Hi-TECH SPA SERVICE
About us
Hi-Tech Spa Service specializes in hot tub repair, service, maintenance and sales of hot tubs, accessories, and equipment. We also work on jetted bathtubs when the problems are the mechanics of the jet operation (jet lines and pump/motor, on/off buttons). Under new ownership since January 2020, family owned and operated, and pride ourselves on giving the best customer care possible.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Hot Tubs and Whirlpools. We do Maintenance, Repairs and Service., We work on all brands of Spa
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings | 
|---|---|---|
| 47% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 26% | ||
| 16% | ||
| 11% | 
"We are sorry that there was a misunderstanding over the service fees. Our service fee has been $180 for the first hour for over 4 years. We were happy to help get his hot tub back up and running."
To be fair, this tub (a great big stainless steel number) had been emptied by the prior owners, but some water was in the bottom, along with leaves and such. They did an OK job but I had to point out some spots which needed cleaning and also had to point out the messy spots they had left on the deck! That was just the beginning.
Then we went into the basement to look at the mechanics of the hot-tub. This is where they really flopped as far as I'm concerned. They couldn't tell me anything about the system, the heater, etc. Said I needed to get a plumber in. Said he couldn't help me nor could he give me the name of any plumber or who could help.
As far as I am concerned I could have done what they did! I would NEVER call them again ....the are FAR from a Hi-Tech Service....in face......they should change their name, as calling what they did hi-tech was FAR from the reality!
That's when I called Todd Harris Co. in Edison. Competent, timely. Their technician came, looked at the situation and quickly advised us what had to be done (it needed a new heater) and even suggested another, more economical way to give, if we cared to. He explained that they could come and, not only install the new heater, but also correct the piping which needed to be done with the new heater set-up (more efficient, etc). They gave me a quote (by email) right away and we thought the price was fair so we signed up. Todd Harris then came on the day scheduled and made the repair and replacement in less than an hour. Perfect! They are also VERY cordial on the phone....and very helpful about what chemicals we needed to get, etc. All around an experience which was 180 degrees from our earlier experience with (not so) Hi Tech Spa Service!
"This gentleman's heating system for the spa was integrated into home heating system. We were not comfortable working on the difficulties with that system and felt a plumber or heating and a/c contractor would be more appropriate to use to resolve the difficulty. Installing a new heater for the spa allows can resolve a problem but sometimes a simple electrical short repair or a switch replacement could be a lot more reasonable."
I hadn't used the tub in 5 years, and had Larry come down to start it up again. He called me back promptly,and came as scheduled. He had quoted me $260.
When he finished the job and was coming in to settle the bill, I asked him if he could give me a quick refresher tutorial on how to maintain the tub, which he did.
It was during the tutorial, that he told me that the heater unit was broken, the water would not get hot, and I'd have to bring in an outside guy. Then I got the bill. It was $390, not $260. I asked if the difference was for the additional supplies (testing kit, bromine, etc) that I needed. His answer was no, he forgot to add that in.
Then I asked what the extra $130 was for. Larry said it was for both fixing a light in the tub and also the tutorial. I wasn't happy.and said I would have had no interest in fixing the light for any extra cost. For one thing, it wasn't important to me at all, and given prior history, I expect it to stop working in a few weeks (the cause is some animal eating the wires). Then charging me for a 15 minute refresher tutorial (especially given our history going back 11 years) .was poor business, in my opinion. I told Larry I wasn't happy, but his position was he did the work, he gets paid for anything extra he does over and above starting the tub. Never mind that the heaters broken and I don't have a "hot" tub.
To me, it's inexcusable to make an additional repair without providing the homeowner an estimate of the cost. Nor is it good business to charge an existing customer for a refresher tutorial. One other thing, check Larry's math. I'm confident it was unintentional, but his final bill was $100 too high (which he of course adjusted when i pointed it out)
So bottom line is, Larry's not the only guy in town. I will be taking my business elsewhere.
im not a difficult customer.and probably give benefit of the doubt to alot of people
but this company/man [the owners name is larry] is shameful
he came twice in the past month to fix leaks
not only that he came twice ,and left without even checking if his job was successful,which it wasnt]
the hot tub was leaking just as bad,when he charged us $500 a visit with no results
i gave him the opportunity to do right by us,or ill post a review about my true experience with him
he didn't seem to care to even respond
h*** try to sell you over priced products that you dont even need for hundreds of dollars
first time in my life i felt totally scammed
My bad review comes from Larry's lack of professionalism. I had just paid $192 for 18 minutes of work, so i wanted to at least get the remaining 42 minutes that i paid for out of Larry to obtain some more information about the spa. I could tell that all Larry wanted to run my credit card and be on his way. Regardless, i asked him to stay and I asked some basic questions about the spa, what i got back was a condescending smile and laugh from Larry and response that i would expect him to give a 10 year old. I have some electrical knowledge, and was merely trying to understand how the spa worked so that might be able to fix something myself in the future. I guess my main message to Larry is that he should focus more on customer satisfaction... had Larry been more helpful, and not rude to me, he might have had a customer for future repairs (maybe for life!?), however he left a bad impression and didn't treat me respectfully, therefore i would never call Larry again.
"Mr. [member name removed] was right there was not thing wrong with his spa. We checked out all the systems they were all fine. We then proceeded to teach him about his spa we did that. I think the biggest problem there was not anything wrong with his spa and he felt it should have been a lower cost of service. What he didn't figure was the 2 1/2 hours of travel to and from his home. O well you cant win them all."
We started experiencing problems with our hot tub (naturally in the middle of winter) at the end of December. It was very difficult to maintain the temperature, and finally the circuit breaker for the heater tripped and could not be reset. This spa is an older Hot Springs model, and we were not too surprised to see that the heater finally failed. After searching Angie's List, we called Hi-Tech spa service in the morning, and got voice mail. I left a message. I didn't receive a call back until the next day, in the evening. Larry called me back and we discussed the problem.
I asked how much the cost of the heater was, and how much his labor rate was. He told me that the heater was probably around $325 (turned out to be $360) and that his labor rate was $180 for the trip and the first hour of labor and the job should take an hour. I thought that the price was a little steep, especially for the labor, but I didn't want the spa water freezing either.
We made arrangements for Larry to come out on Monday 1/6. My wife left work early in order to be home for the service. Larry arrived on time, and verified that the heater did indeed need to be replaced. He got right to work and replaced the heater. It turned out that the heater I had was obsolete, and a replacement heater needed to be installed, which required another $42 in supplies. It took Larry two hours to do the job, and he charged another $180 for the second hour's labor. He finished up, cleaned up, turned the hot tub back on and left.
So, the next morning, we take a look out the window at the spa and the red status light is blinking. The owners manual comes out and we figure that the high-temperature limit has been exceeded and the spa has shut down. No, problem, the temperature control was probably set too high, so after resetting the controls and turning down the temperature, we expected no more problems.
Next morning, the same thing, high temperature cut out. So we did the same thing again, turning down the temperature some more and waiting. The next morning, the spa light was okay, but now the water wasn't heating.
So, after a few minutes of online searching we found that the problem was most likely the two thermistors that control the temperature were not working. Both of these thermistor screw into the heater and were changed over from the old heater to the new heater. Larry never suggested that these may have been a contributor to the original problem or not, but did not replace them.
So, I called Larry and told him the problem I was having. I believed that since these thermistors were part of the heater "system" they should have been checked (yes, there is a simple electrical test with an ohm meter) to see if they needed to be replaced.
Larry took exception to my wanting him to come back and address the problem. He was adamant that one thing had nothing to do with the other. He said he came out to replace the heater and that's all he did. Although the heater was indeed broken, it wasn't all of the problem. Larry refused to come back out without charging me as if it was a whole new, unrelated job.
I realized at that point that I did not want him coming out again, and ended the conversation without getting my problem resolved.
I'll wrap up by saying that after spending $34 in parts, one half hour of time (including reading the how-to instructions) we fixed it ourselves. Everything works as it should now.
This is a mixed review because Larry did a few things very well and a few things not so well. I gave him an A for his quality of work. The heater install was done well and there are no problems with workmanship. He was on time and worked under very cold conditions.
I believe that his labor rates were quite high, and his thoroughness on making sure everything was working correctly was lacking. Although I believe that the thermistor parts were part of the heater and the heating system, Larry did not and saw the problem as a complete separate issue.
Overall, I believe that the service he provided me was at most a "C". I would not call him again.
He was worked on it the beginning of the year....one of the motors blew....he replaced it. $900
Fast, affordable and done professional.
Upon this visit, my jacuzzi stopped working....turned out the heating element blew and shorted the entire spa.
He fixed it. Bill was again affordable. $250 ...i was expecting much more.
He' coming again later this week to winterize my jacuzzi.
For years i have neglected the maintenance and repairs on it, but now with larry, he's my guy. I trush him and his work. He's helping take care of it so he doesn't have to repair it as much.
A++++++
Highly recommend his services.
And he'll be opening my Jacuzzi in Spring of 2014!
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