Complaint Review: Esther Williams Pools - Olathe Kansas

Dear Rip-Off Report Editor, Thank you for letting me know there was a rebuttal to my complaint. Although the rebuttal sounds very logical, it does not accurately reflect what really happened. The communication they claim was non-existent until the final days of this whole ordeal. More importantly, James - Minneapolis, Minnesota says it best. "Are you ever responsible for anything?" This was my impression of the company throughout my experience with them. On a side note. I have never submitted a complaint on a company to anyone before. This is my first and only to date. I get the impression Esther Williams is very good at responding to complaints. They seem very good at downplaying the important issue of customer satisfaction and picturing themselves as "doing their best". It heartens me that this is the only company I have ever dealt with, that has treated me this way. Good on your website for letting me share my experience with others. You are five star in my book! Sincerely, Terry Lenexa, KS U.S.A.

Jay, Are you ever responsible for ANYTHING? Is it always POOR ME, and this situation happened to ME, with you? Give me a break guy, you are ultimitaly responsible for EVERYTHING that happens in YOUR life including your business buddy. Good job on your 35 years in biz, something tells me you didn't earn it yourself!

This report was only recently brought to our attention after being posted on May 7,'04. We absolutely would have responded quicker if we were made aware of it earlier. We find it offensive that such a complaint can be launched by this website without so much as a notification of such. Having said that, this customer is off base. I will respond to this customers "problems" point by point: 1. "it took them five hours to return"--While our office is indeed close, the delivery crew had several "work orders" and other customers to complete per the schedule and continued to the next customer. The cover and stairs were not necessary to fill the spa with water and returning with these items five hours later did not hamper the installation and start up of the spa whatsoever. 2. The cover had three holes, and he felt the stairs were smaller than the ones he was to receive.--When informed that the cover had holes in it, Susan, our service coordinator, did in fact say that there was nothing she could do about it. Her responsibilities do not authorize her to give new spa covers without being given approval. When she learned of the holes, she passed this information along to me for evaluation and handling. It was determined on that very day that a new cover would be ordered. As spa covers are specific to the spa we did not have a cover in stock to replace their cover. Unfortunately, the reorder time on the covers is 3 to 6 weeks, and is not in our control. It should be noted that the "holes" on the cover were three small snags in the vinyl and in no means affected the performance of the cover. Yes, they can be disappointed that their purchase was not in perfect condition. We were disappointed as well. But once again, the snagged spa cover did not prevent the customer from using the spa. As for the size of stairs, our service coordinator Susan was only reading the contract specifications as the signed contract between the customer and the Coast Spas factory representative provided her. The contract disignated that "steps" would be included with no further notation. A set of 6-foot steps is an upgrade option and would normally have been duly noted. The steps that the customer received was a two-step, three foot wide set of steps--by no means an inadequate step. Remember, the contract was drawn up by a Coast Spas' factory representative, and until this point we had no contact with this customer. Our only information was the signed contract, and the order was filled per the signed contract. When the Coast Spas' factory representative was contacted about the discrepancy, he informed us that he failed to note the 6-foot step upgrade on the contract and apologized for his omission. Once we were made aware of this, we informed both him and the customer that we would honor the verbal agreement. However, as these are not our standard steps and not in stock, they would also have to be ordered. The steps would be arriving on the same truck as the replacement cover, and would be delivered when they both arrived. 3. "It took three and a half weeks to get the cover and proper stairs."--This is correct and we conveyed the time period to receive both items to the customer. As they are not stock items we had to order both. Again, the cover had three cosmetic tears on the surface and fuctioned properly. He was allowed to use this cover until the replacement could be delivered. The steps were also left with the customer and were used until the larger steps could be delivered. Both worked properly and did not hamper the ability of the spa to function correctly. 4. The spa blew a fuse.--Once we were contacted, this customer was placed on our service list in order of their call. At that time, our service calls were four days out. The customer was informed of this and we showed up and fixed the problem in four days as promised. We make and take service calls as they are received. As standard operating procedures, we do not make special exceptions for customers "10 minutes away" or an hour away. We must convey to the customer, how would they feel if they were an hour away and we told them that we would be there in four days because we had other customers closer to us to service! The 10 minutes to get to his house is not the problem. It is the order of the service call and the hours allotted for fixing a very technical problem. 5. They developed a skin irritaion.--This customer blames us for this skin irritation after they were instructed how to maintain their water. Once we have instructed a customer on how to maintain the chemicals, we cannot be responsible for mistakes they make. They may have added too much or too little or none at all. As long as water is properly balance, 4 days of inoperation would not cause health risks. This was verfied by Charlette with Bio Guard chemicals, our chemical supplier. If he was worried about his water, he could have taken advantage of our free chemical water testing service that we offer to our customers. This customer also claims that we did not provide chlorine to kill bacteria. This is true because the water treatment chemicals that he received does not require chlorine, as he was instructed. Once again he is only providing half of the story. We placed this customer on the Soft Soak system by Bio Guard. This is a biguianide based system that does not use chlorine to kill the bacteria. It uses another type of chemical altogether. It is a well established proven method that has been used for many years. For further information on this product, you may look it up at www.spaguard.com 5. He spoke to an electrician that told him "never pay in advance", and that the problem was from our installation and repair.--First, in the previous paragraph of his statement, he states "They repaired it and it seems to be working so far." He admits that we fixed the problem, so what exactly is he referring to here? We fixed the problem, so I am not sure what his electrician is looking at here. Moreover, the problem was a defect in the operating equipment of the spa. It was an unforseen problem that came from the factory, which we diagnosed and rectified in a timely manner. As far as our reputation in the area, our 35+ years in the Kansas City Metro area speaks volumes to the service and products that we provide. From time to time we receive concerns from customers and those concerns are addressed to the customers' satisfaction and most often more so than what the original contract called for. At this point, his spa is working fine and we wish him well. He was provided with a new cover and larger stairs at no extra charge. The cover lifter works fine, and to our knowledge the spa has experienced no further problems. All of the problems were fixed within one and a half months of the spa delivery. The total amount of time the spa could not be used was 4 days. We apologize if this customer feels that we did not provide him with adequate service. It was absolutely not our intention. However, we feel that we responded to his concerns and rectified any problems that he may have had. As you can see, we did not try to rip this customer off. At no time was he invoiced for the service provided after the delivery nor did we ask for any more money. We provided him with everything his contract stipulated plus more, and we fixed the problem his spa experienced in a timely manner. In the future, your company, ripoffreports, should make these complaints known to the companies that have been reported. Coast Spas made us aware of this report because our competition was using it against us. This would certainly lend more credibility to you as a company to have both sides represented prior to posting the rants of a disgruntled customer. Shame on you.