A customer enters a pool store with an electrolytic chlorine generator (ECG) cell that is scaled beyond repair. If the customer wants to continue enjoying his/her saltwater pool, the cell would need to be replaced and a better quality pool salt with scale preventatives should be recommended. However, due to fear the customer might balk at the cell’s replacement cost, … Read More
How to Get the Appointment
When a homeowner makes their first call to a pool/spa builder or service company, they are looking for the expert help only a trained professional can provide. Unfortunately, many of these potential customers, who are often eager to spend money on whatever they need to make their backyard getaways perfect, are met with silence. Calls are not answered. Voicemails are … Read More
The Ins and Outs of Job Costing
For many in the pool and spa business, money is looked upon as a taboo topic not to be openly discussed. It is true that in any form of business, competitors are restricted by laws from getting specific when discussing pricing, overhead and profit margins with one another. However, understanding these factors in broad, general terms (which are legally discussable) … Read More
How to Control Calcium Hardness
Maintaining appropriate levels of calcium hardness is a key balance factor in basic recreational water care. Typically, water in a vinyl-lined or fibreglass swimming pool should contain a calcium hardness level of 175 to 225 parts per million (ppm), while the recommended range for plaster-surfaced pools is a little higher at 200 to 275 ppm. In addition, the overall balance … Read More
The Evolution of Pool Cleaners
The swimming pool cleaner has been around for over one hundred years. These devices owe their evolution to imaginative tinkerers, engineers and designers from all over the world. Like swimming pools, there is almost certainly no single inventor or single swimming pool cleaner that has been recorded in history as the first such machine. However, by tracing key patent records, … Read More
How to Overcome Price Resistance and Make a Profit
Like any good businesspeople, most pool and spa service providers try to do everything right. They hire service people with a good aptitude and attitude and give them distributor- and manufacturer-sponsored training. They promote their companies to the local community and make considerable investments in various marketing initiatives. Having put their best foot forward, a customer calls to make a … Read More
Embracing Green Technologies Can Make a Difference
Adopting a socially responsible approach to green initiatives can help take the pool and spa industry to the next level. By committing to sustainability strategies and embracing newer technologies, pool and spa professionals can pledge to change their attitudes toward waste reduction and develop an energy conservation plan, opening the doors to new revenue opportunities and a positive, “green” public image. … Read More
Improving Pool Maintenance Department Efficiencies with Smart Service Routes
Service is the backbone of the aquatics industry. Once a pool and/or spa/hot tub is installed, it needs to be serviced so homeowners continue to enjoy their backyard investment. In most cases, the service technician is the face of the business and is the customer’s regular contact; therefore, they should be punctual and exemplify professionalism on all levels. For some … Read More
Understanding the Internet of Things in the Backyard
This is not another Internet article on some new crazy technology or app. The Internet of things (IoT), also known as the network of things or the Internet of everything, is not the next big gadget, it is already here. Chances are many are already using it without even knowing so. This technology affects daily life on every level (i.e. personal, professional, health, … Read More
How to Create a Seamless Sales Experience with Omnichannel Marketing
Roughly 25 years ago, sales “funnels” were all the rage in the specialty pool and spa/hot tub industry. There were sales funnels about the path to purchase that spoke about different customer touchpoints, and there were marketing funnels that showed the more money that was poured into the top of the funnel, more sales would pour out the bottom. Today, … Read More