00:00 – introduction
02:15 the Poolcorp Retail Summit. the treat on the planet CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON! Pentair, Hayward, and Fluidra all were represented.
04:55 – the “JUST DON” story, funny personalized license plate story.
07:50 – the approaching Arctic freeze and the pool owner’s fears. Offering winterizing services and winterizing instructions for pool owners.
18:16 – vetting pool builders and contractors. The stress caused by pool builders and remodel businesses that take the money and run, leaving homeowners stranded. Research the name of the business owner, not just the name of the company. There are unethical people who change business names frequently to distance themselves from their dirty deeds. They can change their business name, but they don’t change their sir name. Ask people in the industry their opinions of the contractors you are considering.
23:50- the value of reviews. If you are doing business with a company you like and appreciate, leave them a good rating and review on line. It is very difficult for businesses to get happy customers to leave reviews. This is valuable for small businesses and is the best way you can thank them and promote them. If you are using a service or having work done, and you are very happy with the person you deal with, call them out by name in a good review. Many businesses bonus employees for receiving good reports and good reviews from clients.
26:25- the source of many bad reviews is bogus. We have received a few bad reviews over the years and almost all were clients that we terminated service due to non-payment or very difficult and frustrating to work with. There are unethical competitors that leave bad reviews for their competition. They believe they lift themselves by lowering others. Ex employees that were terminated for valid reasons have been known to troll ex-employers and leave false bad reviews. This is destroying the validity of the entire review system and process. The best way to overcome false bad reviews is with a lot of good reviews. It is very difficult, sometimes impossible, to remove false reviews.
28:55- BBB, Better Business Bureau. What our experience has been on what they are all about. They are not a government agency, as many people believe. They are a for-profit business that will improve ratings for businesses based on paid memberships. Frank’s experience dealing with BBB when a false complaint was filed against his business. The BBB does not evaluate or investigate complaints. They simply pass complaints and responses back and forth until someone gives up.
Take all reviews, good and bad, with a grain of salt.
39:30 The extinction of Frank’s
You can listen to “The Deep End Pool Podcast” every week at 9:00AM CST on Saturdays. You can LISTEN LIVE online on TURF’S UP RADIO!
Do you have a pool question for Frank? You can email him at [email protected]. He just might read and answer your question on air!