Emerald Spas?

[newbbie]

Hello-
I am ready to buy a new spa- and want to buy locally to support my area businesses, and selfishly, for better service!  The closest dealer is an emerald spa dealer, I really can't find much info on them- just a website that looks like all the others.  Where does emerald rank in quality, durability, etc?  Or, should I be looking at the Hot Springs, Marquis or Jacuuzzi dealers in the big city a little further away??  Price wise, they are all close enough, this really isn't about bottom line.  I am investing in something I want to use every day for many years, so a grand difference isn't a big deal.  I guess I am leaning to emerald and my local dealer, just want to be sure they make a good product!!

[Spatech_tuo]

You should go with what you feel is best for you from a standpoint of Quality, wet test results, dealer support, manufacturer reputation, etc. This purchase is something that needs to last the next 12+ years as Quality tubs do (cheap ones hit teh graveyard far sooner).

How far away is the "big city"? The issue there is are they close enough to service your needs and one thing to ask is if there will be a trip charge for service(warranty or otherwise) so get the answer in writing.

[newbbie]

Exactly, I want quality.  I wet tested about 6 or 7 tubs, and picked out the 3 or 4 I really liked- with all things being a basic tie from my consumer point of view, I want to know what the forum members think of the quality of Emerald.  Since we are spending $6K+ on our 1st tub, I want to do it right!  My gut instinct is to go with the local dealer, I just want to know that his Emerald brand is top notch, or if not, why?

[Spatech_tuo]

We just don't hear much of anything about Emerald and I doubt you'll run into many/any owners of them here.

[Vinny]

I was going to go with Emerald but found that they changed their design and warranty for 2005. They designed their original 2005's with more jets which equaled less power and then they redesigned their plumbing to accommodate their new design. IMO the 2004 Cygnus line was pretty awesome and the 1st design change for 2005 left the tub severely underpowered.

As far as their warranty, go to their website and read their warranty. It mentions that the consumer may have to pay for the shipping of parts (at least it did the last time I looked at it).

Good Luck with your search!

[johnnythunders]

warranty is ProRated is i remember.Not good...JT

[Bill_Stevenson]

I envy you that you have a local Emerald dealer.  I wanted to consider Emerald, but the nearest dealer to me is on the other side of the state.  The VP of Marketing and Sales as well as the Regional Manager for Emerald both recommended that I not consider Emerald because they felt that local dealer support is very, very important.  As far as I am concerned, any company that hires people that display this much integrity is a damn good company.  

You should definitely wet test several spas, but if the Emerald works well for you, there is no better option in your situation.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Bill

[Vinny]

Bill,

I agree that back in early 2004 when I started talking to them, they seemed like an awesome company. But I think in late 2004 they had something else going on. They released their 2005 model lineup in Sept, their Cygnus line got  A LOT of jets put into them and they also seemed to decrease the size of the jets. Also, they started adding the air blower ports as jets (I don't know if you can or can't classify them as such), and it sounded like a slick marketing campaign to me.

I saw and LOVED the 2004 Cygnus 7009 and got a price of $7000 which blew the competition away. I knew that this was my tub. The marketing VP sent me an e-mail about the great news for 2005 and told me about the jets and increasing their warranty to 5 years parts and Labor on their Cygnus and Elite lines. He even said he will personally handle my order since we had some dialog going for a while.

I was excited that they improved upon a already great tub! In October 2004, I had to go and see the new design and quite frankly, IMO, the tub was underpowered - I can only describe it as it had too many jets now. I contacted them and told them of my disappointment and they acknowledged that a lot of dealers were complaining about the same thing BUT they are going to fix the problem and all the new tubs which would be what I would get will get the new plumbing. I asked when are they shipping the new tubs to the dealers so that  they will be available to see (assuming that a dealer will order another demo tub) and they said it's up to the dealer. AND they increased the price to about $9K

I was extremely disappointed in them for 2 reasons - 1) how does a manufacturer put out a product without fully testing to see if it meets specs and expectations (I know many do but this was/is MY money) and 2) I read the new warranty and it is below copied from their website:


Warranty Labor Coverage
During the respective warranty labor coverage of the particular spa, Emerald has made an agreement with its
authorized dealer on a schedule of warranty reimbursement. Any additional expense beyond this agreement, including but not limited to extra freight expense, travel time exceeding a normal service area and additional labor required to complete the warranted repair etc. are not covered under this warranty. The Emerald Spa Corporation authorized
dealer reserves the right to assess additional charges required to complete the service call that are beyond the
schedule of warranty reimbursement.

Obligation of Purchaser
The purchaser must establish by dated sales slip, invoice or installation receipt the date of original purchase. Transportation costs incurred to and from Emerald Spa Corporation for replacement spa, spa shell, power pack or any
part related to the spa are the responsibility of the purchaser.
All costs for the removal and re-installation of the spa, spa shell or power pack are the responsibility of the purchaser.


To me this was worse than their original 3 year warranty - why should any customer pay for freight on a part for a warranty call.

I agree that they WERE a great company but I think they are different today!!

Vinny

[fatman]

Bill,

I agree that back in early 2004 when I started talking to them, they seemed like an awesome company. But I think in late 2004 they had something else going on. They released their 2005 model lineup in Sept, their Cygnus line got  A LOT of jets put into them and they also seemed to decrease the size of the jets. Also, they started adding the air blower ports as jets (I don't know if you can or can't classify them as such), and it sounded like a slick marketing campaign to me.

I saw and LOVED the 2004 Cygnus 7009 and got a price of $7000 which blew the competition away. I knew that this was my tub. The marketing VP sent me an e-mail about the great news for 2005 and told me about the jets and increasing their warranty to 5 years parts and Labor on their Cygnus and Elite lines. He even said he will personally handle my order since we had some dialog going for a while.

I was excited that they improved upon a already great tub! In October 2004, I had to go and see the new design and quite frankly, IMO, the tub was underpowered - I can only describe it as it had too many jets now. I contacted them and told them of my disappointment and they acknowledged that a lot of dealers were complaining about the same thing BUT they are going to fix the problem and all the new tubs which would be what I would get will get the new plumbing. I asked when are they shipping the new tubs to the dealers so that  they will be available to see (assuming that a dealer will order another demo tub) and they said it's up to the dealer. AND they increased the price to about $9K

I was extremely disappointed in them for 2 reasons - 1) how does a manufacturer put out a product without fully testing to see if it meets specs and expectations (I know many do but this was/is MY money) and 2) I read the new warranty and it is below copied from their website:


Warranty Labor Coverage
During the respective warranty labor coverage of the particular spa, Emerald has made an agreement with its
authorized dealer on a schedule of warranty reimbursement. Any additional expense beyond this agreement, including but not limited to extra freight expense, travel time exceeding a normal service area and additional labor required to complete the warranted repair etc. are not covered under this warranty. The Emerald Spa Corporation authorized
dealer reserves the right to assess additional charges required to complete the service call that are beyond the
schedule of warranty reimbursement.

Obligation of Purchaser
The purchaser must establish by dated sales slip, invoice or installation receipt the date of original purchase. Transportation costs incurred to and from Emerald Spa Corporation for replacement spa, spa shell, power pack or any
part related to the spa are the responsibility of the purchaser.
All costs for the removal and re-installation of the spa, spa shell or power pack are the responsibility of the purchaser.


To me this was worse than their original 3 year warranty - why should any customer pay for freight on a part for a warranty call.

I agree that they WERE a great company but I think they are different today!!

Vinny[/quote It's too bad Emerald doesn't have a better warranty because I think they make a heavy duty tub. To make a customer pay freight because of a defective shell just does not set well with me.  They could easily do better.

[hymbaw]

Emerald Spas are assembled here in my hometown. Being in the industry you tend to hear a lot of gossip about competitors (dealers and manufacturers)  and the scuttlebutt around here is that they (Emerald) aren't doing so well. For us it is sad news because the dealers for them here in town are very nice people. I hope that is just a rumor but it is definitly one that is fairly prominent the last few months.

As far as durability, I haven't heard too much negative. My concern would come if 2 years into your warranty they closed their doors.

[Vinny]

I had heard when I went to the dealer the 2nd time that Emerald was trying to get big in the European Market. As I browse these boards I wonder if it is a smart move on any spa mfg part. If they exist there already great, but I would think that if gas prices are more than in the US the energy prices must be higher there too and Sept of last year petroleum prices were starting their climb.

It seemed that Emerald was/is a small operation and maybe had some kind of management shakeup. It appeared to me that their product was well built and offered nice performance but all of a sudden the marketing kicked in and for at least 2005 they were riding on their "greatness"  to date.

I guess there comes a point in every business that you can't compete with the competition unless you have the correct direction mapped out. Maybe Emerald went the wrong way - and 1 bad year might be enough to hurt any business.

I do know that had they not made the changes they did - jets, price and warranty - I would be sitting in an Emerald today!