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Old 08-22-2009, 12:42 AM   #11 (permalink)
 
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

As a tanning salon owner for the past seven years, I thought I would say a few words. Sunwest has been a supplier to me for all of my products, bulbs, etc in this time. I have nothing but good things to say about Brian and ALL of his co-workers. The reason I am writing is that I realize that sometimes there are two sides to every story and I just wanted whomever to know that Sunwest has NEVER let me down in any way. There have been times where I was extremely frustrated, but it was the employees at Sunwest that always helped. Brian is an outstanding person in my eyes. He has always been there for me whenever I need answers. If he does not have the answers, he always finds them for me. A very intellegent man who knows the business inside and out. I knew nothing when I came into this business seven years ago. I just recently relocated and let me tell you, that was probably one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for Brian, I would have ended up in the nut house. He helped me so much through this process and I thank him for that. I feel he went above and beyond the call of duty. He is a great guy so it really surprises me to see his name being bashed like this. I don't know the whole story behind all of this, but as I previously said, there is usually two sides to every story.
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Old 08-23-2009, 10:31 AM   #12 (permalink)
 
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

It may be interesting for you to know, Sherry, that the Moderators of this forum are VERY thorough. Point in case: this entire thread was removed by them within several hours of its original posting. They contacted me and told me that due to its content, I would be required to provide PROOF of my "side of the story" before they would allow the thread to stay up. I did so, and here we are.

Brian Bonnici was once our friend as well. Why he has decided to play hookie on our warranty is a question only he can answer. Brian Oshman posted here that he has talked with Brian Bonnici, who was apparently going to log on and tell his side. That was three days ago. The longer he waits, the worse he looks.

All that being said, perhaps you still need proof. I respect that there are two sides to every story and seeing a copy of TanAmerica's recent internal office memo regarding this issue will help you to see our side. (BTW, their reference to our fan delay relay replacement is inaccurate. We are on our 3rd fan delay and have had all the facials replaced as well.)

Here is the email:


I have copied Walter and Maryann so they can verify I am giving a complete account of their service concerns.

Southware Customer # XXXX

Sold to SunWest about 10/8/08 s/n P42VHOF4-145
SunWest sold this unit to Tropical Sunsations III. They attempted to purchase directly from TanAmerica, but had to go through SunWest.

This unit has been through a few fans, and maybe a fan delay relay. To date SunWest has not had any parts Tropical Sunsations III has needed, and were entitled to per warranty. On each occasion they have had to go out of pocket for at least shipping. They understand that they would typically have to pay for shipping, but it would be shipping within Canada if SunWest stocked parts. In order to get them the parts they required we have had to charge them several times for overnight shipping from US to Canada. The last time they needed a fan, they actually purchased (2) so they would have it and Sunwest could replace it for them under warranty. This would save them from excessive shipping costs, and Sunwest could ship their warranty replacement without urgency and economically.

So issue one is SunWest’s failure to stock replacement parts, the second issue is it appears SunWest has ceased communication with Tropical Sunsations III.

My goal would be two see about encouraging SunWest to examine the stock level of their parts, and second to restore communication between the two parties. I am always happy to assist Maryann and Walter, but when I service their needs shipping is always at a premium.

Tropical Sunsations III is concerned about the level of service SunWest is providing, and may need to provide in the future. They are also looking to see who they need to speak to within Heartland Tan Inc. to resolve issues with SunWest.

Erik Woll
Service Manager
Heartland Tan West
1.800.350.2826 x 7508

_____________________

If anyone is interested, we have a copy of an email we sent to Brian Bonnici last April, begging his help on the overall issue discussed here. The email states that if he could not honour his contract with us in a timely manner, that we would inform everyone about our experience. Maybe they thought we weren't serious? Just a lot of hot air, perhaps? They were wrong.

The bottom line here is that we are SICK OF TAKING IT! We are finally going to stand up for ourselves. That email to SunWest was 4 MONTHS AGO!!! WTF?!

Thank God TanAmerica/Heartland has been there as a safety net. What a shame our "free parts" cost us more in shipping than than its own value.
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Old 08-23-2009, 11:26 AM   #13 (permalink)
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

Just so you know, I replaced the thread after talking to Brian to give him the opportunity to reply to it since it was up for some time and some have already read it so I wanted to give him the chance to reply. I put the post back up and then called him back to let him know that it was back so he could reply to it and then as it appears he never took the opportunity to do so.

It was replaced because I had confirmed with him that had done business with him and there were in fact warranty issues.

Here is my take:

Brian apparently has tried to make good on this situation. Being that they are selling units and providing warranty service they should stock parts to handle problems on a more timely fashion however, every problem that you have had with the bed had been addressed with the supply of new parts. The fact that it was not in the time frame that you would have liked and you decided to pay for expedited shipping was your choice.

The warranty parts were covered and supplied to you and the fact that your bed had so many problems the main company decided to directly get involved to try to remedy the problem.

Tan America has always been known in the industry for providing great customer service and from some of the other posts I have read Sunwest and Brian have also provided customers with great customer service in the past so it really is not fair to say that any of them are cheats nor have any of them ripped you off.

What it comes down to is that this particular situation has something to do with your involvement also. These companies do not have an extensive record of problems like this with other units in the field and Tan America has had beds in the field with this similar design for decades without any ongoing major problems.

What would need to be looked at here is the actual installation here. For this particular unit to eat fans as it had there has to be something wrong. Did you vent this bed out and it has an extremely long exhaust path? Is it well maintained or is it neglected? Do you have enough A/C to even cool the beds or are you limping along like most I find that have problems that do not provide the required cooling, space, and power but blame the units construction and the people who sold it to them as they think that the requirements are only mere suggestions and do not need to be adhered to for optimal operation, performance, and reliability?

As it appears with reading your complaint, the e mail from TA, and the conversation I had with Brian I have come to the conclusion that Brian has done all that he could for you, that TA has done nothing more than pass the buck as far as part availability, and you have made a mountain out of a molehill. All of a sudden you show up out of nowhere and your first post is to bash a company. You also expect things beyond the parameters of the warranty service that was provided to you since they kept sending you parts free of charge so you have not been ripped off in any way.

You yourself required the part(s) in a quicker manner than was allotted by the warranty agreement and opted to pay extra (your choice) to get the parts quicker but there was never a hesitation to provide you with the parts to you to satisfy the warranty issues which was done so.

The fact that you are frustrated does not mean that these companies did not stand behind their product and it does not mean that they did not bend over backwards to make it right for you and it certainly does not mean that they ripped you off. You have become a pest after a period of time and it became necessary to put you on the back burner since no remedy of any kind would have made you happy.

If I am way off base here then please post what you had done on your end to remedy this situation and what measures you have taken to ensure that the unit was properly installed in the first place. My bet is that I am not far off as I have no emotional attachment here.

Tell the story with just the facts and leave the emotions out of it.
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Old 08-23-2009, 12:02 PM   #14 (permalink)
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

Well you read it, no comment?
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Old 08-23-2009, 12:56 PM   #15 (permalink)
 
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

I’m sorry, Brian, but actually, you DO seem emotionally attached. As well, I feel it necessary to defend myself by saying that in every posting that I have made, I have made an effort to remain calm and professional. I have tried to simply state the facts, using capitol letters occasionally to stress my points. As a reader it is easy to impose tone that the writer never intended. Let’s be fair.

When the Malibu first broke, SunWest explained to us that they did not have in-stock the item we were requesting. Since this was a new bed that we were promoting the crap out of, we NEEDED it fixed ASAP! So we paid to have the part shipped to us overnight by TanAmerica/Heartland. They were our ONLY OPTION!

Since then, every contact with Brian Bonnici regarding service to this unit has ended in the same story: They don’t have what we need. On each occasion he took longer and longer to reply. In some cases, TWO WEEKS. And finally, he stopped calling us back altogether.

We actually became accustomed to SunWest’s unreliable service, and eventually our routine would go as follows: 1. Bed breaks 2. Make routine/redundant call to Brian Bonnici 3. Call TanAmerica/Heartland and get immediate assistance.

Perhaps I have neglected to share an interesting point with everyone here. The last fan that we asked SunWest to replace was a part that we had the foresight of stocking ourselves. We paid for, in full and in advance of needing it, a fan that we had shipped from TanAmerica. When we needed to use this, we followed-through by calling SunWest and asking that they replace it under warranty. We did not rush them. For once we were not in a panic to have the part shipped to us overnight (thanks to us!). That was five weeks ago; maybe six. We have only recently been informed that SunWest will no longer be honoring their warranty contract. (???) I actually found this out by accident through the only person I can get on the phone from SunWest: Judy the lotion rep. All other calls go to voicemail. This includes calls made to Brian’s personal cell phone, as well as messages left for Greg Marshall, who we were told is the “man in charge”. None of our calls ever get returned. (If you discussed with Brian that we have “warranty issues”, than you know more than us!) All this should address your first point regarding our shipping expectations and time frames.

Next would be the subject of TanAmerica/Heartland and SunWest, and how we “say that any of them are cheats”... We have done nothing but say good things about TanAmerica. They are industry professionals and have enjoyed working with them for many, many years. And as far are the reliability of their units is concerned, we fully agree and have 8 of their beds in our salon. This isn’t the issue. Nor is it up for debate.

Now comes the subject of installation. The room, air conditioning, power… all are up to code. The unit was wired by our electrician. Brian Bonnici was actually the individual who guided us. He spoke with the electrician directly, explaining that of the two transformers we had available, the bed should be hooked up to the 240 unit (not the 220). And btw, there has been no neglect. This bed is less than a year old and it first broke on DAY THREE.

TanAmerica became closely involved with this bed at a very early stage of the game. I purchased a voltage meter and was told that all was well. Another part blew and, with their help, we decided that the fan delay relay was receiving more power than was optimal. The rest of the bed was fine and it was determined this was not what was responsible for the problems. However we called our electrician AGAIN and paid him ourselves to re-wire the bed to the other available transformer—just to be on the safe side. Parts are still breaking by the way.

When you say that you conclude “Brian has done all he could” for us, and that “TA has done nothing more than pass the buck as far as part availability” and finally, that we have “have made a mountain out of a molehill”, it sounds like you and Mr. Bonnici are good friends. You get Brian on the phone when we can’t?! Saying that we “show up out of nowhere” and that that our “first post is to bash a company” is unfair. We have been dealing with this bed and its drama since last November! You say that we “expect things beyond the parameters of the warranty service”. How long would you expect to wait for your brand new bed to be fixed?

The fact of the matter is that SunWest has NEVER offered to provide us with parts, as you seem to think. Did Brian Bonnici tell you this? His claim to us is that he AGREED that SunWest should be stocking the basic parts that we seemed to need so often. He convinced us at one point that he would go to bat for us and try to remedy this. Now… nothing.

Brian: You say in your posting: “The fact that you are frustrated does not mean that these companies did not stand behind their product and it does not mean that they did not bend over backwards to make it right for you”. When did SunWest bend over backwards for us? WHEN? Where are you getting your information? Its difficult to read this and it not seem like you are in bed with SunWest. You called us a “pest”. Seriously?!! Who are you in all of this to call us names? And its laughable that you say you have no attachment here.

I see no neutral party here. That’s “just the facts”.
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Old 08-23-2009, 01:55 PM   #16 (permalink)
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

Personally I have zero affiliation with Sunwest, Tan America or Heartland. I am just here to stir the pot and since you posted on my board I am going to poke and prod until the whole truth comes out.

I read in your post that you connected a transformer to a TA bed. That is your first mistake and the problem right there. You are overvolting the unit. TA beds use magnetic ballasts which are 120 volts. All North American services provide this voltage readily without the need for an additional transformer. The bed uses two hot wires and a neutral which is used between the two hot wires to provide the internal components with 120 volts.

The other scheme that TA uses are electronic ballasts which are variable voltage compliant and will self adjust to the incoming voltage and these also do not use a transformer.

The only scheme that would require a transformer would be of a bed with choke ballasts. These beds run on 230 volts and do require a transformer if the service is 120/208. TA does not make beds that use choke ballasts so the transformer is never required.

Now, you state that the fans, fan delay relay, and the facials have all blown out. Here is the exact problem with your bed:

a) The ballasts, fans, and relays are all 120 volts and you are overpowering them with the transformer thus running the parts at 144 volts if you have a 12/24 booster on it or 152 volts if you have a 16/32 booster on it. Remove the booster, it is not needed or required. You have been misinformed and if you really did measure the voltage then this would have been picked up on or all involved are incompetent.

b) The facials use a choke ballast in the TA beds that do require 230 volts but here is how they address this: They have an internal buck booster inside just for the facial that is wired according to your incoming voltage before it is shipped. You supplied your incoming voltage to them as 208 and they wired the internal booster (that is just for the face tanner) to run the face tanner at 230 volts with an incoming voltage of 208.

Now, when you add the booster that you did that should not be on there in the first place you are increasing the voltage on the face tanner to 256 for a 12/24 booster or 264 volts if you have a 16/32 booster.

The real problem is that no one here apparently knows how to properly connect the bed to your service and it really is a lack of technical information and lack of expertise on everyones part. Now that is really no fault of your own. You need to remove the booster to correct the problem or more fans and facials will blow out.

The problem lies in the fact that Brian is a salesman and not a technician so he has no clue how to remedy your problem other than keep providing you with warranty parts.

The main company is apparently just taking someones word for it that all has been checked out and nothing is wrong with the info that was originally provided to you.

The electrician has no clue because he has no expertise in tanning beds and can just simply physically install what he has been asked to do. It is not his fault for mis information as he is just a puppet on a string.

It seems that a little prodding got to the bottom of the problem by just posting you complaint, adding additional details, and the right person stumbling over your post to actually get to the bottom of it.

Remove the booster!!!

Another thing I would like to note that I also found unusual was the comment that you had purchased a "Five Year Warranty!!!" I have been in this industry for 18 years and have never heard of any manufacturer or distributor for that matter ever offering a plan like this so I did ask Brian about that as it was very unusual and he said that there was no five year warranty and there was never one sold and there was never one to offer in the first place. The only warranty was that of the original factory warranty.

I have also never heard of a five year warranty on a tanning bed ever. I doubt there is an additional warranty and Brian said that there was no such thing. I would tend to agree since something like that in other industries tend to cover all aspects of additional warranty claims including parts, shipping, and even labor costs which pretty much any standard warranty does not cover with the exception of parts and for five years no less.

A warranty like that would also require that any service be performed by a certified person to ensure that the parts are correctly being installed. The fact that you continued to pay for shipping on parts leads me to believe that there was no such warranty other than the factory warranty.

You sure you didn't make that up?

And as said before: Remove the buck boost transformer from the tanning bed and all of the problems will go away.
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Old 08-23-2009, 02:17 PM   #17 (permalink)
 
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

Its funny how you pretend to know SO WELL how everything is wired.

THERE ARE NO BUCK BOOSTERS!!!! This unit is wired directly to a transformer/panel. We don’t pretend to be electricians, but the experts at TanAmerica know their stuff. Pano, Erik and Rick (before he retired) have all been involved—personally.

I repeat: THERE ARE NO BUCK BOOSTERS!!!!

This is not rocket science. I can’t believe that you think you can solve this nine month-long issue from your living room. Do you think you are the only one capable of wiring a TanAmerica?! That no-one asks these questions and more?

Wow.

Problem not solved. Who’s the pest now?

And the warranty IS the original five year factory warranty. Brian Bonnici sold us this bed under the pretense that this was part of the deal. How long does Brian say we have? Can you ask him as it seems you are the only person who he will speak to?

Don’t loose sight of our point in all of this. We are asking Sunwest, as the distributor, to honour their agreement with us and supply parts. That way we don’t have to pay for international shipping fees and boarder duties. OK?!!! Is that too much to ask?!!!

Its not too late for SunWest to step-up and do the right thing. But until then, we are holding our ground.

P.S. Thanks for your TanAmerica wiring lesson and technical break-down on how their units work! That was a fun read! (FYI: insert sarcastic tone here).
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Old 08-23-2009, 02:47 PM   #18 (permalink)
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

I have solved thousands of problems from my living room and on site.

I do know so well how things are wired and how they work, IT"S MY JOB TO KNOW!!!!

Everything I told you is correct. It has become apparent that you are just an idiot and very difficult to work with. I would not have waited 9 months to stop answering the phone on you.

You give mixed information. Go back and re read what you put in writing and then come back any say you did not say that.

You are just confused. You have not provided anyone with consistent information and that is why your problem cannot be solved, you don't keep your facts straight. If you can't keep your story straight for 3 days here I can only imagine what a nightmare it was to deal with you in the past nine months.

I bet I can call Brian right now and he will pick up the phone. He doesn't know me at all and I don't know him and I have never done business with him. If you look under my name it says I am from New Jersey. A little geographical lesson for you: That is in the US of fuquing A!! and 3000+ miles across the continent from you in a different country so why would I ever be doing business with Brian. The first time I talked to him was the other day to let him know that you posted this because it was your first post and it was negative. There is always some truth in what people say but there is also way more that is hidden away for their own agenda and yours was to come here and spew it.

Well, I see if I keep poking at you the whole truth will eventually come out. It has come out that you are not cooperative and you will never admit any fault on your part ever.
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Old 08-23-2009, 02:55 PM   #19 (permalink)
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

Quote:
Originally Posted by tropicalsun1171 View Post
BUYER BEWARE: Read this before buying from Sunwest Wholesalers (B.C., Canada)

NOTE: I just want to say in advance that we have made the effort to post this in any and every forum available. It is our goal to warn our Canadian colleagues about Sunwest Wholesalers by sharing our experiences here, online.

Sunwest is a Canadian, west-coast distributer from whom we purchased a TanAmerica Malibu bed in November 2008—less than one year ago. We attempted to buy from TanAmerica/Heartland themselves, but they re-directed us to their Canadian suppliers; telling us that all purchases of this kind, North of the boarder, are done through Sunwest.

It is important to note, here, that we were VERY hesitant to buy anthing from Sunwest at this time. We have purchased equipment from them in the past and found them to be very unreliable. Having been in business ourselves for over ten years, we have come to understand that not all suppliers are created equal.

Unfortunately for us, our sights were set on a Malibu, and we needed to shake hands with Sunwest once again. Along with this bed we purchased a 5 year full warranty. Brian Boneci (sp?) is the cowardly individual who represents Sunwest in the parts and service department. While everything was going good and they were getting paid, Brian was our best friend. Now he won’t talk to us anymore. (Maybe he just got sick of the bed breaking and us calling him about it all the time.)

Which leads us to our story: On day three of the Malibu running, one of its fans broke. Sunwest didn’t have our part in stock, so we had to ship it from TanAmerica/Heartland in California. Overnight shipping cost us over $100 cdn, plus about $30 in boarder fees. Sunwest did not compensate us for this unnecessary cost. Shipping from them would have be less than half and no boarder fees.

Since this time, three more fans have broken (all on separate occasions), the fan delay has needed replacing three times, and there was a problem with the facial bulbs which required full replacing. Each and every time it was the same story with Sunwest Wholesalers. They have NEVER ONCE honored their warranty contract.

We accept that this unit has proven itself to be quite a lemon, in spite of the fact that we have done everything possible to ensure that it is expertly wired and receiving the correct voltage. We have had 2 electricians take a look at it, just in case.

Slowly Sunwest’s communication with us has tapered off. Today I found out by accident through their lotion girl, Judy, that Brian mentioned to her that he wants us to call TanAmerica for warranty parts from now on! WTF?!

We have never had the opportunity to discuss with Sunwest their decision to defer us TanAmerica. Every call goes to voicemail, and no-one returns our calls. Suddenly all our service costs have a price tag that includes international shipping and duty-fees. What happened to the warranty we bought from Sunwest?! Are they not somehow legally bound to their end of the contract? Can they simply wash their hands of us like this, just because it’s convenient?!

Our frustration with Sunwest Wholesalers and our anger at how they have treated us has led us to this post. We are making every possible effort here to warn others about their unprofessional behavior.

Buyer Beware!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tropicalsun1171 View Post
It may be interesting for you to know, Sherry, that the Moderators of this forum are VERY thorough. Point in case: this entire thread was removed by them within several hours of its original posting. They contacted me and told me that due to its content, I would be required to provide PROOF of my "side of the story" before they would allow the thread to stay up. I did so, and here we are.

Brian Bonnici was once our friend as well. Why he has decided to play hookie on our warranty is a question only he can answer. Brian Oshman posted here that he has talked with Brian Bonnici, who was apparently going to log on and tell his side. That was three days ago. The longer he waits, the worse he looks.

All that being said, perhaps you still need proof. I respect that there are two sides to every story and seeing a copy of TanAmerica's recent internal office memo regarding this issue will help you to see our side. (BTW, their reference to our fan delay relay replacement is inaccurate. We are on our 3rd fan delay and have had all the facials replaced as well.)

Here is the email:


I have copied Walter and Maryann so they can verify I am giving a complete account of their service concerns.

Southware Customer # XXXX

Sold to SunWest about 10/8/08 s/n P42VHOF4-145
SunWest sold this unit to Tropical Sunsations III. They attempted to purchase directly from TanAmerica, but had to go through SunWest.

This unit has been through a few fans, and maybe a fan delay relay. To date SunWest has not had any parts Tropical Sunsations III has needed, and were entitled to per warranty. On each occasion they have had to go out of pocket for at least shipping. They understand that they would typically have to pay for shipping, but it would be shipping within Canada if SunWest stocked parts. In order to get them the parts they required we have had to charge them several times for overnight shipping from US to Canada. The last time they needed a fan, they actually purchased (2) so they would have it and Sunwest could replace it for them under warranty. This would save them from excessive shipping costs, and Sunwest could ship their warranty replacement without urgency and economically.

So issue one is SunWest’s failure to stock replacement parts, the second issue is it appears SunWest has ceased communication with Tropical Sunsations III.

My goal would be two see about encouraging SunWest to examine the stock level of their parts, and second to restore communication between the two parties. I am always happy to assist Maryann and Walter, but when I service their needs shipping is always at a premium.

Tropical Sunsations III is concerned about the level of service SunWest is providing, and may need to provide in the future. They are also looking to see who they need to speak to within Heartland Tan Inc. to resolve issues with SunWest.

Erik Woll
Service Manager
Heartland Tan West
1.800.350.2826 x 7508

_____________________

If anyone is interested, we have a copy of an email we sent to Brian Bonnici last April, begging his help on the overall issue discussed here. The email states that if he could not honour his contract with us in a timely manner, that we would inform everyone about our experience. Maybe they thought we weren't serious? Just a lot of hot air, perhaps? They were wrong.

The bottom line here is that we are SICK OF TAKING IT! We are finally going to stand up for ourselves. That email to SunWest was 4 MONTHS AGO!!! WTF?!

Thank God TanAmerica/Heartland has been there as a safety net. What a shame our "free parts" cost us more in shipping than than its own value.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tropicalsun1171 View Post
I’m sorry, Brian, but actually, you DO seem emotionally attached. As well, I feel it necessary to defend myself by saying that in every posting that I have made, I have made an effort to remain calm and professional. I have tried to simply state the facts, using capitol letters occasionally to stress my points. As a reader it is easy to impose tone that the writer never intended. Let’s be fair.

When the Malibu first broke, SunWest explained to us that they did not have in-stock the item we were requesting. Since this was a new bed that we were promoting the crap out of, we NEEDED it fixed ASAP! So we paid to have the part shipped to us overnight by TanAmerica/Heartland. They were our ONLY OPTION!

Since then, every contact with Brian Bonnici regarding service to this unit has ended in the same story: They don’t have what we need. On each occasion he took longer and longer to reply. In some cases, TWO WEEKS. And finally, he stopped calling us back altogether.

We actually became accustomed to SunWest’s unreliable service, and eventually our routine would go as follows: 1. Bed breaks 2. Make routine/redundant call to Brian Bonnici 3. Call TanAmerica/Heartland and get immediate assistance.

Perhaps I have neglected to share an interesting point with everyone here. The last fan that we asked SunWest to replace was a part that we had the foresight of stocking ourselves. We paid for, in full and in advance of needing it, a fan that we had shipped from TanAmerica. When we needed to use this, we followed-through by calling SunWest and asking that they replace it under warranty. We did not rush them. For once we were not in a panic to have the part shipped to us overnight (thanks to us!). That was five weeks ago; maybe six. We have only recently been informed that SunWest will no longer be honoring their warranty contract. (???) I actually found this out by accident through the only person I can get on the phone from SunWest: Judy the lotion rep. All other calls go to voicemail. This includes calls made to Brian’s personal cell phone, as well as messages left for Greg Marshall, who we were told is the “man in charge”. None of our calls ever get returned. (If you discussed with Brian that we have “warranty issues”, than you know more than us!) All this should address your first point regarding our shipping expectations and time frames.

Next would be the subject of TanAmerica/Heartland and SunWest, and how we “say that any of them are cheats”... We have done nothing but say good things about TanAmerica. They are industry professionals and have enjoyed working with them for many, many years. And as far are the reliability of their units is concerned, we fully agree and have 8 of their beds in our salon. This isn’t the issue. Nor is it up for debate.

Now comes the subject of installation. The room, air conditioning, power… all are up to code. The unit was wired by our electrician. Brian Bonnici was actually the individual who guided us. He spoke with the electrician directly, explaining that of the two transformers we had available, the bed should be hooked up to the 240 unit (not the 220). And btw, there has been no neglect. This bed is less than a year old and it first broke on DAY THREE.

TanAmerica became closely involved with this bed at a very early stage of the game. I purchased a voltage meter and was told that all was well. Another part blew and, with their help, we decided that the fan delay relay was receiving more power than was optimal. The rest of the bed was fine and it was determined this was not what was responsible for the problems. However we called our electrician AGAIN and paid him ourselves to re-wire the bed to the other available transformer—just to be on the safe side. Parts are still breaking by the way.

When you say that you conclude “Brian has done all he could” for us, and that “TA has done nothing more than pass the buck as far as part availability” and finally, that we have “have made a mountain out of a molehill”, it sounds like you and Mr. Bonnici are good friends. You get Brian on the phone when we can’t?! Saying that we “show up out of nowhere” and that that our “first post is to bash a company” is unfair. We have been dealing with this bed and its drama since last November! You say that we “expect things beyond the parameters of the warranty service”. How long would you expect to wait for your brand new bed to be fixed?

The fact of the matter is that SunWest has NEVER offered to provide us with parts, as you seem to think. Did Brian Bonnici tell you this? His claim to us is that he AGREED that SunWest should be stocking the basic parts that we seemed to need so often. He convinced us at one point that he would go to bat for us and try to remedy this. Now… nothing.

Brian: You say in your posting: “The fact that you are frustrated does not mean that these companies did not stand behind their product and it does not mean that they did not bend over backwards to make it right for you”. When did SunWest bend over backwards for us? WHEN? Where are you getting your information? Its difficult to read this and it not seem like you are in bed with SunWest. You called us a “pest”. Seriously?!! Who are you in all of this to call us names? And its laughable that you say you have no attachment here.

I see no neutral party here. That’s “just the facts”.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tropicalsun1171 View Post
Its funny how you pretend to know SO WELL how everything is wired.

THERE ARE NO BUCK BOOSTERS!!!! This unit is wired directly to a transformer/panel. We don’t pretend to be electricians, but the experts at TanAmerica know their stuff. Pano, Erik and Rick (before he retired) have all been involved—personally.

I repeat: THERE ARE NO BUCK BOOSTERS!!!!

This is not rocket science. I can’t believe that you think you can solve this nine month-long issue from your living room. Do you think you are the only one capable of wiring a TanAmerica?! That no-one asks these questions and more?

Wow.

Problem not solved. Who’s the pest now?

And the warranty IS the original five year factory warranty. Brian Bonnici sold us this bed under the pretense that this was part of the deal. How long does Brian say we have? Can you ask him as it seems you are the only person who he will speak to?

Don’t loose sight of our point in all of this. We are asking Sunwest, as the distributor, to honour their agreement with us and supply parts. That way we don’t have to pay for international shipping fees and boarder duties. OK?!!! Is that too much to ask?!!!

Its not too late for SunWest to step-up and do the right thing. But until then, we are holding our ground.

P.S. Thanks for your TanAmerica wiring lesson and technical break-down on how their units work! That was a fun read! (FYI: insert sarcastic tone here).
Just everything you said.
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Old 08-23-2009, 03:05 PM   #20 (permalink)
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Re: Sunwest Wholesalers Ripped us off AGAIN!

P.S. If you called me repeatedly at 3 AM I would file a complaint against you for harassment.

3 AM? You really have no class, do you?

I would stop answering the phone indefinitely.

The only reason TA is still helping you is because they have the ultimate responsibility to help you until the warranty expires. I bet they rethink that 5 year clause.
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