About us

THE POOLSIDE & BULLFROG DIFFERENCE

When shopping for a hot tub, many consumers become confused and maybe even disheartened. And why shouldn’t they? As you travel from store to store, and even website to website, you will hear story after story after story about why a certain brand or a certain dealer is the best. While some of these stories can be easily weeded out, many can be very convincing, so which story do you believe? That’s a GOOD question.

Obviously, like any hot tub dealer, Poolside Pools & Spas wants to sell as many hot tubs as possible. However, we also believe we can help you to make sense of all the different stories out there, so that you can be comfortable in your decision of which tub to buy and what dealer to choose. While all of us at Poolside do not promote negative selling, we feel that it’s fair for us to help buyers to understand exactly how we differ from our competition, and how Bullfrog is a truly unique spa with features that simply can’t be found elsewhere.

When choosing a hot tub dealer/brand, there are several key points to consider and questions to ask:

1. Ask if they charge trip charges for warranty service, and how much the trip charges will cost you. As competition has increased when selling hot tubs, more and more dealers have turned to charging trip charges for warranty service to make extra money. Also, simply put, some hot tub brands require more service than others, and the low warranty labor rates paid by manufacturers will often leave dealers no choice but to charge trip charges to avoid losing money when performing excessive warranty service. Whatever the reason for the trip charges on warranty service, you, the consumer, should know this BEFORE you make your decision to buy, and this should certainly factor into your decision. And, for the record, Poolside has NEVER charged trip charges for warranty service on hot tubs we’ve sold, and we have no plans to change this benefit of buying from Poolside. Frankly, the amount of warranty service we perform on our tubs is so minimal, that we see no need or reason to charge a trip charge for warranty service, so for Poolside and Bullfrog it’s a no-brainer – NO TRIP CHARGES FOR WARRANTY SERVICE.

2. Ask which brand of electronic controls are used in the hot tub you’re considering. Over the years many brands have come and gone, and some manufacturers have resorted to making their own electronics (instead of buying proven ones) to keep more of the profits for themselves. Through all of this, Balboa Instruments has consistently been the leader in electronic controls. Also, because Balboa is the most widely used, finding dealers willing and able to service them down the road is easy, and finding parts is easy and most affordable as well. Realize that if you choose a brand of hot tub with non-Balboa electronics in it, that you will be “married” to the selling dealer for parts and service for the life of the spa – and the dealer is very aware of this when setting repair parts prices. All of Poolside’s Bullfrog brand spas use top-of-the-line Balboa electronics. This is a major part of the reason why our rate of warranty claims remains as low as it has been for years.

3. Look for dealers that employ a STRAIGHTFORWARD PRICING system. It isn’t always easy to a spot when a dealer is playing games with pricing, but here are some tips to help you. Do they have pricing clearly displayed on all their models? If so, is it the pricing that they actually sell the spas for, or does it seem to be “pretend” pricing that suddenly drops dramatically once you get a little more serious about buying? Do they seem to claim that models are “on sale” for substantial amounts off – like $3,000 or more? These are classic examples of dealers employing “price drop” techniques to trick you into believing that you’re getting a super deal, when you’re really just getting their “normal” price – or, worse yet, you might not even be getting the same deal the shopper before you got. With pricing games like this, how can a customer even be confident that they’re being treated fairly? Sadly, these techniques often prey upon customers who either haven’t done their homework, or just like to “feel” like they’re getting a deal so badly that they fail to consider that they’re being taken advantage of. Also, beware of dealers that quote you a price in their showroom, then call you back within a day or two to give you an even lower price. This is another classic technique employed by dealers using a “dual pricing” system. As bad as it sounds, many dealers put a high and a low price on all their spas. When you first stop in their showroom, they’ll generally quote you the high price to see if they can get you to “bite”. If you do, the commissioned salesperson is thrilled, as they just made a huge commission. If you don’t “bite” on the high price, they call you back later and drop to the low price. If that gets you to buy, the salesperson still earns a commission, but it’s smaller. What could be more misleading and dishonest than that? Do you really want to establish a relationship with a hot tub dealer that operates that way? Do you want your hot tub buying experience to be a chess game of negotiation where you suspect your opponent is cheating? Of course not and neither do we at Poolside. That’s why at Poolside you’ll always see the REAL prices that we sell our spas for CLEARLY displayed for all to see. If we have a sale or a special discount on any models, the discounts are based on the REAL prices we actually sell our spas for; not some inflated fake price to trick customers. Frankly, we sell so many hot tubs to friends and neighbors of our existing customers that it just makes sense to charge everyone the same price. It keeps ALL our customers happy and lets us sleep at night.

4. REALLY look at the design of the spa, as well as the fit and finish. Touch the cabinet panels and see how they line up. Do they bow or flex a lot? Does everything fit well together, or is it sloppy? How well do the trim pieces fit? Do all the color shades match? Is there a large gap where the shell meets the cabinet? How neatly is the control panel installed? Do they have a display model opened up so you can see how the pumps and heater are laid out, and does it look well-engineered or cobbled together? These things may seem minor, but they can tell you a lot about the engineering that goes into the entire tub. A well-engineered hot tub manufacturer won’t skimp on the details. Think about it. If YOU were truly building the best hot tub on the market, would you skimp even one tiny bit on the fit and finish, or would your tub look perfect on the outside? While you’re at it, ask how the frame is constructed. If it’s wood, ask how much of it is pressure treated. Some are not at all, and some only use pressure treated wood for the base. The non-pressure treated wood will rot out in time. There is just no denying this. If it’s metal, ask how rust is prevented where the metal is cut and the galvanizing has been eliminated. Ask to hear how loud the metal-framed hot tubs are when the pumps are running. The last thing you want is a noisy tub vibrating and keeping you awake at night. Then, be sure to look at all the same details on our Bullfrog Spas. You’ll be hard pressed to find flaws in the fit and finish. Also, Bullfrog’s UniSystem molded base and frame structure eliminates all the problems associated with both wood and metal frames, and gives the product a consistency that allows a fit and finish that is second to none.

5. Ask about trade-in programs for all the hot tub brands you shop. Expect blank stares from most dealers, as used hot tub values simply don’t allow for enough resale value to justify taking trade-ins. So, after you spend your hard-earned money on a new tub, and then the next year’s model comes out with the new features that you WISHED your tub had, what will you do? Well, with Bullfrog’s JetPak technology, you can simply and affordably upgrade your tub. You see, with the removable JetPaks used in Bullfrog Spas, as new jets are developed and implemented, you can easily upgrade your hot tub with these new JetPaks. It’s simply an unbeatable feature of the Bullfrog Spas that no one else can offer. Also, Bullfrog Spas even allow for stereos to be added later on down the road…

6. Ask how the spa is insulated and whether or not it is fully foamed or not. Here’s the thing, no matter how you slice it, no matter what story you hear, all the leading brands of high-end top-of-the-line hot tubs use full foam insulation systems. There is a simple reason for this: it works the best, and it makes hot tubs as energy-efficient as possible, hands down. The one drawback you’ll hear about full foam (that has some validity) is serviceability. However, with our Bullfrog Spas Jetpak technology, up to 90% of the plumbing is incorporated inside the tub vessel itself behind the Jetpaks, and is 100% easily accessible - thus completely nullifying the serviceability debate. Also, since the jet plumbing on our Bullfrog Spas is actually submerged IN the water itself, no heat is lost from the plumbing and the Bullfrog’s end up with a thicker layer of insulation between the cabinet and the shell compared to any other brand. Basically, when compared to even the most energy-efficient full foam hot tubs on the market, Bullfrog Spas has the advantage.

7. Ask how they test water, what they do to make sure YOUR water quality is perfect, and if they charge for water testing. Several points here. First off, charging a fee for water testing has become more common as of late. Poolside has never charged for water testing, nor do we have plans to start charging. Actually, our attitude is quite the contrary. At Poolside, we take great pride in doing thorough and accurate water tests, as well as having the best-educated customers in the business. Frankly, the best hot tub in the world won’t seem the best if your water is always cloudy and smelly. At Poolside, you’re not just getting a hot tub, you’re also getting our years of water chemistry expertise, and we’re happy to share that expertise with you for FREE. Second, many dealers have lowered their customer service levels to the point where their water testing is taking 30 seconds to simply dip a test strip in your water sample, and that test strip is probably the same test strip they sell to their customers. If this is the case, what can that dealer actually tell you that you don’t already know? Not much of anything. That “free” test-strip-dip water test probably isn’t worth the gas it cost you to drive to the hot tub store. At Poolside, we continue to use the Taylor brand liquid reagent test lab. It literally provides ACCURATE commercial quality water testing and allows us to get to the root of any water chemistry issues you may have, and more importantly, allows us to quickly SOLVE your issues.

8. Ask if the hot tubs you’re interested in have diverter valves, and ask to be shown how to operate ALL the features and jets. Here’s the thing, if the tub has diverter valves, you need to understand that means the tub really can’t run all the jets at full strength at the same time. Think about what the term “diverter” means. You’re diverting power AWAY from certain jets in order to send it to other jets. Also, many hot tubs on the market today have a maze of not only diverter valves, but also water feature valves and air controls on the top lip of the shell. Some even have TEN or more different control knobs up on top. On hot tubs like this, ask the salesperson to explain EXACTLY what every valve and control knob does or controls, and watch out for vague answers. Better yet, schedule a wet-test and see for yourself what you’ll need to learn just to operate the tub. Be SURE to try to turn all the valves while the jets are operating and pay attention to how difficult this can be. Be SURE to move the diverter valves and listen to how they sound, as many produce very loud cavitation noises that will disrupt and minimize your enjoyment of the hot tub. Then, after you’ve taxed your memory your muscles and your ears, get a good look at our Bullfrog Spas. You’ll notice that we have NO diverter valves/control knobs/air controls to concern yourself with. Just hop in and press the button labelled “jets”, and you’ll be enjoying every jet for as long as you want. No worries, no fuss, no struggles, no training. It’s just that easy. And here’s the secret: Bullfrog Spa’s Jetpak technology, and subsequent plumbing efficiency, is what allows our hot tubs to run all the jets at the same time, and especially without the annoyances and limitations of diverter valves.

Well, there you have it. Sorry for the length of this bulletin, but hopefully you found it valuable. This certainly isn’t meant to address all the concerns you may have, but it should get you started in a direction that will allow you to make a well-informed decision. After all, buying a hot tub isn’t something you do every day, or even every year, so you’ll want to do it right the first time around.

Thanks,
The Poolside Team