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Arctic Spa Repairs?


Budge

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Hi

Our Arctic Spa - Fox was installed September 10 2009 - only 6 weeks ago we have been able to use it approx 8 times with clear water.

We have gone through 3 disposable filter - clogged beyond belief - all our chemicals and have dumped and refilled. Not sure how this tub is low maintaince because it certianly has not turned out to be.

After a service call last week (I am not even going to tell you how that went) we are on day 4 and still not able to use the tub cloudy water.

This was a big investment and now I am 75% sure was a wrong one.

Hi Arlene,

I apologize for the troubles you are having with your onzen system. I would like to help get your problem solved and restore your faith in us if I can. I will send you a PM with my contact details. Could you call me?

Kind regards,

James

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James thanks for the response I appreciate it and am glad to see the manufacturer cares about its customers.

Hi Eric,

I am sorry for your troubles. I got your PM and will call you when I am in the office tomorrow. Don't worry, we'll get you fixed up.

Kind regards,

James

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James thanks for the response I appreciate it and am glad to see the manufacturer cares about its customers.

Hi Eric,

I am sorry for your troubles. I got your PM and will call you when I am in the office tomorrow. Don't worry, we'll get you fixed up.

Kind regards,

James

I have a Artic tundra 2 years old and have had the a black rubber like substance in the water fall as well as a black film on the shell at the water line, it appear to be related to the rubber. Dealer is no longer around (illinois) and I am conerned about getting this fixed will need to call Artic direct? Help. I have used Artic chemincals only with mineral stick per dealer reccomendations

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I have a Artic tundra 2 years old and have had the a black rubber like substance in the water fall as well as a black film on the shell at the water line, it appear to be related to the rubber. Dealer is no longer around (illinois) and I am conerned about getting this fixed will need to call Artic direct? Help. I have used Artic chemincals only with mineral stick per dealer reccomendations

Hey Capjak,

Can you PM me with your contact details and spa serial number and I will look into it for you.

Kind regards,

James

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Hi Budge, you asked for any horror stories regarding Arctic Spas? It has been nothing but!! We purchased not only one but two Spas on the same day, ours the Cub for $9000 and my mother in law paid $12000 for hers, both paid for by cash! Unfortunately from the Orangeville dealer that shortly thereafter went out of business. We were told not to worry that the warranties would be honored when we contacted the Oakville Group. Shortly after the install the salt generator died and sent a black slime throughout the tub, a greasy substance that permanently stained the suits. In order to get service we had to pay extra because we had not purchased from the Oakville group. The tub was drained and fixed. This was approx 6 months ago and now the same problem has arisen. We called about it and were put on hold and after waiting 45 min we opted to leave a message for a return call, after three days no return call. We called again and finally got a service person and they indicated they would come for an extra fee because we had not purchased from them but could not tell us when because they were quite busy. That was three days ago and still no service and a tub we cannot use. I called the head office in Alberta three days ago to voice my concerns, talked to someone named Karen who was very sympathetic and said she would make some calls. I just got off the phone with Karen after waiting three days for a response and she told me her own dealers have not returned her calls!! We did our research on this tub, thought we made the right choice and boy were we wrong!! Now we can’t even get rid of the thing because it doesn’t work!!!! To think we have had it only a year and have had two mechanical failures already!! We have been considering contacting the BBB or even someone in the media like Pat Foran from CTV, anything to get a fair shake!! Sorry it is a bit long winded but that’s our Arctic Spa horror story and we want as many people to know just what they are like to deal with.

Rob

PS..and to ad insult to the what we and by looking at the forum a lot of others are experiencing, every second add on the radio is Trevor Wazniak bragging about how Arctic Spas is the best thing since sliced bread!!!!!

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In 6 years with Arctic I have had 1 issue that required a service call. I was impressed with the actions the manufacturer took to stand behind thier product.

I am currently dealing with the second problem (Onzen stopped working / Poor dealer service). I'll let you know how it goes.

My Summit is the best spa I have seen for therapeutic value.

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The Artic stores just don't have a clue.

I was in my local one the otherday to buy some salt, i came out $300 worse off.

They told me this new Aqua Finesse would fix all my troubles.

I am at the point that i will try anything, but upon getting home with my $169 box i thought to myself why should i be doing this? i was sold the spa on the basis that i would have to do very little to it and now they are trying to sell me very expensive solutions.

I returned the product 2 days later and was met with a somewhat hostile and argumentative sales person.

After reading some of the other posts about the service calls i find the service appaulling from Oakville.

You call and tell them you need a tech to come out, they charge you right away but yet can't give you a time of date until the night before and even then they won't give you a time.

How hard can it be to schedule a date and time for an appointment? instead it's we will call you in 3-5 days!

btw, i still like my spa....... when it's working.

Still beleive i bought a very good spa, just not sure about the system.

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Hi Budge, you asked for any horror stories regarding Arctic Spas? It has been nothing but!! We purchased not only one but two Spas on the same day, ours the Cub for $9000 and my mother in law paid $12000 for hers, both paid for by cash! Unfortunately from the Orangeville dealer that shortly thereafter went out of business. We were told not to worry that the warranties would be honored when we contacted the Oakville Group. Shortly after the install the salt generator died and sent a black slime throughout the tub, a greasy substance that permanently stained the suits. In order to get service we had to pay extra because we had not purchased from the Oakville group. The tub was drained and fixed. This was approx 6 months ago and now the same problem has arisen. We called about it and were put on hold and after waiting 45 min we opted to leave a message for a return call, after three days no return call. We called again and finally got a service person and they indicated they would come for an extra fee because we had not purchased from them but could not tell us when because they were quite busy. That was three days ago and still no service and a tub we cannot use. I called the head office in Alberta three days ago to voice my concerns, talked to someone named Karen who was very sympathetic and said she would make some calls. I just got off the phone with Karen after waiting three days for a response and she told me her own dealers have not returned her calls!! We did our research on this tub, thought we made the right choice and boy were we wrong!! Now we can’t even get rid of the thing because it doesn’t work!!!! To think we have had it only a year and have had two mechanical failures already!! We have been considering contacting the BBB or even someone in the media like Pat Foran from CTV, anything to get a fair shake!! Sorry it is a bit long winded but that’s our Arctic Spa horror story and we want as many people to know just what they are like to deal with.

Rob

PS..and to ad insult to the what we and by looking at the forum a lot of others are experiencing, every second add on the radio is Trevor Wazniak bragging about how Arctic Spas is the best thing since sliced bread!!!!!

Hi Robbie,

I am sorry for your troubles with what sounds like an aftermarket Genesis salt system. I am with the factory that makes Arctic Spas, and I would like to see if I can help. I think it is important to point out that if it is, in fact, an aftermarket salt system that is the issue it is not really the fault of the spa we make. Of course I still want to help in any way I can because I want you to be happy with your spa. Can you send me your spa number and I will look into the details and see if I can help.

Kind regards,

James

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The Artic stores just don't have a clue.

I was in my local one the otherday to buy some salt, i came out $300 worse off.

They told me this new Aqua Finesse would fix all my troubles.

I am at the point that i will try anything, but upon getting home with my $169 box i thought to myself why should i be doing this? i was sold the spa on the basis that i would have to do very little to it and now they are trying to sell me very expensive solutions.

I returned the product 2 days later and was met with a somewhat hostile and argumentative sales person.

After reading some of the other posts about the service calls i find the service appaulling from Oakville.

You call and tell them you need a tech to come out, they charge you right away but yet can't give you a time of date until the night before and even then they won't give you a time.

How hard can it be to schedule a date and time for an appointment? instead it's we will call you in 3-5 days!

btw, i still like my spa....... when it's working.

Still beleive i bought a very good spa, just not sure about the system.

Hi Nigel,

Me again. I am actually in Toronto right now and I am discussing with Trevor, the owner of Arctic Spas Oakville Group how he can reduce call wait times and improve service times. I am confident Trevor will work over the next few months on improving both.

If you need any help expediting things from my end, I am always here to help.

Kind regards,

James

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm starting to feel everyones pain regarding Arctic Spas. Tub is slightly over a month old and I'm already regreting my purchase.

Had about two days of clear water. Best advise from the dealer was to go to a local swimming pool company to see if I could get some type of acid to get my stubbornly high PH down. The local Hydropool dealer has been more help and he didn't get $11,000 dollars of my money!

Drained the tub last weekend (cloudy water) and as I was wiping the light lens with a soft cloth, it shattered in my hands.

Service has been brutal. Was scheduled for yesterday and they were a no show. I did get a call in the morning claiming the techs van had broken down (my sister-in-law who also has an Arctic Spa has had a few of these my "the van broke down" stories too) but a promise to call later with an update. End result no tech, no call. I had to call this morning to get some information and now scheduled to tomorrow! I've got an empty tub sitting in below zero weather waiting for what's likely a $2 part. Attitude I got from Service was essentially, too bad so sad!

I'm going to speak to Sales about the return policy. I'm sure they're smart enough not to have one.

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My Arctic Spa is only seven months old and I am on my third issue since delivery (July 2008). My problems so far are as follows:

-"FLO" error

-Pump 1 replaced (it would not start on speed 1, speed 2 worked, but speed 1 would hum for a few seconds and then turn off)

-The Onzen system stopped producing sanitizer (no more smokey streak from the onzen jet in the footwell), the service tech was supposed to be here today, but they cancelled late this afternoon and have rescheduled for Monday.

The service department also charges a $95.00 trip fee for each service call, even though the tub has a 5 year warranty on most components, and 1 year inclusive within the first year. Yes, it's in the fine print of the warranty, the trip charge is not included in the warranty. Consumers like myself who paid $16,000 for a hot tub (Summit Legend with Onzen), get slapped with a $95.00 trip charge. Listen up Arctic, build the trip charge into your sale price! This is just bad post sales service that leaves a negative impression, that consumers like myself feel taken advantage of. It's to bad that Arctic didn't spend as much time and effort with Onzen Manual as they did covering there corporate behinds with the fine print in the warranty.

But enough with my rant <_<

What I want to know from other Arctic Spa owners are what problems have you having with your tubs 2008 or newer? 2008 is when they made changes to there tubs (Onzen, Neck Jets, Shell modification, etc.).

Thanks,

Budge

Budge, You think you have problems you should see how Arctic treats its US customers and dealers. I think that Arctic has the best "story" in the industry, unfortunately the product does not live up to the story. Funny thing is, the Arctic "Managed Sales Proccess" is call the SHAFT, Shell, Heatlock, Access, Floor, Top. "this makes sense right?"

I am so sorry for all the trouble Arctic owners are going through, I have a passion for this industry and hate to see a manufacturer burn bridges within the community that supports it.

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My Arctic Spa is only seven months old and I am on my third issue since delivery (July 2008). My problems so far are as follows:

-"FLO" error

-Pump 1 replaced (it would not start on speed 1, speed 2 worked, but speed 1 would hum for a few seconds and then turn off)

-The Onzen system stopped producing sanitizer (no more smokey streak from the onzen jet in the footwell), the service tech was supposed to be here today, but they cancelled late this afternoon and have rescheduled for Monday.

The service department also charges a $95.00 trip fee for each service call, even though the tub has a 5 year warranty on most components, and 1 year inclusive within the first year. Yes, it's in the fine print of the warranty, the trip charge is not included in the warranty. Consumers like myself who paid $16,000 for a hot tub (Summit Legend with Onzen), get slapped with a $95.00 trip charge. Listen up Arctic, build the trip charge into your sale price! This is just bad post sales service that leaves a negative impression, that consumers like myself feel taken advantage of. It's to bad that Arctic didn't spend as much time and effort with Onzen Manual as they did covering there corporate behinds with the fine print in the warranty.

But enough with my rant <_<

What I want to know from other Arctic Spa owners are what problems have you having with your tubs 2008 or newer? 2008 is when they made changes to there tubs (Onzen, Neck Jets, Shell modification, etc.).

Thanks,

Budge

Budge, You think you have problems you should see how Arctic treats its US customers and dealers. I think that Arctic has the best "story" in the industry, unfortunately the product does not live up to the story. Funny thing is, the Arctic "Managed Sales Proccess" is call the SHAFT, Shell, Heatlock, Access, Floor, Top. "this makes sense right?"

I am so sorry for all the trouble Arctic owners are going through, I have a passion for this industry and hate to see a manufacturer burn bridges within the community that supports it.

We have committed to stepping up our contact with our customers from a corporate perspective, and we will continue to do so. Our participation in online forums is just one aspect of this commitment. There will inevitably be shortfalls between dealers and customers and we are here to help close those gaps. We highly value each and every customer we have worldwide.

We truly believe we manufacture one of the best spas in the world, and we will strive to have our customer service inline with that quality. If we can be of any assistance, please contact myself or James Keirstead here or directly at the factory.

Regards,

Vern

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I am currently dealing with the second problem (Onzen stopped working / Poor dealer service). I'll let you know how it goes.

I got my service call today. Day 57 since I first reported the problem.

The solution: I need to drain the spa, remove the screen at the bottom of the spa and spray CLR onto the electrode. The assumption is that calcium has built up on it.

When I bought the spa I was told not to use anything stronger than diluted vinegar or my warranty may be voided.

Can someone at Arctic comment on this? I don’t think this is what James had in mind.

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I am currently dealing with the second problem (Onzen stopped working / Poor dealer service). I'll let you know how it goes.

I got my service call today. Day 57 since I first reported the problem.

The solution: I need to drain the spa, remove the screen at the bottom of the spa and spray CLR onto the electrode. The assumption is that calcium has built up on it.

When I bought the spa I was told not to use anything stronger than diluted vinegar or my warranty may be voided.

Can someone at Arctic comment on this? I don’t think this is what James had in mind.

Good Morning Ron,

I'd bet James has asked for this already, but I can be more efficient if you could PM me your spa serial number and your local dealer. Once I get that I'll work on this today...

Vern

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I have been an Artic Spa owner for just about 10 months now and starting getting the FLO error about 2 months ago. At first it was more of annoyance, but just a couple weeks ago I found my tub would never get up to temperature. We called the supplier and requested service which is supposed to happen next week. Apparently they need to replace the some parts, maybe the entire Onzen system. What scared me is how "matter-of-fact" he made it sound when I described the problem and told me the cause.

After finding this thread I am beginning to see the truth behind his attitude. Looks like this problem with the Onzen systems is much more common place then they probably want advertised. It would seem that Artic Spa doesn't live up to the reputation for quality they brag so much about in the brochures.

Still with all that I am hopefully that when the technician fixes this it won't be a problem again.

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Looks like this problem with the Onzen systems is much more common place then they probably want advertised.

I guess I'll give our local Arctic dealer credit....they VERY strongly discourage buyers from purchasing the Onzen, actually telling buyers to wait, it can be added to existing tubs later, once the kinks are worked out. Makes sense for them since the repairs/warranty for the dealer is time consuming and costly, and the buyer ends up frustrated with having the problems with a $15-$20,000 tub within a short time.

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I have been an Artic Spa owner for just about 10 months now and starting getting the FLO error about 2 months ago. At first it was more of annoyance, but just a couple weeks ago I found my tub would never get up to temperature. We called the supplier and requested service which is supposed to happen next week. Apparently they need to replace the some parts, maybe the entire Onzen system. What scared me is how "matter-of-fact" he made it sound when I described the problem and told me the cause.

After finding this thread I am beginning to see the truth behind his attitude. Looks like this problem with the Onzen systems is much more common place then they probably want advertised. It would seem that Artic Spa doesn't live up to the reputation for quality they brag so much about in the brochures.

Still with all that I am hopefully that when the technician fixes this it won't be a problem again.

ttrublue is correct. A flow message has nothing to do with your onzen system. It is mostly likely a faulty pressure switch. Have you contacted your local dealer for a service call?

James

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all, I responded to “Budge” on Oct 24 when he asked for others who were not happy with Arctic Spas to respond, so I did with a bit of a rant about my problems. Although it felt good to rant the problem still persisted!! I was not getting anywhere with the service people and we felt blacklisted because we had no dealer to turn to as we had purchased from the Orangeville bandits that had gone bankrupt. One thing I did notice while reading the forum was James Keirstead’s name and how he was trying to help people with their problems, possibly a light at the end of the tunnel!! I then received message from James and shortly after that I received a phone call from him. Long and short, after a few calls and messages back and forth and a visit from a service tech our tub is working just fine, probably better than when it was installed!! My point is as you read the forums and see these guys from the manufacturer (James & Vern) reaching out, take them up on their offer to help, I am sure if they can they will!! I read a comment in a forum complimenting James for his assistance and at the same time wondering where the dealer is in all this, why is the manufacture going out of his way to help??!!

Thanks again James for all you help!!

Rob

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Andy's Ongoing Onzen (and other) Issues

We purchased an Arctic Spa Yukon in mid-July.

After first 3 months of having the tub we have had:

- 3 Onzen units (now on "version 7.0")

- 2 pumps (high speed capacitor blew up)

- many filter replacements

- drained the tub 4 times

- used about a hundered test-strips (reading 0 bromine each time).

After all that (and gut-wrenching frustration) we had a clear tub for a month. This new Onzen seems to work (more bromine is visibly being added to the tub, and there is better flow around the electrodes now). It took a few weeks for us to be able to enjoy the clean tub because we couldn't relax - we kept waiting for the next problem.

THen the pump started to occassionally ease pressure in pulses. Relaxation all gone again. This time it turns out the filters they gave us are bad and are bloating (they were) so we got new filters. Then we had a heavy use weekend and I thought I would see how long it would take the Onzen to recover the bromine. Tonight, after waiting 3 days I gave up and added powered bromine.

My Thoughts So Far...

- Our tub is a lemon. Probably built on a friday afternoon.

- The service from the dealer has been very good. We got it in Burlington (affliated with Mississauga) and although the call centre has been occassionally grumpy the service tech has been great and it has not cost me anything extra so far. They provided salt and filters after all the water dumping and issues. No charge for service calls.

- I don't know what to expect from the Onzen. Should I be powder-free ? How long should it take to recover from a busy day of use ?

- It's SO HARD to relax in this tub because my eyes and ears are always on the alert for something abnormal.

There are things that I really like about this tub. I really want to enjoy it. But it's hard.

*sigh*

Andy

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