Coming Up for Air
As we move toward something resuming normality, we are honored to share a few of the many stories of people in the hot tub industry who are still rebuilding the lives they almost lost, or coping with the loss of people they loved.
Episode #76, A Pandemic Survival Story with Cole Taylor of Southern Leisure
Southern Leisure Spas & Patio was supposed to be a pool supply store that grew into a pool remodeling and construction company. However, owner Cole Taylor pivoted once he saw that it was the hot tubs they were selling that were keeping the rent paid. Taylor talks about the store’s growth and how they managed…
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Putting People First
Happy people make happy customers, says Rob Burns, director of retail operations of Jacuzzi Ontario, one of Jacuzzi Group’s largest Canadian spa dealers with seven showrooms in the region. Since the pandemic hit, Jacuzzi Ontario has made significant changes to all its employee processes in order to accommodate an ever-evolving industry and world. For starters,…
Anticipating Customer Needs
COVID has turned traditional customer service on its head. Due to the overwhelming surge in demand, everyday tasks such as answering the phone needed to change. But as the situation evolved, retailers became more adept at anticipating customer needs. Norm Coburn, owner of New England Spas with three locations in Massachusetts, realized his company needed…
Jacuzzi Group dealers create a ‘new normal’ for customers
The pandemic, shutdown and subsequent strain on hot tub lead times changed the way most everyone does business. “New normal” is a phrase now heard ‘round the world in regard to nearly every aspect of our lives, and how customer service now looks is no exception. For Allstate Home Leisure, a family-owned Jacuzzi® and Sundance®…
Jacuzzi® dealers strengthened digital presence during COVID
Before the pandemic, consumers mostly did their hot tub shopping and purchasing in-store, but 2020 shutdowns forced dealers to turn to the digital space to creatively accommodate changes in shopping behavior as consumers brought more of their business online. Relieving stress and getting to spend family time at home became a top priority for many…
Do You Offer BOPIS?
Buying online and picking up in store presents shoppers with an attractive idea: Taking advantage of the convenience of online shopping while avoiding delays and shipping costs. BOPIS, as it is often called, is not a new concept. In an effort to compete with Amazon, retailers have been offering BOPIS, or a version of it,…
Packaging Pains
The pandemic has presented a range of unexpected challenges within the spa industry. For the chemical manufacturing side of the business, securing packaging has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks of the past year. Chemicals are in demand, but in some instances, manufacturers have needed to quickly shift course to keep up. Packaging shortages…
Honoring Nurses
Every April since 2017, Olympic Hot Tub in Seattle hosts its Honoring Heroes fundraiser to give back to the community the company has been a part of for more than 40 years. This year, proceeds were designated for the Washington State Nurses Emergency Assistance Fund, which provides emergency assistance grants to nurses who experience illness,…
Is Exclusivity Gone?
In many ways, COVID leveled the playing field — suddenly everyone was in the same boat. When pandemic demand began exerting pressure on all sides of the hot tub industry, suppliers, manufacturers and dealers could only build and sell as many as the link behind them could provide. The global supply chain has been stressed…
Curious About Chlorine
The global pandemic has placed a glaring spotlight on the importance of zapping viruses with extra sanitizing. While sanitizing questions are the norm in the hot tub world, dealers are seeing an uptick in questions about effective water chemistry techniques. “Consumers have become aware of the need for proper sanitization in general as a result…
Episode #53, A Two-Year Building Project, Opening During Covid, with Ronak Shah
Ronak Shah runs Oklahoma-based Galaxy Home Recreation with his sister and extended family. Two years ago they started construction on a new location in Edmond, Oklahoma, an affluent suburb of Oklahoma City. The store was scheduled to open in March 2020, but then COVID hit. Ronak shares how his father, Mukesh, started Galaxy and its…
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