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This page is dedicated to our Haven
Customers across the United States and across the oceans. These
are the
exact words of real Haven Spa owners.
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Date: Saturday, 22 April 2006, at
6:19 p.m.
I will make this short and sweet.
I have now owned my Super Custom Fallsburg for a full year. I travel
quite a bit and stay and very nice resorts and hotels. The Super Custom
Fallsburg has made me a snob when getting into ANY other spas !!! There
is NO spa in the world that feels the way the Super Custom Fallsburg
does. As a six foot eight, 300 IBS man it is very difficult for me to
find a spa that actually has penetrating jets. Well, stop right now,
because the Super Custom Fallsburg is the one. My stress level has
dropped 100 % since the first day of owning the Super Custom Fallsburg
and I will give any person a reference of how superior it is compared
to any other hot tub in the world !!! Just email me, and I will tell
you the truth. Jim has created the ultimate hot tub ever made.
A true believer and supporter,
Bruce E. Fisher Jr.
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Tom,
April 10,2005
I realize you are interested in seeing a SCF purely for reasons of
curiosity or comparison. Just looking at the
SCF does not do this spa
justice, you need to fully experience it. Jim has built the SCF to be
more than just a
spa, it is a great tool, perhaps the best in total
body relaxation. I am 6'3" my wife 5'5 and my son 4'10"
together we
find the seating very comfortable, all seats have a variety of depths,
and each utilize all large
rotating jets and a whole lot of them for a
great massage. I love the lounge for its full body massaging action
literally from head to toe. The combination and location of jets
in
this seat are incredible. This seat is very
roomy even for a big guy
like me. With the multiple foot wells even my wife can feel equally at
comfort, also
I've yet to have a guest complain of floating out of that
seat.
I had Jim add a couple of neck blasters to my 6 jet seat in lieu of the
wrap around cushion. Even without the
cushion the seat is very
comfortable and the action of the jets on the sides of the spine to me
is much more
relaxing than many other brands who place there jets on
the bone. I find that there is ample room to slide down
the seat and
let those neck jets hit my tension holding areas in my neck and upper
back. When I am in the
captains seat, I let the spa hit me with all it
got. Full jet power with air valve wide open and turbo air on high,
man
what a rush! I love the placement of the master jet and its voracious
power. I feel like I'm holding back an
open fire hydrant! What is
exceptionally nice is that no matter of how many guests are inside the
spa, we are all
able to utilize each seat up to its fullest power
potential at the same time. This spa has great adjustability,
anyone
could control the power of their jets easily by the attenuation of
their individual seat controls.
I also opted for the fiber optic lighting of the jets and spots. We all
like how the safety grab handles illuminate
and change color with the
lighting. When seated in either of the two seats with the handles, at
no time do you
feel the bar on your back.
Why you are observing the SCF, notice how quiet the whole operation of
it is. I know I've only seen a fraction
of the spas than you have, but
check the strength of the shell and see how solid and well crafted it
is. With the
sealed thermopane insulation, ridged shell and strong
cabinet I think you would be hard pressed to find a spa
with as much
power to run as quiet. I was first drawn to Haven Spas by the high
quality of all the equipment
Jim specifies in his products. I like not
having exclusive parts or filters that are hard to find or way
overpriced.
Finally, see how well the spa filters the water, how much movement
there is by the circulation pump and count
how many outlets it has. One
thing I am sure of is you will not find in your examination any
noticeable odor
from the CD ozonator. I've just finished my water
change
today in my SCF and again was happy that I have
had no need for a Scum
Bug nor the scouring of a scum line from the heavy use my spa has seen
by my family
and friends over the last four months. I utilize the
instant ions recommended by Jim and my water quality has
just been
perfect.
After refilling my spa I had a minor problem with an air-lock in the
circulation pump. While I had my side panel
off, I called Haven Spas
and spoke to Jim who was pleasant as always and very helpful as he
walked me
through it to resolution and gave additional guidance of
operation and maintenance.
I guess by now you know why my bias is for owning a SCF from Haven Spas
and why I am a very happy
customer. Still today I have seen no other
spa come close to the overall performance of my SCF. The
education,
delivery, service and advice received from this company have all been
top notch.
Andy
|
Jim, Just wanted to say how happy I was with my first major "problem" with the spa. We bought a Springville in Sept. of 2000, and have had zero problems...up until Wednesday. Pump #1 decided to give up the ghost. I called and talked to Frank who scheduled the service for the next day (yesterday). He told me there would be a warranty co-pay as we were beyond 2 years (no problem!). And, while I didn't get the service tech's name, he was very courteous and had us up and running in about two hours. I compare this to a friend of mine that had to wait for over a month for warranty service on a television. No contest!
Again, nothing but high praise for your company and organization. Would that all companies stand behind their products as you do yours.
Best wishes,
-Fred Chambers-
|
Robert wrote:
>Hello!
>
>My name is Rob, I live in MD and have been AGONIZING over my
>upcoming spa purchase. Every where I turn, there is a guy in a
large
collar
>1970's suit trying to sell me a different spa. Then I find this guy
on the
>internet (Jim Arjuna) who speaks what seems to be sound engineering
>principals rather than just hype. Jim sent me a list of a few
customers,
I
>was hoping to get any input you may have. The spa we are leaning
toward
is
>the Fallsburg.
>
>Is Jim some crazy guy or is he for real?
>
>Are you happy with your Haven Spa?
>
>If you were going to buy another spa, would it be a Haven and would
you do
>anything different?
>
>Again, I REALLY appreciate your advice, this is a major purchase
for
us and
>we REALLY want to get it right the first time.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Rob and Cathy
Hi Rob and Cathy-
I don't want to short change you on any information, but last Sunday I
had another couple ask me similar questions in an e-mail. Since I
can't
really type too fast I'm going to cut and paste my answers to them,
tailor them a little, and reply to you. I hope this helps
you.
Anyway
here goes...
When we first decided to buy a spa, I too stumbled upon Jim and Sandy's
web site. Very informative. Using the information I found
on
his site,
I evaluated several brands of spa. My wife and I shopped around
for
a
couple of months and wet tested an Emerald, a Catalina, a LA
Esteem,
and another brand (can't remember which). . We also had the
Thermospa
guy come over and do his presentation. That's
really
what started
our "hunt" for a spa. My wife ordered their free video and told
me
we
were getting one. Anyway, my advice for Thermospas is to stay
away
from
them. I wanted a Manhattan model and the price started at
$15k.
Within
the hour we were down to about $9.5k. That was just too much of a price
swing for me. High pressure sales, price only good for the
evening,
etc. I threw the arrogant guy out.
Anyway, I was also very hesitant to buy something sight unseen but
based
on what I read and talking to a couple of Jim's customers I reluctantly
took the plunge. One of the things that drove me to buy a spa
over
the
internet was, believe it or not, dealer support. The local
dealers
we
visited didn't seem too knowledgeable about the spas they were selling
because most of the dealers here also sell swimming pools. That was a
little scary. Because if they don't know how the spa works, my
reasoning is they are going to have trouble supporting me if it
breaks.
When I visited a dealer I also always asked the same question, if my
spa
breaks what is your average time to respond to a service
call?
I
started my spa search last year around May and pool season was starting
up but most of them said about 1-2 weeks. That didn't sit well
with
me
either.
Jim's reputation on some of the other BBSs isn't too good.
Sometimes
he
rants and raves on the BBSs, but he is passionate about educating the
customer and the products that he makes. He is definitely not
crazy
and
if you have the chance to meet him in person, you will see he is well
mannered and well spoken. With that said, all my personal
experiences
with him and his wife Sandy have all been positive. I called him
several times and talked to him about the SCF and he was always
informative, non-high pressure, and willing to work with you.
Most
importantly he makes a hell of a product. The SCF is a great
spa.
After 8 months and based on what I know now I would still make the same
purchase. I'm a very satisfied customer. I wrote a
"testimonial"
and
Jim has it posted on his BBS. You can read it there or I can send
you
the MS word document if you like. I haven't completed the last
part
of
that "testimonial". It was going to be on the cost of monthly
maintenance and electrical consumption. In short, chemicals costs
and
extra electricity to run the spa seem minimal. Electric was less
than
$25/month increase, in the middle of winter and last winter was one of
the coldest we've had. And we used no less than 5 times per week
during
that time.
We've had our SCF since the end of last Nov. As a matter of fact
Jim
and Sandy's installed it the day after Thanksgiving. My
experience
with
the Spa Specialist has been nothing but outstanding. From the
installation to any questions I have today. After the install, I
had
several questions about everything. To Jim and Sandy's credit
they
did
go over all the water maintenance, system controls, etc. when they did
the installation, but I was just too excited and didn't pay close
enough
attention. But any time I call I get prompt attention and my
questions
are always thoroughly answered .
As far as service goes, I did have a problem with one of the jets
popping out of the spa when I had the pumps on "high". The SCF is just
very powerful, I mean this in a good way. I called Jim and
he
immediately sent me another jet (no charge-shipping or part). I
even
broke one of the plastic measuring vials in the Taylor Test Kit when I
accidentally dropped it. I called and talked to Sandy that time
and
she
sent me another vial, once again for free. I ordered some more
chemicals from them. One of the items was a 10 lbs container of shock
or
diclor, I don't remember which. Anyway they didn't have any of
the
10
lbs. containers in stock so they sent 5 each 2.2 lbs containers (11
lbs.) and they didn't charge me any more. It's these little
things
that
make a good impression on me. They are just great people and very
service oriented.
If you need any additional info please feel free to e-mail or call me
at
618-667-8781. You are also welcome to come to my home and wet test the
SCF if you find yourself in the Troy, Illinois area (20 miles east of
St. Louis). You won't be disappointed if you buy the SCF, it
hands
down
out performed all the ones I wet tested.
Rich Pisko
|
Jim/Sandy:
Wow...I've pondered this over and over in my head about how vicious
people can be in general and,
specifically, to you. I keep getting the
same
frustrated no-end conclusion.....it can't be explained outside of just
pure greed. The greed to make a quick buck at the consumer's
expense.
I've
always viewed YOU as my ally
in the spa selection process....not just a
huckster trying to hawk his wares on a fancy marketing-backed giant
corporation.
Jim, I was a neophyte when it came to looking at spas. You opened my
eyes and I started to recognize and
compare. For that, you can never
know how much I appreciate what you've done for me and my family.
Those
bucks shelled out are hard-earned and I find it so offensive that so
many people are buying in to the
trash that's out there. HOT SPRINGS
comes to mind. Man, have they got their spiel down pat.
Marketing.....symbolism over
substance. You came through for me.....I actually had placed money down
on a
Hot Springs....only to ask to have my money refunded after
reading
your site and then visiting you in CO. It
was NIGHT and DAY. And, I'm
not "BS'ing" you when I say that I was ignorant in my purchasing
prowess.
You changed all that and I've never looked back. I'm also a very
proud
Haven
owner and have not had ONE
single problem since purchase. If your spas
were
such trash, then you're selling some remarkably reliable trash.
Isnt'
it
funny that my HOT SPRINGS friends have problem after problem but still
can't
bring themselves to
admit they have trash. It's an ego thing. But, I
just
smirk when they sit in my spa and WOW over the more
powerful jets, the
logical
controls, and my insistence that I've NEVER had a problem. I get the
"deer
in the
headlights" look. It's funny.
G.
|
Hi ,
it's no bother; I am glad to help. I am in central jersey, near the
shore
in Howell. I absolutely recommend the haven line, specifically the
fallsburg, and the spa specialist organization behind it.
I was lucky enough to wander into Jim's sight myself after I got
frustrated
with the sales types of the spa stores in my area, and realizing until I
learned about spas, I was better off not buying. Jim's site helped me
understand the engineering behind spas, and the design options &
considerations, along with pro's/con's of each. I quickly realized that
I
became more knowledgeable then most of the sales people. They only offer
marketing data, where Jim actually educated me in a way that both
common
sense and my engineering background could see the logic around, and feel
comfortable with my purchase. I encourage you to learn all you can about
spas to enable yourself in the same way. Be no body's fool.
The design is excellent for the winters we have, and even for the
more
brutal winters of the Rockies, Canada, or Minnesota, where I have
interacted
with Haven owners who say they also see the efficiency of the spa
thermal
design. I have sat out in my spa in freezing weather, and the spa
was able
to maintain its temp. When I first got it (January 01), I had to keep
checking if it was still powered, cause it never seemed to go on.
With the
water blanket and the efficient cover, it is incredible how it maintains
it's heat. When we lose power, it barely moves a few degrees after
hours of
being off! .. amazing.
That is the biggest consideration. All the pipes stay warm for days in
the
cabinet without power, even in the most extreme weather. With foamed
spas,
the motor compartment (which cannot be foamed) freezes quickly, and the
damage is done in short measure. The other consideration is maintenance.
To open the spa cabinet to perform maintenance or upgrades is simple.
Everything is accessible and easy to get at. Leaks in foam spas are a
nightmare to find and fix. Also on the maintenance side, is that the
parts
are generic. No custom jets or gizmos. That means you can find them
easily, and have any qualified spa repair tech make a repair. With the
specialty jets of others, the exclusive word means you need to go
to them
for all repairs, and they mug you big time. Most of those super features
really look better than they feel too! .. some feel like they are
too easy
to break too (perhaps by design) .. but the marketing material is
real
pretty...
That generic repair capability is how Jim provides support his spas
across
the world. During the warrantee period, he just hires a tech local to
you
and pays them the standard rate. After the warrantee period, you can do
the
same. My pool tech says he can fix them easy after looking it over,
however, I have not had the need to put him to work yet though :-)
Aside from the efficiency and maintainability, there is reliability.
This
thing (I have the fallsburg) is a tank. It is solid and well build and
as
good as the first day it arrived. I just cleaned and filled it this
weekend, and it looks like the day I bought it. I use it 3-4 times a
week
year round, and have had a lot of people in it along the way! It is
behaving like a durable good should.
Next requirement for me was comfort. The thing is ergonomically perfect
for
me. I don't float away in the lounge, and the seats are well contoured
to
the human body. Some spas you get uncomfortable in after a while,
where I
could sit in mine for hours on end. Also, if you have to fight to
stay in
the lounge, how does that help you relax?
Next for me was hydro therapy. Some just want swirling water, where I
wanted the option for serious therapy when needed or desired. I can't
tell
you how disappointed I was when I was wet testing other spas, some even
more
expensive then the haven. 1 pump, or 2 under powered pumps... a handful
of
jets.. please... some sales people even tried to tell me I did not want
strong therapy or I would tire of it quickly.. NOT
I love my fallsburg. Besides recreation, it has been medicinal to
me as
well as a stress reliever. I never knew exactly how much I was going to
love being a spa owner. My lounge has 22 jets in it alone! Some spas
don't
have that much. Two 5 HP pumps get that water moving the way I like it.
Some spas have diverter valves they sell as a feature called smart
systems
where only some seats are driven at a time. I can drive all my seats at
the
same time, and no one has to wait their turn. My spa is very
customizable
as well. Each seat has a valve to turn the pressure down, each jet is
adjustable, and each pump (each driving 3 seats) has two speeds. My wife
likes hers a notch or two lower and can do that for her seat at the same
time my world is getting rocked. One time I actually closed down a few
seats to have my lounge get the full power of a pump cause I was
seriously
in pain from a softball game that I pulled a muscle in. It worked
me hard,
and it actually helped me a great deal.
what else to consider.. ah yes.. the people behind the spa. I have to
say
that Jim has never let me down. he taught me how to manage my water,
answers my mail and phone calls, and has supported me in a way you would
never see from a spa mill who just moves a spa to a consumer. Jim
stands
behind his product. I have no complaints.. not 1 in over 2 years.
They delivered the spa on their truck and installed it in January
with a
foot of snow on the ground! It was a flawless install, and they helped
me
set it up, and then trained me before they left. When my wife sat
in it
that night, she looked at me and told me 'I done good' .. and she
was right.
I wish more of my purchases went this way. In fact, a good friend
of mine
who tried my spa who owns a high end hot springs raved about my spa,
saying
his was no where near as good (and he is right, but I tried to be
kind).
Another friend ordered the same spa as mine after he tried mine, and has
been equally as happy.
I guess the only down side is that I am no longer satisfied with the
spas I
sit in on vacation and when visiting others. I am spoiled!!! :-)
All in all, I feel I got the most for my money from the haven. I do
admit I
was shell shocked when I priced the high end spas, but I have a habit of
doing things all the way, if I am going to do them at all, and I am
glad I
did. I did interact with another guy from jersey last year that had a
hard
budget, so he went for a haven spa that was several notches down the
product
line. He loves it, and feels it was more than he could have gotten for
his
money any where else. Sometimes when I see the crap for sale out there
for
a lot of money, I shudder. it could have been me buying that if I
was
hasty. All in all, I am happy with the purchase, the support, and
feel the
money was worth it for the spa and the install.
Good luck in your search, and feel free to follow up with any more
questions.
Ray
|
Posted By: Mike C
(cache-mtc-aa03.proxy.aol.com)
Date: Friday, 4 October 2002, at 12:27 a.m.
This is long, but worth the read. I posted the following message over
on whatsthebest-hottub.com It was
deleted by the forum administrator
with no plausible explanation. When I objected to the deletion, you
will not
believe what followed. Here it is:
The Real Truth about Haven Spas (in one part!)
Spa shoppers, if you want to know the real truth about Haven Spas, talk
to any Haven Spa owner. Jim Arjuna
will gladly give you a list of Haven
customer references. That is what I did prior to purchasing our Haven
Spa.
I live in NH, and contacted two Haven owners in Massachusetts.
Both had
nothing but high praise for their
Haven buying/owning experience; one
even let
me wet test his spa.
We have now owned our Haven Spa for 17 months. It is comfortable,
runs flawlessly, and flat out rocks with
therapy. I had one warranty
claim for a faulty ozonator unit that was replaced with a better unit.
Everyone I
have dealt with at The Spa Specialist has been friendly,
helpful, and professional. With their forum, Email, and
toll free
telephone line, Colorado to New
Hampshire seems no further away than if I tried to get service or
questions
answered from a local dealer.
Many competitors and personal adversaries of Jim Arjuna have tried to
discredit him and Haven Spas. Many
of them refer this website:
http/www.havenspas.tripod.com It is titled "A Perspective on Haven
Spas." Let me
tell you a few facts about this site:
1. Reading the general complaints section, there are three complaints
listed. All three are by the same person,
directed specifically at
Phoenix Spas, with no mention of Haven Spas whatsoever. 2. There is not
a single
complaint from a current Haven owner. 3. There is a long
complaint from
a previous owner called the Erik
Saga. Though very unhappy, Erik was
given
a complete refund. 4. Erik is the only unsatisfied Haven customer
that
all
of Jim Arjuna’s enemies combined have been able to produce. 5. I
personally
have signed the guest
book at that site many times. I added some
positive
comments about Haven Spas in the box provided,
because I wanted people
to
get a TRUE perspective rather than the nonsense posted there. In each
instance
my name and comments have been removed. 6. I am now banned from
signing
the guest book and posting
true comments about Haven Spas and my
positive
buying/owning experience. 7. Only those with negative
comments are
allowed
to sign the guest book. Several other Haven owners had their names and
comments
deleted as well as me.
Without naming names, you can be sure that there are many Haven
competitors out there posing as someone
other than whom they really
are. Or they will try to push you away from Haven Spas, using lies and
deceitful
methods as I’ve described above. I am a Manufacturing
Engineer that researched a
dozen different spa brands
for six months prior to purchasing our Haven
Spa. I knew about Erik, but that didn’t scare me away. It made
me ask,
"Why is Erik the only negative Haven customer experience anyone has
been able to find?" You can
choose to believe the sleazy frauds, but if
you want the truth about Haven Spas, contact any Haven owner.
They will
all tell you that
Haven Spas are the real deal.
END OF ORIGINAL POST Here is the explanation of why that post was
deleted, and what followed.
Forum Admin YaBB Administrator
Reasons why your posts may be deleted or locked... « on: Oct 3rd,
2002, 9:37am » Quote Modify
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. If your post does not help
anyone 2. If your post can lead to
pointless arguments 3. If your post promotes your company and/or web
site
This forum is supposed to be used for helping people with their hot tub
questions. Unfortunately, I have been
getting some complaints about how
this forum can be too dealer competitive. Let's try to change that,
thanks!
-Admin « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2002, 12:08pm by Forum Admin »
Logged
Mike C Guest
Re: Reasons why your posts may be deleted or locke « Reply #1 on:
Oct 3rd, 2002, 2:20pm » Quote Modify
Remove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't buy that
explanation. I am not a dealer or seller, just a spa
owner. I only gave positive information about my spa
buying/owning
experience, and pointed out factual inaccuracies of a website that spa
shoppers are directed to,
right on this website. I did not insult
anyone use any names in a negative way.
I believe that my post was deleted because of the positive message
about Haven Spas. Your deletion of my
post amounts to selective
censorship, and is unfair. Logged
Forum Admin YaBB Administrator
Posts: 5 Re: Reasons why your posts may be deleted or locke «
Reply #2 on: Oct 3rd, 2002, 4:06pm » Quote
Modify
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You would think that
Jim...could you of at least chose a more original
name than Mike C or do a better job of changing up your old
IP
addresses? Yes, I do have all your old IP addresses on file but I
thought I would give
you another chance.
To my displeasure, it has been more of the same
from
you....did you forget that we banned you in our old
forum for the same
kind of conduct as you are displaying now?
I have already had numerous complaints about your conduct (under both
names), but I was hoping you would
show a change in attitude.
Unfortunately, I will have to ban you again as nothing has changed. I
am usually very
lenient with user's posts but you have just caused pointless
arguments
about your company, which hasn't
helped anyone.
Perhaps, one day I will lift the ban and you will learn to conduct
yourself better....until then, you will remain the
only person I have
ever
had to ban from this forum in 5 years.
-Admin « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2002, 4:26pm by Forum Admin »
Logged
Mike c Guest
Re: Reasons why your posts may be deleted or locke « Reply #3 on:
Oct 3rd, 2002, 10:31pm » Quote Modify
Remove
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What on earth are you talking
about? I can assure you that I am not
Jim. This is looking more and more like a conspiracy to silence a voice
that is pro-Haven. I have supplied a valid Email address to you,
and if
you wish to Email me I will supply you
with my telephone number or
anything else you require to proove I am who I say I am. Logged
Steve YaBB Full Member
I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Posts: 13 Re: Reasons why your posts may be deleted or locke «
Reply #4 on: Oct 3rd, 2002, 10:42pm »
Quote Modify
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well......... isn't that an
interesting tid bit of information!
Very sad.
Steve
END OF THREAD
As most here will recognize, the last post is from Steve Russell,
a Beachcomber Dealer. Steve also knows I am
a real person, but because
he is undoubtedly one of the sleaziest of the sleazy in the spa
industry,
he is going
along with the lies.
Jim, I knew you made some enemies, but I had no idea how low they
will go to discredit you and Haven Spas.
Spa shoppers, keep an open mind. Jim must be making serious headway
with his message of truth about poorly
designed spas and deceitful
so-called professionals. This is a perfect example of it.
ABOUT
STEVE
RUSSELL
|
(Note from Jim Arjuna: The mudslingers
took photos at the back of the factory showing some spas that were
returned for repairs. They said all sorts of bad things
about the
great people at the Phoenix spa factory who
build the Haven Spas for
us. One of
the guys, named "Spa Tech", a competitor, on message boards said
racial
slurs about the people who build Haven Spas. So, one of my
customres, a medical doctor, who lives
near the factory decided to take
the tour of the factory to see if any of it was true.)
Posted By: Rob (adsl-66-122-52-193.dsl.sntc01.pacbell.net)
Date: Tuesday, 29 October 2002, at 3:43 p.m.
I ordered a Springville about 2 weeks ago, and had some pangs of doubt
after reading the very nasty and
infamous tripod site. I've got to say,
I so much appreciate all of the info on design and construction that
Jim has
posted and that is so reassuring. Anyway, to assuage my pangs
of doubt, I paid a visit to the Phoenix Spa
Factory, located about 10
miles from my house in California (it is in Anderson) This is the
factory maligned on
the tripod site, and where the Spa Specialist spas are made.
Overall I left with a very favorable impression. It is a clean, well
organized facility, quite busy and actively
producing lots of different
spas. The man that gave me the tour had nothing but good things to say
about Jim
and admitted that Haven Spas were constructed to a higher
standard and spec'd somewhat differently than
their own line (ie, ABS
plastic bottom, more insulation, etc.) He said that the shell designs
are basically the
same as theirs, but that the plumbing and the jet
patterns/specs, and air jets are done differently.
I can't imagine that any other spa factory would look a whole lot
different. The workers seemed to be taking
good care of things and
spending
adequate time and effort finishing the products.
So, my mind is at ease and we're eagerly awaiting the call about the
delivery date.
-rh
|
Posted By: Robert
(65-171-105-136.baraboo.com)
Date: Monday, 23 September 2002, at 9:40 p.m.
In Response To: SUNDANCE SPAS (Mike Scarpone)
Mike,
I can't speak for the Beachcomber or the Marquis, but we were very
close to buying the Optima also. We
even took our suits to our area
dealer and wet tested the Optima and several other Sundance units. I
went
back home, ready to buy but decided to do some research on the
Sundance and in
the process, found this site.
I called Jim, talked to him for about 1/2
an hour and asked him the same questions that you probably have in
your
mind right now. He invited us to wet-test the Haven. We bought some
cheap
(Priceline) tickets, flew to
Colorado for a long weekend, went mountain
biking, and tested the Haven and signed the order before we
left. No
high pressure slick sales jive like the Sundance dealer, just solid
facts and a great product!
Robert
|
"Dr. ########,
My name is Jerry Miller. I live in , NC and work in Risk Management at
an 860 bed teaching hospital. My wife
is a RN who also works there.
I have no connection to Spa Specialist other than being a very
satisfied
customer.
Jim sent me a copy of your email and his response and I’d like to
comment on it. I get nothing for this except
the satisfaction that
comes
from getting some true info out there into the world. I, too, still had
some misgivings
when we finally decided to order our spa. I just wanted
to let you know about our dealings with Jim Arjuna
and The Spa
Specialist, Inc.
We love our Super Custom Fallsburg. We have had it for 29 months.
If they want it back, they had better bring
guns! We will never settle
for a lesser spa.
We spent well over a year researching and looking at various spas
before we were ready to buy, partly
because we were moving to a new
place
we had just bought and partly because we didn’t want to buy a spa
and
then find later that we wanted to "trade up". When we first started
looking at spas we thought we’d spend
about $3,000. I had discovered
the Havens on the ‘net and decided that they were priced well above
what we
wanted to invest. It didn’t take long to find out that there
were no spas in that price range that we would be
happy with and Lowe’s
and Home Depot didn’t have any spa in the store that we wanted.
The first high dollar spa we looked at was, predictably, a Hot Spring.
We have friends who have a HotSpring
and they swore by it. The dealer offered
us a "real deal" on a last year’s top of the line (can’t recall the
name)
showroom sample spa if we wanted to take it right away. That set
off warning alarms in my head since they
had already asked if we had
looked at any other spas. I turns out it wasn’t really such a good
deal, but more
on that later. We were still, we thought, more than 3
months from any possibility of having things ready for
delivery of a
spa, no place to put it, no safe place to store it. It turned out to be
much longer than that, but we
were naïve concerning construction
and site prep. By the way, the friends who have the Hot Spring spa
won’t
come back to soak in ours since their first soak because it blows
theirs out of the water and they don’t want to
replace it right
now.
We had found Jim’s site fairly early in the search and I read
everything on the site and ordered the book "How
Spas are Made". This
was well before the email version was available. This booklet is the
finest consumer
education material on spas I was able to find anywhere.
As far as I’ve been able to discover no other spa
company goes to any
effort to educate consumers on spas beyond whatever makes theirs look
best, and
usually without anything more than "because we say so" to
back it up. The booklet offers info that is easy to
understand and
makes perfect scientific and engineering sense.
When we started looking at other spas, we figured out very quickly that
the Hot Spring spa was very weak in
therapy compared to most of the
others. Since we were specifically looking for a machine with lots of
therapy
we never went back. Besides, the "special deal" they offered
turned out to
be more expensive than several
other spas with much better therapy.
After long shopping we had finally decided on an Emerald Cygnus (7009 I
think). I had talked with Jim on the
phone when I ordered the book and
so I knew that he can sell Emeralds to people who don’t have a dealer
within 50 miles. Our nearest dealer is over 90 miles away so I
called
Jim to get a price comparison. His price
was better by the time you
included
the steps, cover, lift, and chemicals. Not a lot, but enough. He
suggested
that before I order the Emerald I should try a Haven and gave us
contact
info for a customer not too far away
from us. One Saturday we went back
to the Emerald dealer and wet tested the Cygnus again, then we drove
up
to wet test the Springville less than 45 minutes later. Wow! What a spa!
Besides the super therapy, one of the first things I noticed about the
Springville was that I didn’t tend to float
out of any of the seats.
The jets in the Emerald had a tendency to push me out of the lounge and
I had to brace
myself to stay put. Not very relaxing. There is
something called a float buster that will cure this. I’m told it is a
small plastic pillow type thing full of sand that you hold in
your lap.
I don’t need it
with our spa. My wife can
sleep floating in a pool yet she doesn’t
float out of the lounger either.
The people who had the Springville told us all kinds of nice things
about their dealings with Spa Specialist. They
were very happy with the
spa and with the company. They had gone through some problems with the
original
delivery and the spa had been damaged in transit but it was
quickly
replaced with a new one. They told us that
their problems were the
reason
Jim bought his truck and trailer and started doing the deliveries
himself.
They
loved him and the company.
I called Jim and we talked about the fact that I wished I could have
seen a Fallsburg. He told me he would be
glad to bring us a Fallsburg
and if we didn’t like it at least as well as the Emerald or the
Springville, he would
exchange it for either of them with no service
cost and refund the price difference.
Now who could resist a deal like that? We ordered a Fallsburg with
fiberoptic lights and sent a deposit. While
reading the message board
one
day there was some discussion of the Fallsburg vs. the Super Custom
Fallsburg
and how they compared to the therapy of the Springville as well as some
discussion of the merits of
the fiberoptic lighting. I called him back
and asked if it was too late to upgrade to the SCF and leave the
fiberoptics off. No problem.
A couple of weeks later Sandy called back and said that the factory had
built the SCF but had not left the
fiberoptic lights off. She offered
to build a new spa for us or give us the fiberoptic lights at cost. We
wanted to
soak! We elected to take the lights. We don’t use them much
because
our spa is under the stars in a fairly
dark (for the eastern US)
location
completely surrounded by woods. With the lights on the focus is inside
the
spa. With them off the focus is outside. We still like the lights
though, and they are great for when we are
entertaining.
I must say that Jim’s attitude concerning other dealers/sales people
turned me completely off at first and made
me very leery about buying a
spa from him. After spending over a year reading the posts on various
lists and
talking with him on the phone a couple of times, I concluded
that
he is just very vehement in his beliefs
concerning the way spas should
be built. Since a lot of it made good sense and since I could only find
one
dissatisfied customer (That is Eric and if you read his site it
is easy
to see that he had some very unrealistic
expectations and tried to
force
Jim to practically give away the spa) I decided to go ahead with the
SCF.
I
haven’t regretted it. By the way, I thought the way Jim handled
that
complaint,
by refunding the money and
picking up the spa was the best response to
a
no win situation and was fair to everyone, despite what Eric says
on
his
site. In my opinion, Eric is every business person’s nightmare.
Don’t forget that Jim does all his business over the internet. If
he wasn’t treating his customers very well, there
would be a lot more
negative information on the ‘net. I couldn’t find ANY other
dissatisfied
customers
anywhere. The only negative things out there are those
warnings
that you found on the other message boards,
none of which were from
Haven
owners. If you really look at them you’ll discover that none of them
make
any
allegation that has any substance. All are vague and non
specific.
Don’t forget that every one of those message
boards (INCLUDING JIM’S)
is
owned by someone with an axe to grind. I got kicked off one of them
because
I tried to respond to one of the messages with an owner’s view of
things.
Apparently they have a "no
good things said about Havens" policy. It
pissed
me off enough that I usually take time to respond to potential
Haven
customers
who are worried about those messages.
If Jim is truly a con man and an engineer who doesn’t know what he is
doing, then why do his spas stand so far
above all the others we looked
at? I knew nothing about spas when we started but even I was able to
see the
differences. I’d like to find other products designed and built
by
others with Jim’s talent and ethics. All my
dealings with him and his
company have been very satisfactory. He knows very well that happy
customers
are
what keep his business growing. I’d rather have a spa designed by
and
for someone who is "eaten up with it"
than one that the bean counting
accountants
had a hand in designing.
I think the reason Jim and Haven Spas get bashed so much on the message
boards is that Jim’s design ideas
seriously threaten the status quo in
the spa industry. Eventually they’ll wake up as start doing some of the
things
he is doing and then they’ll be able to relax about the small
upstart
company that is currently such a threat to
their business.
Jim’s message board goes through periods of what I call the dealer wars
when a new dealer comes along and
baits him. I mostly ignore those
posts and, once I’ve identified those threads, don’t read the messages
in them,
though I occasionally can’t resist. I still think he could be
a little more diplomatic and it would have a favorable
effect on his
business but I don’t really care. He builds a superior product at a
good price. As far as I know he
has never treated a customer or
potential customer the way he
does those sales people. In fact it is strange, but
he never really
tried to sell me a spa. I ordered a spa from him and he listed some
alternatives, but there was
no "making the sale" on his part. He comes
across completely different on the phone than he does on the
board.
Very laid back. No one else that I found spends nearly as much time
educating consumers as he does.
I quickly found out that because I read
his book and website, I knew more about spas than some of the sales
people I talked with. It was so obvious that I had a hard time
not
laughing out loud about it.
We haven’t had any major problems with our spa. Right after it was
delivered it kept hitting the high temp limit
and tripping the heater
off.
I called Jim and he offered to send someone or to talk me through a
simple
check
for the most likely problem. I elected to try it myself because
there
will come a day when the spa is out of
warranty and the more I know
about
it the better off I’ll be. I’m reasonably handy if it isn’t too
technical.
It
turned out that the temperature probe had shifted during shipping
and
I simply had to reposition it. It took
about 1 minute with Jim on the
phone
telling me exactly what to do. The only other problem has been with the
ozonator. The SCFs don’t seem to like the solid state ozonator
that
they
were using when I bought mine. This
seems to be a problem with all of
them
so Jim has changed the type of ozonators used on these spas, no
charge.
Again
he offered to send someone out to make the change but I had looked at
the
system when I
changed the original ozonator chip and restained the
redwood
and had all the panels off. I saw that it was very
simple so I elected
to
do it myself again and do it at my convenience. It took 5 minutes or so
to
do that actual
job. It is sort of plug and play with one hose to hook
up
to the injector and a plug to plug into the box, just a
straightforward
replacement,
very simple. I know that should I ever need service from a tech I can
get
it, but I
like to do the non technical stuff myself if possible. I have
met
a local tech in our area and would likely call him
to do any work if
needed. How many manufacturers will allow you to poke inside the
product without voiding
the warranty?
There is something additional that is very nice about Spa Specialist
spas that isn’t available anywhere else as far
as I know. That is the
copper/silver ion sanitizer system. There are other systems that have
ions but you can’t
measure the ion level with them so how do you know
if they are still there? The nice thing about this system is
that there
is never chlorine or bromine in the water while you are actually using
the spa so you don’t get that
funny feeling that something is wrong
with your skin when you come out.
You feel like you just stepped out of
a shower instead. No chemical
feeling. You add the shock and chlorine after you get out and it is
gone before
you get in again. It is great! It has gotten to the point that we
don’t
use hot tubs much when we go on vacation
because we don’t like the
bromine
skin that results from going into them.
As for actual therapy, I don’t think there is another spa on the market
that comes anywhere near the Super
Custom Fallsburg, except, perhaps,
the Springville, another Haven model. My wife, Debra, and I both credit
the strong therapy available in our spa for eliminating the need
for
surgery in her arm. She had constant pain in
her arm and the doctors
wanted to do a nerve release in her upper arm. She used to put the arm
against one of
the jets in the lounger when we first got the spa and within 3
months
it
was so much better that she told the
doctor to forget it. I don’t think
it
would have worked with a spa with weaker therapy.
Have you asked Jim if there is a Haven owner near you? Many of us
really love to have people come and wet
test our spas so they can see
the difference for themselves. If there is someone near you, don’t be
shy about
calling them up. Jim doesn’t give out phone numbers of
customers
that don’t want to be bothered. You have to
try it to believe it.
Besides,
you shouldn’t buy any spa without wet testing it unless they are
willing
to exchange
it if it doesn’t work for you. Different seats fit people
differently
and the spa that works best for us may not
work well at all for you. We
have
one friend who is so small that she would drown in the captain’s chair
(my
favorite seat) or the 6 jet seat. She needs a spa that isn’t
nearly as
deep
as ours. Another (male) friend is so
big through the shoulders that the
captain’s chair isn’t comfortable for him. Don’t buy a spa that both
you and
your wife aren’t comfortable in EVERY seat in it. If there is a
big difference in size between the two of you,
discuss it with Jim.
I’ll bet he knows of a spa that will work for you. If I can answer any
other questions, just
let me know. You can email or call me at
3##-3##-7092. The email is at work. The phone is at home. Since
I’m a
12 hr/day employee odds are even on catching me at either place on any
given day.
I don’t think you can go wrong if you buy a Haven. I’m certainly not
willing to listen to anyone bad mouth Jim
Arjuna or his company without
something solid to back it up. I’m not the only owner who spent months
doing
research before buying a spa from him. Haven owners tend to be
people who shopped very carefully, looking
for the maximum value for
their dollars and were willing to learn about the product before
plunking down
several $K.
Don’t let the turkeys scare you away.
Hope this helps,
Jerry"
|
Larry,
I'm Ray Chibbaro from NJ
I don't blame you for not knowing what to think! Big ticket item
purchases over the internet can make one
nervous; it does to me (and I
am in the computer field!), ecspecially with all the 'junk' being
tossed around on
the spa boards! These folks love to mix it up for what
ever their reasons are, and fondly call it 'spa wars' ..
whatever
floats your boat I guess.....
One thing I learned when researching spas is that there is a lot of mud
slinging going on. A lot of people have
religion in the spa industry,
and the consumer is left to figure out what is truth and what is
rhetoric. Specific to
Jim, I notice he riled several other dealers up
with his assertions, and they collaberated in slamming him (a
common
enemy). I decided it was up to me to learn about spas first, so I can
make an informed decision,
and
not rely on someone else to tell me what was good and what I
wanted.
It turned out that no one else would even teach me about spa design
besides Jim, and my background in
engineering knew what he was teaching
me was based on mechanical science and not just his opinion. After I
got my 'spa education', and wet tested a number of spas, it was
clear
how
that all plays out in how a spa
performs. Some spas are really poor but
still cost a lot of $. The spa that met all my requirements was the
Haven
fallsburg.
I was unable to get to Colorado to wet test, so I sent a friend who
lives in the area to wet test the spa, and
check out the store and
people. I did the search on the internet and BBB. I only found 1
complaint (which says
a lot in itself) which was clearly off the map
(the Erik saga). The feedback from my trusted friend in Co. came
back
thumbs up on all fronts and I took the plundge. I could not keep off
those boards as I was trying to learn
more while I waited for my spa,
and I admit until it arrived, I was a bit nervous. I had to keep
telling myself I
did all the right research, and these people were
competitors.
When it arrived, the set up was flawless and I was in it that night. As
soon as I got in it I knew (based on all the
wet testing I did) that I
had made the right choice. My wifes significant approval sealed it for
me, and I have
gotten nothing but compliments on it from friends and
family, even from people who own other brands of spas.
To this day, I
still know I made the right choice.
In the 2.5 years I have owned it, I have been continually impressed
with it's design, it's durability, it's
performance, and the support of
the spa specialist behind the product. After it was paid for, they then
taught
me about water maintenance and problem solving for months. I
have gotten nothing but great service from Jim
and team.
I am not in the spa business, I am just a happy consumer. I also expect
nothing and get nothing from Jim for
saying this. Do not listen to
others blindly. Make your own decision. If you need to, visit a
customer in your
area and check out the product. >From my
experience, it is solid and well built, and better than any spa for the
price. If you want to take
a run to Jersey, I will be happy to show you exactly what I mean. Just
let me know.
The Spa-specialist is a genuine business with a good man (and team)
behind it. They have a return policy if you
don't like what you get. If
you need to, visit a customer in your area. I would suggest to not
second guess your
decision to go Haven. Once you have it, you will see
what I
am talking about. Keep the faith until then, is my
suggestion.
Good luck, and hang in there!!!!
Ray
|
Dear Dr. S,
"My name is Dan L and I am an anesthesiologist in Chicago. I
purchased an SCF from Jim about 2 years ago and am a very happy
customer. I
got a cc. copy of an email Jim sent to you tonight and thought I would
respond to you directly. I have to admit I am tired as hell from work
today,
just having gotten home after roughly 18 hours of work, however i
wanted to
respond because Jim and Spaspecialist have provided the utmost fantastic
service and a product which is without comparison within the industry.
My
story:
To begin, I have an SCF on my 4th floor roof in Chicago. To get to the
point
directly, I love it. For the money, the spa and accesories I got from
Jim/Haven is without a doubt the best value for the amount of therapy
and
extras you get.
When I bought my house I gave passing thought to putting a spa on
the roof.
As the remodel firmed up, I decided to look into a spa more seriously
and see
if it was worth the effort. All my friends had either Hot Springs
(HS) or
Emeralds. To a person, they all said HS was the best spa out there and
the
most reliable/durable. My friends who owned Emeralds said they really
liked
their spas but bought them because they seemed to be a good product but
cheaper in price than HS.
I had been in all their spas and was overwhelmed by their reasons
for
choosing one vs. the other. I initially was convinced I wanted a HS
since
that was the "best" spa on the market albeit more expensive. As I
researched
things more, I became confused since I couldn't see a clear reason why
HS was
so much more expensive than the other competing brands out there.
I
continued to research and eventually ended up wet testing HS, Emerald,
Beachcomber, Coleman, and Jacuzzi Premium. I ultimately decided to buy
an
Emerald since it seemed to offer the same features as the HS, and
the idea of
thermal pane insulation made sense to me (vs. full foam particularly in
a
cold climate) and overall it was cheaper.
Only after I placed my order for an Emerald did I stumble across Jim and
Spaspecialist. I read the site and realized I was not the only one to
come
to the same conclusions regarding thermal pane insulation. In addition,
after pondering the site I realized that I wanted a spa that would
really
provide monster therapy since I have been blessed with a sore back from
standing all day at work. As I looked at Jim's site, the SCF leapt out
at me
due to it's focus on clean plumbing and therapy which made sense since
I have
an indirectly related background in fluid dynamics (I am a cardiac
anesthesiologist). Overall, I spent 6 months researching spas. I ended
up
canceling my Emerald order and site unseen, non-wet tested ordered an
SCF
based on a well researched yet still calculated risk (small in my
opinion)
and a conversation with Jim regarding the 100% satisfaction guaranteed
return
policy.
The spa arrived right on time, I arranged for the crane to get it
onto my
roof and Jim's guys got it installed, filled and running before leaving
as
well as providing an excellent tutorial on spa care and chemicals. In
addition, I got the heavy duty cover, cover lifter, steps, and a ton of
chemicals (which lasted 9 months) as well as delivery and installation
all
included in the price, tax free since it was an out of state purchase. I
couldn't have found a better deal if I had researched 6 more months.
I can't speak highly enough of the difference in therapy between HS,
Emerald
and Haven with my SCF being exponentially better than HS and Emerald.
Maintenance and upkeep are relatively pain free requiring about 10
minutes
per week to check chemicals and adjust things accordingly. I use my spa
about 3-5 times/week and love it.
There have been absolutely no mechanical or warranty issues with the
spa. I
have ordered chemicals from Jim multiple times with free shipping
and no
sales tax as well as a 10% discount simply for being a Haven customer.
In
addition I have referred a few of my friends with other spas to Jim to
purchase covers as well as chemicals, all of which have had nothing but
good
things to say about Spaspecialist.
If you follow some of the other boards regarding spas you will see that
Jim
is considered to be very opinionated and unwilling to accept other
peoples
opinions. He also comes across as being a bit irrational at times. You
can
analyze his personal psyche all you want. My opinion is that he is
simply a
spa "nut" and lives, eats and breathes spas and has a passion for
the
industry which is hard for most to understand. Unfortunately he is also
very
intolerant of some of the people he knows better than I (that frequent
the
boards) whom he considers to be unscrupulous and comes across as quite
rude
many times. As one of his customers though, he has been nothing but
accommodating, polite, and responsive to my needs. Mercifully I have
not had
any mechanical problems requiring him to arrange a service visit to my
home
by either one of his guys (while on a cross country delivery trip) or a
local
subcontractor so I can't speak to the ease of warranty issues thus far
(knock
on wood, and also a testament to how good his product is given the
environment my spa is exposed to, particularly in the winter)..
Well, this letter has probably become painfully boring for you. Overall
I
can't say enough good things about my Haven. It is a great product which
works great and provides infinitely more therapy than anything on
the market.
Jim has been nothing but helpful and responsive and if I ever move to a
different house, I would definitely get another Haven to replace my
beloved
SCF. I don't know where you live however if you are anywhere near
Chicago,
you are welcome to come wet test my SCF anytime we can arrange a
mutually
convenient time. Most importantly, I would add that I have absolutely no
financial or other means of gain by endorsing Haven or Spaspecialist
other
than to spread the word to potential customers to what I think is
an
excellent value and product for the dollar.
Sincerely,
Dan L"
|
Hello Dr. S,
My name is Mike Cremin, I live in Pelham, NH. I'm 50, married and
have two
children. My wife is a school teacher, and I am a Senior Manufacturing
Engineer. We also have no connection to The Spa Specialist other than
loyal
satisfied customer.
Jim copied me in his reply to you about the concerns you had regarding
The
Spa Specialist, and the portrayal of Jim Arjuna as a con man on the
"poolandspa" message board. I understand your concern and you are
wise to
hold off on your purchase if you are not completely comfortable. You
will
also be wise to "find out the truth" as you stated in your email to
Jim. Once
you do, I'm sure you will find out that your original decision to
purchase a
Haven was good one.
I am a perfectionist by nature, and being an engineer, I thoroughly
researched spas for six months prior to my purchase. My wife called me
obsessed (lol). In my research, I came across "The Erik Saga" while
trying to
find information on Haven Spas, and The Spa Specialist. All of Jim's
competitors eagerly point anyone considering a Haven in the direction
of the
Tripod site. Something about that didn't feel right to me. Here was a
whole
site dedicated to bashing Haven and Jim Arjuna, yet there was only one
legitimate complaint. That was Erik, who by his own admission had
received a
full refund.
Two questions kept popping into my mind: 1. Why can't I find a
dissatisfied
customer that still has their Haven spa? 2. Why is Erik the only one?
Believe me, I tried, but found none. I found even the world's best
selling
and/or most expensive brand of spas have unhappy customers, but not the
Spa
Specialist. I was intrigued, so I contacted a couple of Jim's
customer's in
Massachusetts. I created a questionnaire with 20 of the most important
things
to consider when buying a spa. Both owners had glowing recommendations
for
their Haven spas. One offered to let me wet test his Fallsburgh, and I
took
him up on it. It was in a word, outstanding.
Before purchasing my Haven, I looked at Hot Springs, Tiger River,
Sundance,
Saratoga, PDC, Beachcomber, Dimension One, Nordic, Coleman and Jacuzzi.
I
have owned my Haven Shorewood Silver for two years now, and am still
100%
sure that I made the correct choice. Jim, Sandy, Dave, and the other
employees of The Spa Specialist are like an extended family to me. They
are
always very friendly and completely professional in their customer
service,
and that's "after the sale." The Del Ozonator failed within 9 months of
ownership. I was sent a new and better model from another manufacturer,
and
because I wanted to replace it myself, was given a very generous store
credit. One order I placed with The Spa Specialist was a couple of
weeks late
in arriving due to a communications mix up there. Without asking,
I was sent
a complete Taylor test Kit for my trouble. I am also going to receive
the
DAIT system upgrade soon. How many of the big name companies will
go back to
existing customers, and give them updates in technology free of charge?
Doesn't sound like something a con man would do, does it?
I'd also like to add some comments about my experiences posting
messages on
the poolandspa message board. As a happy Haven owner and satisfied
customer
of The Spa Specialist, I posted many times on that site about my
positive
experiences, and to refute outright lies being posted by very
unscrupulous
people. For my honesty, I was attacked on several fronts. A virus
was sent
via Email to my computer from someone there. One individual did a
search to
see if I was a real person, including trying to contact my place of
employment. A woman named Dawn, posing as a psychiatrist, accused
me of being
one of Jim's other personalities. Many said I was Jim's east coast
sales
representative, because I had nothing but good things to say about
Haven. You
can't blindly believe anyone or anything posted on that message board,
you
really have to find out for yourself.
I went to the Haven bashing Tripod site and signed the guest book. I
also
posted a few positive comments about my Haven ownership and Spa
Specialist
customer experiences. Guess what? My name and post was removed the next
day.
Every once in a while I would repeat this, and it was always removed. I
have
been banned from it and other message boards, because I don't go along
with
the NPW (National Puddin Watch) which I renamed Nitwit Parade of
Weasels.
Because the attacks on me became so personal, I rarely post on them any
more.
I have allowed two other couples to wet test my spa. One was a coworker
and
also an engineer, the other couple was unknown to me. Both purchased
Haven
Spas and are now also happy customers. Don't let some sleazy morons
that are
only out to hurt Jim's business scare you away from a truly engineered
spa. I
wish you luck in your search for the truth. I am confident that it will
lead
you back to your initial decision to purchase the best, a Haven.
Sincerely,
Mike Cremin
|
Posted By: Grant Tomlin
(dial-93.r1.ncbrvr.infoave.net)
Date: Saturday, 29 March 2003, at 7:39 p.m.
I have a 2000 Haven Watertown and wanted to update the group on my
ownership experience.
First, I have had NO service calls to date and the spa has peformed
flawlessly. Jim A. can confirm this.
I had the spa in Atlanta, GA and recently moved to Brevard, NC. With
Jim's assistance in guiding my movers,
we had no difficulty in placing
the spa in it's new home. It still works flawlessly despite the
expected moving
"rash" on the shell.
I wanted to offer an unsolicited update on my experience with Haven
Spas/Spa Specialist and would not hesitate to recommend their products
or service if you're considering a purchase.
Grant Tomlin Brevard, NC
|
Bob and Carolyn write:
Jim, here’s a true story about our experience in my brother-in-law’s
Sundance spa….
My wife and I went to visit her sister and husband at the end of May.
While visiting them we had a chance to
use their Sundance spa (never
got the exact model… but a little bigger than the Fallsburg). With just
the two of
us in the spa, we very consciously use the opportunity to
compare their Sundance with our Haven Fallsburg.
So, we got into his spa. The water temperature was 98oF. My
brother-in-law knows that we recently bought a
spa and was very
accommodating in showing us what his spa could do. He turned on the
blower and we got
air… cold air. Then he turned on both pumps and
explained one of the pumps (A) was single-speed and the
other pump (B)
was two-speed. My observation was that pump A had about the same force
as our
Fallsburg’s No. 1 pump in circulation mode. Pump B’s low speed
was less than that and the high speed was
somewhere in between the
Fallsburg’s No. 1 pump low and high speeds. My wife and I looked at
each other,
shook our heads as if agreeing "yes" and I said, "That’s
different!" The last thing I wanted to do was appear to
be openly
critical. After all, we were guests in his house. At that point he
said, "Enjoy!" and
left.
So we settled in for a quiet "ride" in his spa. I was in the lounge
seat and my wife was in one of the corner
seats. We noticed his spa had
three, count ‘em THREE, "do-nothing" seats… no jets, no air, nothing…
just
sculpted seats to sit in and have nothing coming your way. We
asked
each other "…why do you suppose they
would put three of those seats in…
one I could maybe understand, two is really stretching it, but THREE?"
Well,
anyway, we never sat in any of those seats. Most of the jets in the two
corner seats and the lounge seat
were fixed and small. A few spun, but
not
many.
So there we were… relaxing in his spa. After about 15 minutes another
couple joined us and a few minutes
after that another lady got in.
There are now five of us in the spa. All of a sudden my jets went dead
and I
yelled out, "Hey, where’d my jets go?" Someone changed the
diverter
re-routing the water from my jets to
theirs… won’t happen in a Haven.
That scene happened one more time to me and once to my wife.
Then we were done and it was time to get out. By the way, the air
pump continued blowing cold air the whole
time we were in the spa.
While
my wife and were in the privacy of our bedroom we both agreed that
based
on
what we had just seen our Haven Fallsburg far outpaced their
Sundance, nodded our heads positively, and felt
really good about "how
good we done" by getting a Haven.
|
Topic: **HAVEN OWNERS
SPEAK OUT Examples *** (10 of 13), Read 42 times
Conf: Hot Tub Spas
From: Mike C (creminsofpelham@aol.com)
Date: Monday, April 14, 2003 01:29 AM
(Nipsy is Steve Russell of Beachcomber Spas)
On 4/13/2003 11:49:30 PM, Nipsy wrote:
Steve Russell said:
>I believe Mike C really loves
>his tub and that's a wonderful
>thing.
Mike C said: Yes I do, and yes it is!
>
>The following comment by Mike
>I do question: "Two questions
>kept popping into my mind: 1.
>Why can't I find a
>dissatisfied
>customer that still has their
>Haven spa? 2. Why is Erik the
>only one?
>Believe me, I tried, but found
>none. I found even the world's
>best selling
>and/or most expensive brand of
>spas have unhappy customers,
>but not the Spa
>Specialist.”
>
Steve Russell Said:
>When you ask a company that
>has sold 40 cars a year for
>the last 5 or 6 years (we'll
>call them company X) and
>information is limited and no
>complaints have been formally
>written, does this make them a
>great value?
Mike C said:
The facts are the facts. I could not find a single complaint against
Jim A. or The Spa Specialist by any Haven
Spa owner. You are mistakenly
trying to portray that one point I was making as the sole factor in my
decision.
I will speak to the value further down.
>Steve Russell of Beachcomber spas said:
>If you speak to someone who
>owns a Ford (or you know 25
>people that are unhappy with
>Ford, does this therefore make
>them a poor purchase to
>consider?
>
>Though the answer is obvious,
>the time was taken to point
>this out in this comparison,
>but really has little value
>when common sense is applied.
>
>I hope this thinking isn't
>applied to every major
>purchase you make as I don't
>believe there are any quality,
>major manufacturers of any
>product that can claim 100%
>total satisfaction to every
>item they have sold.
Mike C said:
No Steve, that in itself does not make Haven a good value. But you
somehow forgot that I looked at 10 other
spa brands including most of
the
major name brands. You forgot that we have discussed this in the past
Steve.
You forgot that I'm an Engineer. You forgot that I compared shell
materials/construction, insulation methods,
components, spa features,
power, and price in making my decision.
Comparing these categories between Haven and the other 10 brands I
looked at is what made Haven a
GREAT VALUE. It is unlikely anyone would
ever base a decision to purchase a big ticket item soley based
on not
finding
any complaints against the company. That was just another a factor in
my
decision.
Steve Russell of Beachcomber Spas said:
>
>The key here is not to BS
>people by telling them EVERY
>customer is 100% satisfied as
>Jim has claimed in a defensive
>posture, but to handle
>complaints in a timely fashion
>and properly.
Mike C said:
My point exactly. Jim and Erik could not agree on satisfactory
compensation for Erik's troubles as a customer.
So Jim gave him a full
refund. If Jim was the problem, why are there no unsatisfied owners of
Haven Spas?
Steve Russell of Beachcomber Spas said:
>We all expect
>problems can happen but your
>friend Jim seems to feel the
>need to over exaggerate this
>claim to hide something. I
>wonder what it is he's hiding
>Mike? It doesn't mean his
>product is crap, it just means
>he is a habitual liar.
Mike C said:
It is your opinion that Jim has over exaggerated claims, and is hiding
something. You and some others here are
the real habitual liars. It has
been my experience and that of other Spa Specialist customers that
Haven Spas
are exactly what Jim said they were.
Steve Russell of Beachcomber Spas Said:
>A characteristic that would
>prevent me from making a major
>purchase from him and his
>company.
Mike C said:
Steve, you forgot you are a Beachcomber Salesman. Of course you are not
going to make a major purchase
from The Spa Specialist. Though you
secretly want to, like the guy in the commercial that works for the
cable
company nervously having a satellite dish installed at home.
Steve Russell of Beachcomber Spas said"
>
>Continue to use your tub in
>good health!
Thanks, I will.
>
> Steve
>
(Note from Jim Arjuna: We have no disattisfied Haven customers
anywhere. We do not attract unreasonable
people to the Haven
family. If we do get one they usually wind up with us taking back
the spa. There are two
parts to the story, and if a customer
makes really weird demands, it is a flag to us. We have had two
people
try to use
credit card scams to get the spas for less, but we do not do that.
We will do everything possible to
have these people in our Haven
Family by trying
to reason with them, when they stop being resonable we go
get the spa,
end
of story. Out of all the Haven owners we have had two customers
who
tried to get $2,000
and $4600 or more off on a spa that they ordered.
They
call the credit card company and tell lies to get the
credit card
company
to refund the payments. click here
It is not that we have not had any problems or screw ups, because
we are human, but that we have corrected
all of the issues as fast as
we could to the customers' satisfaction. That is the definition
of
a "satisfied
customer".)
Nipsy is Steve Russell from Beachcomber spas. He has sworn an
oath to do everything possible to put The
Spa Specialist out of
business. Here
is some more of his Hate Click HERE
|
Posted By: Dave P. (164.57.237.9)
I just wanted to say a big thanks to Jim, Sandy, Dave, Adam and John
for making my Haven Fallsburg
purchase a great experience! My wife and
I are enjoying it almost every night. The Fallsburg blows away any
other spa out on the market by far. It is extremely comfortable
and
extremely powerful. Jim, your spa
engineering expertise definitely
shines threw in the Haven
product. I was amazed at the quality of the motors,
plumbing and other
components
you use. I'm not an engineer but I can tell "heavy duty" when I see it.
In my search for purchasing a spa I've looked inside a lot of cabinets
and you can see the difference in the
Haven right away.
I think the heater has only had to run once since the original fill up,
it's incredible how Fallsburg holds it's
temperature!
If anyone is worried about making a purchase over the internet, don't
be! It has been a great buying experience
and it's top notch product.
Thanks again everyone!
|
SCF Owner-St Louis Area-Chapter 1
Posted By: Rich P (MV2-24.171.62.177.charter-stl.com)
Date: Sunday, 23 February 2003, at 3:42 a.m.
Hi All, Jim and Sandy- We had to have a spa thanks to a free Thermospa
video. I can honestly say they make
a great video. But I don’t own one
if that tells you anything. I own a SC Fallsburg (SCF) and it was
delivered
the day after Thanksgiving. I’m remiss in not posting to this
board sooner. I just could’t get out of the spa and I
can’t type with
more that 2 fingers so bear with me. The important part of this story
is how I came to own an
SCF and my conclusions after 3 months of
ownership.
I consider myself a savvy shopper and I research all major purchases to
death before I commit. Fortunately, I
happened to come across Jim's
site early on and it made me a little smarter, OK a lot smarter. My
background
is in engineering (not an engineer) but smart enough to
understand good
as well as bad engineering of a
product from radar to hydraulic
systems.
Jim's site information proved invaluable when we finally had the
Thermospa
sales rep do his presentation. Needless to say the sales rep was high
pressure, unable to answer
specific questions, no product to see, and
way too expensive for my taste. There was a price swing from $15k
to
$9.5k for the Manhattan Deluxe after the sales rep "called the office"
a couple of times. This
was the "if you
buy now (only now) I’ll give you a great price" sales
pitch. That much of a price swing in 45 minutes just raises
a red flag
to me. Anyway, my wife and I continued to researched, searched, wet
tested, wet tested, and wet
tested for the perfect spa for several
months.
We looked at and wet tested the LA Esteem, a couple of Catalinas,
Emerald C2009, Cameo (I forget the
manufacturer-but it was a full foam
and was not a real player in this decision anyway) through local
dealers.
We were torn between the LA, Emerald, and Haven. I say the Haven
too
because
I wasn’t completely happy
with the LA or Emerald for various reasons
like dealer knowledge of their products, wet test comfort, or price
for
product. I corresponded with Marty Miller on this board. He’s a Haven
owner and he was kind enough to
invite my wife and me to his home for a
wet test. Unfortunately, he lives about 4-5 hours drive from me. So I
almost did, but didn’t make the drive. But we did e-mail each
other and
he convinced me about the quality of
Jim’s product and Jim’s integrity.
(Jim-if he’s not on your payroll, he should be!) Thanks Marty! You
provided
me with no BS information and a
solid recommendation. As most of you know, Jim’s real "popular" on
other
message boards but not necessarily in a good way. That will teach
Jim to talk about facts.
I was still a little skeptical about plunking all that money down
without playing touchy/feely with the product.
But with Marty’s solid
testimony and the pressure from my wife to get a spa I relented,
crossed
my fingers,
and bought a SCF. Not before talking to Jim and asking him
probably hundreds of layman’s questions about
his spas. He was always
very
helpful and patient because he’s probably answered these questions
thousands
of times in e-mails or via telephone before.
Fingers are getting tired. Next chapter contains - the installation,
minor problem with spa on delivery, spa
performance, electrical bill
impact. To be continued…
--------
SCF Owner-St Louis Area-Chapter 2
Posted By: Rich P (MV2-24.171.62.177.charter-stl.com)
Date: Friday, 28 February 2003, at 7:09 a.m.
Hi Again- Jim and Sandy were nice enough to deliver and install our SCF
the day after Thanksgiving. It was
around 40-45 degrees outside and
poor Sandy had a cold. We tried to keep them warm with coffee and food
but Jim was focused on the installation. Once the SCF was removed
from
the trailer and moved into place
Sandy pulled me aside and indicated
there
was a problem with the shell. She indicated that it was damaged
sometime
during the previous installations/unloadings they had performed before
they got to us. She said a
gouge was taken out of the shell along the
bottom
lip below the main control panel. She said that Jim had
repaired it
while
they were at Marty’s home in Indiana.
My first thoughts were Uh-Oh, I’ve waited 12 weeks and I got a damaged
spa. Well that thought didn’t last
very long. Before I could say
anything, Sandy told me how badly she and Jim felt and they would make
it right.
She said, at my option, she and Jim would install this
"damaged" spa, leave it at my home for my use, order me
a new SCF and
then swap them out at a later time at no cost to me. Then Sandy showed
me the damaged
area. She had to point it out to me because I had a hard
time seeing it and my vision is fine. I probably would
have never
noticed it unless she pointed it out. Under close inspection there is a
minor blemish. Not really
noticeable unless you’re looking for it.
So what did this tell me? To me, this demonstrated the concern Jim and
Sandy have for their customers and the
pride and quality they have in
their products. Marty was right (Jim-Again, put him on your payroll!).
Anyway
after speaking to my wife and showing her the "area of concern"
we
both agreed this was not a showstopper.
We spoke to Jim and Sandy and
agreed
that a replacement spa was not necessary. I believe Jim and Sandy
agreed
to some deep discount on products/filters I will order in the future as
fair
compensation. Jim, correct
me if I’m wrong on this, it’s been so long
frankly
I’m not clear as to what we agreed upon.
Anyway the installation proceeded pretty much without incident until we
filled the spa with water and tested the
calcium level. Unfortunatey,
it was 600+ ppm. We have a water softener but we also had company in
from NJ
and a daughter (who has to shower 3 times a day) so they ran me
out of soft water. Anyway we bailed half the
water out, ran a
regeneration cycle on the water softener, refilled the spa with softer
water. While time
consuming, this forced Jim and Sandy inside the house
to warm up, eat something, and visit a little.
I read the other bulletin boards and the good and bad things they
say about Jim. I consider myself a good judge
of character. While Jim
may need a PR makeover to enhance his reputation on those other sites,
I found Jim
and Sandy to be down to earth, honest, and caring people.
Jim’s
a pretty fascinating guy, who’s very smart
and well spoken. (You too
Sandy!)
It was a pleasure to talk with them and trade stories of family and
general
life experiences. Unfortunately the time spent together was too
short.
Both of you are always welcome back to
our home!
Anyway once the water issue was resolved the installation proceeded
without delay. Sandy and Jim showed us
how to chemically treat the
water and while I told them I understood the process, I was daydreaming
about
how good the spa looked and when I would be in it. It’s a good
thing they have instructions posted on their
site. The complete
installation took
about 9-10 hours because of the water issue and temperature readout
calibration. In all that time Jim and Sandy were easy going,
patient,
and worked as
a team. You’d think
they’ve done this before. Ha ha. All things
considered installation was an A++.
OK-I lied, spa performance and the electrical bill impact will be
covered in the next and final chapter. To be
continued…
|
Posted By: Bob Condon
(AC96231C.ipt.aol.com)
Date: Sunday, 30 December 2001, at 11:02 a.m.
Dear Jim & Sandy, It is now two 1/2 months that I've has my
Meadowbrook Spa. I love it and can't begin to
imagine how I ever lived
without one. As you know, I investigated and wet tested 8 spas which
included yours
and a few of those overpriced and underdesigned
"national top selling" spas
and met you before I made the
final decision. I would like to say to
other
prospective owners that you don't need to go through all that. The
before and after purchase has been 100%
honest
and helpful. The jets are plentiful and positioned for the
maximum
comfort
and benefit and the spa seats are as comfortable as my favoite
recliner. The maintenance is a snap and after a short learning period
is now a no-brainer and without the horrible smell of chlorine or
bromine (the advice to add some
TA with the weekly shock has kept my ph in perfect range as opposed to
low
normal). Everyone who has used the spa is very impressed. Too bad that
you
don't have sales reps as this
is a product I could sell all day long.
We
just built a room around and over the spa so who cares if it's zero
outside-we're
in there (we would be anyway). I'll have to send you pics when were
done
framing the inside this
week. In fact, gotta go now, I'm ready for
another
soak. Bob
|
Posted By: Brian Anderson
(pcp184861pcs.shmptn01.nj.comcast.net)
Date: Monday, 30 December 2002, at 2:58 p.m.
JIM & SANDY, JIM & SANDY, JIM & SANDY!!!!!,
What can I say but WOWWWWWW!!! After taking delivery and set up of our
new Fallsburg this past
Saturday, I was able to christen our new baby
for the first time last night about 11:00PM under a very crisp,
clear,
starry night. What an awesome treat and thrill to have it finally here,
in place and powerfully pumping.
The only drawback was that my wife did
not feel like braving the cold to join me. Oh well, as I told her: "you
have no clue what you missed!" She wanted to wait until the sun
was out
today to go in and that is just fine.
Sandy, thank you for taking my call last night and helping me with the
chemistry questions I had so that I could
take the first great plunge.
Never having a spa and using chemicals leaves me a little (okay alot)
unsettled with
many questions, but I guess like everyone else it will
all come with time and practice. I just had to let you guys
know how
wonderful it was to plunk down in that beautiful steaming cauldron for
the first time, and thank you once again for all your help.
As to whoever that unnamed person is that wrote into the forum saying
that Jim is making up customers: sorry
to tell you my wife and I are
very real in the flesh human beings. And yes we did get a Haven
Fallsburg,
sage
green shell, forest green cover, with unbelievably fantastic
therapy
pressure here in southern New Jersey thank
you very much. If you want
I would be more than happy to e-mail you digital pictures of it at
delivery,
set-up
and in use if that will help you grasp the actual truth.
And I am sure you are asking why you have not heard of me previously on
the web? That is because like many
other people I am sure, I talked to
Jim Arjuna at length on the phone and only passively observed in the
periphery on this web forum and others like poolandspa.com to see
what
was being
said. After reading people
going back and forth at each other like
unbridled
children I knew asking pertinent questions in that format was
not of
any
real value. Instead I got a list of customers from Jim and contacted
them
via e-mail to check out
what they had to say independently. One step
further,
I even called any of those (and there were alot!, from
Illinois to New
Hampshire and beyond) who didn't mind and spoke to them in person to
get the real
skinny. I
could only be so pleased if our spa turns out to be over time
as good and reliable as what they have
experienced. Even having said
all
this I am sure by reading your message you will still choose to not
believe;
but that is your sad or jealous choice.
Finally to all of those other Haven spa owners who helped my wife
and I with your insight and encouragement
during the decisional
process,
we will never be able to thank you enough. The best we can say is that
if any of
you are ever near Tabernacle, NJ feel free to look us up;
would
be glad to provide you with a free soak.
God's blessings and good health to all, Brian
|
Posted By: Leo
In Response To: Baby Boomers Bored By Techno-Babble (Duane)
Duane,
I don't care if Hotspring gave me $20/month to run the tub, it still
would not be worth it compared to the
Fallsburg, yes I am an engineer
and love the data Jim provides, however what finally sold me was the
wet test,
I tested the Hotspring Landmark and then the Fallsburg, no
comparison, The Fallsburg's provides the best
therapy hands down. The
Hotspring doesn't even have any Jets for your legs in the lounger,
water or air.
Believe me sitting in the two tubs within a few days apart really
sold me, and they are the same price.
By the way I live 5 minutes from MASCO world headquarters and own
many of their products, except a spa.
|
Haven Owner in Canada;
(Toronto-HSE-ppp3788487.sympatico.ca)
Date: Wednesday, 2 October 2002, at
9:11 a.m.
In Response To: Re: Jim's first Movie
(uswmbutnkd)
I am a daily reader of this board and
cannot believe what I am seeing. I have
had the opportunity and might I add
pleasure of receiving a Haven Spa.
Comparing this spa with all of the other
brands that are out there was a true
testament to the superior design and
construction. Henry Ford once said that "a
market is never saturated with a good
product, but it is very quickly saturated
with a bad one." Who in the end is hurt by
these inferior products? The consumer.
Jim's board is here to help others with
their problems and questions. I know I
had many questions about the spa and
each was answered in a professional
manner. He outlined everything I asked
and was more than helpful in every area.
It boggles my mind that people would
come onto his board and chastise him for
providing information for lost consumers.
They ask for help and he provides it (free
of charge might I add). Now others come
on this board and question the manner in
how this is provided?
It seems that these posts are anti-Jim. I
applaud Jim for taking the high road in
this matter and thank him for all of the
help he has provided myself and I am
sure thousands of others. Keep up the
good work Jim! Thank you for all of the
help!
Note: Scott has a Haven Shorwood Silver.
|
Bob and Carolyn write:
Jim, here’s a true story about our experience in my brother-in-law’s
Sundance spa….
My wife and I went to visit her sister and husband at the end of May.
While visiting them we had a chance to
use their Sundance spa (never
got the exact model… but a little bigger than the Fallsburg). With just
the two of
us in the spa, we very consciously use the opportunity to
compare their Sundance with our Haven Fallsburg.
So, we got into his spa. The water temperature was 98oF. My
brother-in-law knows that we recently bought a
spa and was very
accommodating in showing us what his spa could do. He turned on the
blower and we got
air… cold
air. Then he turned on both pumps and explained one of the pumps (A)
was
single-speed and the
other pump (B) was two-speed. My observation was
that
pump A had about the same force as our
Fallsburg’s No. 1 pump in
circulation
mode. Pump B’s low speed was less than that and the high speed was
somewhere
in between the Fallsburg’s No. 1 pump low and high speeds. My wife and
I
looked at each other,
shook our heads as if agreeing "yes" and I said,
"That’s
different!" The last thing I wanted to do was appear to
be openly
critical.
After all, we were guests in his house. At that point he said, "Enjoy!"
and left.
So we settled in for a quiet "ride" in his spa. I was in the lounge
seat and my wife was in one of the corner
seats. We noticed his spa had
three, count ‘em THREE, "do-nothing" seats… no jets, no air, nothing…
just
sculpted seats to sit in and have nothing coming your way. We
asked each other "…why do you suppose they
would put three of those
seats in… one I
could maybe understand, two is really stretching it, but THREE?"
Well,
anyway,
we never sat in any of those seats. Most of the jets in the two corner
seats
and the lounge seat
were fixed and small. A few spun, but not many.
So there we were… relaxing in his spa. After about 15 minutes another
couple joined us and a few minutes
after that another lady got in.
There are now five of us in the spa. All of a sudden my jets went dead
and I
yelled out, "Hey, where’d my jets go?" Someone changed the
diverter re-routing the water from my jets to
theirs… won’t happen in a
Haven. That scene happened one more time to me and once to my wife.
Then we were done and it was time to get out. By the way, the air pump
continued blowing cold air the whole
time we were in the spa. While my
wife and were in the privacy of our bedroom we both agreed that based
on
what we had just seen our Haven Fallsburg far outpaced their
Sundance,
nodded our heads positively, and felt
really good about "how good we
done"
by getting a Haven.
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Hi;
This is Jim Arjuna; Do you see the book in the background
of this page?
You need to order your copy. I is now available in a download in
pdf format.
Go to this link and order your copy. Click
Here
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