The Great Escape

Manager made this situation right. Would highly recommend buying a hot tub in Illinois and not Wisconsin. That is what I will be doing from here on out.

Buying a hot tub is pretty much as stressful as car shopping. Which makes some sense, considering a new hot tub can cost more than a used car or truck. I went to three places around town that had tubs setup to demo, and left unimpressed with the sales folks — other than Doug at the Great Escape.
Doug was, frankly, one of the best sales folks I’ve ever dealt with– and I generally hate dealing with sales people. The first thing he did was take us through the offerings they had in the store– starting at the low end and working our way up until we cried uncle. Once we honed in on a range, Doug was helpful and knowledgeable, and answered questions without either being condescending or applying any high pressure tactics.
Hot Tubs are one of those things where the price is never posted on the website, or clearly marked in the store, and always on sale, or some kind of promo– basically there is some level of obfuscation built into the process, which is kinda lame. After getting some literature and a firm price quote, I was able to go home and do some digging and saw that it compared very favorably to prices others had paid or been quoted. The only other bit keeping the review at 4 stars instead of 5 were some delivery hiccups– my original date was missed due to warehouse/​damage issue, and on the second attempt they arrived a little later than the agreed upon window (and left the packaging in my alley instead of taking it back offsite on their truck).
But anyhow, if you are in the market for nice hot tub, I highly encourage you to go talk to Doug. He’s real good at his job, and we’re loving our tub. (Hopefully we don’t need to see how the after sales service and support is needed for years to come).

S L E E Z Y
My wife and I stopped by to pick out a fire table to go on our patio. We found one we liked, but the sales person (Wayne) indicated it was not available in the color we wanted due to manufacturing issues. I called the manufacturer to find out how long the delay would be and they indicated there was no issue with the color we wanted — it was just as available as any other color.
I then spoke with Wayne again and he indicated it was really just that they could not buy that color by the truck load. Huh? Why does that matter to the customer? Sounds fishy — like they already have a truckload in a different color that they want to get rid of.
In the meantime, since I had been looking around, I had found other stores offering the same item for significantly less, delivered. I was very transparent with Wayne who offered to beat the competitor, but in truth could not come close to being competitive in the total cost.
In discussing the pricing with Wayne, I had been transparent about the other retailer who had offered me a lower price. I then received a notification from The Great Escape’s competitor that they could no longer sell to me because The Great Escape had complained to the manufacturer about us buying from someone out of state instead of from them (seems they have arranged some type of exclusive deal for the geography — is that legal???).
I have bought numerous items from the Great Escape before, as I am usually willing to pay a reasonable premium for local service and to support community merchants. However, I have little patience for being lied to and manipulated.

Beginning of story — April, 2015:
Well so far not happy. We went there last week and the selection at this location is less that the other locations, but they can get everything. We bought an outdoor sofa/​chair group plus a gas fire table. The delivery on Saturday was missing the six throw pillows and the fire table lid. The table with the stone top (wrong color but we accepted it) was delivered but we had to wait for a second guy who knew how to install it. He arrived and subsequently broke the stone top while screwing it in. The manager was responding to emails (not to phone calls) and finally responded the next day saying the pillows/​lid were backordered and the table situation was in review — whatever that means. So we wait…
The second appointment for the replacement table was set up and we told them we would be out of town but left our gate to the deck open for them. We called again the morning of the appointment to remind them, but sure enough, they arrived, rang the doorbell, and left. Fortunately we caught them and they turned around and did the installation, so we have a table…
One observation is that the store personnel refer to the warehouse, installers (basically anyone outside of the store) as «they», like those people have nothing to do with the completion of the sale. I asked our salesperson about a deliver status (you need to call «them», or «they are having inventory and part number issues»)… Isn’t everyone part of the same business? Weird.
Update 7÷10÷15 — We finally got the pillows and the lid for the fire table (all from backorders) — I know — not earth shattering, but it’s what we ordered. I will say that the manager (Micky) kept in touch and took care of us through the end of it, so I’ll be back for future needs.

Run, do not walk, to another store to purchase your pool. Ian talks a good game, but the service is all pre-​sale-​once your pool is purchased, prepare to spend hours either waiting for pool installation (they were hours late) or deciphering instructions. The «free installation» cost $ 330 minimum. This place is a joke!

Do not buy a pool here. I found an above ground pool online for $ 1200 and Ian talked me into paying $ 2400 which included installation. The installers charged $ 330 extra for materials and then left 5 cubic yards of soil and sod piled in my yard. I had to pay $ 150 to have it hauled away. They didn’t roll the liner which showed over 8 inches around the pool perimeter and left at least two feet of soil piled 6 – 8 inches high around the perimeter of the pool. They didn’t break down the boxes and left all the operating instructions and CDs in the garbage. The also left sand residue all over the driveway. Their work was subpar and unprofessional and their attitudes were arrogant. If you want to be nickeled and dimed to death, would love to pay jerks to destroy your yard, and like to feel scammed, then buy a pool from the Great Escape.
REPLY to Micky S.:
Yes, it is true that I spoke to Ian and he sent the installers back out. They did a fair job remedying the schlocky work. And for my trouble, Ian did give me a free $ 9.99 bottle of chemicals, but let me continue. If a pool is listed at $ 1299 and advertised online for free installation, and we paid $ 2399, then by my crude calculations, we paid $ 1100 for installation, a 200% mark up from the product cost. When I spoke to Ian about the poor work, he comforted me by sharing that the installers receive very little money for their work. So $ 1100 divided by 6 hours x 2 guys is nearly $ 100 hourly which I am pretty sure wasn’t going directly to the workers based on their angry attitudes. So I must deduce that either the Great Escape is taking a huge percentage of said «installation fee» or the installation company you hired has you snowed. Let me remind you that I had to pay an additional $ 480 for sand, concrete blocks and soil removal. If you are still keeping track, now the installation fee is up to $ 250% of alleged pool cost.
Lastly, I had to return to the store once again to speak with Ian about how to get the motor to turn off and get some instructions on how to change the filter. He explained that «these motors come from China and don’t come with instructions» and didn’t really seem to be able to explain how to work it. I told him I would figure it out. I left the store with over $ 90 more of accessories including a $ 60 timer and plugs and valves which are needed in order to stop the flow of water in order to change the filter. What else will I need to purchase besides a pool cover which was surprisingly not included.
Ian called after seeing this Unilocal Post. I would love to hear directly from a manager or owner. Respectfully, Susie Posnock

As soon as the temps hit 60+ degrees (hopefully any day now!) I plan on spending every minute possible outside. And that includes taking advantage of the backyard we haven’t set foot on since October.
The people we bought the house from left their playset behind… and I“m pretty sure it’s as old as our 15 year old house. It was fine for last summer and my husband claimed it’s safe enough to hold even his weight, but still made me nervous. And so I’ve been in the market for a new playset. I’ve been looking for something that’s appropriate my for my now 3 yr old and 1 year olds, but also something they’ll still enjoy when they are 7, 8 or whatever age is too old for playsets. Then again at 33 I don’t feel too old for playsets!
I started my search at the guy on 41* (review to come) since most of my friends have had good experiences there. And then just for price comparison I checked out The Great Escape.
They have way more than playsets here at The Great Escape. Looking for a treadmill? They’ve got it. A hot tub? They’ve got that too. And playsets among many other things. There aren’t many options to look at… actually you can see most of them as you drive by The Great Escape on the highway.
The sales rep, Ian, was very nice. He wasn’t very knowledgeable about the materials or anything else when it came to the playsets, but told me I could check out their retailer Premier Play Systems (
) and he’d let me know pricing and find out any other information. I went home, picked out a few I liked and then called for prices. The installation was about half the price of The Guy on 41, but the overall price was more expensive due to a current sale at The Guy on 41 (thru april 15^th).
Based on price and overall knowledge of the playsets we decided to go with The Guy on 41, but I’d check out The Great Escape again when looking for one of the other things they sell. A hot tub sounds lovely after this winter!
*

Never had anything but great service from the staff at this store. Any questions were quickly answered by the manager. Merchandise selection is the best

Super friendly staff. Every time I go in there they know who I am and dont attack me when I enter the door. Great selection and they have great deals.

They take your money upfront. They promise delivery dates and times that come and go without any notification or follow through on their part. This is everything bad you have ever experienced in buying outdoor furniture all under one roof! The sales people are paid comission on revenue and they collect your money upfront. This is a clown show of the highest order. If you like financing The Great Escape’s working capital, acting as an order expiditer, shipping manager and scheduler get here this weekend. Ask for Micky. And pay upfront.
If not go elsewhere.