A-1 Hot Tub Guy

Same experience as everyone else in here. I'm an idiot for not reading reviews first. Total scam. Only cash up front. Paid it then told an additional $1485 for a part that costs $485 plus at least two hours labor. I told him no and to put it back. He hacked all my wires and left bare exposed wires. Scam artist for sure

Worst experience I've ever had with a repair. He charged $500 for 15-mins of work and that just to tell me that a full circuit board needed to be replaced for $2k and he only takes cash. Would not even wait for to me to go to the bank. Guy definitely seems like a con-man.

He replaced pump. But another leak was noted afterwards. He never returned my call. I paid him $1675 for trip, labor and part. He was here 1 hour.

It didn't. I was matched with this pro and attempted to contact via email through Angie's List and never got a response so I don't know if they even got the message or not

The guy came To my house disassembled the hot tub and refused to put it back unless I paid him another $250. The guy is a con man and a thief.

DO NOT HIRE THIS GUY! We had him out to repair our hot tub, paid the $250 up front and all he was able to do was "rig" it so it worked temporarily. We asked him about some used parts we were looking to buy to repair it correctly and he told us they would absolutely work and that he could install them for us. On his recommendation, we bought the parts and paid him ANOTHER $250 up front to come out and install them. He said he tested all the parts and they were all in working order. He DID NOT stay to test the tub because it needed refilled and told us to call him if there are any problems. THE TUB STILL DOES NOT WORK! We called and he tried to pawn us off on A DIFFERENT REPAIR GUY! We obviously said no and he asked for pictures of the circuit board so he can confirm it was hooked up properly. Sent the pics and described what we saw when we turned the tub on. Almost 2 days later....and a text from me asking for an update, he told us we needed a NEW CIRCULATION PUMP.....the pump we just bought was NEW! He diagnosed this OVER THE PHONE! We told him we had no problem buying the new pump but he said he needed ANOTHER $250 to come back out to install it! We paid him $625 to fix this hot tub and he not only left without making sure it ran, but refuses to come back and finish the job. He also ruined our plants, left all the old parts sitting in our yard and broke an electrical outlet....and did not even put the tub back together! We tried to be reasonable, but he told us "I DON'T WORK FOR FREE" so we will be taking legal action.

Good!

Do not do business with A-1 Hot Tub Guy. I recently called this business and spoke to Karl, apparently the owner, regarding a problem with our bath tub, specifically that the water jets were not working. He assured me that they were experts in the business. I was taken aback by his demand for a $125 appointment fee plus a one-hour minimum labor charge at $125/hour. The entire $250 had to be paid prior to sending a technician to our house. Reluctantly I agreed. Big mistake. Within minutes, my credit card was charged. A technician arrived at our house 8 days later, on 8/6/2019. Within a few minutes, he diagnosed the problem as a tripped GFI outlet that the pump was plugged into inside the wall. After re-setting the outlet, without putting any water in the tub, he showed me that the pump now worked. I questioned him about running the pump without water in the tub, but he assured me it would do no harm, and he left. Less than 2 weeks later, the second time we attempted to use the tub, it again failed to work. I checked the GFI, and it had not tripped. I plugged the pump into another outlet, and that did not work either. I called Karl at A-1, and told him of the problem. He said that he could send someone to our house again, but there would be another upfront $250 minimum charge. I told Karl that I felt that I should not be charged again since the problem had not been properly diagnosed initially. Karl would not budge from his demand for more money. Fool me once, shame on you. I told Karl to forget it. My view is that any ethical business would have sent the technician out to our house again without another charge, certainly not another $250. I now also wonder if running the pump with no water may have caused it damage. My advice: Read the reviews on Angie's List before engaging a provider, and never pay in advance for "service" 8 days later.

Mr. Karl Dierker called me on 12/8/18 to set up an appt for repair on 12/11. He said he charged $125 trip charge and $125hr labor and asked for my credit card#. The charge went thru before he got to my home. Ok...thought he would fix the problem for the $250. The "fix" only took 1/2 hr but he sat in his truck for another 1/2 hr to see if the error message returned. It did not; he left, assuming he fixed the problem. One hour later the error message returned and my heater is shutting off. I called Mr. Hot Tub immediately - left 5 VMs, 1 email, and 1 text message. No return calls. This morning 12/12 I called him at 8:15 am; he said he didn't have time to listen to any of my messages. He said he could come back but he would charge my CC another $125 trip charge and $125hr for labor before he came back out, and the additional part he "thinks is the problem" will be $150. I asked for no trip charge for returning for the same problem. NO, he said. I asked for a reduced charge. Nope! He said he could not stay in business if he didn't charge these amounts before he provided the service. I was polite and kind. I am retired and have limited income. I asked him to consider this - and to accept that he did not fix the problem on the first trip. Mr. NOT-A1 Hot Tub Guy would not budge. I have put a hold/dispute on the charges made to my VISA card and they totally agree on w/ me. Charges cannot be made before the services are rendered. I read other bad reviews on this guy's fees and charges but I read good reviews also. I should have believed the bad reviews!! DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE! A-1 hot tub guy is an A-1 con-artist and very poor business person. It is to his advantage to not fix the problem the first trip, then he can charge for a return trip and then fix the problem!

Very displeased! First thing advised after he arrived TWO HOURS PAST APPOINTMENT TIME, was I have two small dogs to please watch for items left behind. When disassembling tub, he placed tub cover opener arm on tub cover, ripping it. Did not install pumps properly or installed wrong pumps as pressure is not at maximum. After putting tub back together, stripped multiple screws, leaving many protruding, cracked plastic housing on tub in several places, and left insulation and small parts on cement even after being told about puppies.

Called for hot tub repair, he said he requires a $250 deposit paid before he comes out to perform repairs. The $250 was taken out of my account before the appointment. The day of the appointment he called in the morning to say he would be arriving in the afternoon instead of the morning as arranged for over a week. He was a no show and no call. I called him 5 times and sent 3 text messages of which he never responded. The next morning he finally called me to say he was stuck on a job and couldn't leave until it was completed. I understand the need to finish a job but he MUST call to let the other clients know he won't be arriving. Stayed home all day for him to perform a service he has been paid for and he didn't find it necessary to let me know he wasn't coming. It then took well over a week to get my refund of the $250. I will never use this company!

STAY AWAY FROM THIS SERVICE PROVIDER! That's the advice I wish I had heard before we ever called this guy. We received his contact info as a referral from the previous homeowner (the hot tub came with the house when we bought it). It is a Sun Dance 780 series that's about 8 years old. Since I'm a big fan of referrals (hence the Angies List membership), I was optimistic. The previous owner had used Karl the "A1 Hot Tub Guy" for repairs/maintenance, which made me comfortable that we'd be getting someone that knows all about this model and history of the tub. The disappointment began with a complete lack of professionalism from the start. Numerous messages left by my wife and I went unreturned before we finally connected. It was obvious from the start that we'd have to catch him at the right time; he didnt make very much effort to get back to us between voicemails. Considering he had two points of connection (my wife and I) and had both of our cell phone numbers, it was befuddling why it was so difficult. My wife's instinct said we shouldnt be dealing with this guy... I stayed the course; but it turns out she was right from the onset. Our initial service request was to have him consult with us on how to open up the hottub fpr the winter season. It had some mildly dirty/cloudy water in it and we were first-time hot tub owners needing guidance on how to treat and maintain with chemicals and cleaners. He came to our home with his underage son as his working sidekick. He spent about 20 minutes walking us through the controls, the chemicals needed (we already had bromamine tablets, ph/alkaline boosters, and clarifier), and the basic 101 of hot tubbing. He used a mini wet vac to clean out some floating particles, tossed in (without measuring) some PH booster, and said to let it cycle with jets on for 1 hour and it would be all ready for use. He handed me an invoice for $250, reflecting a $125 trip charge + $125 for 1 hour labor. I gasped as I wrote the check, thinking to myself "am I getting taken advantage of here?" After an hour, we turned off the jets to find the water very cloudy, and after using a PH test strip, way out of balance. Naturally, when I called him that evening to discuss as a follow-up, he did not answer or call back. So I took to the internet to figure it out myself. After adding some clarifier and re-addressing the alkaline and PH levels with repeated tests, I got it cleared up and in balance by the following day. So while the process to open and maintain the water turned out to be pretty simple stuff, I certainly overpaid for the service that was delivered. But that's just the beginning... About a month later, the control panel went completely bonkers, displaying error codes at first, and then flashing all lights. Clearly something went awry with the circuitry system. I placed an initial call to Karl (with my wife shaking her head as I did so), only to find out on his voicemail that his business was closed for the next month. Right in the middle of winter which is peak time for hot tubbing? Odd. My next call went to North Coast Spa, who came to inspect the situation. They alerted us that whoever previously worked on this hot tub had done a complete hack-job. Guess who. A1 Hot Tub Guy had left his receipts with the previous homeowner who left them for me. He charged $1350 approximately 1 year prior to replace the main control pad with a new ACC Smart Touch Digital system. The North Coast Spa technician (a clear step above Karl in terms of professionalism) said that while there is such a thing as retro-fitting hot tubs, this is more like a horribly executed hack job. He pointed out where ground wire were cut, the thermostat was rigged against the heater, loose & bare wires were left behind, and even the box that was holding the control board was loosely sitting on the ground, not mounted to the hot tub (nor other key components mounted to it). It was so bad, he advised us, that while he could attempt to replace and repair the unprofessional work done before him, they would be hesitant to warranty it, and may recommend we purchase a new tub. At that point, we called in for a second opinion. Great Escape is a licensed Sun Dance repair dealer and they quickly dispatched a technician to help us. Turns out, A1 Hot Tub Guy Karl is well known for this type of hack-job in the greater Cleveland area. He has been called to many other jobs in which Karl had done this exact thing; popping in a cheap system that is not designed for the tub, and doing so in a very sloppy way, cutting corners and making for a very dangerous, unsafe situation. He took pictures to share with his professional community, and recommended I NOT call this guy again. I took a step further, and took to Angies List to alert the hot tubbers in this area to avoid the same mistake. The good news is Great Escape is assisting me with a quote in which they can reinstall manufacturer parts to bring the tub back to working order, correctly and safely, and with an accompanying warranty. Phew. I'll review Great Escape separately once the job is complete. That said, this post is all about warning the community to stay far away from A1 Hot Tub Guy. He's unprofessional, expensive (perhaps preying on uneducated consumers), and does terrible quality work. The fact that he already has this reputation amongst the professional community of legitimate hot tub service providers is a clear indication that this is not a one-off case. Dont make the same mistake we did (and the hot tub owner before us). Call a licensed, insured, professional to work on your hot tub. Look on the manufacturers site for authorized service centers. Avoid a hack job that can cause you tremendous headache down the road, and even put you or your family in a dangerous situation!

Karl got the spa ready for summer in May. The massage jet covers were not effective and he did not have any replacements n stock so he had to order them. We paid him $72. for the jet covers.This was in May and at one point weeks later he said the covers were on back order. Now it is October and time to close down the spa and I still don't have the jets in spite of numerous calls and a mild threat to give him an :F" on Angie's List. Still, no jets and no refund. He has not returned my calls so I have no alternative other than to give him a big fat "F". When you call him you get his answering machine and he never calls back. He used to be a "good guy" but now his service isn't worth a d**n. Not recommended.

He was late or a no show REPEATEDLY. he said he performed services he DID NOT. HE TOOK ADVANTAGE of my lack of knowledge and experience in the area of hot tubs and repairs for them. He charged me over $1600 over 3 service calls and still my hot tub was leaking. It ended up causing a SEVERELY worse leak which lead to the hot tub being UNFIXABLE and I had to REPLACE it with a new one. EXACTLY what I was trying to avoid. He knew I am on a FIXED LOW income and was not only charging by the hour which would be fine if he didn't PURPOSELY work at a SNAILS PACE, but he also charged my card for services he NEVER COMPLETED! I CAN NOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH TO BEHAVE. While he clearly does know how to work on your hot tub, if he feels you are an "easy mark" he WILL take advantage of that. I am embarrassed to have been snookered by A-1 Hot Tub Guy, but decided to join Angie List to leave this review in hopes of saving someone else from the costly financial and even emotional experience of hiring this guy. Thanks, and best of luck with your tub.

Overall he rushed through the job with little concern for the actual completion of the project.