Ask 'Dr. Spa' Q & A Message Board

I can only comment on the Artesian Platinum series, as I own a Dove Canyon.
I looked for months before I narrowed it down to a couple of brands. I live in Delaware, so I searched PA, NJ, and MD as well as my home state to wet test different brands. One of the things I looked for was someone that had been in the business for a while, and repaired as well sold them. Places that had a high pressure sales guy/girl and then had repair guys that you could never speak to turned me off. The person I bought mine from repaired all brands of hot tubs, and recommended more brands than just the one he sold. I picked the Dove for the Direct flow system as the diverter valve issue annoys me. I had a problem with the additional LED lighting system I purchased, which was NOT covered under the warranty. He came out and fixed it, for free. My advice is if you have it narrowed down to 3 brands, go with the one that you feel will give you the best service down the road, and has the best warranty. From my searching, Bullfrog isn't in the same class as Master or Artesian.

: Well, understand that this information is based on my experiences. My
: short answer is that I would cross Bull Frog off your list unless the
: dealer and the deal are just unbeatable. The overall quality of the
: Bull Frog does not compare to either the Artesian tubs or the Master
: Spas tubs.

: I would rate the quality of the Artesian and the Master Spas tubs as
: very similar. I would give the nod for the better tub and insulation
: to the Artesian and the nod for better electronics to the Master
: Spas. Overall, I'd call it even.

: I did have one recent disconcerting episode with Artesian technical
: support that I feel obliged to report to you. I had a customer
: recently who developed a couple of leaks in his Artesian tub. He was
: still in warranty. I generally do not perform warranty service for
: Artesian. They demand that their dealers perform warranty service.
: Unfortunately, the selling dealer recently switched brands and is now
: refusing to service the established base of Artesian tubs. The new
: local Artesian dealer is refusing to service any tubs that he did not
: sell. This leaves the customer in a tough spot, so someone referred
: him to me.

: I identified the problems and called Artesian tech support from the
: customer's house. They confirmed the warranty status of the tub, but
: insisted that the customer go through an authorized dealer for
: service. I personally called the two dealers and they both refused to
: service the tub. I then called Artesian back and explained everything
: to them. They were willing to SELL me the parts and authorize repair,
: provided the customer paid me and submitted my bill to them for
: reimbursement. I was flabbergasted that they would put the customer
: to this sort of financial imposition after they had endured weeks of
: no response from two different Artesian dealers.

: The last word I had was that Artesian had not reimbursed the customer
: and the customer was considering filing a written complaint with the
: office of the Rhode Island Attorney General.

: I have a couple of thoughts regarding this particular episode. First, it
: is only one instance, so I am reluctant to say that Artesian factory
: support overall is bad. However, I still cannot believe how badly
: they handled this particular warranty customer. I even begged them on
: the phone to at least not charge us for the parts, in order to reduce
: the financial hit to the customer (one part was a circ pump). They
: refused.

: Second, this episode starkly points out why it is so important to
: carefully select your dealer. The better dealers will continue to
: service their established base, even when they switch brands. It is
: not uncommon for dealers to occasionally switch brands. In my area, I
: know all the dealers who act responsibly in these circumstances and
: all those who do not.

: John