We are a retail and service business in Seaside, Ca, and we currently have 10 employees. We do repairs on hot tubs and spas, but not on jetted indoor bathtubs. We bill when our work is finished, but most part have to be purchased in advance before they are installed. We have a spa cover sale every January, and also clearance sales twice a year. Other promotions include special financing and cash and carry offers from our website.
Business highlights
41 years of trusted experience
Services we offer
We sell new and used spas to the public. We do repairs on most brands of spas and hot tubs within our area. We also provide water maintenance for hot tub customers on a weekly, bi-monthly, and monthly basis. We do spa cleanups as well.
Services we don't offer
We don't do any contracting. We do not work on swimming pools or jetted bathtubs.
In addition to the leaky pump, I ordered 5 spa pillows. These also took 3-4 weeks after several reminders. When they arrived we stopped by to pick them up. We found they ordered both the spa pillows AND rubber mounts. We reminded them we had already ordered and installed the rubber backs from them the year before. So we said we just need the pillows. They refused to sell us the pillows unless we also paid to return the rubber backs even though we did not order them. So we walked away and ordered the pillows online. Another issue during this time, was a complete malfunction of the Spa main circuit board. I discussed options with Bill and he said he would need to replace BOTH the spa main circuit board and the top side controller (~ $1000) because he could not say which was at fault. This was over the phone. If he came down to test it, it would be over $100 just for the service call. Since I no longer trusted his judgement or his ability to diagnose the problem, I resorted to ordering parts online. I would have paid for the service call if he could have diagnosed which component was faulty. In general I cannot (and will not) use Spas by the Bay to service my Jacuzzi spa even though they are the only dealer in town.
Description of Work: I dropped a leaky spa pump off to see if it could be fixed. Bill had it for 3 weeks and finally picked it up. After installing, the fitting he replaced was leaking worse than the original leak. I went to a different pump repair shop after that and they replaced the front pump housing which was cracked by the installation of the nipple fitting.
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
3.0
value
2.0
professionalism
2.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
2.0
$120
vincent A.
12/2011
1.0
pool cleaners
+ -1 more
I found Mr. Sullivan lying completely unacceptable, the delivery hazardous, the wrong spa delivered, a lack of a written contract for a $9600 item deficient, as well as prior phone calls not being returned, the delivery cancelled by them at the last minute, etc. for all these reasons, I said the next day after delivery, I wanted to return the spa. Mr. Sullivan replied,.."I have your check, it is not coming back". Once a retailer lies, provides deficient service, delivers an inferior product which could have been avoided with a written bill of sale, I think it is not prudent to go forward. Especially since he is the only service dealer for the area so future contact with him is assured. Mr. Sullivan first asked me to contact the manufacturer and see if I could get them to give me the Salt system for free! I was shocked again as my purchase was from him. He then kept dropping the price for the salt system and finally said he woud provide it. i remained streadfast that I wanted to return the spa for full refund and sever contact with him. In response, he continued to blame the contractor for the spa damage and deny responsibility for all deficiencies. I contacted Hotspring customer service, Peggy Watson, who reviewed the matter and concluded in writing the spa should be returned to the dealer for a refund that was fair to both of us. Mr. Sullivan proposed he charge me an additional $600.00 for yet another delivery/pickup fee and see if he could resell the spa. Hotspring gave him permission to sell as new. If and when he could, he would give me the proceeds. In effect, he shifted all the risk and cost to me which likely would be about a $3,000 loss if he sold the spa (and didn't go out of business in the meantime). I proposed he take back the spa, refund me my money and sell at his dealer cost, so we both would be made whole. He refused since he wanted the profit from the original sale, not just his cost. I described the situation on Yelp. Mt. Sullivan responded twice. Both responses were inflammatory (including name calling) and violated Yelp policies to the extent the Yelp administrator removed them. I told Mr. Sullivan I would be responsible for any costs to the extent I caused the difficulties and asked him in an email to please explain how I was responsible in any way from his point of view. I was respectful and focused on solving this problem in the numerous emails sent. His response was twofold: He fabricated, badly, a bill of sale. He dated this fabricated bill of sale the day of delivery. It of course has no signatures. It takes two weeks for Hotspring to build a spa after order. You can't sell a new spa that has to be ordered and built and delivered on the same day. Even more self-incriminating is that Mr. Sullivan tried to embellish a printed internal work order which clearly indicated the spa was purchased on July 13th (two week before delivery) by phone by verbal agreement! I guess he didn't read carefully what he tried to fabricate the bill of sale from. More incredible is he filed a police report featuring the bill of sale claiming he was being harassed by me. He included some of my emails which are courteous, business like and clearly focused on seeking a resolution. My community police notified me, were apologetic and suggested I file a response which I did. Mr. Sullivan was flagrantly ignoring the manufacturer's request to take back the spa and reach an agreement fair to both of us. I recontacted Ms. Watson who said their company bore no responsibility and the dealer is completely independent. Unless Mr. Sullivan asked Hotspring to help with a resolution, they coud not and woud not intervene. Yet, Mr. Sullivan clearly did not want to resolve this matter in a manner fair to me, just him. Further, he had violated all manner of business practices and social norms. Hotspring awarded him a Dealer in Good Standing designation which implies some standards for behavior he must meet. Of interest is Hotspring could not verify Mr Sullivan's claim that he was te Hotspring "Dealer of the Year" or was given a free spa by them. I have appealed to Ms. Watson's supervisor at Hotspring, Mark Bettner, who said my case is under review and they "may" get back to me. It is now 5 months since delivery and my request to return the spa. Mr. Sullivan has self-described in writing as "stubborn" which seems a kind self-evaluation. The Hotspring company should have intervened when Mr. Wartson refused to honor their request to resolve the matter, but has not. I made it clear to Mr. Sullivan I was buying the spa for my daughter to enjoy her senior year with her friends before she goes off to college. The year is half over. The spa is broken, the service door does not fit, it is not the spa I ordered, the dealer is a nightmare to this consumer. i can't build the deck planned above the pit/vault the spa sits in as the spa will hopefully be removed. The spa has been anything but relaxing and has consumed an enormous amount of time trying to coax a resolution. Hotspring will not authorize another dealer for repirs. I am stuck. I do not understand the unresponsiveness from the dealer and manufacturer. This seems a bizarre and extreme consumer experience. UPDATE (AN E_MAIL TO THE COMPANY): As you are aware, Mr. Sullivan has lied, fabricated a contract, defamed me and the contractor and continues to do so, has violated social behavior norms per Yelp administrators, filed a false police report and has apparently made false claims about his award status (Hotspring Dealer of the Year). His crew, as witnesses by others, functioned in a reckless fashion that would have caused injury and damage if the licensed contractor and I had not quickly intervened. Mr. Sullivan is the sole service dealer for our area. It is not reasonable to expose me and my family further to Mr. Sullivan. Further, even prior to the contract fabrication, false police report, ongoing defamation, and Mr. Sullivan's Yelp censure, HotSpring judged we needed to go our separate ways and the spa be returned. The contract is really a non-issue in restoring your client's credibility as a merchant in the community. Of greatest import is his incorrigible stance even to recommendations by his parent company. The fact that he sought an attorney instead of following the advice of HotSpring to do his part to reach a resolution with a customer further discredits him. What consumer would want to knowingly deal with a self-described "stubborm" small businessman who continues to demonstrate such a disregard for his customer? Your proposal to now install the salt system and fix the leak does nothing to reinstate your client as a retailer who is willing to take responsibility for his misdeeds who consumers do not need to avoid. Further, his egregious behavior reflects poorly on the entire Hotspring "Dealer in Good Standing" network and implicates Watkins/HotSpring as a responsible party with this seemingly incorrigible dealer. This seems a case of a legal response which is not seeing the forest from the trees. It certainly is not addressing the core issues of relieving Mr. Sullivan or HotSpring of the negative impact for the spa buying public of the dealer's or Hotspring's (as the Dealer in Good Standing designator's) behavior
Description of Work: Purchased an Aria spa with Salt purification system. Bill Sullivan, owner of Spas by the Bay, said he had 31 years experience, won the Dealer of the Year award from HotSpring spa and was given a free spa by them. He negotiated a verbal only contract. He refused to accept a credit card, though his company accepts them. He delivered the spa without the Salt system and wanted another thousand dollars to install it. The delivery was hazardous. His crew brought the spa across my neighbors property without their or my consent. His crew argued amongst themselves and were so at odds with each other they lost control of the spa. The spa would have crashed to the ground off the dolly from its upright position and a rear delivery guy injured as it fell on him if my contractor and I did not quickly brace the falling spa with a 2 X 4 as it fell. The spa leaked due to damage from installing boards under the spa to lift it above a vault built to place it in. The location of the boards was provided through an incomplete and inaccurate diagram provided through Mr. Sullivan by the manufacturer HotSpring. The lead installer on site showed where to place each screw for the contractor. This information was incorrect since a hollowed joist groove for a drain line was exactly where the diagram and the installer said to place a screw causing the drain line to be pierced and the spa leak. Mr. sullivan examined the leak and exclaimed,..."oh my God, your contractor missed the 2X4 and went right through the plumbing". Mr. S. wanted to drain the 475 gallons of water he had just put in and fix the leak right away to "help out the contractor". I left for a meeting, came home and examined the damage. The screw was placed right in the center of the 2X4. The contractor did his job flawlessly, but was directed by Sullivan and the manufacturer to place the screw in a location where the drain exited. The underside board placement was done with the spa wrapped and standing on edge as directed by Mr. Sullivan so the hollowed area could not be seen. However, Mr. Sullivan, the installer and the manufacturer had to know it was there because a cap has to be placed in this location before filling the spa. The spa folks were just careless in this case. I later found Mr. Sullivan placed a cork in the drain as a temporary repair to stop the leak. He has never told me this, but he apparently told the contracotr who told me. I was shocked Mr. sullivan tried to blame the contractor. Mr. Sullivan flat out lied to me about the cause of the damage and continued to blame the contractor verbally and in writing to the extent the contractor consulted an attorned and wrote a letter and sent an email to sullivan telling him to stop. (continued below)
Rating Category
Rating out of 5
quality
1.0
value
2.0
professionalism
1.0
responsiveness
1.0
punctuality
1.0
$9,600
Response from SPAS BY THE BAY
From the desk of William Sullivan, owner of Spas by the Bay Mr. (Member) did come in to my store and purchased a Hot Spring ‘Aria’ model Spa. He did not order to pay for a Salt Water Purification System for the spa. I have read his complaint letter to Angie’s List. The fabrications are numerous, and in an effort to defend myself and my company, I will go through these fabrications at this time: 1. Customer never purchased or paid for salt water purifier, which has a retail value of $1200.00. 2. Customer says it was a verbal only contract, which is not true. He received a copy the day he purchased the spa. 3. Customer states that I refused to use his credit card, which is not true. We take four types of credit cards in our store. 4. Customer says he never gave permission to go up a small embankment on his neighbor’s property. This seems odd because the customer was standing there watching the delivery take place. 5. Customer states he kept the spa from falling, which is not true. My crew stated later the he was ‘in their way.’ 6. Customer states that I have lied, and in fact I have not lied about anything. 7. It’s true that the customer’s crew did cause a leak in the plumbing, which we offered to fix at no charge. Customer now pretends that he did not know about my temporary repair, which involved using some cork material. This is odd since the customer stood right there and watched me do this temporary repair. 8. Customer states that the wrong spa was delivered, which is false. I have the paperwork to prove it. 9. All phone calls from the customer were returned by myself or my staff. 10. Customer states that I said “I have your check, it is not coming back.” This is also not true. Now I would like to move on to the truth about this transaction. The customer came in my store two or three times, and then purchased a spa from us. He paid a 50% deposit with a check, and received an invoice. He chose the colors he wanted and left. When the spa arrived, we arranged for delivery. We did have to postpone one time as we were overbooked. When the spa was delivered, it turned out to be a difficult delivery. But we got it in place and the customer paid the balance with a check to my crew. He must have been satisfied up to that point. It is customary for us to come out and fill the spa and chick all functions once the spa has been hooked up by a licensed electrician. I made this visit personally, and noticed a small leak on the left front corner of the spa. I looked closer and realized that the customer’s crew had inadvertently punctured the plumbing underneath the spa. I repaired this leak temporarily so that we would not have to drain all of the water out. The customer watched me do this. I offered to fix it permanently at no charge. In the days after this, he complained about not receiving a salt water chlorinator. He never paid for this item, nor was it included in the original invoice. After speaking with my factory rep, I decided to give the customer the chlorinator at no charge, and install it for free. When I contacted the customer, he said that he no longer wanted the spa at all, and to come and pick it up. Since it was a special order, I could not refund his money. After that, I made two more offers to him. Offer #1 was to pick up the spa and sell it for him. The customer refused. Offer #2 was to buy the spa back minus a 20% restock fee. The customer refused this offer also. The customer became so belligerent that he was scaring my staff. I decided to report his threats to the local police department because we were not sure what he might do next. We felt that he was threatening us.
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Service Categories
Pool and Spa Service
FAQ
SPAS BY THE BAY is currently rated 1.5 overall out of 5.
Sunday: Closed
Monday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
SPAS BY THE BAY accepts the following forms of payment: American Express,Check,Discover,Financing Available,MasterCard,Visa
No, SPAS BY THE BAY does not offer free project estimates.
Yes, SPAS BY THE BAY offers eco-friendly accreditations.
No, SPAS BY THE BAY does not offer a senior discount.
No, SPAS BY THE BAY does not offer emergency services.
No, SPAS BY THE BAY does not offer warranties.
SPAS BY THE BAY offers the following services: We sell new and used spas to the public. We do repairs on most brands of spas and hot tubs within our area. We also provide water maintenance for hot tub customers on a weekly, bi-monthly, and monthly basis. We do spa cleanups as well.
We don't do any contracting. We do not work on swimming pools or jetted bathtubs.