Not what we ordered!!

[PaulMc]

  If someone got into a legal agreement for a tub from a dealer and when it came time to pay at delivery the customer said... "Well, I'm going to give you 150 dollars less than we agreed to, or if you want I'll give you the full amount in another four weeks" I'm guessing said dealer wouldn't ignore his sore boo boo, or that another four weeks not getting paid wouldn't hurt. Ridiculous statement IMNSHO.

[J._McD]

It certainly appears that there are more people wanting a pound of flesh and NOBODY, knows what has really happened and it also appears the judge and jury have decided the dealer should suffer the consequenses.

IF Salty_Ag is that outraged then he should make his own decisions.  He really doesn't need little voices coaching him to go for the dealers throat or pocket.

#1, Ask him to change the cabinet from one to another and deliver the spa.  As a dealer who has encountered a manufacturers error similar to this years ago, I would suggest, for the interest of fit and finish, let the dealer do the right thing and get the new spa in for delivery.

I for one, will tell you that you're all making more than this dealer is.  The price has been stated.

[Wisoki]

The dealer DID do something wrong. Unless the order sent to the factory was correct, but the spa came incorrect, which I highly doubt, not impossible but definitely improbable, the dealer ordered the wrong spa. So, the dealer can give the customer ALL their money back and be out the entire sale, or he can say as a gesture of good faith, that he understands their time, as is his, is valuable and offer the discount for their time. You EXPECT to be compensated for your time, do you not? I do! And I'm sore this little buckandahalf would go a long way to making the customer feel better. Besides, I'm a firm believer in that people only hear 2 things. Bah blah blah money and bla blah blah sex.

Why does he deserve compensation, thats what's wrong with our attitude these days, shi. happens, deal with it. Why should someone have to pay all the time... Give me a break!

[drewstar]

I think the customer should have the option to be released from any obligation or compensated for his inconvience.  If the dealer and manufcatuer don't care, then they should be prepared to loose a customer.

Dealers need to aware that from a consumer's standpoint many times the line between the dealer and manufactuer is thin at best. After all, when you are touting how great the tub is you and the manufactuer are one in the same. But as soon as the manufacteur makes a mistake, many of you are quick to distance yourself from them and claim "oh, I'm just the dealer, this is the factory that screwed up".

As a consumer I get enraged when a dealer or store does this and passes the buck., even if it's the factory's fault. I see you as thier represenative.

Offering exceptional service and being there to assist the Customer is what many of you tout as being the value added by dealerships.  

Some dealers may not like this, but  I seek out companies that excel when things have problems. Any dealer can look like a superstar when everything is perfect. It's when there are problems and screw ups do you see who you are really dealing with.

[TN__HOT_TUB]

IF Salty_Ag is that outraged then he should make his own decisions.  He really doesn't need little voices coaching him to go for the dealers throat or pocket.

I think he DID request little voices and opinions (see original post).  

[Jack_L]

Why is it that everybody has to be compensated these days if everything does not go exactly to plan. The dealer did nothing wrong here, why should he have to give you something to make your boo boo feel better. Look, your'e going to enjoy the spa for many many years to come, waiting a few weeks is not going to hurt you.

What the dealer did not do is follow the order all the way to delivery, making sure what went out was the right product.

Sounds to me the dealer sent out the paper work and was done with it.  Maybe the spa business dealers who sell product don't make phone calls to make sure the items are correct, but it seems to me common sense is to make phone calls prior to all deliveries to make sure everything is as its suppose to be.  

It also could have been that the dealer just messed up and wrote down the wrong colors.

Good luck with  your tub!

[East_TX_Spa]

I don't know that we've ever ordered the wrong color before, but we have accidentally sold the same spa to two different people.  This problem occurs due to (1) having 3 stores and (2) doing off-site promotions.

We give the customer the following choices:

1. Bump them up to the next bigger spa at the same price of the original spa they ordered

2. Provide them with a loaner spa until their's can be delivered.  I don't remember anyone ever having to wait more than 3 weeks for us to get their spa delivered.

Terminator

[Skellman]

It's obvious why East Texas Spa has been in business so long.
A dealer that takes the initiative to keep the customer happy. Or as a Texan would say "Head er' off at the pass"

[East_TX_Spa]

It's obvious why East Texas Spa has been in business so long.
A dealer that takes the initiative to keep the customer happy. Or as a Texan would say "Head er' off at the pass"

It's not my policy, it's the boss's.  If it were up to me, I'd tell them to quit whining about it and get the hell off my propurty!

Terminator

[Drewski]

For you newbies reading this forum and thinking about buying a spa, here's the type of attitude you DON'T want to see in a dealer:

Why is it that everybody has to be compensated these days if everything does not go exactly to plan. The dealer did nothing wrong here, why should he have to give you something to make your boo boo feel better. Look, your'e going to enjoy the spa for many many years to come, waiting a few weeks is not going to hurt you.

It certainly appears that there are more people wanting a pound of flesh and NOBODY, knows what has really happened and it also appears the judge and jury have decided the dealer should suffer the consequences.

IF Salty_Ag is that outraged then he should make his own decisions.  He really doesn't need little voices coaching him to go for the dealers throat or pocket.

It ALWAYS amazes me how quick some dealers are to "recommend" what tub to buy or, more specifically, what tub NOT to buy, but the second someone has a problem and complains about it, WHAM, "it's not that bad," "it's only a little problem," "it's not OUR fault," whine, whine, whine, whine.....

These TWO, and I MEAN these TWO need to take a lesson from a few of the more classy dealers on this board that seem to have a much better sense of treating CUSTOMERS well.

Does Salty Ag have an issue? You DA*N right he does. I'd be PIS*ED OFF too and probably come to this forum to vent, just like he did. He's been reading for the last few months about how WORTHWHILE it is to buy a "BETTER" tub, find a "GOOD" dealer, "STICK" with that dealer for help. Who cares what went wrong? The FACT is that someone on the dealer or manufacturer end SCREWED up and if SALTY Ag can't trust them to get the order RIGHT after he PAID them, how the heck can he trust them with anything else?

If I'd have been that dealer, the FIRST thing I would have done is told Salty Ag how very SORRY I was that my DUMB A$$ couldn't get his stuff right. DON’T even start about the factory. If the factory can't get orders right, SELL a DIFFERENT LINE of TUBS!  Dealers REPRESENT the factory to the customer, they shouldn't be making EXCUSES for them because if they do, the DEALER is just as BIG a PROBLEM as the factory.  CLUE??

If I had been the dealer, would I have gave the customer a discount or his money back? NO! WHY? Because before he left that store, I would have made it RIGHT for him and made certain HE and his WIFE were HAPPY. HOW? Treat them like they were the MOST important people in the world and do something NICE for them. Salty Ag is probably posting here, saying what he's saying, because his dealer DIDN'T do this!

My company provides outsourcing services for municipal governments and in the last 2 years we've INCREASED business by 100%. We do more than $40 million in revenue per year and currently have 75 municipal clients. Recently, we picked up a BIG contract in Northern Virginia. How did we get it over the BIG firms? SURE we provided a GOOD product, wrote a GREAT proposal, had all the bells and whistles. BUT, when we asked the client what made the difference and WHY they picked us, they said "we called each one of your clients for a reference and NOT one of them said anything bad about you." "In fact, most of your clients said you guys were the BEST firm they had EVER dealt with in government contracting."

Guzz and J._McD, THAT'S what the VALUE of TREATING people RIGHT is and those are the RESULTS you get from doing it.  Sometimes the CRAP you guys post on this forum REALLY isn’t worth reading and only serves to piss people off.  It's just getting old...

Drewski

     

[Guzz]

What the dealer did not do is follow the order all the way to delivery, making sure what went out was the right product.

Sounds to me the dealer sent out the paper work and was done with it.  Maybe the spa business dealers who sell product don't make phone calls to make sure the items are correct, but it seems to me common sense is to make phone calls prior to all deliveries to make sure everything is as its suppose to be.  

It also could have been that the dealer just messed up and wrote down the wrong colors.

Good luck with  your tub!

I can't speak for other dealers, but Watkins always confirms each spa with me by phone before it is put on the truck.

[TN__HOT_TUB]

TWO[/b] need to take a lesson from a few of the more classy dealers on this board that seem to have a much better sense of treating CUSTOMERS well.
     

No doubt.  At least at Costco and Home Depot, you get to make sure the tub you buy gets delivered promptly (albeit because you're the one loading the truck).  

People use a dealer for a reason.  One of the things they are paying for is service.

Everybody makes mistakes. It seems that the only person having to suffer the consequences of this mistake is the customer (and that ain't so good).  Sounds to me that the customer ain't happy and I'm sure somewhere in that dealership service manual it says something about making the customer happy is a high priority.

[Salty_Ag]

I appreciate all of your comments.  

My wife and I have been spa shopping for quite awhile, and waiting an additional few weeks is not going to cause us any additional pain.  We are however disappointed...  I fully planned to have the tub up and running for her on Mother's Day.

I have not been rude to the dealer and I am not clear whether it was a factory mistake or a mistake in submitting the order.  At this point I don't want to start pointing fingers, I just want the tub we ordered in a reasonable amount of time.  I guess my aggrevation stemmed from the fact that my dealer obviously didn't verify our order when she received the tub from the factory.  It was just placed on a truck and delivered. If I was a dealer I think I would ask the buyer to come to the store and see if everything looked OK before I scheduled a delivery.

[Chas]

Keeping a cool head is always best - for all parties involved.

Several years ago we ordered the right spa but delivered it to the wrong customer. They liked the color better than the one they ordered - which was sitting back at the warehouse - and asked the delivery crew to install it. They did. But, of course that meant that I had to scramble to get the OTHER customer another spa.

Fortunately for us, I live close to the plant and I can have a spa in 48 hours, so I fully expected to have to delay the other customer just a day or so - but they demanded the spa for a party. I ended up delivering a spa and then swapping in out a week later.

[Drewski]

Again, for you Newbies, here's the kind of attitude you WANT to see in a dealer (note he posted this BEFORE I posted mine and I was writing mine and didn't see his before he posted it):

I don't know that we've ever ordered the wrong color before, but we have accidentally sold the same spa to two different people.  This problem occurs due to (1) having 3 stores and (2) doing off-site promotions.

We give the customer the following choices:

1. Bump them up to the next bigger spa at the same price of the original spa they ordered

2. Provide them with a loaner spa until their's can be delivered.  I don't remember anyone ever having to wait more than 3 weeks for us to get their spa delivered.

Terminator

GOSH, see how EASY that is?

Note also that some of the parties involved in this discussion sell (apparently) the same product.

WHAT will it take for some to GET A CLUE??  The public holds it's breath awaiting your decision...

Drewski