JVTrain....LOL....you are so right. I do believe the 'test results' are skewed whichever way it allows them to tell you that you need to buy something. And, yeah, many of the people working the counter do not have much knowledge of pool chemistry.
Dave,
I looked back at about 10 years of pool test results and, now that I've learned much more here - especially about the importance of SI - I can see how they could have done much better for me. Sometimes I was told to increase this or that and I can see now that the pool really didn't need it. Often my SI was kept in the scaling range rather than closer to zero which is where it should be. I'd suggest getting a good test kit like the Taylor K-2006 and doing your own. Like someone here told me when I started a thread about this same concern - the pool store is just that...a store...as in a place where you BUY things. I have dealt with the same store for 25 years and have a good relationship with many of the people there, but I can see how the results and advice have been inconsistent over the years. Now that I have a newly renovated pool, I want to take matters into my own hands to make sure the water balance is maintained better than I knew how to do before.