back....

[Spa_Tech]

wmccall, dont apologize for 'shopping' even after youve bought...

Before I became well known to the local dealers, I used to go 'shopping' to see what was being purveyed as truth. Now every dealer in a 75 mile radius knows who I am now, so 'shopping' isnt as fun.

Its always interesting to go into the new dealers incognito and test their overall knowledge though. In one instance I 'shopped' a new dealer in town and acted the part of the casual but interested prospect. Keeping a low profile while I allowed him to continue diseminating information until he brought up 'ozone' as an option. I asked him what ozone was for and was lead down a trail of fairytale contrivances...

"You can use it instead of chemicals..." Nu uh-

"It charges the water to kill bacteria..." Nope...

"It runs low voltage so its safe..." Wrong again, bozo.

And along that same vein- Chas is right- You can find out alot about HotSpring Spas from the competition- usually they are as accurate as the bozo's answers about ozone above...

Its pretty bad policy to say anything negative about any manufacturer unless you can immediately substantiate what you say, even then it can still sound like sour grapes...

[doodoo]

Dealers on this board forgive me, I wasn't honest with him, I just said we were looking at tubs and wanted to guage what he had to said vs what I already know.

On the contrary. What you did is called ''Mystery Shopping'' in any industry. I do it as part of my work and I'm in government.    

No, but truly, mystery shopping is an essential part of any line of work whether you are looking at competitors or performing quality assurance on your own product line.  That is what I do BTW QA on those that deliverer tools to Canadians on energy efficiency within the new housing market.  

Undertaking this activity ensures that the correct information is given to those that are in the market for whatever reasons. I'm uncertain if hot tub manufacturers (the bigger ones now) do this but most operations that are in retail have two types of QA, and one where the dealer is told when Corp office will be showing up to talk about new products or warranty issues, etc.... and also talk to the dealer about marketing, messaging, and a host of other issues and mystery shopping to get information that would otherwise not be shared by sending in prospective buyers who talk to the dealers about their product lines.

Sometimes I take the kids with me if they feel like checking out builders' developments and we have a whale of a time. I also still get out once in a while to look at other hot tubs. Wife thinks that is weird but hey works for me!

[Chris_H]

Not sure if this story belongs in this thread, but I thought I would post it anyway.

Interestingly, I had a D1 dealer in my area.  Doing a tent sale.  His store location was about 50 miles from his tent sale.  He brought in the “hit team” for the sale.  It was some of the funniest things I have ever heard.  D1, I guess has a great ozone system.  It is so good that they do not use any chemicals in this system.  When the hit team guy was done doing his presentation I asked for some prices, and he gave me some.  

I also requested a copy of their warranty.  They didn’t have one.  No big deal so he gets a copy of the warranty from the inside of the cabinet.  It comes in a big zip-loc bag.  Inside the zip-loc bag includes a light lens, the owners manual, the warranty card, a 1 once pack of di-chlor, and a 1 once pack of monopersulfate.  

I asked him about the di-chlor and the monopersulfate.  His replay ah, ah, ah…

Hit teams will do anything for a sale.

Wisoki,
I disagree with your statement that Hotspring does not recommend going to fairs and home shows.  They absolutely promote it.  In some cases, they will even give you a free spa just to go to one (to help offset the costs).  I can name two Hotspring dealers off of the top of my head where it is done.  
Chris H

[Spa_Tech]

"It is so good that they do not use any chemicals in this system."

"Inside the zip-loc bag includes a light lens, the owners manual, the warranty card, a 1 once pack of di-chlor, and a 1 once pack of monopersulfate.  

I asked him about the di-chlor and the monopersulfate.  His replay ah, ah, ah"


I guess that little tidbit wasnt in his 'top-gun' sales seminar- But it is a good reason to continue 'mystery shopping' as a retailer, because you as a salesperson can point out the inconsistancies in their marketing message.

Using that as an example, when your prospect comes in to talk about your spas and they bring up D1 spas  and the 'no chemical' water care- you can simply ask them to examine the contents of the D1 owners manual packet... even the owners manual has water care instructions using chlorine.

Truth can be a pretty big land mine against those who dont know to desiminate it.