Warranty-Problems

Warranty problems:

I know first hand what happens when a company won't honor the warranty. When you complain if there is one thing on your log book that you say, such as when you called 2 years ago and complained about a problem that had to do with not maintaining the water properly, and when the heaters corrode they say its your fault. I made dummy complaints to find out which companies don't try to weasel their way out of the warranty. Salespeople get strikes against them and bonuses when they get the customer to pay for components normally covered by warranty I was told. The heaters are the most common thing to fail on a hot tub and its ironic that the heaters are usually always under a lifetime warranty, that is if you do 100% of the things right according to their warranty policies. Oh, you aren't the original buyer and you got it serviced and it was your parent's tub. There voids the warranty as you weren't the original buyer. Or you have to bring it to the original dealer who offered the extended warranty. (Too bad they are out of business now. We can't help you. Now that's messed up. Next time buy it direct and pay the full price and then we would have honored the warranty.

Another thing, they pick up when you press one for the sales department but for the technical department, I have to leave a message. Or the manager is always in a meeting. T/hey just freakin opened and its 10am. So this manager guy is in a meeting every freakin day? You can't BS me when I know their game.

Note: if you ever are going to get your tub serviced and its not an authorized service person from corporate, just make sure your warranty will still be valid. Oh, they used some generic part. There goes your warranty again!

So what really is normal wear and tear and what is a manufacturer's defect. These are all the things I want to know. Oh, now they are saying my hot tub has sun damage now. Well, why do you show your tub on your site in the sun on the patio?

There are ways to get things fixed and taken care of when there is a warranty problem. There is a way for them to return your call when they get 30 voicemails and the head manager can't talk to everyone and sends your number to some customer service worker that will never let you go past him.

It's about money!!! Yes. Money!! I work with some of these companies that you might even read about that don't honor the warranty but they ALWAYS honor the warranties for my cutomers, Even if its the customer fault they still honor it. Reason is that I make them money and I have a site that brings them a lot of business. If they piss me off and I stop selling their hot tub they just lost hundreds of new customers, not just me.

With my commissions, I offer to let them hold onto 20% of my profits to put away in case there is a questionable problem during the warranty period for at least 3 years. I get better prices since I do this. I'd rather give them this and have anyone who calls me and is pissed off about something just to have it fixed. After all, its all my commissions that are paying for it.

So, the warranties from companies that actually honor them and have a great reputation and not some private label (usually the case) are the ones that will honor almost any problem but the price is inflated way more than it should be for the tub itself.

My best advice for anyone who things they are going to have hot tub problems (those that are probably not going to maintain it well due to past history) should buy a tub from a company that is known for no questions asked fixing things. If someone is not throwing big parties and going to take great care of their tub, buying it without a warranty that the manufacture puts in writing that if anything happens to the tub, the customer will pay for it. This is the way to get a hot tub from certain companies that allow this type of offer to buy it cheap. The post sale of hot tubs and the warranties and questions all the time and having to pay employees to take care of these things makes them cost way more. Put it this way, I could sell a tub near what my normal dealer cost is and sell that same tub for the same price I pay for a tub that has a warranty. For example, if an item costs 9,000 retail, and cost is around 5500. Cost can be around 3500 without the warranty, just as an example.

If you have concerns over buying a hot tub with a warranty they will stand behind or you want one without warranty up front, let me know on my hot tub quiz.