Brand Specific Forums > Bullfrog Spas
New Bullfrog order, how long???
Frogger:
--- Quote from: dmshipley on June 25, 2020, 09:53:21 pm ---I ordered my R6L on 5/16 and was told they were backed up and that it'd be 5-6 weeks. Today I received a call from Scioto Valley which is who sold me the spa and was told that there were significant delays. When I pressed the manager on what that meant he told me that Bullfrog updated the PO with a delivery date of 9/6. Apparently Bullfrog told SV that they were working on a letter that they can forward on to the customer which should be within the week.
Without going into it suffice to say I'm not happy - having put in a paver patio and had the electric, etc ready for the delivery I was quoted.
My guess is that it's a supply chain issue as they have been pumping out spas like crazy.
I'll update here as I get updates, even the "letter" but those who are a few weeks out might want to revisit other options if they are needing something closer to the initial timeline they were given because it's not gonna happen with Bullfrog or so it would seem.
--- End quote ---
I totally get you because I had my electric upgraded almost two weeks ago. Frankly, I have all the accessories already...just no spa. I was already thinking before you posted this that I'd be lucky to get my A8D in August. Bullfrog is extremely backordered plus partial or full shutdowns looming. It's going to be a long summer I think.
ratchett:
--- Quote from: dmshipley on June 25, 2020, 09:53:21 pm ---When I pressed the manager on what that meant he told me that Bullfrog updated the PO with a delivery date of 9/6. Apparently Bullfrog told SV that they were working on a letter that they can forward on to the customer which should be within the week.
Without going into it suffice to say I'm not happy - having put in a paver patio and had the electric, etc ready for the delivery I was quoted.
My guess is that it's a supply chain issue as they have been pumping out spas like crazy.
--- End quote ---
My guess would be this has something to do with it:
--- Quote from: Backcountryluv on June 15, 2020, 12:12:56 am ---I’m being told by two separate Bullfrog dealers that new orders today won’t be delivered until early November. Bullfrog is currently running a promotion through Costco (through July 5th) and these orders actually get priority with an 8-10 week delivery time. The local dealer wasn’t too happy about this.
--- End quote ---
I've seen various people in multiple forums over the past few weeks mention they're looking at Bullfrog from Costco..... I bet this deal was negotiated months before the pandemic ever hit and BF was not anticipating a surge in sales from their regular dealers.
Frogger:
--- Quote from: Backcountryluv on June 15, 2020, 12:12:56 am --- Bullfrog is currently running a promotion through Costco (through July 5th) and these orders actually get priority with an 8-10 week delivery time. The local dealer wasn’t too happy about this.
--- End quote ---
I asked a local dealer about this (in arizona) yesterday and she said this isnt true. She said orders placed with Costco go though local dealers and no one is cutting in line.
Spatech_tuo:
--- Quote from: Frogger on July 06, 2020, 03:16:00 pm ---
--- Quote from: Backcountryluv on June 15, 2020, 12:12:56 am --- Bullfrog is currently running a promotion through Costco (through July 5th) and these orders actually get priority with an 8-10 week delivery time. The local dealer wasn’t too happy about this.
--- End quote ---
I asked a local dealer about this (in arizona) yesterday and she said this isnt true. She said orders placed with Costco go though local dealers and no one is cutting in line.
--- End quote ---
The truth probably lies in the middle.
Costco knows what its doing in this regard, they deal with plenty of suppliers and make plenty of demands up front. When they have ANY product go on sale they make sure the supplier can meet demand. In this case Costco probably had manufacturing slots guaranteed for them for the promo and if true I doubt Bullfrog can move those out too much to satisfy a jump in demand directly from dealers.
dmshipley:
I just spoke with the sales manager at my Bullfrog dealer and below is a c/p of the letter I was forwarded - I was going to post the actual letter but unsure how to do so via my phone.
I was told (emphatically) that they contacted Bullfrog about the Costco roadshow(s) and that the one in Columbus, OH a month or so ago they were given 16-20 week lead times. Additionally, it was mentioned that the spas sold locally were $2k more than what he was talking the same spa for, no idea how factually true that is - maybe a sales tactic.
In my dealers case he said they negotiated before the pandemic that Bullfrog would do a truck a week of x series and a special order a month which would be everything above the x. But recently with all that's happened they've not met the original agreement and now that there are so many special orders stacked up that they are only manufacturing above the x line.
I was told that my spa that was ordered 5/16 was started in the production on 7/9 and that it should arrive in 2-3 weeks, end of the month worse case.
July 10, 2020
Dear Dealer Partners,
I want to take an opportunity to let you know how much I and our teams appreciate your efforts over these last several months. Business, and life for that matter, has encountered challenges unlike anything we’ve experienced before. But we continue to be amazed at your ingenuity and resiliency in the face of these challenges, partnering through deep uncertainty and leading us into record-setting demand.
On that note I want to give you the clearest picture possible of where we are with production and our efforts to keep up with this unprecedented increase in demand.
First, our number one focus as an organization is on hiring, training, and retention of new production employees. We have made great strides in manufacturing processes within the new factory, but ramping up productivity has been a struggle due to ongoing personnel shortages. Fears surrounding the COVID-19 illness, having to tend to family members affected by the virus, and enhanced unemployment benefit programs continue to serve as obstacles to hiring and retaining manufacturing staff, but ones we’re confident we can overcome. In terms of recruiting, we’re making significant changes in order to reach better qualified workers. We’re also making improvements to our onboarding processes while creating a more engaging employee experience that aligns with our mission to create peaceful lives. We are welcoming new team members daily and expect all of these efforts to add to our production capabilities in the coming weeks and months.
As you can imagine, there’s often a lag between hiring a new employee and the point when they get proficient enough in their work to meet our quality standards. So, in addition to the efforts already mentioned, we’ve launched a bridge initiative to quickly add many skilled, experienced, and capable people to our manufacturing line. These are people who many of you might recognize as they’ve come from within the Bullfrog Spas family. If you notice that some of your Regional Managers, Dealer Services Representatives, and others from around the business are a little less responsive than usual, this is the reason why. Team members from across every part of the organization are jumping in and helping increase our capabilities and capacity while we bring the many new hires up to speed.
I can’t tell you how proud I am of all of our teams right now. They are caring and committed and leading this charge with their hearts.
While we hope this update helps reassure you about the action we’re taking to get spas produced as quickly as possible, we also understand the challenges you’ve been facing about communicating completion dates to your customers. Please know that as we continue to update expected lead times daily on the Bullfrog Spas Dealer Site, fluctuating manufacturing and supply chain conditions make this lead time estimate a very complex and sometimes imprecise equation. We encourage you to communicate expected delivery dates with your customers as just that, an estimate, and suggest you provide a reasonable range of dates instead of an exact date. In addition, we ask you to stay in touch with your customers, offering updates and reminders about the immeasurable value a Bullfrog Spa will add to their daily lives. The more regular, positive, and encouraging the communication, the better.
As we continue to increase our production capacity, we commit to you we will continue to communicate lead time estimates and expected completion dates as accurately as possible. With current lead times extending into December of this year, we will be providing additional information regarding 2021 product plans and ordering 2021 model year spas in the coming days. Please let us know if you have any questions as we rely on open communication to move us through this different and difficult time.
Once again, my sincerest thanks for your efforts and your partnership.
Thank you,
Jerry Pasley, CEO
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