Wet-testing and dealers' changing rooms

[jim97219]

Dealers,

I'd like to request that you guys take a look at your changing rooms.  I just got back from wet-testing three tubs and was a bit put aback by their condition.  First, the Coleman dealer on the SE side of Portland.  The room doesn't have any hooks!  So where are you supposed to put your clothes?  Please put some hooks in!  And the light switch isn't in a logical place.  Please get a night light for the bathroom so someone unfamiliar with the room (read: your customers) can find the stinkin' light switch!  

Second, the Hydropool dealer in Portland.  He keeps the door to his bathroom closed.  Not a problem except there's no heat in there.  The day I wet-tested, it was 35º outside.  That meant it was like 50º in their changing room.  Would you want to change into your swim suit at that temperature?  What about your wife/girlfriend?  And again, there were no hooks to hang your clothes from.  Get some!!!  Steve, give Shane a call and see what you can do, ok?

The third place was quite different.  The Marquis dealer in SW Portland actually has a mini-locker room that's wonderful!  It's got a nice rubber-mat floor, it's well-lit, it's warm and you can use one of several lockers.  You don't have to pile your clothes on top of the toilet seat lid.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent a little bit and hope that you dealers will take a look at your changing rooms and make sure they're suitable for changing into a swim suit.

Jim

[fatman]

Dealers,

I'd like to request that you guys take a look at your changing rooms.  I just got back from wet-testing three tubs and was a bit put aback by their condition.  First, the Coleman dealer on the SE side of Portland.  The room doesn't have any hooks!  So where are you supposed to put your clothes?  Please put some hooks in!  And the light switch isn't in a logical place.  Please get a night light for the bathroom so someone unfamiliar with the room (read: your customers) can find the stinkin' light switch!  

Second, the Hydropool dealer in Portland.  He keeps the door to his bathroom closed.  Not a problem except there's no heat in there.  The day I wet-tested, it was 35º outside.  That meant it was like 50º in their changing room.  Would you want to change into your swim suit at that temperature?  What about your wife/girlfriend?  And again, there were no hooks to hang your clothes from.  Get some!!!  Steve, give Shane a call and see what you can do, ok?

The third place was quite different.  The Marquis dealer in SW Portland actually has a mini-locker room that's wonderful!  It's got a nice rubber-mat floor, it's well-lit, it's warm and you can use one of several lockers.  You don't have to pile your clothes on top of the toilet seat lid.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent a little bit and hope that you dealers will take a look at your changing rooms and make sure they're suitable for changing into a swim suit.

Jim

Nicely worded and right to the point. Funny how the dealers you went to don't mind selling $10,000 hot tubs but won't spend $5 for a couple of hooks. For some people wet testing can be quite embarassing, add to that poor facilities too.......  Dealer reputation means everything.

[Anoroc]

My two cents...when I wet tested I had to lay my clothes on the bathroom floor.  Needless to say it was wet by the time I put them back on becuase the bathroom was so small.

I thought it odd that they did not have hooks in the bathrooms as well.

[grahamtasia]

I wear my suit under my clothes and take a duffle bag with me that is stocked with a towel. That way I don't have to worry about whether or not the changing room has hooks or a locker for my clothes. Works great!

[Chas]

Thanks for the input! I have hooks on the back of the door - nice big wooden ones - but they are full of employee stuff, towells and the like. I'll make a point of clearing them off and keeping them that way. We have a nice rug on the floor - I'll make it a point to be sure it's kept cleaned and fresh a well.

[cappykat]

Jim...a much needed post.  I, too, hope the dealers will put some thought into their changing rooms.  

You're right...just some simple hooks would make a difference.  I don't think any of the dealers we went to had a place to hang your clothes.  Just a floor most of the time or a bench.

Dealers...take note!

[J._McD]

Dealers...take note!

AND THAT THEY SHOULD.

We have always provided robes to make people feel comfortable going to the spas, where they will hang them on a towel tree.  After all, it is a store open to the public and it is a sensitive issue for some.  The room is checked before and after all water tests, where the robes are occasionally left on the floor.  We have a sitting bench and hanging hooks, and throw rugs as well.  We changed the generic bathroom lighting years ago to a chandelier like fixture, painted the room with some decorator colors, hung a mirror and a few pictures with a small but tall corner utility cabinet for necessities.

We do ask the customer to run their suits through a rinse cycle to remove soap suds and to bring a towel.  We supply a hair dryer and a white plastic bag that is left on the counter for wet suits.    

Will the changeing room sell us a spa?  I seriously doubt it, but it will leave a favorable impression that does not seem to be the impression indicated here in this thread.  While you are in our store, you are our guest and we do realize impressions are important.  We have received many comments on the cleanliness of our changing room.

However, while impressions are important, price still rules.

[jim97219]

Thanks for letting me know I've got a point and that I'm not the only one who's seen this problem before.  

Grahamtasia,
I did have the foresight to bring my own towel and plastic bag but you're right, a gym bag would have been better.

Anoroc,
That must have been a rather unpleasant experience.  I wonder if it had any bearing on your decision.  

J._McD,
Sounds like your store is more on line of the experience I had with the Marquis store.  I'm glad to hear you've given it some thought.  But will a nice changing room sell a hot tub?  If he or she is so put off by the condition of it, to the point of not wanting to change into their suit for a wet test, then yes, you can lose a sale over it.  As for my girlfriend, she didn't come with me but I have serious doubts she would have changed in the Hydropool dealer's room.

Hopefully, I'm not beating this horse to death but I wonder if factories have a minimum-standards checklist a dealer must meet before taking on the line. Is the condition of the changing room a part of that?  And, once a dealer has taken on the line, do you ever do spot-checks to make sure it's up to snuff?

This is a great forum and I'd like to thank everyone who has posted as it's been quite useful to me.

Jim

[NE-Phil]

Dealers!
Yes, Please note: Hooks! Clean Restrooms/Changing Areas! What are you telling your customers (or potential customers) if you can't even supply hooks on the back of the door?

When I was wet testing last year, it was frustrating to find that I had to stuff all my clothes into my bag. Let's see, can't put it on the toilet (eewwww!) or the floor. Hmmm...maybe I can hang something on the door knob...
We were often left with the impression that wet testing was rarely done and not encouraged.

Dealers, its better if the customer has the impression they are encouraged to wet test! Make your restrooms/changing rooms inviting to your customers as did J._McD!

Phil

[cappykat]

J.McD...nice to know that there are dealers who care about impression.  I'll stay or go depending on my "first impression" so it does make a difference.

[J._McD]

As indicated, it is easier to lose a sale then it is to GET the sale.  How you are treated, or thought of, is a good indication of How you will be treated and where their attitude, feelings and concerns are going to be when you need something.  How dealers welcome you before the sale is only an indication of how they think or treat others in a general way.

As a family business, you are always a welcome and important guest in our home or in our business.  My wife would be insulted, offended and forever embarassed if anything in the bathroom/changing room was out of place, not clean or neglected, even if the seat was left up, what can I tell you, she's polish.  

While we have not thought too much of it before, as it is part of our normal makeup, I can see how it is easy to lose a sale over offending someones need to cope with uncaring indifference.  I don't believe you are beating a dead horse.  I think it is more like, waking a sleeping dog.

As for manufacturers having a check list on something as mundane as a changing room, the only thing they check is financial credibility and the number of units being sold.  Surely, you are joking.  The only spot check will be in number of units sold and customer complaints received by the manufacturer maybe, but those would be cancelled by an increase in sales.

[Spatech_tuo]

As for manufacturers having a check list on something as mundane as a changing room, the only thing they check is financial credibility and the number of units being sold.  Surely, you are joking.  The only spot check will be in number of units sold and customer complaints received by the manufacturer maybe, but those would be cancelled by an increase in sales.

That's where the sales rep comes in. Part of thier job is to help the dealer sell spas in the most effective manner. They get to see how many dealers do it (both the good and the lesser ones) and they should be taking the best ideas from their top dealers and helping others get on board.

[East_TX_Spa]

jim97219, thank you for bringing this to our attention.  It is something that is often overlooked.  I just did a small remodeling job on my store and I was amazed at how much junk had accumulated on shelves and in corners.  We threw away a whole pickup load of old signs, brochures, banners, displays that were just cluttering up the place.  Sometimes you just don't realize how disorganized your workplace is when you're in it everyday.  When the customer walks through the door, they want to see organization and efficiency and feel comfortable.  Thanks to your post, I will make it a point to do a better job of keeping things more customer-friendly.

Terminator

[J._McD]

That's where the sales rep comes in. Part of thier job is to help the dealer sell spas in the most effective manner. They get to see how many dealers do it (both the good and the lesser ones) and they should be taking the best ideas from their top dealers and helping others get on board.

Our first introduction to our "new" rep after 19 years in the business, representing the same manufacturer for 13 years was when he entered our selling display at a consumer show and told me, "he would replace us in a heart beat, if it would increase marketshare".  My response to him was short and simple, "then this has nothing to do with honesty, integrity, customer care or fixing all of your leakers from '95, '96, & '97 at significant expense to our company."  He agreed and said "market share was more important", well of course that is how he gets paid, a percentage of our annual revenue generated.  At the time, he was around 27, and previously sold spas for a couple of years for another dealer that has been extinguished.  

We had been in the business when he was still in elementary school.  He even had the nerve to leave his room expenses on our credit card we used to make his reservation.  He even stayed an extra night to accomodate his schedule and watched a couple of movies to boot.

On the other hand, he did use our store as model and even held regional dealer events in our city bringing the dealers in to show them product and to get ideas for their stores twice in the last 3 years.  

At the time, we were both pleased and proud at the time, but now, things have changed.  They have made way to import a bigger dealer from out of town with deeper pockets.

At least he was honest at first, but then he became self serving and a company agent that you saw only once a year or at the national sales conference that never honored his spoken word to us.  In the end, he lied through his teeth when confronted and asked to confirm what our respected local competitors had informed us of.

[East_TX_Spa]

Yep, my first day on the job, my boss told me "Remember, the regional manager is NOT your friend.  Don't tell him anything you don't want the competition to know."

Terminator