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…
How much are you spending to mail invoices each month? Between the cost of paper, printing and postage, and the human resources expenses, it could be adding up. Billy Colquitt, owner of All About Pools in Sumter, South Carolina, was spending $400 a month just on postage — but after adding online bill pay, the…
Time to hold a mirror up to your business On page 35, we take a look at proper shotcrete procedures — it’s quite possibly an article you’ll glance at and then move on without reading. You already know everything you need to know about shotcrete. Not like your competitor down the road. He’s the one…
Chemical sanitizers will continue to generate sales for the foreseeable future, however, an ever increasing number of pool owners are concerned about chlorine exposure—over 80 percent according to Darren Hickman, CEO of Card on Guard, a floating, solar-based method of oxidizing pool bacteria. And that’s exactly the motivation behind Card on Guard’s development. Released in…
The genius of the DPD Pro dip-and-read test strip for public pools and spas from Hach, is in its simplicity. Hach has made the complexity of water testing so easy, it’s no wonder the interest level from end users, health professionals and public pool maintenance professionals has skyrocketed since DPD Pro was released earlier this…
Regardless of how you many reviews you’re getting now, I’m sure you have more satisfied customers who have only thought about giving you a review. The secret is to find the best way to ask, and to make it easy for them to leave a positive review. Asking for a review is one thing. Having…
Photos by Tom Weinstein Mark Howard’s neighbors were pool guys. While growing up in Phoenix, during his high school summers and on weekends during the school year, Howard worked for two brothers who lived near him. After graduating, Howard briefly worked at a print shop but found it insufferable. “I couldn’t stand being cooped up,”…
William Drakeley grew up in the pool business. As a child, he would pick up garbage on the job site, following around the shotcrete crews. He finished school and became a banker, but he hated staying inside. So he worked for a few family pool companies and then, in 2000, started Drakeley Pool Company in…
Your accountant just called. “Bill, you lost $12,000 over the past few months. You better make some changes, or this is going to be a really bad year.” You hang up the phone, feeling low and upset, thinking, “I’m paying this guy $200 an hour to tell me I’m losing money? I can look at…
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…
Pentair’s ScreenLogic interface allows automation through all kinds of devices — the newest being the Amazon Echo — a tower-looking device named Alexa that answers verbal questions and takes commands, among many other tricks — and Apple Watch. David MacCallum, product manager for lights, automation and Acu-Trol at Pentair, is explaining to me how he…