For pool pros, the pandemic has had a surprising twist: A major uptick in business. “This has been one of the best years we’ve ever had. It’s been pretty crazy,” says Justin Lex, operations manager at Swimming Pool Services, Inc., a Wisconsin-based company. “Everyone is stuck at home and trying to build a pool or…
The Pool Scouts franchise, which offers pool service exclusively, spans eight states: Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Tennessee. Fortunately, state mandates restricting businesses during the coronavirus pandemic have deemed pool service essential in all states the company serves. “In this kind of [social distancing] environment, you want to make sure…
Misty Knight, technical sales manager for Zodiac Pool Systems, says her customers become like extended family. Bryan Banta, owner of B&B Pools in Pompano Beach, Florida, can attest to that. “Misty answers the phone when others don’t,” he says. “She’s available to me when I need her.” Establishing a strong B2B relationship between pool professional…
Not everyone provides service quotes to customers in the same way. Some go through a checklist with the customer over the phone, while others send a technician to do a visual inspection. No matter the method, there’s no denying that some sort of assessment ahead of time is crucial. No customer likes to find unforeseen…
In the history of the pool industry, there have been few franchise businesses. Pinch A Penny, a swimming pool retail and service franchise, started in 1976; it was the lone franchise for years. So for an industry that hasn’t seen a new franchise company since 2012, adding three in the last five years seems like…
photography by Marc Ridel Tiffiny Consoli wasn’t looking to go into the pool business. She was just looking to own a business, any business, that made sense. “I didn’t have one thing I was particularity good at or knew I wanted to make bagels every day,” she says. “It wasn’t like that. I wanted to…