Ask any hot tub dealer for stories about difficult deliveries, and you might hear how weather conditions delayed installation because the ground was too wet and soft to support the transport of an 800-pound portable spa. Or maybe how a customer inadvertently misrepresented the layout of their backyard, resulting in damage to (or even temporary removal of) fence panels or gates. Or, and this one is always a favorite, how installation crews had no other option but to call in a crane to hoist the spa over the house and into a narrow space.
You won't be able to stop Mother Nature, but you certainly can take steps to avoid other delivery and installation obstacles — or at least plan for the worst by preparing your staff and your customers.
"We try to ask enough questions ahead of time so we don't run into anything we don't expect," says Zach Duhamell, assistant general manager of Gohlke Pools in Denton, Texas, who admits that sometimes such readiness still isn't enough. "We have ended up talking to at least one homeowner about hiring a crane company, because we kind of anticipated there might be an issue. But we were fortunate: The customer had money available — that's a fairly expensive process, and a bit of a spectacle — and just really wanted to get the hot tub into their backyard."
"We've never had a delivery that was completely impossible," adds Steve Jost, sales and marketing manager for Dover Pools, a Delaware-based dealer with five locations (including one in Maryland). "There have been some tough ones, though, like going up to a third-floor balcony that overlooks Delaware Bay. We've worked in tight spaces with little margin for error, and we've also had some deliveries to new home construction sites that required special equipment. We help assist and coordinate, but that is an additional cost to the customer."
Asking the right questions upfront is critical to avoiding delivery-day dilemmas, but so is pre- and post-installation communication. Customers want to know when their portable spa will be delivered, who will be making the delivery and what might go wrong during the process.
"We always want to err on the side of caution," Jost says when things aren't quite right with a delivery. "There have been times when we've had to reschedule because — even with the pre-qualifying questions we ask — the site isn't what we expected. The goal is always to make sure we get the tub delivered safely and professionally."
Every installation is truly an adventure.
'ASK LEADING QUESTIONS'
There comes a point in every sales conversation about portable spas when the focus turns to delivery scenarios, and it's among the most important discussions a sales professional and a customer can have.
"Ask leading questions," Jost advises. "Where will the hot tub go? On a Every installation is truly an adventure. concrete pad? On a patio or deck? Is the patio or deck at ground level? If not, how high off the ground is it? Is there a railing? Are there steps? Is there a fence around the yard? If so, how wide is the opening? Are there major elevation changes? How close can we drive the delivery truck to where the hot tub is going?"
Some customers may not know all the answers to those questions, opting to report back to the salesperson at a later time. In other cases, customers will either underestimate or overestimate the number of steps or the width of a gate. That's why, when possible, a member of the Gohlke Pools team will visit the customer's home.
"If it sounds like it's going to be a tight squeeze, we'll usually try and have a salesperson or a delivery guy run out to the home beforehand and take some measurements — just to make sure we're not going to run into any major snags," Duhamell says. "We'll then take our own measurements, so those are the easiest deliveries, right? Because we've already seen where the tub's going, we know what to expect."
Sometimes, what to expect involves temporarily removing or relocating other structures in the backyard, such as fence panels or gates, to make room for the delivery. In those cases, it's vital, according to Duhamell and Jost, that dealers be transparent with customers about such potential disruptions and the additional costs they might incur.
Google Earth — which provides users with high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery, photographs and terrain elevation details — also can be a valuable tool, especially when wellmeaning customers struggle to describe their backyard's physical characteristics.
Another major conversation to have with new portable spa owners revolves around electrical requirements. The majority of new buyers likely will realize that any unit beyond a plug-and-play model will be a 220-volt spa that requires a four-wire connection from the main circuit breaker panel. "A lot of times, they will need a licensed electrician to wire the tub," Jost says. "We will provide all the electrical requirements with the expectation that the customer will bring in an electrician before we arrive."
Gohlke, on the other hand, employs an in-house electrician that performs most electrical setups. "Usually, we have the electrician run by the house at some point before the install date, just to get a look at the current setup and make sure the customer has enough room available on their breaker. Where's the tub going to go? How long are we going to have to run a wire? We just want to make sure nothing's going to be outside of our planned scope of work."
Anytime you get cranes into the act, an abundance of caution should be on the checklist.
TWO DELIVERY/INSTALL OPTIONS
While both Dover Pools and Gohlke Pools enjoy success selling portable spas, the dealerships take different approaches to the actual delivery and installation process.
Dover Pools subcontracts those services to a pair of third-party companies that specialize in hot tub transportation, building the third-party delivery fee into the initial price of the unit. "We work very closely together," Jost says about Dover's subcontractors. "They have a point person to communicate with us about delivery dates, so we can have the tubs ready to be picked up, and it's worked very, very well for a number of years. We know their timelines for how far out they're booking deliveries, and we can let customers know what to expect."
That arrangement has multiple benefits for Dover's staff, according to Jost. "It allows our service personnel to focus on support, troubleshooting and warranty work for our pools and hot tubs, and it keeps our retail teams inside the stores, ready to assist customers. We're not pulled or stretched too thin in different directions," he says, adding that the subcontractors often receive calls from past delivery customers when they move to a new home and need assistance relocating and hooking up their portable spa. "We are very fortunate to have this type of relationship, and the subs that work for us do represent us well. We get very good feedback from customers."
Gohlke Pools, meanwhile, opts for what Duhamell refers to as an "old school" delivery approach. Prior to arrival on delivery day, the salesperson typically calls (or texts) the customer to provide an estimated time of arrival and remind them of what to expect while the delivery and installation crew is onsite.
"I like that the salesperson is the customer contact on the day of delivery," Duhamell says. "It's just a nice touch. They met the salesperson in our showroom or the customer's backyard and have by then established a relationship. So we want the salesperson to represent the transaction all the way through."
Regardless of whether the dealership or a third party delivers the portable spa — and no matter the installation challenges each delivery might present — the relationship between dealers and their new customers does not end when the delivery truck drives away.
"After the install, the salesperson is going to check in with the homeowner and provide contact info for the hot tub service department," Duhamell says. "The idea is that from that point on, the homeowner will understand we're going to provide service and warranty support for their new hot tub. The value of that ongoing relationship with the homeowner is huge for us."
This article first appeared in the September 2024 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.
