I Cringed Today

[SPKNout4CHRIST]

So as the title says I cringed today. I was at the pool store looking at some vacuums when I saw a lady buying a big tub of chemicals. That's to be expected, unfortunately.

What the next lady said made me cringe. The pool store employee asked how she could help her and she replied yes I'd like to buy some shock. The pool store employee said ok right over here. Not surprised though...at all.

 

[Speedo]

-Buying lots of chemicals
-Shock being a product
-Poor advice

Sounds like a pool store to me!

 

[Isaac-1]

Yep, the only time I don't over hear that in a pool store is if I am the only one there.

 

[Richard320]

I haven't been within earshot of the test bench for a long time. The last time I was...

"How big is your pool?"
"Um...I think 30,000 gallons."
"That's a pretty big pool. Are you sure?"
"It's big."
"Okay...in that case you'll need two buckets of..."

How did that pH get so low? How did that CYA get so high? Why did that liner turn white?

 

[Thimble]

I was in the pool store today for a pump part. At the checkout:

Me: Do you guys have liquid chlorine ?
Pool store flunky: No. We don't carry it cause it will damage your liner.
Me: I have a plaster pool, not to worried about a liner.
Pool store flunky: Well, it would take 10 gallons of liquid to equal the amount of chlorine our small bucket of pucks have.
Me: Thanks. Bye

I think I might start buying my parts somewhere else, too.

 

[alanpaul]

Went to the PS today for some calcium.

Anyway, a woman was telling the tech about her 8-or-10 thousand gallon pool, that's been cloudy for weeks now. She was slumped on the bar stool at the counter as she told how she'd been putting tons of chlorine and shock and acid into the pool and nothing was working.

The employee tested her water sample and said she had phosphates.

What from? It just gets in there. Here, this is what you need. Use it all. Half today and half tomorrow. $20. Ka-ching. Plus tax.

As for me, I'm beginning to think it'd be less painful to go to the vitamin department of the pharmacy to get calcium.

 

[tcat]

I went yesterday to Pool Warehouse to get some R-0014... "Sorry we only go up to R-0013, what's it for?" pH test... "Oh, you're supposed to use R-0004, here it is" Told him I use 0014 and it's not the same... "It's all phenol red, same stuff..." Rather than explain to him the difference, I said no thanks and left.

Of course I didn't tell him I had accidentally bought R-0004 online a few weeks ago, but I didn't want to be the dummy that day
2 drops of 0004 does work, although neither ever seem to match my TF-100 colors, always seem to have more color, but the hue is close.

 

[march2012]

I went yesterday to Pool Warehouse to get some R-0014... "Sorry we only go up to R-0013, what's it for?" pH test... "Oh, you're supposed to use R-0004, here it is" Told him I use 0014 and it's not the same... "It's all phenol red, same stuff..." Rather than explain to him the difference, I said no thanks and left.

Of course I didn't tell him I had accidentally bought R-0004 online a few weeks ago, but I didn't want to be the dummy that day
2 drops of 0004 does work, although neither ever seem to match my TF-100 colors, always seem to have more color, but the hue is close.

Im pretty sure they are the same chemicals just different concentrations. I think the 0004 test is fine..

 

[Bama Rambler]

They're both phenol red but different formulations so they're not interchangeable. R-0013 is the CYA reagent.

 

[Charlie_R]

I've never been into an actual "pool store". However, our local Ace Hardware has a good supply of pool chemicals etc.

I was in there last year and overheard an employee trying to sell several of the chemicals. Those being the pH down and algaecides. I really wanted to butt in and tell the other customer that he was in the wrong section and the wrong store for what he needed, but I held my tongue (for once).

 

[tim_pool_newbie]

I really wanted to butt in and tell the other customer that he was in the wrong section and the wrong store for what he needed, but I held my tongue (for once).

I don't like to go up to people inside the PS and start a scene or anything, especially when the employee is probably just repeating what he's been told to say and doesn't know better. So do what I do...I keep a supply of TFP website business cards (available somewhere here on this forum) in my glove compartment of the car, and so I just leave one of those on the windshield of the other person's car and hope they look into it. After all, you can only lead a horse to water....you can't make him drink it....although you can show him how crystal clear he can get that water and then maybe he'll want to drink it!!