Artesian Piper Glen pre fill review

[bob5820]

I thought I'd throw together a little pre soak review of my Artesian Piper Glen. Due to some poor planning on my part, my Piper Glen was delivered last week, but my deck will not be finished for another 2 or 3 weeks. I have to go out of town on business for a couple of weeks anyway, so its not as bad as it seems. Should be up and running in early October. So this is going to be sort of an initial impression before I get any water in the tub review. I'll update once the tub is up and running.

1) external fit and finish - No complaints, looks good no defects, except...OK, this is minor, but the Philips head slots on some of the screws holding the skirts on were some what torn up. Its not even noticeable unless your looking right at it, but it does kinda say impatient guy with a screw gun, rather then a craftsman as Artesians literature implies. Some of the screws were loose, but this may have happened during shipping.

2) color - I ordered a Pearl Shadow (black) shell with a taupe skirt. I really like this combination, it goes well with the SS escutcheons. The Piper Glen at the dealer was sterling marble (silver) / redwood, which I did not like at all, so I was very pleased when I saw how my tub looked.

3) One of the front corner pieces of the skirt should have had a cut out (hole) for the electrical wire. Neither one did. The dealer noticed this when he dropped of my tub. He offered to come back the next morning and replace it, but couldn't get out of work. I asked him if I could pick it up after work and install it myself, and he agreed. So I pulled of the front skirt and one of the side skirts and then removed the corner piece. The side skirt and the corner piece screw directly into the wood frame, while the front skirt screws into threaded inserts. As you will not need to remove the corner piece or the side skirt very often ( if ever) its not a big deal in and of itself. It only became a problem when I found it took me about 5 tries to get the corner piece back on just right so both skirts would fit. The other downside is that this new corner piece is some what faded compared to the rest of the skirt. The fact that the tub left the factory without a electrical cut out, once again makes me feel like whoever put the skirt on the tub really didn't have there heart in the job.

4) While recording the s/n, I noticed that the date of manufacture was 6/15. I thought this odd as I did not order the tub until 8/10. When I ordered the tub the dealer told me it would take Artesian about 45 days to build and ship my tub. When I asked the dealer if Artesian had shipped me an old tub, or at least one that was older then my order, he said he didn't think so, as they wouldn't know in advance what colors I wanted. He couldn't explain the discrepancy, but said he would look into it. I ordered an option free tub in what may be a fairly common color choice, so I think it fairly obvious my tub was already sitting around the factory when I ordered it. The dealer told me that the warranty didn't start until they delivered the tub so its not really that big of a deal, just a little troubling. Another issue along the same lines is that the s/n looks like it ends in a 2 on the plate in the tub (its hand written), while the warranty card, which had already been filled out with the s/n and model, but not any personal information, looks like it ends in a 3 (once again hard to tell because its hand written). The dealer said that the card doesn't matter as they take care of the warranty details at the store.

5) While I had the front skirt off I did a little poking around and discovered that the ozinator was a UV type and not the CD type as I had ordered. Artesian offers 3 different ozinators. The UV, which is standard, a CD type which is a no cost option, and a chambered CD type that is a $400.00 option. I rechecked my purchase contract and it specifically states special order, ozinator - corona discharge. The dealer said it was an easy replacement, and that he would contact Artesian to resolve the problem. Now the difference between a UV and a CD is probably nothing to get worked up over, but its not what I ordered.

At this point I'm hopeful that all these issues will be resolved, and that once the tub is up and running I'll be happy. I have to say that I am concerned with Artesians quality control, and I intend to contact them directly for some answers.

[bob5820]

I got a call from my dealer while I was out of town. He went ahead and ordered the CD ozinator, and will install it when it comes in. At this point I'm feeling pretty positive about the dealer resolving the issues. Still haven't heard back from Artesian though, which is kind of disappointing. I know that the manufacturer probably prefers to let the dealer handle customer relations, but as I emailed them directly about it I would have liked an answer. The ozinator mix up was my primary concern, and thats is being addressed by the dealer. I can live with the slightly faded corner piece, and the screws are easily replaced. I would have appreciated an explanation from Artesian about the manufacture date. The assumption I'm making is that they normally do build a tub after the order has be placed but that in my case:
a) some one ordered the same tub  (with the UV ozinator) as me at an earlier date, and then canceled the order.
b) Artesian does build a number of stock tubs, and I just happened to order one in the same colors.
In the end its not that big of a deal, but a reply from Artesian would have gone a long way towards alleviating my concerns. I often have to pass on information to customer that is not what they wanted to hear, but have found that doing so, make for a better relation then blowing them off.

To close on a good note, it looks like construction on my deck should get underway on Monday. I'll be out of town for the week on another business trip, so hopefully I'll have the tub up and running just after I get back.

[J._McD]

I do not know the right answer to this, but it could be serial numbers are assigned when the shell is formed and awaits a build out, but the cards that's another story.  

I see your issue of concern, but I wouldn't put a lot of thought into it.  The final outcome is the HOT WATER get ready, put a bottle of bubbly in the fridge and get some of those sweet smelly candles.

[Vinny]

I have to say that I believe Artesian forwards the e-mail to your dealer. At least they did with me.

I don't have any comment about the date issue except I agree to what J._McD said "The final outcome is the HOT WATER ". Give them a call at their 800 number to get an answer, if it's important to you.

As for the other issues, it seems that the CD ozinator is being replaced like you said - if the other issues are bothersome, request them to repair them.

[bob5820]

I agree with what you have both stated, and if I had the tub up and running probably wouldn't even care about any of theses issues. I was a little concerned at first, not by any one of the issues, but by the combinations of issues, and was a little apprehensive that I would be left out on a limb. Now that I have seen that the dealer isn't going to leave me hanging, things don't seem as bad. Thanks for letting me vent some steam.