Just a quick rant regarding a particular popular pool supply store.
Today I was at said pool store and was waiting in line and, to my horror, watched an employee field a customer question "I have algae in my pool how do I get rid of it?"
The employee asks some basic questions and the owner knew NOTHING I repeat had ZERO information about his pool. The size, material, PH good lord he had not one detail available, did this stop the employee from trying to sell him a bunch of stuff?
NOPE
The employee calmly walks the guy over to where the chemicals are and literally loads them into the guys arms repeating what the water test printouts typically say if you tick the "algae present" box, a jug of green to clean three bags of power powder plus and walks back over to ring the guy up, the whole time stammering "yeah it would be super helpful if you could bring a sample in so we can test it for ya but here's stuff you can buy today to get ya started."
This is not the first time I have watched this person treat his customer so....I can't find the words.
I ran a nutrition store for years, I understand completely that it is a sales driven business but it is also primarily a SERVICE for pool owners. If it is not serving its customers with their best interest in mind, well that's a problem.
I have considered talking to the manager a couple times and now I just might. The other employee I see I have some respect for, it's ironic that he is actually pretty sharp but he is a lot less aggressive. This other guy though...I can't imagine how many people have spent money there and vowed never to go back.
The silver lining today was that the customer just gave dude an evil eye said he would be back and bought nothing. This employee just isn't too bright, pool owners typically are halfway intelligent and usually have money. That does not make them easy marks, despite how they come across.