Why'd you fire the pool guy?
- Thread starter kevreh
- Start date
Re: 220 Volt GFI ??
Well, this guy "purchased" my contract from my former pool servicer. All of this was done without my permission or knowledge. Not even a single notice to describe the change. The first time I met him, he came back telling me that my filter manifold was broken and I needed to pay him $100 to replace it. Turns out he broke it by pulling too hard on the filter grids. Then, he re-wrote his contract such that he would get two paid weeks of vacation. Then, he destroyed my WhisperFlo while we were on vacation in Europe. Several other issues as well. When I came back to a broken pump, that pretty much did it for me. But really, the main reason I fired him was about money. This guy was charging the equivalent of $150 month when you add in his service charge of $75 to clean the DE filter, which he did more often than required. After I purchased an automated pool cleaner, his only relevance was for chemicals. When he broke my pump, I told him to take a hike. Ever since then, my pool has actually looked much better. I will invest soon in an EasyTouch plus IC60 SWCG to make things even easier.
I guess I should take that out of my tag line, because I know there are plenty of good pool techs here. Heck, I used to be a pool guy for a summer job when I was in college. This guy, however, was a real piece of work!
Well, this guy "purchased" my contract from my former pool servicer. All of this was done without my permission or knowledge. Not even a single notice to describe the change. The first time I met him, he came back telling me that my filter manifold was broken and I needed to pay him $100 to replace it. Turns out he broke it by pulling too hard on the filter grids. Then, he re-wrote his contract such that he would get two paid weeks of vacation. Then, he destroyed my WhisperFlo while we were on vacation in Europe. Several other issues as well. When I came back to a broken pump, that pretty much did it for me. But really, the main reason I fired him was about money. This guy was charging the equivalent of $150 month when you add in his service charge of $75 to clean the DE filter, which he did more often than required. After I purchased an automated pool cleaner, his only relevance was for chemicals. When he broke my pump, I told him to take a hike. Ever since then, my pool has actually looked much better. I will invest soon in an EasyTouch plus IC60 SWCG to make things even easier.
I guess I should take that out of my tag line, because I know there are plenty of good pool techs here. Heck, I used to be a pool guy for a summer job when I was in college. This guy, however, was a real piece of work!
Well, there's inept people in all fields. Makes me wonder if he was taking you for a ride with so many things breaking 
That guy does sound like a dweeb. I would have fired him too.
On the flip side, I am professional pool guy and I have had my share of jerk pool owners. My biggest gripe are young professional couples, swimming in a sea of debt, living beyond their means, who will drop you in a heartbeat because somebody came along and bid $10 less per month. Of course they only do this after you cut them slack all summer on repair jobs because you were trying to build a solid customer relationship for the long haul. LOL
Then there are the good as gold folks who treat you like family. I'm fortunate to have a few of those that have even become social friends as well with me and my wife. Those types I will go way out of my way to help any way that I can with repair jobs etc. A good pool guy CAN save you a lot of money and labor on repairs and preventative maintenance. It's definitely a two way street, but that guy did sound like a jerk and the two-week vacation deal is rather funny actually.....
On the flip side, I am professional pool guy and I have had my share of jerk pool owners. My biggest gripe are young professional couples, swimming in a sea of debt, living beyond their means, who will drop you in a heartbeat because somebody came along and bid $10 less per month. Of course they only do this after you cut them slack all summer on repair jobs because you were trying to build a solid customer relationship for the long haul. LOL
Then there are the good as gold folks who treat you like family. I'm fortunate to have a few of those that have even become social friends as well with me and my wife. Those types I will go way out of my way to help any way that I can with repair jobs etc. A good pool guy CAN save you a lot of money and labor on repairs and preventative maintenance. It's definitely a two way street, but that guy did sound like a jerk and the two-week vacation deal is rather funny actually.....
Make sure that when you cut them slack they know it. It will help you out down the road when that expensive repair comes along. Plus people appreciate it when your not sticking it to them at every chance.
I fired mine because he never lowered the pH and I got a nice coating of calcium scale all over the pool. One ripped up swimsuit (why are women's suits so expensive anyway 
) and he was outta there.
) and he was outta there.I never hired one. I had one company come out, he told me the fees would be double because I had a sand filter, and that I needed to call his office to OK the additional monthly fee. He said they give so many problems they have to charge more. He just dumped chlorine into my pool without testing, so I never knew what my chemistry balance was. I thought about it, found this website, then called the company and told them to forget it.
Now that I have a SWCG, the pool almost takes care of itself. A little MA occasionally, and some leaf removal, is all I have to do. Test results are always dead on, and the robot keeps the pool clean.
Now that I have a SWCG, the pool almost takes care of itself. A little MA occasionally, and some leaf removal, is all I have to do. Test results are always dead on, and the robot keeps the pool clean.
- May 4, 2011
- 634
It doesn't get any easier than that! I have to clean my skimmer daily anyway, so I figure might as well manually add LC, but I often think about how easy a SWCG would make things.RobbieH said:
The biggest benefit for me is it takes care of itself when I travel. I travel around 50% of my work time, so it's essential that it be as self-maintained as possible. I only have to dump my skimmer occasionally during swim season, fall is a different story.
Actually, the former company was really good. They always sent out good workers, charged a reasonable price, and their guys were trustworthy. I had one come out to service our heater one time, and after an hour of fumbling with the heater, determined that it was a gas line issue and didn't want to charge me. I ended up paying him after insisting. Unfortunately, that company sold our contract to the dweeb. The drag about that guy was how often he was coming up with charges for this and that, and at times, not showing up. Actually, the pool now is reasonably easy to maintain because our auto-cleaner keeps the bottom in pretty good shape. I still need to vacuum the steps and attached spa from time to time. Fall is still a pain. The biggest issue now is chemicals and how quickly the pool burns through them when it warms up. I am soon going to go the SWCG route. So, there is a little pride in maintaining the pool by myself. I've done all the equipment servicing and recently redid the plumbing to install an IntelliFlo. I travel quite a bit too, but so far, everything seems okay.
I am glad I found this site before I hired the pool guy. I wish I could have found the site before I had some guy come out and show me a pool school and how to work my equipment. After finding this site that was a wasted 125.00. Oh well live and learn.
I let an occasional customer go, usually because they aren't willing to pay or put any effort into their pool. I try to avoid weeklies except for those that really can't. This year, I have two that I care for. All my other customers are for services and augmentations.
I don't get fired.
Scott
I don't get fired.
Scott
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