question for dealers!

[Bonibelle]

Kidding around with Guzz today, I had a thought..or question. I was just wondering how many dealers out there have ever wet tested the competition? I know you all have access to your competition "on paper",  but do any of you ever get curious enough to wet test tubs made by companies, other than the ones you sell?

[Guzz]

Good question, we all shop the competion,  it's part of the job, but I personally have never wet tested one, my thoughts are I'm already taking up some poor salesmans time, and wet testing would be kinda rubbing salt in the wounds, and messing up his/her spas while real customers may be waiting, I guess I'm just a nice guy.

[Hot Tub Guru]

I have wet tested quite a few different brands of spas but never in the store.  Some I like, others I didn't.  I have also wet tested every model of Arctic (the brand I sell).  There are some models I love, others that don't fit me.  Example there are a few people on this forum that love the Tundra (skirex for example), while the Kodiak is my favorite.  

Michael

[Hot Tub Guru]

On another note.  I was recently shoped at a home show.  I didn't find out it was a nother dealer until later.  Was I mad that I got shoped, NO.  I'm going to shop my competors.  But the way I was shoped wasen't very nice.  When the shopper (my competor) walked in there were customers in the booth.  The shopper took up my time while I could have been with someone else in my booth.  That wasen't right.

If you are going to shop your competors, be respetable.  Don't take away from someone who could be a real customer.  Tell your sales people to get out if other people walk into the booth or store that you are shopping.  

Michael

[socal]

i have not wet tested any of my competitors. i have been in a few of their stores. i cant say i "shopped" them because we were more interested in the hook-ups.
personally, i would like to visit and talk with a few of them, but a part of me doesnt want to take up their time if/when a customer is in their store. i try to be respectable to everyone. example, i was looking at bbq's with a freind and when we were approached by a salesperson, i mentioned where i worked and he was a little put off that i was in the store. i just told him i wasnt here to shop/price his product, only looking at bbq's. i felt "watched" as i walked around and decided to leave rather tha have the eyes on me.

[Tatooed_Lady]

. example, i was looking at bbq's with a freind and when we were approached by a salesperson, i mentioned where i worked and he was a little put off that i was in the store. i just told him i wasnt here to shop/price his product, only looking at bbq's. i felt "watched" as i walked around and decided to leave rather tha have the eyes on me.

Personally, I'd have tried to have fun with it....if people are going to watch, I'll give them something to look at... it's rude for them to treat you like any less of a customer just because of where you work....

[Bonibelle]

Kind of like that Mazda commercial

[Chas]

A couple of years ago I was talking with Bill Russell of "Santa Barbara Spas." He basically told me that his spa was a HotSpring 'with all the shortcomings fixed.'

Since I think very highly of HotSpring portable spas, I was interested. So I asked him where I could go to see one. He said he would send one to me, to let me look it over, hook it up and wet test it for as long as I wanted. So I chose a model and color, and the spa arrived. With an invoive.

I didn't know he was simply offereing to sell me a spa - but since it was there and all, I told them to leave the spa and I would work it out with Bill.

They did and I did.

So began the longest wet-test in history: we had the spa close to a year before we were able to unload it. It had some nice features, but it wasn't better than what we had, and the company ended up moving out of state and changing names anyway...

The customer who purchased the tub had a problem with the control panel, but even thought thery were technically out of biz, SB spas came through: they had a warranty from the control system manufacturer, and I was able to get the part for free. I had to pay for the labor, but both I and the customer were still pretty happy about the whole thing.

[Chas]

Oh! And I had a similar experience with Beachcomber. Two good friends of mine went to work for them, so I had a chance to go to the new distribution center in Southern Cal. I had my suit with me, and they had a tub hot, but we just never got around to the wet test. I ended up not carrying the line, but not because I don't think it's a good product.

And they have one of the most comfortable tubs to sit in dry!

[socal]

Personally, I'd have tried to have fun with it....if people are going to watch, I'll give them something to look at... it's rude for them to treat you like any less of a customer just because of where you work....

i was feeling respectable that day. otherwise, i would have been a smart *%@ all the way out the door. must have been something i ate  

[East_TX_Spa]

My answer to your question are some more questions:  Why would I care to sit in a competitor's spa?  What purpose would it serve?  Would it help me to sell more spas?  What would be the point?

I have never even been into one of my competitor's stores.  Have they been in mine?  You bet they have.  One girl came to my store, wasted 2 hours of my time, sat in several of my spas, ate a bag of popcorn I made for her, and left with a brand new swimsuit, videotape, and an armful of brochures.  I found out a few weeks later that her parents owned the local Beachcomber dealership (now out of business).

Well, I don't appreciate being lied to.  So, I decided to send her one of our newsletters that I send to our customers, only the one she received had been modified for her pleasure.

In the normal newsletter, I stressed the obvious advantages of 100% No-bypass filtration, of HotSpring's low electrical usage, and the fact that our most expensive spa at the time was $8,000.

In HER copy of the newsletter, I stressed the "facts" that HotSpring filters 100% of the urine in the spa, that our spas cost $0.00 / month to operate as long as they're not connected to an electrical source, and that our least expensive spa was $8000.

Lo and behold, a couple of customers walked into my store a few days later and said "The people down the road said your spas start at $8000.  Is that true?"

Me: "Why, no sir, our most expensive spa is $8000.  They start at $2995."

Customer: "They say you claim your spas use no electricity."

Me:  "Well, they cost about $10/month, which is pretty cheap."

Customer: "Hmmm....seems like they're spreading some lies about you and your product."

Me:  "Yeah, it does sound that way.  I wonder what else they may be lying to you about?"

Customer:  "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too."

Sold two spas directly as a result of that incident.

I have no need to shop my competition as I am not interested in how they conduct their business, I only need concern myself with how I conduct mine.

Terminator

[ssbraun]

Hey Term,
Welcome back!  I hope you had a great trip...maybe you have some good stories / pics to share with us when you have time...

Cheers!

Steve

[East_TX_Spa]

Hey Term,
Welcome back!  I hope you had a great trip...maybe you have some good stories / pics to share with us when you have time...

Cheers!

Steve

Thank you Steve!  I surely did have a great trip and I do have some very nice photos I'd love to share.  Will do so in the next couple of days.

The United States is the best place in the world, period.

Terminator

[Bonibelle]

Hey Term, sounds like you came back in a bad mood!
I only asked about wet testing, just like a Ford dealer might drive a Chevy for curiosity or just to help make comparison of products first hand. I guess you guys think it is a waste of time, yours and the other dealer's, that's OK, but I would be curious....and of course I don't sell hot tubs, so maybe I can't relate. Sorry if this put you in a bad mood  

[East_TX_Spa]

Hey Term, sounds like you came back in a bad mood!

Oh no, no, no......I'm in a great mood!  I'm sorry if I sounded crotchety in response to your question.  Quite the contrary, I thought it was a valid and interesting inquiry and it made me think about what possible benefits would be gained from wet testing competing brands.  I couldn't come up with one single advantage to doing so, but I evidently have a different approach to sales than some of my colleagues.

To each his own and may the consumer win.

Terminator