Does anyone have experience with an AGP from MGK Pools

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ksguy

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May 26, 2016
23
Topeka, KS
Hi, my wife and I are planning to (hopefully) replace our 18 year old Doughboy with another pool this year. The old pool is 16x32 and, long story short, it has to be retired.

I've done a lot of looking online and found MGK pools, MGK Pools - Provider of Premium Above-Ground Pools Accessories. Owner has put together packages based on components from various name-brand manufacturers and sells them at a good price. I'm wondering if anybody has any experience with his pools. Specifically we're looking at the 18x33 Atlas oval pool. The price seems good for the package deal but I just can't find any reviews of the actual pool he's selling.
 
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I'm from Topeka as well!

I recently bought a pool liner from them and have had no problems. I haven't opened it yet, as I am waiting for the installer to replace the liner.

I purchased my pool from poolsupplyworld.com and had great service. At the time, one of their representatives was on the board and was giving TFP members a discount, even price matched a earlier price. You may want to search on here and PM him.
 
ksguy said:
Hi, my wife and I are planning to (hopefully) replace our 18 year old Doughboy with another pool this year. The old pool is 16x32 and, long story short, it has to be retired.

I've done a lot of looking online and found MGK pools, MGK Pools - Provider of Premium Above-Ground Pools Accessories. Owner has put together packages based on components from various name-brand manufacturers and sells them at a good price. I'm wondering if anybody has any experience with his pools. Specifically we're looking at the 18x33 Atlas oval pool. The price seems good for the package deal but I just can't find any reviews of the actual pool he's selling.
Click to expand...

All the pools MGK sells are made by [FONT=&quot]Buster Crabbe / Aquasports Pools LLC. [/FONT]They are manufactured in NJ. Supposedly high quality pools, but I have never seen one in person.

As I understand it, Buster Crabbe does no marketing at all themselves, other than a tiny bit for their Admiral Walk pool. They have their own names for their pools, and it seems most sellers just use the Buster Crabbe names, but some sellers do not, instead opting to call them by different names. If you look over the MGK website and it's blogs well, somewhere they actually explain this themselves, and they even go on to say which buster crabbe pool the "Atlas" is.....but I don't remember exactly where on their website it said this.

The only reason I know this, is because I am replacing our 15 year old Lomart (sister company to Doughboy) and was shopping on their website myself. I personally really like the Aquasport 52 they have with the slat wall construction. However when I inquired about purchasing one from them, they advised because I live in NJ they cannot sell it to me. I must instead go through a local dealer. Unfortunately my local dealers are only selling their traditional rolled pools, not the Aquasport. A very Weird deal. In fact, the way these pools are re-branded and sold under different names is pretty weird, makes it tough to tell exactly what you are getting.

I am going to look at some Buster Crabbe pools tonight, and I won't be at all surprised to find the one MGK is selling as "Atlas" there in the showroom. If I see it, I will report back on what I think of it in person.
 
I bought the 24x52 round Dauntless package from MGK last summer. Overall, I have to say I'm very happy with the pool, but there were major issues with MGK's customer service.

At the time I ordered our pool I was told there was a lead time of 2-3 weeks. I ordered our pool sometime in May of 2017. By mid-July I still hadn't heard anything from MGK, so I sent an e-mail inquiring about the status. (I should point out that I'm NOT a person who calls/nags frequently). I didn't receive a response, so I called and left a message with a request for info. A week or so passes and still no response... so I called again. Same result.

This went on for a while-- meanwhile the whole summer was ticking away and my kids were wishing we had our pool. When I was finally able to get someone on the phone she told me she'd check the status and call me back. Several days passed and I'd heard nothing from MGK. I called again and left several messages which were not returned. I was actually contemplating how to cancel my order and go with another company when the lady from MGK finally called me back. She said they were having difficulty getting the liners they advertised for that package so my order had been delayed. She said it might be another month-- so I decided on a different liner and asked her to ship it ASAP. Had they called me when they learned of the liner delay I could have picked a different liner then and not wasted the entire summer waiting in Limbo.

I received an email that it was going to ship, but there were no details other than the freight company name. I waited a few days and still heard nothing and my request for info from MGK went unanswered. In desperation I called the freight company and explained the situation. The guy at the freight company gave me the shipment number and told me that my pool was in Ohio and heading my direction.

The pool was delivered in mid-August (around three months later than I'd been promised) and installed two days later. The quality of the pool and components are good. It looks nice and appears to be made to last. Unfortunately, it was too late in the year for my wife to swim (she's a wimp with regard to water temperature) and was pretty chilly for me, too. My kids swam a few times in 2017, but not as much as they'd have liked. We intend to make up for it this summer and I'm sure it will get plenty of use.

In summary, I'd love to give MGK a glowing recommendation, but I can't. While they have a good product at a good price, their customer service (or lack thereof) completely ruined my experience.
 
My experience with MGK was not good. I ordered a Pool from them then later discovered that the Pool will be shipped and arrive on an 18 wheeler. If your home is in a location where an 18 wheeler can’t turn around then they won’t drop it off at your home. My driveway is about 200 yds long and the street I live on is a single lane road that is about 500 yds to the main road. MGK won’t pay for return shipping and their free shipping was cancelled when I had to return the pool. So I was out around $600. This Pool will be dumped on the street where the 18 wheeler can park. The delivery service does not arrive with any type of lift that will get the Pool anywhere close a back yard. Just something to keep in mind with this company. I later purchased a Pool from Home Depot and they dropped the Pool in the exact location I needed it.
 
I bought a pool from MGK. The Buster Crabbe pool is made well. The MGK service is very poor. They do not return phone calls or emails. I had so many problems with them I tried to call Buster Crabbe directly. The folks at Buster Crabbe have a very nasty attitude. They are hard to deal with. No wonder they can't sell directly. The Buster Crabbe guy that I dealt with (about 3 times) has the personality of a dog that's been hit by a car.

Buster Crabbe is a great pool MGK is a poor vendor. I recommend that you not deal with them - service is too poor. This is too big a project and there will certainly be issues with MGK. The company is small: a pool builder/service guy and his wife. She is definitely in over her head. I was never able to speak with him. Their website is good. Try your best to never call the folks at the Buster Crabbe factory: you will get bit!
 
ksguy said:
Hi, my wife and I are planning to (hopefully) replace our 18 year old Doughboy with another pool this year. The old pool is 16x32 and, long story short, it has to be retired.

I've done a lot of looking online and found MGK pools, MGK Pools - Provider of Premium Above-Ground Pools Accessories. Owner has put together packages based on components from various name-brand manufacturers and sells them at a good price. I'm wondering if anybody has any experience with his pools. Specifically we're looking at the 18x33 Atlas oval pool. The price seems good for the package deal but I just can't find any reviews of the actual pool he's selling.
Click to expand...

I am MGK Pools, and am sad there are mostly negative things said here. I wanted to chime in to respond to some items brought up here. FIRST, we have had some trouble with communication as it is just me and my wife and we get so many calls we can not handle them all and there are not enough hours in the day to listen and respond to them all. To COBAT that I have taken to giving my personall cell phone to those that order a pool. This does not help the people with questions about buying a new pool, but should help those that do buy one. I spend so much time on the phone personally helping peple with assembly and installation questions.

As far as those that have shipping concerns I wish I new who you are because while it says it is free, I have built into the price the very best shipping service available. All pools should be delivered with a truck with a power tailgate. I pay for residential driver assisted powertailgate service with every pool order. As the season pushes on we run out of things and we always tell people right away and they choose to wait. This also happens in the early spring before our shelves are stocked for the new season, but again anyone who waits for fulfillment does this by choice.

To defend the manufacturer a bit... They are the manufacturer of great pools and their distribution model is via dealers like me. If anyone has a concern, it should always be handled by the dealer they bought the pool from. If the manufacture wanted the challenges that come with dealing with the public, they would sell direct to the public. The company is run by a family of the highest caliber. Can they get a little short on the phone, yes. But anyone who calls without a tude and is nice to deal with gets treated accordingly.

You might say hire more staff to help with orders and customer service, but then I would have to charge more for the pools. I sell tons of pools every year and help a ton of people with all kinds of things I dont have too, but I enjoy helping people. I wish these people would chime in here.
 

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Just used MGK Pools to replace Ester Williams 18x33 AGP with walk deck that was damaged by trees. MGK sold us a Admiral's Walk 16x33 with walk & large end deck, did the install, and removal of old damaged pool. Was very happy with the service and the install crew. Mike has stayed in contact and communication has been solid throughout the process. Remember this is a small company so instant access is not always possible as Mike is out building pools. We recommend MGK Pools and were very happy with their service.
 

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You NEED to read these Yelp reviews.

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MGK Pool Service - Lowell, MA

Specialties: Pool Service, Pool maintenance, Liner Installations, Pool Liner Replacement, Pool Cleaning, Above Ground Pool Service, In Ground Pool Service, Pool Closing, Pool Opening, Safety Covers, Loop Loc, Loop Loc Safety Covers Established in 2009. We have been servicing pools for over 17...
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