Browse Forums Pools & Spas Re: Swim Spa 2Aug 30, 2007 7:29 am My In-Laws got one a couple of months ago. Makes a great spa (because it's huge), and the uber-jets that you're expected to swim against are pretty damned powerful, but, staying on-track while trying to swim against them is the real skill (they constantly make their best effort to blow you off course). Re: Swim Spa 4Aug 30, 2007 9:53 am I've had a regular type 5- person spa for around 5 years now, and it's great.
The in-laws were so impressed with it, they recently bought their own too. What I am not impressed about was the customer service from the company who proudly proclaim how big & reliable they are, but as soon as the money is paid & the spa delivered, the well-oiled machine grinds to a halt. We had a number of warranty issues within the first 3 months, and all we were met with were empty promises. In the end, the sales guy actually personally came to our place & fitted 2 replacement jets. It only took at least 10 phone calls & a couple of personal visits to their sales showroom to complain out loud about a new spa being delivered with faulty jets. Still never got the replacements for the 3 damaged headrests..... Then we had the main diverter jet sieze - in the position that only allows water to flow out of it, effectively making it a 1 person spa...... This was reported at the 11 month old mark. They kept saying that they have to get someone to call me back. After 5 weeks of this treatment, I finally got through to someone, and they arrogantly told me that "oh, the spa is 1 week out of warranty, you'll have to pay for a service call" I could not get him to listen to me when I told him that I reported it 4 weeks ago, and I even heard him say 'sure you did' under his breath. So I pulled out the fax that I had sent (I wrote it & faxed it after they wouldn't answer their phone) and the transmission copy I'd printed, and sent them both to him again, with a big fat black texta smudge pointing at the sent date. They finally agreed to send someone out to tale a look. I took a day off work, and no-one showed. Rang to complain & got told that it was marked down as 'customer not answering the door' Funny how I spent the day in the garage, with the doors up, less that 4m from the front door, and with a clear view of the driveway....... nobody came. But they wouldn't hear a bar of it, and had the hide to tell me that if I wanted to re-schedule, I would have to pay the call-out fee because I wasn't home when they called the first time. The other option I had offered to me was to empty it myself & return it to their (interstate) workshop and they would look at it free of charge! In the end I spoke to a local pool place, and he knew the problem - mild steel pivot pins used instead of stainless! What do they think is going to happen in a wet environment! He told me how to 'fix' it so the jet cannot be used, but at least it will flow water out all the other jets. So basically, read the warranty very carefully. We were told so many times by the salesman that it has a 10 year warranty. He never mentioned any conditions or limitations, just kept proudly proclaiming a 10 year warranty that is the best in the industry (now we know better). What the reality was, is the 10 years is for manufacturing defects in the fibreglass only........ Pump, jets, filters, valves, eleconics and even the wooden box only score 1 year....... As far as running it, chemicals are worth around $40-50 per year if you use 'just enough' and maintain it well. We have an ozone filter in ours which I've found helps extend the time between 'doses' and saves on chemicals. I find having it set on 32 degrees on the cooler months, and 30 in summer, it adds around $50-60 to a quarterly power bill. We usually drain it in June & refill it come spring time, as we weren't using it enough in winter to warrant running it. We cover it with the insulated cover whenever it's not in use, and I am working out a method of doing some form of solar assisted heating mainly for the cooler sides of summer. Re: Swim Spa 5Aug 30, 2007 10:44 am Hey Commodore, I'd love to know who that company is (as I'm sure others here are) as I am thinking about a spa myself.
I want to make sure I don't deal with companies that sprout so much BS to avoid fixing an issue, instead of dealing with it in a fair (and rightfully expected) way and keeping up a good reputation. As an example of a company that does it the right way, we had a customer who actually blew up a speaker through mistreatment, and yet our supplier still replaced the damaged driver under warranty - on the spot when we took the speaker in!!!, as their reputation for providing good backup service is still quite important to them. You can tell us, as you are talking about your own personal experiences with them and their product(s). Re: Swim Spa 6Aug 30, 2007 10:46 am That company was Mordaunt Short...
They were excellent! We also had a similar situation with a Boston speaker a few years back. These are good reasons to pay good money for good speakers... I have reverted to username - mattwalker Carlisle Homes - Grande 43 My building experience is here: http://www.ourgrandeplan.blogspot.com Re: Swim Spa 7Aug 30, 2007 9:12 pm Rodda You can tell us, as you are talking about your own personal experiences with them and their product(s). Looking at the paperwork for it, the 'selling' company didn't manufacture it. I browsed their website, and that company still sell spas, but no longer sell the brand that I have. These aren't too cryptic to those looking at spas. The selling (and runaround) company was the one with an Elephant, while the spa is one to 'Relaax' in. 3 3564 |