Little Tyke Spas and da Mean Ol' Alligator Updait

[Wisoki]

Yeah, but for them ETL is Every Tub Leaks.

Yes, but at least they are ETL listed. More than can be said for some....


 

[Gomboman]

I proud if you Term. That's the last place I would be on my day off if I was in the spa busniness.  

[East_TX_Spa]

I proud if you Term. That's the last place I would be on my day off if I was in the spa busniness.  

I realize I have a high pressure, high stress job....... .....and that it's good to get away from all the headaches and strain every now and then.... .....but I don't mind putting in a little overtime on occasion.

Actually, I get 4 weeks paid vacation/year and I don't think I've ever used more than 2 weeks in any given year.  My wife thinks I'm a workaholic... !!!

This weekend is the food and wine festival at Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards.  Last year, Hurricane Rita blew through and cancelled it (and killed Teency).  This Saturday, we'll have an Envoy up and running at the show.  Would it be considered tacky to have a hydrotherapy technician at an event of such refinement and opulence?

Terminator

[hymbaw]

 Would it be considered tacky to have a hydrotherapy technician at an event of such refinement and opulence?

Tammy?

[DPS]

One spa retailer that I know (that does not sell that brand of spas) heard his company's name on the radio ad for the traveling tent show when it came to his town.
It seems he was sponsering the show and didn't even know it.
Someone went to the traveling tent show and asked who would service the tub locally.  They were told that my dealer friend was their local dealer.
A few weeks later at a home and garden show customers told him that "we bought a spa from you 2 weeks ago at your tent sale".
A month later he got calls from people who had purchased spas from the traveling tent show and not received them yet demanding that he deliver them.

[Chas]

A month later he got calls from people who had purchased spas from the traveling tent show and not received them yet demanding that he deliver them.

Ooh, that'd be a general bummer. Maybe even a Major.

[East_TX_Spa]

DMcJ and I have a sneaking suspicion that we may be seeing the same thing down the road with these folks.

One of our covert associates verified that Mr. T has cried 8 times since last Friday.  There'll probably be a lot more crying if the Little Tyke Spa folks don't come through on their promises....

Terminator

[windsurfdog]

Obviously, MS has once again displeased the dealers at this site.  Certainly Term has searched, found and documented the worst of the show which may certainly be representative of the entire show or may not.  I would suggest that he visit the local MS dealer and present his findings to him while taking a look at the spas in his showroom.  If he finds the same equipment in the same condition, then certainly MS has some quality assurance issues.  If he finds what I find when I visit my MS dealer or if he finds what I find when I look at my own tub, if he is a reasonable man, maybe his report will change.  Oh, and I suggest to Term that he use his "Little Tykes Spas" label while there....I mean, why not be consistent?  Just a suggestion.....no harm, no foul, no bulls**t.....

[Wisoki]

Sorry Windy, but if you notice Term moving a little slowly it's cuz I'm sittin on his coat tails. The part I found most humorous was the part about kicking the spa. They have the flimsiest cheesiest cabinets I have ever seen on any hot tub. Their aproach is all sizzle, no steak.

Obviously, MS has once again displeased the dealers at this site.  Certainly Term has searched, found and documented the worst of the show which may certainly be representative of the entire show or may not.  I would suggest that he visit the local MS dealer and present his findings to him while taking a look at the spas in his showroom.  If he finds the same equipment in the same condition, then certainly MS has some quality assurance issues.  If he finds what I find when I visit my MS dealer or if he finds what I find when I look at my own tub, if he is a reasonable man, maybe his report will change.  Oh, and I suggest to Term that he use his "Little Tykes Spas" label while there....I mean, why not be consistent?  Just a suggestion.....no harm, no foul, no bulls**t.....

[East_TX_Spa]

Certainly Term has searched, found and documented the worst of the show which may certainly be representative of the entire show or may not.

I just stopped by because I was taking my little girl to the zoo in Tyler.  I didn't go over every spa with a fine tooth comb.  I would walk up to one, look at it, and sometimes Savanna would say "Look at this button Daddy.  What's that?" or she would say "Look at those things in the bottom.  What are they?"

Of the 15 or so spas they had, I only looked at about 10 of them.  All 10 had 4 walls that sloped inwards and blemishes were visible on all pearlescent shells.

I would suggest that he visit the local MS dealer and present his findings to him while taking a look at the spas in his showroom.

That's part of the problem, there isn't one within a 2 hour drive.

Oh, and I suggest to Term that he use his "Little Tykes Spas" label while there....I mean, why not be consistent?  Just a suggestion.....no harm, no foul, no bulls**t.....

I wouldn't want to offend the salesperson.  He was very nice and polite and he's just trying to make a living.  I never lied to him, just told him I was there looking and he should go help the other folks as I was not in the market.  I'm just documenting what I saw for educational purposes illustrating the differences in the various spa companies' products.  For example:

Their product:


Our product:


The Little Tyke label occurred to me when Savanna made the comment about the panels looking like the ones on my Rubbermaid storage building.  It is the same type of flimsy blow molded plastic that warps, just like my daughter's Little Tyke turtle sand box and picnic table.

I'll post some more comparison pics later when I have some time.

Terminator

[drewstar]

do any other spas manufactuers use the blown vinyl sides?

I have to agree with Term. "little tykes" is a accurate description.

These are not the most flattering pics. I would think someone from Master spas would counter it with some sort of explanation.

[hymbaw]

These are not the most flattering pics. I would think someone from Master spas would counter it with some sort of explanation.

Where are all the people that normally rave about MasterSpas quality??? Then again there isn't normally photographic evidence to the contrary.

[East_TX_Spa]

Comparison Photos (please excuse the quality as I'm extremely busy today):

Their product:


Our product:



Their product:


Our product:

I know, I know...that's a top of the line HotSpring Grandee, not a fair comparison, so I kicked the squat out of a HotSpot entry level spa:

It hurt my foot!  So I leaned my 242 lbs (as of this morning) against the cabinet to get it to implode:

Nada!

Their water:


Our water:

I know, I know...the HotSpring Spas are demo models.  EXACTLY!  There have been at least 6 test soaks in this spa in the last 3 weeks (4 of them by me and my family).  I doubt the other spa has had ANY test soaks and the water had only been in there about 5 days, max.

But, that's no fair.  HotSpring has 100% No-Bypass Filtration.  That's why the water is so clean.  So, here's a Tiger River Caspian with the same water that's been in there since we had our VIP Night in December:

December 3, 2005:



Their product:


Our product:


Our entry level product:


I looked all over the whole store and could not find a blemish, bubble, blister, or "discount" anywhere.

Merry Christmas!

Terminator

[Chas]

Looks like you have had trouble with those pesky pillow-eating termites. We had a swarm of them come through town - the city guy said they came from Colorado or someplace.

[Wisoki]

Lovely comparison Term, but that bad water is a chemistry issue, not a filtration issue, as you well know. Give me a tub of water that looked like that and I would have it looking like your tub of water in 1 day. I kept the other picture in cuz she's purdy!

Their water:


Our water: