If a pool technician can’t persuade a reluctant customer to replace a feeble pump or a weathered liner, no big deal. Their pool, their choice — onto the next job. But sometimes, a tech is obligated to not take “no” for an answer. Pools that aren’t properly installed or maintained can be death traps, and…
Pool automation is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting trends in the industry — and in most cases, it’s a race to turn pools into spaceships. Many offer complex systems that run macros, control dozens of themes and integrate multiple systems into one control center. Pentair IntelliConnect, on the other hand, is designed to…
They say a good carpenter never blames his tools — but great pool techs certainly depend on them. From repurposing standard equipment for new and imaginative purposes to using their tools to build their businesses and bolster their reputations, the best in the industry treat their tools as extensions of themselves. The Top Tool: A…
Dan Cunningham gets paid to expect the worst. The companies that rely on his business analysis services are grateful for his insistence that troubled times are never far off. Why? Because history has proven him right, and in Cunningham’s experience, misplaced optimism is a business killer. “The biggest mistake people make is overextending themselves when…
For Brian Quint of Seattle-based Aqua Quip, the regional labor pool has talent, high expectations and plenty of options. Washington state, after all, is home to global juggernauts like Microsoft, Starbucks and Amazon, all of which are famous for generous benefits packages and employee-centric work cultures. But if Quint’s company sells hot tubs, swim spas,…
A Google search on the state of labor in the pool industry reveals an ocean of ominous headlines chronicling talent shortages, cross-company poaching, a perception problem and even an epidemic of suicide among construction workers. But if the labor crisis is real, some companies seem to be immune. Many businesses, no doubt, are caught in…
For pool builders who deliver presentations to customers, virtual reality is, in a word, awesome. The technology fully immerses users in a digital environment that’s so lifelike they feel that they’re actually wandering through a backyard that doesn’t yet exist. The technology, however, is clunky and complicated, and it requires goggles, headgear and other expensive…
Few industries are more cyclical and seasonal than the pool business. Homeowners naturally want to extend the season and close their pools as late in the year as possible. This forces pool companies and their service departments to cram the critical closing season into a short, frantic, whirlwind few months. In regions where savage and…
In Virginia, pools didn’t open on schedule this Memorial Day and waterparks are bracing for a shorter season.[1] Pools in Maine were still reeling from lifeguard shortages in the middle of June.[2] In Minnesota, labor shortages are stifling businesses.[3] These examples represent the anxieties facing businesses and organizations across the country, all of which have…
The swankiest section of Miami Beach is home to a $20 million-PLUS mansion that features a perfect rectangle of blue water levitating above the landscaping, apparently unbound by the laws of physics. The water is contained inside a clear-walled vanishing-edge pool. Linear and seamless, the breathtaking optical illusion is the brainchild of Aquatic Consultants Inc.,…
When Scott Cohen began using drones for aerial photography in 2013, he was not aware of another pool builder using the technique in the entire United States. Three years later, drones have taken flight across the industry. The days of standing on barbecue grills and climbing on rooftops to get overhead pictures may be coming…
Today, at least one in 10 retail dollars are spent online; in 2001, internet purchases accounted for just 1 percent of total retail sales. e-commerce grew by 14.6 percent in 2015 alone. Statistics could run the length of this article, but pool builders, suppliers and service providers don’t need data to understand how the internet…