Water Star is a local water cooler company based in Salt Lake City. Calls are answered here by our own team, our technicians are our own employees, and service calls are free. Along the Wasatch Front, most service calls are completed the same day, and nearly all the rest the next day. And you can try a cooler free for a week before you decide; 98% of businesses that try one keep it.
That's our side of it. If you're an office manager weighing a big national water cooler company against a local one, here's a fair way to compare them, including where a national provider is the better fit.
What's the real difference between a local and a national provider?
The machines are often similar. Most bottleless coolers and ice machines purify water the same basic way, and a good machine from either kind of company will do the job on install day.
The difference is everything after install day: who you talk to when something breaks, who shows up, how long it takes, and whether anyone remembers the maintenance. Those things depend on how a company is set up, not on how big it is. So the useful question isn't "local or national?" It's "how does this particular company handle service in my area?"
When does a national provider make sense?
National companies have real strengths, and it's worth naming them:
- Many locations. If your business has offices in several states, one vendor for all of them can simplify purchasing and billing.
- Standardized processes. Large companies tend to have set procedures for installs, service and paperwork, which some businesses value.
- One relationship for a multi-state company. A facilities team managing sites across the country may prefer a single provider to a different local company in each city.
If that describes you, a national provider may be the right call. If your business is in Utah, or your Utah office is the one that needs a cooler, the questions below matter more.
Who answers the phone when the cooler stops working?
This is the first thing you'll notice. When you call, do you reach a person who knows your account and can send someone out, or a central line that opens a ticket?
Neither kind of company is always one or the other, so ask directly: "When I call about a broken machine, who picks up, and where are they?" Then call the number yourself and see what happens.
Are the technicians employees or subcontractors?
Some providers use their own technicians. Others send work to a subcontractor in your area. Subcontracting isn't wrong, but it adds a step between your call and the person who shows up.
Ask whether the technician who services your machine works for the company you're paying, and whether it's the same team that installs. More on why this matters in who fixes a leased water cooler or ice machine.
How fast does service actually happen?
"As soon as possible" isn't an answer. Ask for a real one, specific to your city: how often a service call is completed the same day, and what the usual wait is when it isn't.
It's also worth asking whether service calls cost extra, and what happens if the machine can't be fixed on the spot. A good answer includes a swap, so the break room isn't left without water or ice while a part is on order.
Who schedules the maintenance?
This is where service quietly slips with any provider. Ask whether the company reaches out to schedule preventative maintenance, or whether it's on you to remember and call. Ask how often it happens and when the filters get changed.
Utah's hard water is tough on filters and on the inside of a machine, so a schedule someone else keeps track of is worth a lot.
Will the machine be new?
If you're replacing an older cooler from another provider, or a store-bought unit nobody has looked after, ask whether you'll get a new machine. It's a fair question, and the answer tells you something about how the company treats new customers.
Can you try it before you commit?
A week with a machine in your break room tells you more than any sales conversation. Ask whether the provider offers a trial, and what happens at the end of it. Here's what our free trial looks like, step by step.
How does Water Star do it?
Here's how we'd answer the questions above:
- Local. We're based in Salt Lake City and cover the whole state of Utah, with most of our customers along the Wasatch Front. See our service areas.
- A local person on the phone. Calls are answered in Salt Lake City by our own team.
- Our own technicians. The people who install and fix your machine are our employees.
- Free service calls. If your system isn't working, we fix it or swap it, as often as you need.
- Fast service along the Wasatch Front. Most service calls are completed the same day, and nearly all the rest the next day.
- Maintenance we schedule. We reach out for preventative maintenance about every 12 to 18 months and change the filters then.
- A new machine. Businesses that switch to us get a new cooler in place of the old one.
- A free one-week trial. 98% of businesses that try one keep it.
Every system we install also runs your building's water through reverse osmosis, and we have a 5.0 on Google with more than 300 reviews.
A checklist for comparing any two providers
Ask each company the same questions and write down the answers:
- When I call about a broken machine, who answers, and where are they based?
- Are your technicians your own employees, or subcontractors?
- In my city, how often is a service call completed the same day?
- Do service calls cost extra?
- If you can't fix it on the spot, do you swap the machine?
- Who schedules preventative maintenance, and how often?
- When are the filters changed, and how is that visit billed?
- Will the machine be new?
- Can we try it for a week first?
For a longer list, with the reasons behind each one, see our questions to ask a provider. If you've already decided to move, here's how switching works.
Ready to compare?
Ask us every question on that list. Get a free quote and we'll reach out within 1 business day, or call 801-609-4321.