Original > Hot Tub Forum
Does distance to dealer matter?
castletonia:
Within reason, distance doesn't matter. I just sold a hot tub that is 145 miles from my store. I was upfront with my customer that we would not be able to respond to service requests as timely as if he was 5 miles away and I do write it into the sales contract about service call fees.
I would say 50 miles is not that far if the dealer is reputable.
castletonia:
--- Quote from: Holgmi585281 on May 10, 2019, 04:00:52 pm ---Hmmm that suprises me even under warranty? I have seen lots of comments on various forums and ratings sites regarding charging to come and take a look . That's not something that generally happens here if at all. Is this just the hot tub industry or do other industries do the same ? Vehicles etc or self employed people.
--- End quote ---
Trip charges can be necessary if the dealer doesn't want to lose money on every warranty service call. I sell Hot Spring, Caldera, and Marquis, all considered reputable manufacturers. The labor rate they pay under warranty would allow me to not lose money if the service call could be completed in 1 hour including drive time to and from the store. Anything more than that and we are losing money. Keep in mind, there is more cost associated than just the service techs hourly wage. Gas, insurance, vehicle wear & tear all add up. Plus a competent tech costs more.
Each dealer is different. I don't charge trip charges unless it is specified in the sales contract (likely due to excessive mileage) or if the hot tub came from a different dealer. Now, if it is something stupid like a dirty filter, then I charge.
The Wizard of Spas:
--- Quote from: Holgmi585281 on May 10, 2019, 04:00:52 pm ---Hmmm that suprises me even under warranty? I have seen lots of comments on various forums and ratings sites regarding charging to come and take a look . That's not something that generally happens here if at all. Is this just the hot tub industry or do other industries do the same ? Vehicles etc or self employed people.
--- End quote ---
Manufacturers leave the language in the warranty open-ended so that each dealer can decide how they choose to conduct the labor-aspect of the warranty, due to the amount of variables: Service radius, price of gas, market indicators (competition saturation, quality of service provided, what is and isn't included in service, extras/freebies, etc). Everyone is in a unique situation, so it is tough to say that all things should be treated the same. For instance - is the tub in a deck? Is it in a pit? Are you X miles away and require extra cost for trip charge? Is the tub full-foamed, how old the tub is, so on, so forth...
The dealer is - in my opinion - 50% of the decision when buying a tub. The product may be stellar, but if the dealer is of poor repute, you'll find that warranty / no warranty / partial warranty is close to irrelevant.
I hope this helps. Good luck moving forward.
BullFrogSpasMN:
--- Quote from: castletonia on May 10, 2019, 05:50:43 pm ---
--- Quote from: Holgmi585281 on May 10, 2019, 04:00:52 pm ---Hmmm that suprises me even under warranty? I have seen lots of comments on various forums and ratings sites regarding charging to come and take a look . That's not something that generally happens here if at all. Is this just the hot tub industry or do other industries do the same ? Vehicles etc or self employed people.
--- End quote ---
Trip charges can be necessary if the dealer doesn't want to lose money on every warranty service call. I sell Hot Spring, Caldera, and Marquis, all considered reputable manufacturers. The labor rate they pay under warranty would allow me to not lose money if the service call could be completed in 1 hour including drive time to and from the store. Anything more than that and we are losing money. Keep in mind, there is more cost associated than just the service techs hourly wage. Gas, insurance, vehicle wear & tear all add up. Plus a competent tech costs more.
Each dealer is different. I don't charge trip charges unless it is specified in the sales contract (likely due to excessive mileage) or if the hot tub came from a different dealer. Now, if it is something stupid like a dirty filter, then I charge.
--- End quote ---
Castle what part of the country are you in? just curious
castletonia:
--- Quote from: BullFrogSpasMN on May 10, 2019, 05:56:30 pm ---
--- Quote from: castletonia on May 10, 2019, 05:50:43 pm ---
--- Quote from: Holgmi585281 on May 10, 2019, 04:00:52 pm ---Hmmm that suprises me even under warranty? I have seen lots of comments on various forums and ratings sites regarding charging to come and take a look . That's not something that generally happens here if at all. Is this just the hot tub industry or do other industries do the same ? Vehicles etc or self employed people.
--- End quote ---
Trip charges can be necessary if the dealer doesn't want to lose money on every warranty service call. I sell Hot Spring, Caldera, and Marquis, all considered reputable manufacturers. The labor rate they pay under warranty would allow me to not lose money if the service call could be completed in 1 hour including drive time to and from the store. Anything more than that and we are losing money. Keep in mind, there is more cost associated than just the service techs hourly wage. Gas, insurance, vehicle wear & tear all add up. Plus a competent tech costs more.
Each dealer is different. I don't charge trip charges unless it is specified in the sales contract (likely due to excessive mileage) or if the hot tub came from a different dealer. Now, if it is something stupid like a dirty filter, then I charge.
--- End quote ---
Castle what part of the country are you in? just curious
--- End quote ---
Wisconsin
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