Dealer Reimbursement

[fatman]

The subject of dearler reimbursement probably never would have come to my mind at all had it not been for a talkative dealer.  A nearby hot tub dealer was recently telling me that he used to be a Beachcomber dealer. He told me that on more than one occassion he would perform warranty work on a tub but Beachcomber would not reimburse him for the warranty part. He said that he eventually got so disgusted with Beachcomber that he dropped the line and picked up Artesian. He really likes Artesian by the way. I would like to know if other dealers have experienced  this same problem and, if so, what did you do about it?

[Steve]

I've heard some manufacturers might be slow at warranty reimbursments or a stuggle trying to get warranty but I never witnessed that personally while at Beachcomber.

As a dealer, the course of action would be to deal with your rep and/or directly with the manufacturer to resolve it. If as a dealer, you are unhappy with the level of service you are receiving, your choice is to look at alternate lines. This is a fairly drastic response as many dealers spend a great deal of effort branding their stores.

Steve

[East_TX_Spa]

We've never had that problem.

Terminator

[stl-rex]

If as a dealer, you are unhappy with the level of service you are receiving, your choice is to look at alternate lines. This is a fairly drastic response as many dealers spend a great deal of effort branding their stores.
Steve

And bashing the competition they might have to carry in the future.............

[Steve]

And bashing the competition they might have to carry in the future.............

If those dealers choose to bash and they feel that strongly about a given product, I doubt they would select that particular brand as a line to carry if the circumstances ever came about. There are MANY lines of spas and I don't think any dealer is ever in a position where they HAVE TO carry any specific line.

Steve

[HotTubMan]

When I was working for a Beachcomber dealer, we did have many claims denied. These claims were not denied by Beachcomber, but by Cornerstone, the seller and administrator of Beachcomber's "Premium Guarantee" which extended the standard warranty from 2 years to 5.

One side note on that comment:
At the time, Beachcomber had informed Cornerstone that they would not be using Cornerstones program on tubs manufactured in 2004 or going forward.

I believe that may have ticked off the good folks at Cornerstone and they may have taken a "work to rule" or "every 'I' must be dotted and every 'T' must be crossed philosophy.

[Steve]

Even with that, we didn't have many claims denied. Then again, ours were real claims!

How's my counterpart doing out there? Had a good year?

Steve

[hotubinn]

I have found this to be the case with many manufacturers.  Just about every check I receive is light in one way or another.  My problem is, I run an independent service company.  So far I have taken my lumps in stride, in order to get non-warranty work from the dealers that I service as well as future non-warranty work.  So far we aren't starving, but I am getting pretty tired of being hosed on a regular basis!