Anyone ever have this happen to them?
tl;dr version
Uggh... I just want my damn tub fixed. I feel this guy has no idea, even though I pointed it out to him, that what he was asking me to do, and possibly what he is doing now, is illegal. He said several times in different words, I cannot work with you if you are trying to hurt my business, which I interpret as 'if you give me a review that isn't 5 stars, I am going to punish you and treat you unfairly., and charging me fees which he did not previously charge and put in writing they do not charge, because I won't take down the review or make it 5 stars.
Full version
We bought a hot tub from a dealer, and have had some warranty issues over the last year or so.. little by little it's gotten fixed, but this dealer is slow to respond, if they respond at all, through emails. I created a log of emails and topics and have many instances of unanswered questions or no follow ups on their part when they said something was in motion and nothing ever happened. Plenty of times when he said 'I'll do this, or I'll get this, and he never did'
Enough to justify a google review that we put up a few days ago, 3 out of 5 stars, which mostly was a warning to potential customers of the manufacture/model of the unit itself, seeing as we had so many problems (GUI not working having to be replaced, fountain features not working, cracking in exterior panels, heating system issues which is still currently unresolved, issue with finding filters that fit, etc). We also mentioned the dealer and how they don't seem to have a sense of urgency and have been unresponsive in several cases in the last 15 months, but that's about all we said. I have easy data to back up this claim.
As soon as this review went up, they emailed us and said they have had perfect customer service (coincidentally, he is right, 40ish google reviews, 100% 5 star), and they can't work with someone who is trying to pull customers away from them.
We went back and forth a bit, I said, you kinda can't do that, it's against the law, but let's please move forward with our outstanding heater issue.
2-3 back and forths of them saying, you'll have to remove the review, we can't have a partnership with someone who is hurting my business.. etc.. etc.. all in slightly different words. He goes on to suggest other service companies that can do the labor, though I have to continue to go through him for parts if they are under warranty, which everything so far has been.
Finally I convince him to leave this be, we can update review when our current issues are resolved, and he fires back with ok well our service trip charge is $95/hr per man per hour, this will take a few hours, and we may not get it fixed with this part (a new circuit board) so there could be additional charges for them to diagnose. Oh yeh and it will be 2 guys, 2 hr minimum, so $400 every time they come out. One trip will be because they are replacing a pop up bluetooth speaker. Another for exterior panel replacement, another for heater system fixes.
Mind you, rewind about 12 months ago when I asked him what warranty policy is since we never got one in writing, and he told me in email, aside from parts which are manufacture warranty, they offer free warranty labor if the techs are in the area (so you kind of have to let them schedule it without much input as to date/time.) He solidified my interpretation with 'In instances we make a trip when they aren't in the area, we will charge a trip fee'
He continued with 'we do no charge trip fees unless it's an emergency or out of area/far.' I'm a few miles from the showroom. This happened about 2-3 times previously, where they came out with no input from me on when (the first time I asked if they could come Friday when I WFH, and that's when I got the spiel), and they did not charge me.
So I feel he is retaliating because of this 3 star review I left him, which again I believe is illegal under CFRA passed in 2016. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know
I also question what a 'trip fee' is vs per hour labor on site. A trip fee is typically fixed right? like a mob fee. The receipt i have in front of me from my hottub purchase says 'Travel costs are not included in the warranty and may be added'.
Can 'travel' costs be 5 hours worth if that's how long they are there?? Or is a 'travel' cost more of a fixed 'trip' fee..
Am I off base?
tl;dr version
Uggh... I just want my damn tub fixed. I feel this guy has no idea, even though I pointed it out to him, that what he was asking me to do, and possibly what he is doing now, is illegal. He said several times in different words, I cannot work with you if you are trying to hurt my business, which I interpret as 'if you give me a review that isn't 5 stars, I am going to punish you and treat you unfairly., and charging me fees which he did not previously charge and put in writing they do not charge, because I won't take down the review or make it 5 stars.
Full version
We bought a hot tub from a dealer, and have had some warranty issues over the last year or so.. little by little it's gotten fixed, but this dealer is slow to respond, if they respond at all, through emails. I created a log of emails and topics and have many instances of unanswered questions or no follow ups on their part when they said something was in motion and nothing ever happened. Plenty of times when he said 'I'll do this, or I'll get this, and he never did'
Enough to justify a google review that we put up a few days ago, 3 out of 5 stars, which mostly was a warning to potential customers of the manufacture/model of the unit itself, seeing as we had so many problems (GUI not working having to be replaced, fountain features not working, cracking in exterior panels, heating system issues which is still currently unresolved, issue with finding filters that fit, etc). We also mentioned the dealer and how they don't seem to have a sense of urgency and have been unresponsive in several cases in the last 15 months, but that's about all we said. I have easy data to back up this claim.
As soon as this review went up, they emailed us and said they have had perfect customer service (coincidentally, he is right, 40ish google reviews, 100% 5 star), and they can't work with someone who is trying to pull customers away from them.
We went back and forth a bit, I said, you kinda can't do that, it's against the law, but let's please move forward with our outstanding heater issue.
2-3 back and forths of them saying, you'll have to remove the review, we can't have a partnership with someone who is hurting my business.. etc.. etc.. all in slightly different words. He goes on to suggest other service companies that can do the labor, though I have to continue to go through him for parts if they are under warranty, which everything so far has been.
Finally I convince him to leave this be, we can update review when our current issues are resolved, and he fires back with ok well our service trip charge is $95/hr per man per hour, this will take a few hours, and we may not get it fixed with this part (a new circuit board) so there could be additional charges for them to diagnose. Oh yeh and it will be 2 guys, 2 hr minimum, so $400 every time they come out. One trip will be because they are replacing a pop up bluetooth speaker. Another for exterior panel replacement, another for heater system fixes.
Mind you, rewind about 12 months ago when I asked him what warranty policy is since we never got one in writing, and he told me in email, aside from parts which are manufacture warranty, they offer free warranty labor if the techs are in the area (so you kind of have to let them schedule it without much input as to date/time.) He solidified my interpretation with 'In instances we make a trip when they aren't in the area, we will charge a trip fee'
He continued with 'we do no charge trip fees unless it's an emergency or out of area/far.' I'm a few miles from the showroom. This happened about 2-3 times previously, where they came out with no input from me on when (the first time I asked if they could come Friday when I WFH, and that's when I got the spiel), and they did not charge me.
So I feel he is retaliating because of this 3 star review I left him, which again I believe is illegal under CFRA passed in 2016. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know
I also question what a 'trip fee' is vs per hour labor on site. A trip fee is typically fixed right? like a mob fee. The receipt i have in front of me from my hottub purchase says 'Travel costs are not included in the warranty and may be added'.
Can 'travel' costs be 5 hours worth if that's how long they are there?? Or is a 'travel' cost more of a fixed 'trip' fee..
Am I off base?