Gullible Guy is Gullible (or How I Deluded Myself on an On-Time HT Delivery)

[HoW2001]

So when I ordered an Artesian tub back in February, the dealer did say "while we cannot guarantee delivery for your scheduled May installation date, we do have transparency with Artesian so we do have certainty where you are in the pipe line as we get closer to your delivery date."  And when I followed up last week before undertaking some pricey repairs to my back deck in preparation for the install I was told "your order actually already did have a delay, but scheduled delivery to the warehouse was still within your install date, and at this late date you don't really see further delays," so of course I moved forward with the work.  Sure enough, just as the work was completed, I receive this:

Unfortunately Artesian is once again bumping out production dates. They are still working at full capacity but have delays due to material sourcing. Their suppliers cannot get the components required at a steady rate to make items such as control panels and Resin shells. Please be aware that this does not affect (only) your individual tub but the 300+ we currently have on order. Three other hot tub companies have recently shut down and others are only working at 30% capacity due to these delays.

As of April 1st, any spas shipping will be invoiced to us at a 10% increase. We refuse to raise the price to our customers and will honor our current sales even though we must pay the increased price at time of shipment and deliver these tubs at a loss. We do this in good faith to honor our commitment to our customers and to provide the best service possible considering these crazy times. We will continue to monitor this situation and are reaching out now so there is clear understanding ahead of time and are being proactive instead of delayed responses to this situation. Unfortunately, we have no control and are at their mercy.

I understand this may be troubling and frustrating, but we will keep you updated. It goes without saying that we will be more than happy to refund your purchase as a result of being unhappy with the situation but strongly recommend you stick with their order if you wish to receive a spa within the year as again, every company is affected, and any new orders submitted have lead times of 2023 as of this week.

All that said, I will move your hot tub install to our absolute soonest date.  

Not sure why I was expecting it would go any differently for me than it seemingly has for everyone else!

[cranbiz]

It's all the manufacturers. Most of them have 12-18 month or more lead times. Unprecedented times are upon us. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the components needed (chips, plastics, resins, etc) are in containers in Egypt. Another issue is there are not enough truck drivers to haul the loads. I have a friend in the commercial lumber business and he can't get companies to haul his loads, no drivers, even when offering a premium for the load.

My tub has been delayed by a month. 2 weeks ago, my tub was supposed to be in final assembly and QC but apparently, it got delayed another 2 weeks. According to the dealer, it will leave Vegas this Friday. That was my call to him yesterday. Artesian is at least still trying to manufacture tubs. Some manufacturers have stopped production of some models, some manufacturers are shutting down due to lack of parts. I ordered my tub in January, it was unsold in a shipment of tubs that was ordered in August of 19. I was told then that it was scheduled for arrival in Feb, for install the beginning of March. 2 weeks later, it was pushed out to install early April, now it's mid May. Unfortunately, your dealer can only give you information as they get it and in these times, things are changing daily.

Balboa has a shortage of components to make Spa Packs and top sides, Gecko is no different.

It does suck but a lot of this is out of their control.

[HoW2001]

It's all the manufacturers. Most of them have 12-18 month or more lead times. Unprecedented times are upon us. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the components needed (chips, etc) are in containers in Egypt. Another issue is there are not enough truck drivers to haul the loads. I have a friend in the commercial lumber business and he can't get companies to haul his loads, no drivers.

My tub has been delayed by a month. 2 weeks ago, my tub was supposed to be in final assembly and QC but apparently, it got delayed another 2 weeks. According to the dealer, it will leave Vegas this Friday. That was my call to him yesterday. Artesian is at least still trying to manufacture tubs. Some manufacturers have stopped production of some models, some manufacturers are shutting down due to lack of parts.

Balboa has a shortage of components to make Spa Packs and top sides, Gecko is no different.

It does suck but a lot of this is out of their control.

Totally get all of that, but it would have been nice to have been told in February "we'll schedule you for May, but keep in touch, as delays are likely, and can be as long as 12 months.  For example, the most recent tubs we delivered were ordered in ___________, and our oldest outstanding orders date back to ______________."   I honestly would have still bought a tub, but would have set expectations properly.  Given what I was sold, I will definitely NOT be happy if its another 9-15 months out!

[cranbiz]

I'll bet, in February, that was the latest data the dealer had. I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't add a small fudge factor to the timeline. I know my dealer did.

I also would have liked a bit better communications but I can also imagine the nightmare that would be, calling everyone with a tub on order to say, oh, your tub is now delayed another month.

I didn't nag my dealer but everytime I called them, I feel I was getting the best info they had at the time. My dealer also has insight to Artesian production schedules and I'm sure if they knew that it would not be until this week for my tub to ship, he would have told me.

[CanadianSpaTech]

Get your money back and find a quality used spa. Save money and have it when you want it. Just throwing it out there.

[Spatech_tuo]

I'll bet, in February, that was the latest data the dealer had. I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't add a small fudge factor to the timeline. I know my dealer did.

I also would have liked a bit better communications but I can also imagine the nightmare that would be, calling everyone with a tub on order to say, oh, your tub is now delayed another month.

I didn't nag my dealer but everytime I called them, I feel I was getting the best info they had at the time. My dealer also has insight to Artesian production schedules and I'm sure if they knew that it would not be until this week for my tub to ship, he would have told me.

I would certainly bet otherwise.

What dealer could take a new order in February 2021 and expect a May 2021 delivery? Maybe if a customer was taking over a cancelled order from someone else purchased months prior to that but that wasn't mentioned and if so I'd expect any dealer would tell them how lucky they were to have been at the right place, right time.

[HoW2001]

I'll bet, in February, that was the latest data the dealer had. I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't add a small fudge factor to the timeline. I know my dealer did.

I also would have liked a bit better communications but I can also imagine the nightmare that would be, calling everyone with a tub on order to say, oh, your tub is now delayed another month.

I didn't nag my dealer but everytime I called them, I feel I was getting the best info they had at the time. My dealer also has insight to Artesian production schedules and I'm sure if they knew that it would not be until this week for my tub to ship, he would have told me.

I would certainly bet otherwise.

What dealer could take a new order in February 2021 and expect a May 2021 delivery? Maybe if a customer was taking over a cancelled order from someone else purchased months prior to that but that wasn't mentioned and if so I'd expect any dealer would tell them how lucky they were to have been at the right place, right time.

What they told me was they had been placing rolling orders and you could buy one off of their order list (literally, presented various models with options/colors and delivery dates) or place your own custom order and wait 1 year plus.  I got the same story from the Hot Springs dealer, so it seemed legit. 

[Sammi]

I think its all over the board with dealers. I ordered my HS ed. at the beginning of August and was told delivery the end of August. I had been following this forum at that point and was shocked and couldn't believe it. I subsequently got delay and received the tub Sept 9thish. Basically a 10 delay with a holiday weekend included.  I got lucky. 

I was picking up some chemicals 3 weeks ago and overheard said dealer going through their queue with a potential customer on the phone.  They went through every anticipated truck and said their first available tub of any model was July 29th. Now - those tubs could for sure experience delays, but from my experience I had my dealer kept me up to speed on everything including the 10 day delay.

The dealers on here have, can, and will chime im, but ultimately if you have a good dealer they'll pass along he best info they get from the manufacturer. The dealer can't control the info they get whether its good or bad. 

On a side note my dealer had a floor full of models filled for wet testing. They aren't selling the floor models either right now. I'm shocked they have stock to do that.

[cranbiz]

I'll bet, in February, that was the latest data the dealer had. I also wouldn't be surprised if he didn't add a small fudge factor to the timeline. I know my dealer did.

I also would have liked a bit better communications but I can also imagine the nightmare that would be, calling everyone with a tub on order to say, oh, your tub is now delayed another month.

I didn't nag my dealer but everytime I called them, I feel I was getting the best info they had at the time. My dealer also has insight to Artesian production schedules and I'm sure if they knew that it would not be until this week for my tub to ship, he would have told me.

I would certainly bet otherwise.

What dealer could take a new order in February 2021 and expect a May 2021 delivery? Maybe if a customer was taking over a cancelled order from someone else purchased months prior to that but that wasn't mentioned and if so I'd expect any dealer would tell them how lucky they were to have been at the right place, right time.

New factory order, sure, those were not being quoted for May delivery. My dealer was quoting early 2022 delivery for new factory orders. Mine was an unsold tub in an order placed in August 2020. My friend, who bought at the same time had a tub that was ordered Oct 2020, he was told at the end of January that it was expected at that time for July delivery. That has now "officially" slipped to late August and in reality, we expect it late September to late October.

[Sam]

This is the same throughout the entire industry.  We've been taking what the manufacturers are telling us and adding more padding to cover our butt.  Even with the additional time, we are still not meeting projections.  It's just absolutely bonkers.  We are letting people cancel at any time and when they do, those spas are selling before we hang up the phone. 

At the end of the day, I think most dealers are trying to be honest and  are giving the best information that they have at the time.  Unfortunately, new unforeseen supply chain issues continue to pop up.  It's getting frustrating to continually get yelled at by customers.  I promise, we aren't trying to be shady.

[BullFrogSpasMN]

Out of anyone's control, be prepared to have some patience, if you don't I suggest waiting a couple years to buy a new spa or attempt to find something quality/used. 

[CanadianSpaTech]

One MFG held up almost a week...lumber shortage no pallets to ship them out on. We use to just dump them. Nobody wanted them. Now we are stockpiling them and selling them to a pallet company that will take all they can get... and they are likely selling them to a Spa MFG...lol

[Hottubguy]

One MFG held up almost a week...lumber shortage no pallets to ship them out on. We use to just dump them. Nobody wanted them. Now we are stockpiling them and selling them to a pallet company that will take all they can get... and they are likely selling them to a Spa MFG...lol

That's funny I just had a manufacturer drive 300 miles out of there way to grab 80 pallets from me because they were out

[CanadianSpaTech]

Just received a letter from Gecko Depot announcing a price increase

[The Wizard of Spas]

I'll bet, in February, that was the latest data the dealer had.

This is very much on point. 

Supplier giving ETA --> Manufacturer planning for said ETA, gives dealer ETA  -->  Dealer gets ETA on shipment, tells customer  -->  Customer plans for said ETA. 

Customer relies on dealer, who relies on manufacturer, who relies on supplier(s) for ETAs.  Couple that with the fact that there are only 2 acrylic manufacturers, like 3 pump suppliers, jet suppliers, so on, so forth, and that compounds the issue.  You can begin to understand why the entire industry is in a "hurry up and wait" mindset.  *Then* couple that with unprecedented demand.

There is zero upside for someone like me, for instance, to not get a spa out ASAP.  No good comes for false expectations.  However, it is also incredibly difficult to give continuous updates as there are thousands of spas on order and our parts situation changes daily to weekly (consider - by the time we send out one communique, that information could be already outdated!). 

I am not at all picking on the original poster and I hope that this comes off as genuine.  Just want to give a peek behind the curtain to explain why a benign question similar to "I can wait but I would like an update" is so hard to execute. There are so many links in the chain with so many variables that you're set up to fail in terms of setting up correct expectations. 

I hope this helps.  Good luck moving forward.