My father and I are experiencing back issues. We needed something to help relieve the symptoms. A spa was the answer.
In August 2011 we purchased a spa from a Costco Store. We couldn't resist the price, guarantee and the return policy.
Prior to purchasing the spa I spoke with Ryan the Manager of the spa in the US. He addressed all of my questions and confirmed their spas were conducive to our Edmonton, AB climate. I gave Ryan our cost per KJ and he worked out the maximum cost to heat their spa in our winter. He said it would be maximum $30-$50 in the coldest months.
We decided to purchase their spa. We started with the hassle of trying to deliver the spa ourselves. It was a nightmare.
We got the spa set-up and started to use it. Concerns began when the Blower was blowing cold air into the spa in August. I contacted the Spa company again. They confirmed their Blower was not heated. They said their Canadian customers do not use the Blower in the winter because it pulls in air from outside and cools the spa. I said this is summer, not winter and we are already having issues. I said this will not work. We want to get full use of the spa all year round. We don't want to have to pay exorbitant heating costs to run the spa.
We also contacted Enmax to find out how much our utilities had ncreased since we installed the Spa. They confirmed our bill increased by a $130 for the first month. We weren't happy.
Our final issue with the spa was ozonator. It was supposed to reduce the amount of chemicals. This was a fallacy. We were using chemicals like crazy to maintain the balance in the spa.
All of these issues prompted us to want to return our spa to Costco and research other alternatives. We started to research and compare the different spa companies locally. We did our due diligence and researched thoroughly the different options and spas. In the end we chose to purchase a spa from Polar Spas (Southside Location). We were originally dealing with Aaron, then Doug. They have been wonderful!
I am not the easiest customer. I research my purchases. Cost, quality and customer service are very important to me. Everything has to be justified and proven. What originally convinced us to purchase from Polar Spas was Aaron/Doug(Customer Service), the quality of the spas/jets, the R-Max Guarantee(lowers heating costs) and the Corona Discharge System (reduces product usage). The price was not the lowest, but we felt the savings on running the spa (heating/products) would justify the cost in the end.
Prior to making our decision, the other spa locations in the area spoke poorly about Polar Spas. They said the quality and customer service was terrible. I addressed these concerns with Aaron. He said in the past they had grown very quickly and did have some issues with customer service. They were working towards to addressing/maintaining customer service. Doug gave me references and I contacted all of them. Everyone I spoke with shared their experience with Polar Spas. One did have a minor issue in the beginning, but Polar Spas addressed their issue/concern immediately. Overall, everyone was extremely happy with the quality, heating, product usage and the customer service of Polar Spas.
Our Polar Spa was delivered on Oct 18, 2011. They returned the Spa to Costco. Since we have purchased our spa dealing with everyone at Polar Spas has been a pleasure. Anytime we have had a question or a minor concern it has been addressed promptly and professionally. We couldn't ask for more...
Also Polar Spas was the only company that didn't speak negatively about their competitors. I felt they were more confident with their spas and their company. They believed in what they were representing and selling. I can appreciate their integrity. There was never any pressure.
The seating arrangements in our Polar Spa are excellent! The product usage is minimal. My father is surprised how user friendly our Polar Spa is to run and maintain. We can't comment on the heating costs for the entire year, yet. So far everything is great!
Originally we had ordered a Polar Spa without a stereo, due to the fact we have outside speakers. My father was going in for a sudden surgery. We could not wait for our spa to arrive. They had our spa in stock with a stereo. Due to time constraints we decided to have one with a stereo delivered. We really didn't want to spend the extra money on the stereo. Now that we have a spa with a stereo built in we would never buy a spa again without a stereo. The listening experience is superior in the spa when the speakers are right by your ears vs. above your head. I love music!!! The sound is excellent!!!
Overall, we couldn't be happier. It's one of the best investments we have ever made. We love our Polar Spa!!! We would highly recommend a Polar Spa to anyone if you want a quality spa for the price with excellent customer service!!!
Gord, Lorraine and Shauna
Edmonton,Ab