At Houston Cool Pools, we want you to know as much as you can about buying a pool before you sign any contracts. We want you to be delighted with your pool and your pool buying experience - no matter who you buy it from. That’s why we offer you this helpful guide - to give you the information you need to separate the competent and trustworthy pool builders from all the rest, and then make the best decision possible.
We suggest you interview prospective builders in person, over the phone, and/or via e-mail. Ask them a series of questions to determine their business stability, their technical competence, their credibility, and their commitment to customer satisfaction. Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself whether you can trust the builder you’re speaking with. But these 15 questions should give you some terrific insight into the person and company you’re about to do business with.
This industry is famous (or infamous) for what is known as the “one-poler”—a couple of guys working out of their pick-up truck, trying to build pools. Anybody that lives in an RV, motel, or apartment building and works out of the back of a pick-up truck can leave town in the blink of an eye with all of your money. Check to see if he owns his own home, or is just renting. A pool builder with strong ties to the community isn’t likely to leave town quickly.
Look for a pool builder who has a showroom or long-term lease in a commercial building. A showroom lets you view the builder’s products, see his operations, and meet some of his employees before you sign a contract. This shows that they are serious about their business, and not likely to leave town suddenly. This type of builder is also more likely to have the financial resources to take care of things if there is a problem with your pool.
Shady pool builders don’t like this question, because it’s too easy to check out. It’s sadly common in this industry for someone to build some pools, run into financial trouble, go bankrupt, and leave a bunch of unfinished pools in people’s back yards. Then a few months later, open a NEW company with a new name, and start all over again. They may change towns in an attempt to put their bad reputation behind them. But sometimes they’ll open that new business right next to the ashes of that last one, hoping most people won’t notice that they abandoned their previous clients.
By the way - when a pool builder goes out of business, your pool warranty disappears. So why risk your home and financial investment?
The rule of thumb is that if a pool builder has been in business less than three years, forget him. Or be really safe, and only deal with pool builders who have been in business for ten years or more. Only a few strong and trustworthy pool companies will make it past the ten year mark, at which point you shouldn’t have to worry about their stability.
This should be an easy question to answer. Those who have not will respond with a resounding “No.” Those who have are well aware that thanks to the internet, their secrets are not safe. So they’ll either have to admit it, and give you a sad story about why it wasn’t their fault*, or you simply won’t hear from them again.
*Note: “Whose fault it was” really doesn’t amount to a hill of beans when you’re stuck with an unfinished pool and no warranty!
