Mike Giovanone feels old. The president and CEO of Concord Pools & Spas knows all the clichés of saying his company “functions like a family.” But it just so happens some of those platitudes are simply true at Concord, where many of his employees share bloodlines and last names. “My corporate attorney used to work…
Callahan Roach believes it brought flat-rate pricing to the pool and spa industry in 2000. Steven Dupuis, senior account manager for the flat-rate implementation company, started working with Callahan just three years later. Today, he traces his employer’s original muse back 102 years, to one of the world’s most iconic brands. “Flat rate is nothing…
Consider the lowly filter cartridge. If you’ve been in the industry for awhile, you know that in the last few years, filters have gotten more than their share of buzz. For a filter to have any buzz is abnormal, but the folks at Pleatco think filters are anything but lowly. They’ve made it their mission…
Swim University does not offer a four-year degree or doctorate; no sheepskin is earned and there are no football tryouts. Instead, Swim University offers a flood of knowledge from its founder and creator, Matt Giovanisci. If it has to do with the operation of your pool, Giovanisci’s media-rich and enlightening website, swimuniversity.com, probably has a…
How can a small insect wreak so much havoc on swimming pools? For two years, I have been explaining to customers why their pools are turning green and their patios are turning black: The whitefly infestation is taking Florida by storm. After about two months, I gave up and called around for help. I couldn’t…
What is your policy or how do you respond when a customer asks for part or model numbers when you’ve recommended they replace a piece of pool equipment? / What’s your policy on installing and/or servicing parts and products you did not sell? “Some people call to ask for a quote for hot tub covers,…
The landline is dying. Lack of mobility pushes many service industries, including pool professionals, to rely heavily on mobile devices to communicate with staff and customers. The downside? Everyone has your cell-phone number, and you can’t transfer or forward calls like your office setup. That’s where cloud-based phone services are coming into play, offering businesses…
Brett Lloyd Abbott, president of MYM Austin, Inc., a marketing firm geared toward pool builders, focuses exclusively on pools in order to garner better marketing results for his clients. “We’re selling a product that most people would deeply emotionally love to have,” he says. “You don’t have to do a whole lot more than show…
Ask a pool builder about the controllers they install on a build, and they’re usually committed to the models available from the pool companies they represent. Hayward Pool Products has erased these borders with the release of OmniLogic, its controller for pools and spas. You might be one of the hundreds who spent some up-close…