Aggravation

[East_TX_Spa]

Gee whiz, what do you do?

Some guy just walked in the door, pointed at a Sovereign, goes "How much?"  I say "$8400".  He points at a Jetsetter and says "How much?"  I say "$6100".  He says "I need a big spa."  "How big?" I reply.

"Big, to seat 5 people."
"Well, we have quite a few in that size range.  If you have a few minutes, I'd be happy to show you what's available."

He walks out the door to the deck, points at a Caspian and says "How much?"

I reply "$8500 w/ a CoverCradle.  That's the last '05 and we are selling it for $7200."

"How many jets?"

"I'm not sure.  We can count them if you'd like.  Have you ever looked at spas before?"

"I just looked at CalSpas in Dallas.  They have a lot of jets."

"Yes they do.  Is the number of jets something that's important to you or is the quality and variety of jets more important?"

"I don't know.  Do you have a brochure?"

At this point, I'm deciding "this ain't worth the effort" and went and got him a couple of show handouts.  It's going to be a busy day and I just didn't need the aggravation of trying to talk to someone who is not going to listen.

Would anyone have handled it differently?  I'm open to suggestions.

Terminator

[CapMorgan]

Hey Term,

When I bought my hot tub from my dealer about a month ago I went in and did the same thing which was point to tubs that looked good to me and said how much is that tub after doing that about 3 times the dealer said I don’t like doing that giving out prices like that, I was like saying to myself well that is BullS**t. Now being a newbie at hot tubs and I work hard for my money I am just shopping around and researching tubs to get the best deal and a good tub for my money anyway I figured at this point I was not going to get anywhere with this guy and asked for a brochure and he gave me one and I left, but before I left he asked me when I would be buying a tub and I said when I find one that I liked that was in my price range, so he asked for my phone # saying that if anything came up he would give me a call, I was like ya right so I left and guess what 2 weeks later he called me back with a deal on a tub that I liked and was in my price range granted it was a 05 model that he was trying to get rid of so he can make room for a 06 model but to me it did not matter to me and the tub I got I love it.

So term don’t get mad at people who walk around asking how much is that tub we are just shopping around trying to get the best tub we can for the money. I’m sure we all work hard for our money and are just trying to get the best deal.

But you see how my dealer handled it and what the out come was which was a tub sold and paid for cash.

CapMorgan  

[BK]

I'll give you that he sounded like a tough nut to crack, but I have to ask:

"If you don't like being asked how much something costs, why don't you put a price tag on it!!!!"

A very "aggravating" part of my shopping process has been looking at tubs with no pricing on them whatsoever.

So there's one thing I'd do differently.

[Guzz]

Term, I feel your pain my friend. You are right, sometimes you have to decide if it's worth the fight. Since price seemed to be in the driving seat with this guy I would have asked him what his budget was. Then talk about why one spa may be in the 5g range and another would be in the 9g range and what the differance is. Kinda of like agree with the guy (some spas seem overpriced)  to get him on your side.Then educate why.

[Wisoki]

Every spa sold is sold because of it's price PERIOD. I don't give a rats behind what any of you say, "oh, I bought my tub because it was the best one made", or "we only sell brand X because they are the best tubs made." Allow me to illustrate..... How many times has this happened to you?.......

Customer: I need some chlorine.

Sales person: OK, it's right here, I've not seen you before, did you buy your spa here?

C:No, I bought a Ca#$ Spa. We got a great deal on a great tub.

SP: well great, that'll be 16.42.

C:I have had to have them out a coulpe of times to repair it.

SP: OH, I'm sorry to hear that, 16.42 please.

C: well, the heater went out once, and we've had to replace a pump twice. But we got a great deal.

SP: Hmmm, when did you get it?

C: Last year at the state fair.

SP: Hmmm, we were there, did you look at our spas?

C: Yeah, we did, and we liked your spas, but they made us a great deal.

SP: OK, well, thats 16.42 please. (In my head...if this guy says what a great deal he got one more time it's going to be 32.84!)

Any of this ringing any bells with any of you?

Term, I feel your pain my friend. You are right, sometimes you have to decide if it's worth the fight. Since price seemed to be in the driving seat with this guy I would have asked him what his budget was. Then talk about why one spa may be in the 5g range and another would be in the 9g range and what the differance is. Kinda of like agree with the guy (some spas seem overpriced)  to get him on your side.Then educate why.

[anne]

I actually dont see why you were aggravated. I would expect all customers to ask such questions, albeit, perhaps more gently. Granted, he was an uneducated buyer, but who isnt in the beginning? And price DOES matter! Whether the reality is nice or not, it is the bottom line. Whatever value you can get for your price range is going to depend on the research you do, but how is one to know prices unless they ask?

"Yes they do.  Is the number of jets something that's important to you or is the quality and variety of jets more important?"

"I don't know.  Do you have a brochure?"

He didn't know! This just sounds like someone out shopping for the first time, wanting to gather some info to read at home. I just dont see the problem. There was probably an undertone to the conversation that print cannot convey, but even if the guy was really brisk and unfriendly, he's just out there looking for the first time. And he came into your store. How is that a problem?

[Tatooed_Lady]

Okay....so he's getting an idea of how much the tubs are, maybe trying to figure out if the number of jets is where the difference is....(this is a stereotype) sounds like a male thing, really....more jets = more power = GOOD, right?
He probably wasn't paying attention to you when you asked if the number of jets or the quality and variety was more important.....he was probably turning numbers over in his head, my guess..
I was that goober in February. Pointing at the Grandee, asking "how much?", then realizing that was a bit more than I'd intended to spend, and trying to focus on the OTHER tubs in the range I was thinking of paying. I think I asked "how much for that tub?" about 8 times....only difference being, I wasn't trying to compare them to someone else's tubs....and it was the dealer that turned me on to a higher quality (see also: more expensive) product...
So....is it worth the hassle? My guess is most of the time: no. But every now and again, ya gotta bite your lip, maybe offer to give a brochure with some rough pricing estimates by the tubs the customer likes, and hope for the best.

Term, I give you and the other dealers here a LOT of credit....if I were in sales, I'd NEVER make it.....too many people, too little patience.

[East_TX_Spa]

I appreciate ya'lls input.

Just for the record, I don't mind at all when people ask the price, that usually initiates dialogue.  My contention was the guy just walks in, starts pointing at spas, asking prices, jet count, and doesn't even bother to listen to my replies.  That's fine, that's his prerogative.

Realize, this all took place in about 3 minutes: boom, boom, boom.

I just kind of look at it like this:  he's probably been bombarded with salespeople throwing jet counts and low prices at him and he figures all spas are just the same.  Maybe he has no desire to find out what the differences are or maybe he'll go home and peruse the brochures for research.  Maybe he just didn't like my haircut and I didn't particularly like his either.

On a happier note, 2 couples just left, we all looked at the spas together, and each of them bought a 110V white Endurol Sovereign.  So, disregard my whining in the first post.

Terminator

[Tatooed_Lady]

 consider it done.  
Congrats on the sales!

[East_TX_Spa]

Thank you!

And, just to add, I'm not mad at anyone.  It takes a lot to make me mad and some little guy asking prices doesn't elicit anger from me.  I was just aggravated (disillusioned, perturbed, flabbergasted) by his lack of cordiality (again, his prerogative).  I'm a friendly, social person by nature and when I ask someone a question, I would like a reply.  I answered his questions, down in these here parts it's common courtesy to return the favor.

Maybe he'll hop on the "Be Back Bus"!

And Wisocki, I certainly can relate to exactly what you said.  Had many a dialogue just like you described.

Terminator

[Gomboman]

I think you handled it better than I would have. But, if I were a dealer I would post prices on each spa. That way, a goober could at least get a feel for the price relationship between different models. I personally hate to shop for anything (Cars, Motorcycles, TV's, flooring, spas, etc.) without posted prices.

That being said, I'm not sure how you folks deal with the public on a daily basis. I probably would starve if I had to deal with a-holes off the street all day long.  

[Chas]

I appreciate ya'lls input.

On a happier note, 2 couples just left, we all looked at the spas together, and each of them bought a 110V white Endurol Sovereign.  So, disregard my whining in the first post.
Terminator

So is that one spa per couple or four spas total? "each of them bought..."

OK. I'm just jealous 'cause it's noon and I've only sold a TX so far. But the lovely and gracious wife is working a couple on a Grandee right now.

One other thought - do you ever get folks who JUST talk about the size? Or JUST the colors?

[galen]

Term, I think you handled it as good as anyone. At least better than me. I' m at work now and its one of "those" days here. The longer I'm in business I've learned to leave some customers alone.  The customer is king but I stand my ground too.

[East_TX_Spa]

Chas, come on now.  If I'd a sold 4 spas to 2 couples, I'd be passed out drunk by now.

Galen, AMEN!  I love most of my customers but some folks who come in here are toadsuckers and we reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE.  The fella who came in earlier wasn't a toadsucker, he just wasn't very congenial.

Terminator

[galen]

Term, your my kind of guy. I laugh at alot of your posts. Bottom line, you just can't please all the people, all the time, but you can make them drink at the waterin hole. Or something like that.