Getting Ready To Purchase

[dnjsdad]

I understand that there are differences in the service before during and after the sale. But what I really want to know is what makes the other guys spas different from say the discovery or the elite 3 other then the above stated information. Also let it be known that I am a mortgage broker AKA a salesman of money and as a salesman I would like to state there are many clients who have come to me over the years and wanted to get what I would call a BAD loan, and in 12 years I have never done one, I have had clients go other places and get the loan they wanted but I know that I can sleep at night knowing I was not the one to put them in a very bad situation. Also in ref. to car salesman being slimy I believe that to be a very uneducated comment for example my father has been selling automobiles for over thirty years at the same dealership and he has sold autos to several generations of familys, that being said SALES PROFESSIONALS are neccessary. I have personally in the last year had a client call me and want to do a home loan that said he told his wife we could go with DNJSDAD or go with someone else and get a cheaper price. They chose to go with me at a little higher price because they new that I do what I say I am going to do. My point is I would as well pay a slightly higher premium for the same item to get more service.

[paintnsunni]

I have personnally got great serrvice through Elite spa...aka Hydrospa. While saving litteraly thousands on a quality top ten manufacturer.

I keep hearing that you are missing dealer support with Elie spa but, haven't really had a explanation that makes sense other then I assume that Hydrospa is in Florida factory and no dealership in seattle?

I still call when I have questions on the spa just the same as you would call your local Hotspings, Caldera,Sundance,maxxus ect....I don't see any less information or product support in that area.

If your reffereing to actual service? I have not heard one person say they where left stranded or even a trip charge, even from Mr. Mendoza which I am sure would have shared wether there was a service fee as his hot tub purchase unfortunately was not steller.

Time of sevice has been from two days to one week from post I have read as Hydrospa has a network of support set up with dealers to service there spas. They have been in bussiness more the 25 years to do anything less would be quik death to their spa.

So could you please explain what you mean by dealer support that Elite spa owners don't enjoy same as you are reffering to.

[paintnsunni]

One more thing the dealers cant or wont do.....Give a 100% unconditional no questions asked no time limit return policy!!!! great advantage.

Oh the differance mainly is five thousand dollars!

[dnjsdad]

I agree with you about the return policy being nothing less than stellar, a personal example is I had purchased a couch and two double loungers I paid several thousand dollars for them and after a year and half one of the loungers seemed to be sagging in the center a bit so I thought I would go to the store and exchange the one chair Honestly I did not believe that they would do it however they no longer stocked my furniture so they said bring it all back which I did and recieved a full refund in cash. Refund Policy is a good as gold in my opinion.

As for less dealer support I mean a salesperson whom might walk me through setup, delivery, water testing ect. What I am trying to find is factual differences between the tubs. I have read many posts but other then the above I dont find anyone that is telling the actual differences other then maybe insulation which from what I have read can raise the costs of heating a few hundred dollars a year at the most.

Thanks,

Dnjsdad

[Jim_The_Jim]

I understand that there are differences in the service before during and after the sale. But what I really want to know is what makes the other guys spas different from say the discovery or the elite 3 other then the above stated information. Also let it be known that I am a mortgage broker AKA a salesman of money and as a salesman I would like to state there are many clients who have come to me over the years and wanted to get what I would call a BAD loan, and in 12 years I have never done one, I have had clients go other places and get the loan they wanted but I know that I can sleep at night knowing I was not the one to put them in a very bad situation. Also in ref. to car salesman being slimmy I believe that to be a very uneducated comment for example my father has been selling automobiles for over thirty years at the same dealership and he has sold autos to several generations of familys, that being said SALES PROFESSIONALS are neccessary. I have personally in the last year had a client call me and want to do a home loan that said he told his wife we could go with DNJSDAD or go with someone else and get a cheaper price. They chose to go with me at a little higher price because they new that I do what I say I am going to do. My point is I would as well pay a slightly higher premium for the same item to get more service.

I love what you have to say about sales people. However, would you as a real professional salesperson with a conscience, ever call another man's wife "garbage" over a discussion of the inferior flaws in said salesman's product?

My father was in Real Estate, and when he passed away, I never knew he had so many friends and associates who told me what a good man he was in all their business dealings with him. I didn't even know 1/4 of the people who attended his funeral. That was over 30 years ago.

My father also taught me about how to buy a used car, he said that some dealers will turn back the odometers and put sawdust in the transmission as well as in the differential in order to sell the car as "only used by Grandma on Sunday to go to church."

Here is Colorado we had Spedding Chevrolet back in the 80's was the last one to get caught on that scam, before the laws changed and now the titles have the odometer reading on them, and the dealers have to tell you if the care was ever wrecked or has any hidden flaws that they know about. The dealers have to be licensed and the sales people have to pass a test on the laws as well. That is not the case in the spa industry. It is unregulated and open to all sorts of "funny" people and "funny" companies.

I have to tell you that an uneducated on "spas" shopper is really vulnerable. Some of the "nicest" people sell some real junk that is barely able to function.

I believe that the old fashioned unethical used car mentality did not leave the planet, it just moved to another industry, where consumer ignorance is the main selling point.

You need to take some time and really understand what you are buying.

The problem with the market right now is the reputation of the spa industry, with all of its half baked failures sitting in people's back yards. This makes it very hard for the honest people with excellent products to make a living when they are lumping us in the same arena.

One of my customers told me I needed to change the name of our product to "Water Therapy Machines" so we would not be associated with all this folly.

There are some good spa companies out there, you have to know what you are looking for and understand the differences.

If it wasn't for sales professionals a lot of people would not have jobs. If the product doesn't make it to market then the people on the assembly line are unemployed, the maker of the materials is out of money and the economy fails. Ethical sales people are worth their weight in gold, and they deserve all the money they make. The others need to go get a job in an all night gas station or do something better with their lives.

Who is teaching this crap to these people with no ethics? Isn't that the same in the Mortagage industry?

[Roger]

I understand that there are differences in the service before during and after the sale. But what I really want to know is what makes the other guys spas different from say the discovery or the elite 3 other then the above stated information. Also let it be known that I am a mortgage broker AKA a salesman of money and as a salesman I would like to state there are many clients who have come to me over the years and wanted to get what I would call a BAD loan, and in 12 years I have never done one, I have had clients go other places and get the loan they wanted but I know that I can sleep at night knowing I was not the one to put them in a very bad situation. Also in ref. to car salesman being slimmy I believe that to be a very uneducated comment for example my father has been selling automobiles for over thirty years at the same dealership and he has sold autos to several generations of familys, that being said SALES PROFESSIONALS are neccessary. I have personally in the last year had a client call me and want to do a home loan that said he told his wife we could go with DNJSDAD or go with someone else and get a cheaper price. They chose to go with me at a little higher price because they new that I do what I say I am going to do. My point is I would as well pay a slightly higher premium for the same item to get more service.

In my opinion there are differences and it's more than the few thousand dollars, but you will have to form your own opinion and the worst part is the only way you can form your opinion is to get one in your back yard. All hot tubs are not created equal, the fit and finish is different between the big expensive manufacturers and the inexpensive value type manufacturers. This you will only see after you own it, or you could go look under the hood at your local dealer of the big expensive manufactiurers and at Costco, it will be obvious if you know what to look for. One will run quieter than the other and will cost less to operate. Those in my opinion are the main differences other than what you mentioned.

Oh I fogot to mention the longevity. We know a 8000 dollar Hot Spring or D1 will last 15 maybe even 20 years or better with very little trouble, we know this because all of us service guys and dealers have seen it. But the value brands are suspect in this area, I'm not by any means say it's a bad thing just not the same as the expensive tubs.

[dnjsdad]

Who is teaching this crap to these people with no ethics? Isn't that the same in the Mortagage industry?

Unfortunatly yes it is exactly the same in my profession. Sounds like your father was a good person, a man of ethics and a true Professional Salesperson.

[paintnsunni]

In my opinion there are differences and it's more than the few thousand dollars, but you will have to form your own opinion and the worst part is the only way you can form your opinion is to get one in your back yard. All hot tubs are not created equal, the fit and finish is different between the big expensive manufacturers and the inexpensive value type manufacturers. This you will only see after you own it, or you could go look under the hood at your local dealer of the big expensive manufactiurers and at Costco, it will be obvious if you know what to look for. One will run quieter than the other and will cost less to operate. Those in my opinion are the main differences other than what you mentioned.

Oh I fogot to mention the longevity. We know a 8000 dollar Hot Spring or D1 will last 15 maybe even 20 years or better with very little trouble, we know this because all of us service guys and dealers have seen it. But the value brands are suspect in this area, I'm not by any means say it's a bad thing just not the same as the expensive tubs.

How much quieter is your spa and why? Can you explain how a spa built with the same components, engineering and production techniques are less on the Elite spa? The reason I ask that is you are making a statement implying leser quality and longevity which is your opinion and thats cool. How do you form that opinion as in what is the difference of te Elite spa vs a "name brand"

Personally when I looked I saw the oposite of what you imply of inferior fit and finish. Also when I looked at the equipment installed I also found the to be high end components and very clean, neat workmanship and quality........please point out what you saw? Hope thats fair enough to as as this is a "ready to purchase" thread......I'd just like people to have all the facts and not just a opinion.......

Thanks....... ok I am being P.C. on this

[wesj53]

I understand that there are differences in the service before during and after the sale. But what I really want to know is what makes the other guys spas different from say the discovery or the elite 3 other then the above stated information. of familys, that being said SALES PROFESSIONALS are neccessary. They chose to go with me at a little higher price because they new that I do what I say I am going to do. My point is I would as well pay a slightly higher premium for the same item to get more service.

You sound to be an ethical person and one who provides expert sales opinions to your clients. I too am a professional sales person - in property and casualty insurance. While I recognize that price is probably the most important factor for consumers, I try not to just sell on a price point; rather discuss the expertise I have and will provide to my clients on an almost 24/7 basis.

This is the basic question you must answer for yourself when buying a spa. Do you want to take a chance on a lower priced unit with possible lesser quality and servicing or pay more for a product which the mfg and dealer will stand behind. If you are a newbie, let me explain how I proceeded with my purchase. My wife and I thoroughly investigated as many spas as possible here in the Chicago area including the HydroSpa brand. We thought one of their models was exactly what we were looking for. Unfortunately, both of their dealers (who HydroSpa referred us to) were BOTH dropping the line due to (in their words not mine) poor product reliability and extremely tardy customer service answers. That meant in a 7 million consumer market, they had NO local dealers. (It is now my understanding they have one in a far northwest region of the metro) That information, along with the many negative posts about the company and their product (which you can investigate on this site) led me to believe that whatever $$ I would have saved would have been offset by the time, aggravation, and possibly additional cost to continue upgrading and repairing brand new units which should otherwise not be needed.

Additionally, what paintnsummi does NOT TELL you is that the full refund policy is only offered if you buy one of their units from Costco. Our local store does not sell them, thus I would have had to purchase one over the internet without Costco's refund policy. Also, paintnsummi is a fairly newcomer to this site and has almost exclusively posted on subjects regarding HydroSpa products which has led many of us to believe he is a representative of that company or Costco. (I asked him once specifically about his relationship with either and he/she answered only by stating he/she had connections.) I think that was a very disengenuos answer and not a person to be trusted fully. He or she seems to also have a clear disdain for sales people and I for one, am insulted by his comments about my profession.

If I were you, I would stick with local dealers where you can wet test, ask as many questions as you want, investigate the different methods of production (which there are many) and rest assured knowing that when you buy a unit (presumably for many, many years), you will have a great warranty behind you and local servicing you can trust to be there for you. Good luck to you.

[dnjsdad]

Thank you for the sound advice. Its hard sifting through theses posts on here to find factual data because most of the posts are people bashing other peoples choices. Either they bought a costco spa and there stating what a great purchase or they are telling the people who purchased at costco what idiots they are for purchasing there. I find it very frustrating that people always have to bash each other, whether its the dealers or the consumers. Thanks again, everybody for your advice.

Dnjsdad

[jmendoza17]

Thank you for the sound advice. Its hard sifting through theses posts on here to find factual data because most of the posts are people bashing other peoples choices. Either they bought a costco spa and there stating what a great purchase or they are telling the people who purchased at costco what idiots they are for purchasing there. I find it very frustrating that people always have to bash each other, whether its the dealers or the consumers. Thanks again, everybody for your advice.

Dnjsdad

Here's , my story DNJsdad. I bought a spa at Costco and had problems from day one. The manufacturer was unhelpful, on occasion offensive and generally hard to reach. The action started when I threatened to return it to Costco. This motivated them to attempts repairs, which were not successful.

In the end, I am returning the tub -- for that I am very thankful for Costco's policy. But what a hassle this had all been. So if you're open to advice, here's a couple things to consider.

-- Spend time up front and do your research, upside-down, backward and forward.

-- Water test everything you are interested in

-- Consider the dealers, because the extra bucks you spend may asve you a lot of hassles. Even with a 100% return policy, a spa is not a TV or stereo you can throw in the trunk and return. Boy am I finding that out.

-- Shop wisely and good luck

[dnjsdad]

Here's , my story DNJsdad. I bought a spa at Costco and had problems from day one. The manufacturer was unhelpful, on occasion offensive and generally hard to reach. The action started when I threatened to return it to Costco. This motivated them to attempts repairs, which were not successful.

In the end, I am returning the tub -- for that I am very thankful for Costco's policy. But what a hassle this had all been. So if you're open to advice, here's a couple things to consider.

-- Spend time up front and do your research, upside-down, backward and forward.

-- Water test everything you are interested in

-- Consider the dealers, because the extra bucks you spend may asve you a lot of hassles. Even with a 100% return policy, a spa is not a TV or stereo you can throw in the trunk and return. Boy am I finding that out.

-- Shop wisely and good luck

Thank you for your input, I am in the process of researching many tubs, what problems did you specifically have if you dont mind if I ask?

Thanks,

Dnjsdad

[jmendoza17]

Thank you for your input, I am in the process of researching many tubs, what problems did you specifically have if you dont mind if I ask?

Thanks,

Dnjsdad

Several issues. Leak in the plumbing. Bad control panel. The pumps surged uncontrollably and they never figured out the cause. Too much for a new unit. Good luck.