Just exactly what value should a pool cleaner bring?
IMO they (or at least mine) is overpaid for what they do. About 10 minutes of getting a few leaves, dumping some chemicals in, checking water levels and then they take off. The prior one was worse. By far the laziest I met in any capacity. Spent less than 5 minutes per week. I fired him for talking back to me and stuttering when I asked him the PH level in the pool as I knew he had never checked it. Frankly I wanted to hold his head underwater and drown him but I had to be realistic.
The way I rationalize payment is its sort of like a retainer as you would pay an attorney. They don't deserve it but when you need them they should be available immediately. For example, the water turns green for whatever reason and the pool guy should address it immediately. Mine seemed to think he should resolve it on successive visits until I blew a fuse.
I value and am glad to pay people who offer expertise and are technical. I don't value people who can only offer manual labor ie something I could do myself if I had more time. For example, if the return jets are gurgling, I don't want to hear a response like that means there is air and then the guy runs to the next appointment. I end up having to research things online and on YouTube and determine its the drain plug leaking and fix it myself successfully. Am I expecting too much?
So what realistic value should I expect?
IMO they (or at least mine) is overpaid for what they do. About 10 minutes of getting a few leaves, dumping some chemicals in, checking water levels and then they take off. The prior one was worse. By far the laziest I met in any capacity. Spent less than 5 minutes per week. I fired him for talking back to me and stuttering when I asked him the PH level in the pool as I knew he had never checked it. Frankly I wanted to hold his head underwater and drown him but I had to be realistic.
The way I rationalize payment is its sort of like a retainer as you would pay an attorney. They don't deserve it but when you need them they should be available immediately. For example, the water turns green for whatever reason and the pool guy should address it immediately. Mine seemed to think he should resolve it on successive visits until I blew a fuse.
I value and am glad to pay people who offer expertise and are technical. I don't value people who can only offer manual labor ie something I could do myself if I had more time. For example, if the return jets are gurgling, I don't want to hear a response like that means there is air and then the guy runs to the next appointment. I end up having to research things online and on YouTube and determine its the drain plug leaking and fix it myself successfully. Am I expecting too much?
So what realistic value should I expect?