It finally happened!!!!!!!!!!!

[Too Tense]

Quote From Fire Marshall Bill
"This is a normal occurrence with most spa companies and spa warranties. Every warranty reads that the dealer can charge the customer a fee to come out and service the spa. It is up to the dealer to decide if they want to charge that or not. Some dealers like myself and Term do not charge under warranty, but that again is up to the dealer."

Bravo Swell-Tub. Well Said.

This is why I have not purchased a spa yet. Too many if's ands and buts.

Also the quote above too me, tells me to watch out  mister or misses consumer that the discount you received up front will cost you more down the road when you need warranty work. I am not a Dentist where I feel that I have to pull teeth to get to the truth, Nor will all consumers will ask the right questions all the time, so if they don't asked then it's buyer beware.

It is sad when you can get a $1500.00-$2000.00 refrigerator under warranty repaired at no charge what so ever, but spend $10,000.00-$12,500.00 on a spa and in the fine print a dealer can charge gas surcharge or trip charge.
And not only that it cost $100.00 a hour for repairs. I know of many specialized crafsman with tens of thousands of dollars in tools that don't charge a $100.00 a hour more like $60.00-70.00. Hell I know a lot of plumbers that are under $100.00 an hour on weekend rates with a truck loaded with parts.

I am all for someone making a fair profit, but the spa industry from what I have seen and read is quit greedy. The saying that most brand name dealers keep stating is "  you get  what you pay for" does not apply here. Some dealers don't even have a gun and mask while trying to hold me up. If I am going to get screwed I at least want a kiss afterwards. Boys stop trying to make a home run on every deal. Money is getting tight for everyone.

The only way this industry is going to get cleaned up all starts with the dealers. Be honest and up front with the customers about any and all charges, and put everything in writing. Sure their is going to be a small amount of customers that will never be happy no matter how hard you try to please them, but at the end of the day you can say that you did your very best.

[Summitman]

Unfortunately pool and spa people hit singles more often than home runs when we make deals.  I gotta work on that warning track power.

[Tailhooker]

What a long thread! If the problem is under warranty then no trip charge. If problem is not under warranty then trip charge. There is plenty of markup for both the dealer and the manufacturer to pay for the trip expenses. The rest is just pure boloney IMHO. I've never seen such an attitude towards warranties as a have in this industry. If I didn't love my tub so much I would never buy one knowing that there is such a manufacturer / dealer attitude towards supporting what they sell. This post should be good for another 12 pages of discussion.  

Scott  8-)

Scott, I couldn't agree more.

[bosco0633]

good customer service and warranty should be one in the same.  A good warranty should be provided by the company and a service department, should not be looking to cash in on little extra things here and there.  I agree that my regular maitenance is not under warranty for my car, but it sure is nice when they do those extras for me for free when I go to the dealer.

As for my tub, I am not an electrical expert! My kids are to important to me to mess with water and electricity!  Now if a customer service person cant tell me what an error code is, how am I suppose to trust them with walking me through a procedure with a cabinet filled with wires and water?

Is my death covered under a good lawsuit down the road??

This is the age old debate that I see here, and consumers and dealers on one forum is very difficult.  I look at it in my job, I work hard at arresting bad people, while scum bag lawyers work hard at keeping them out of jail.  

I will agree that I will never agree with a dealer on this issue.  I see it like this.  I want to save money, you all want to make money.  I just dont like when the dealer gets thier cake and eat it to, they make good money on a sale, and they make even better money when sh#t goes bad.  

[wmccall]

Approaching dead horse status.

[Swell-Tub]

I worked with three dealers at the end. One dealer said all trips, warranty or not would require a trip charge, didn't buy that tub but I really liked the product. Next dealer offered free trip charges for first 5 years, but tub was marked up an additional 3K, didn't buy that tub either. The Jacuzzi dealer offered free trip charges for the first year. Told me most major warranty issues would most likely happen in the first 90 days. Now I have had the tub since May, and knock on wood, I have not had a single issue. So as I approach the 90 day mark I feel good about my dealer and the product. I am still miffed as to why a warranty call would require a trip charge 4 years from now however.

Scott  

[Swell-Tub]

Approaching dead horse status.

I don't know It seems to be the best ride in town. Wait maybe the warranty on this thread is over.  

[Water Boy]

I will agree that I will never agree with a dealer on this issue.  I see it like this.  I want to save money, you all want to make money.  I just dont like when the dealer gets thier cake and eat it to, they make good money on a sale, and they make even better money when sh#t goes bad.  

Ask any other dealer on here if you would like, but we as dealers don’t make money on warranty service calls. Even the dealers that charge gas surcharges are not making money on warranty claims. Now after a warranty is up, and a part goes bad, then sure, we make a little money, but not warranty claims.

[Swell-Tub]

Ask any other dealer on here if you would like, but we as dealers don’t make money on warranty service calls. Even the dealers that charge gas surcharges are not making money on warranty claims. Now after a warranty is up, and a part goes bad, then sure, we make a little money, but not warranty claims.

So do you mean that when you do a warranty call on the product you sell, you are not payed for parts and labor to repair them by the manufacturer?

Scott  

[Jacuzzi Jim]

  Fact is a dealer can charge what he wants for the product,he can charge for delivery if he wants (some actually do this)   And yes he can charge for a trip charge to do warranty.    He can even follow the warranty to the absolute letter which most I believe do not.

  Either way the manufacturer has very little control over this from what I have seen, I could be wrong?

 It really is once again up to the dealer and his crew, on how they treat their customers not the Manufacturer!! For the most part anyway!!

 Just today I had a guy in that bought a spa from a gentleman I sold an Artesian Merlin to about 5 years ago the guy was moving.   Anyway he stopped by the store while I was at the fair and we were closed, he needed a jet.   Well he came in today with the jet that I didn't have, I told him I would order it for him and mail it direct when it came in, he went to pay I told don't worry about it since he had made the 25 mile trip to the store twice.   Did I do the right thing?  The owner of the company might not think so but for how many of these I get its worth the 8 bucks the jet cost to take care of this guy, even though its out of warranty and he's a 2nd time buyer.
  In his eyes it was above and beyond what he thought I would do.   So I ask you this, where do you think this guy will buy his second spa from when ready??  


  Bosco where do you think you will buy your second spa from when the time comes if it does???  Not saying you wouldn't buy another Arctic, but doubtful you will buy from the same dealer??
 It truly is the dealer that controls your experience!

FWIW we get paid quite well by Jacuzzi not rich paid but it covers us!
    

[Too Tense]

I know a dealer that has never made any money on anything he sells or service. He also lives in a million $ house, has jet skies, 38' cruiser, drives a S550 has a hog. But he has never made any money.

[Water Boy]

So do you mean that when you do a warranty call on the product you sell, you are not payed for parts and labor to repair them by the manufacturer?

Scott  

I thought I would share a quote from the great Doc himself He seems to be well respected on this forum, so maybe people will believe him. Hope you dont mind me quoting you Doc. This is from the other thread that I linked about two pages ago, and hope this answers your question Scott.

AS has been said before , the manufacturers are paying less and less for warranty work. Some as little as $20 a call. $20 doesn't cover the cost of putting the key in the truck and starting it, much less the drive to and from the customers house and the time to do the job. A dealer HAS to cover their costs of doing the warranty work.......... or they WILL go out of business. I have yet to meet a dealer that is willing to, much less afford to, cover the cost of doing warranty work out of their own pocket.

The cost of a spa has become so competitive, that if you add in the cost of doing warranty work to the initial price of the spa (as was done years ago), you now are no longer competitive with joe-blow spas down the street who isn't adding in the cost. Yes, some people will catch that the lesser priced spa requires a co-pay for warranty work, but honestly, most people will only look at the initial price of the spa.

[Water Boy]

I know a dealer that has never made any money on anything he sells or service. He also lives in a million $ house, has jet skies, 38' cruiser, drives a S550 has a hog. But he has never made any money.

From a consumer stand point, we had better hope that the people that we buy from are making some money, because if they arent, they wont be around at all to service warranty calls, or to buy any chemicals or accesories as far as that goes.

[Summitman]

I never said we dont make money, we just dont hit "home runs" like some people like to imply.  Hence the phrase "hit singles".

[Too Tense]

I never said we dont make money, we just dont hit "home runs" like some people like to imply.  Hence the phrase "hit singles".

I call charging $100.00 and up an hour + a trip charge making money. Thats a home run!!!