Had the most disappointing experience with this company over the past 8 months (Beginning Dec. 2013) of any business I have ever worked with.
Everything started out quite well. I called and told them of my problem with my hot tub (not one they sold) and Paul told me he would be in my area soon and would stop by. When he came by and opened up the unit the first thing he touched caused a major flash of light and he told me my motherboard was gone. Prior to his arrival, all we could tell was the thermostat was not working since it would not keep the tub hot or turn on pumps when it dropped below a set temperature. We had had to manually turn on the tub to keep it hot--thus the reason for the initial call to Water by Design.
Now we had to replace the motherboard at a price of $796.54. It was ordered and Paul came to install it. We thought we were done but oh no. Not only were the pumps reconnected incorrectly, but within a few days the 3rd pump stopped working as did the air blower. We called Paul at Water by Design again and he explained what needed to be done which did not seem that expensive or difficult. We waited and waited to hear back, when we finally got in touch (we live over 50 miles from showroom since they closed their NRV location during this process), Paul claimed that the manufacturer was at fault, claiming that he could not get anyone with the manufacturer to speak with him. Then he claimed that the part needed was back ordered. We continued to wait another month until we finally was able to get them on the phone again, (forgot to mention that they would never pick up their phone during business hours, I left numerous messages, I emailed only to get an occasional unhelpful response), The part was still not available. I asked for more information about the part and called the manufacturer and got a great guy on the phone who offered to help. He made himself available to talk by phone with Water by Design to help us get this fixed. I called Water by Design again and gave them the contact information and waited for a response. More months pass and Water by design claims they are booked up over 5 weeks out and not able to help us.
That was the last contact until late July, during this time I called weekly, sometimes a few time a week and left messages. I began to think they were screening my number so I had another family member call to see if they would answer--they did and when I tried to called right after that--no answer. NO return calls or emails--nothing. After waiting for the 5 weeks to pass we returned to the showroom to learn that they really had no intention of helping us out--they were way too busy with their other customers. Paul had a lot of excuses and tried to put the blame on my for not getting in touch but I have my cell phone records and he of course has the voice messages too.
The miscommunication could be written off as just that if it had not happened so many times. I think after he came up and ruined the motherboard, he realized that he could not handle the job and continued to put us off until we gave up.
Be wary of buying anything from this company other than spa supplies. If you ever need them for repair--they will leave you hanging. read more