Dealers how would you answer this?

[Campsalot]

I called my Sundance dealer today.  I call him Mr. Sleepy because I swear the guy lives and sleeps in his dealership.  
The reason I called was because the stereo on my 1 1/2 year old Maxxus no longer works.  Actually, I think the stereo works its just there is no audio comng from the speakers.  While I was on the phone with Mr. Sleepy trying to get him to understand that  I needed this service work I also asked him about my tubs panel flashing the "change filter" warning and how to reset it.  His response, " Ya know I'm not sure how to take care of that as I'm not real familiar with that tub (jeeze, its the only brand he sells)  you might wan to check your owners manual."
OK before anyone goes off on me about checking the owners manual let me just say that I like most other customers don't like to read the damn things.  Now because I have Mr. Sleepy as a dealer I will have to change that and read about my tub.  
Regarding my service request.  "My part time service guy might get there next week, I think?"  
I love the tub but man I wish I would of purchased a Coleman because the Coleman dealership is at least customer service oriented.
OK guys now you can go off on me about the owners manual thing.  Incidently I change my filter every 6 months regardless of what the manafacturer suggests (1 year).
Just remember good customer service goes a long,long, long way.

Perhaps I woke him up.  Hmmmmm?

[geekd]

That sucks, dude.  He sounds like a lazy guy.


I called my dealer for the first time last week. (got the tub in August).  The water feature was running slow and a button had come unglued from the interior control panel.

They sent 2 guys out the next day, and after 20 minutes everything was fixed.

-geekd

[Vinny]

Hey, it's not your fault. I guess we hope we never need our dealer but it's nice to have one that'll take care of us if needed.

If a dealer can't or doesn't answer a customer's question, it shows that the dealer just plain SUCKS! Sorry to say.

Hopefully the "problems" will be minor, you won't need him any more, he'll go out of business and a new, nice and knowledgeable Sundance dealer will take his place!

[spahappy]

Hey I wish you would have purchased a Coleman too, not just because the  Coleman dealership on the strip in Mandan N.D. has great customer service and a full time service department, and they've been in business 29years, and I work for them.....but...

If you had picked a Coleman over a Sundance I would hope it would be because you felt it was the best spa for you based on... comfort, therapy, reliability,technology, ect...

You purchased great spa made by a major spa manufacturer. I think Mr. Sleepy needs to spend more time learning about the brand of spas he's selling.

BTW, I've heard that he sleeps at his store too.....

[Campsalot]

I have to update this post.   My dealers repair guy actually phoned and left a message today while we were at work.  
"Hi, Mr. Doe this is John Doe from fantastic spas.  I got your message regarding the stereo on your Maxxus not working and I wanted to make sure you had the radio turned on and tuned to a radio station.  Sometimes they lose their memory if you have ever had the power off.  Please let me know."
OK let me see, Im a total frickin idiot who doesn't know how to run my spa radio.  Incidently static in my part of the country is entirely silent.   "Jeeze give me a different dealer."  
I swear I'll have to duck tape my head to prevent it from exploding when I call this guy back.

[hottub.pool_boy]

We'd schedule it with the next route in his area that week or the next. Sometimes we cannot troubleshoot over the phone, but we usually will have an idea of what needs to be done.

We feed several families with this business. We cannot take the "retired-into-the-business" approach.

Service after the sale is something taken lightly by probably 50% of the new spa shoppers out there. Because you'd consider buying another spa from another dealer, goes to show that brand is not everything.

Most of the dealers here recommend going with the dealer in your area who makes you feel the most comfortable. Likely, that feeling continues throughout spa ownership.

[Campsalot]

I am blown over by the fact that, as far as I can tell, only one dealer has responded to this.  Why is that?  Yes, don't take service after the sale lightly.

[tony]

Actually two dealers have responded, spahappy and hottub.pool_boy.

BTW, did you ever figure out how to stop the flashing change filter warning?  It's quite simple.

[East_TX_Spa]

I am blown over by the fact that, as far as I can tell, only one dealer has responded to this.  Why is that?

I guess I haven't responded because I never was really sure what the question was.

However, I will honor your request and respond anyway:

If I were to respond literally, I would tell you to call the Sundance dealer as we only sell HotSpring, and have done so exclusively for over 20 years.

If I were to respond hypothetically, (in the sense that you were one of MY customers who owned a HotSpring Spa) I would do my best to talk through the issues on the phone to see if it were something that you as the end user could fix.  If you were either opposed to diagnosing and fixing the problem yourself or if you just felt more comfortable having one of our 3 certified full-time service technicians come out and resolve the problem, we would schedule you for an immediate service call.

You would not be given "the runaround".
You would not be told "uh, call this guy...he might know how to fix your spa".
You would not be belittled or spoken to in a condescending manner.
You would not be told "we'll try to get someone out there in a couple of weeks".

Ya'll know how reluctant I am to emphasize our customer service and the embarassment it brings me to toot my own horn  , but our customers in East Texas truly do have peace of mind regarding ownership of their HotSpring Spa.  There are a few unfortunate souls who decided to buy their spa elsewhere who do not have that peace of mind, but they sure got a helluva deal!

Terminator

[Campsalot]

I am blown over by the fact that, as far as I can tell, only one dealer has responded to this.  Why is that?

Ya'll know how reluctant I am to emphasize our customer service and the embarassment it brings me to toot my own horn  , but our customers in East Texas truly do have peace of mind regarding ownership of their HotSpring Spa.  There are a few unfortunate souls who decided to buy their spa elsewhere who do not have that peace of mind, but they sure got a helluva deal!

Terminator

Term, Blow that horn.  Customer service after the sale should rank #2 right behind the wet test.  
I own a company that teaches how to provide good customer service and it is in my humble opinion that there is a HUGE lack of customer service in the spa industry.  Yes, based on the fact that I live and breathe service everyday to say I'm anal about it would be an understatement.  However, since I have bought my spa I have gone out of my way to avoid Mr. Sleepy because it simply is not an enjoyable experience.
 Would I suggest the Sudance brand?  Yes.  Would I suggest my dealer?  Not a $%@#  chance
Thanks!  I'll stop ranting now.
Incidently, yes they showed up to fix the stereo.  No, it was another bad experience but that story is for another time.