SWAIN POOLS & SPAS

She contracted with them to replace. Original estimate was around 15k. By the time they were done, she had dropped over $40k into it! And most recently they came and told her they thought it was still leaking! Also, it took about 8 months to fix! These people ripped her off!

Called to have a representative come to give us an estimate: $344.00 ??? just to show up? Glad to know they're such fat cats and can breeze on without our business. P.S. Yes, we're in the next county (Gadsden) but in terms of actual miles, we're closer than a lot of their potential customers in the same (Leon) county.

Not hired. They wanted to charge for an estimate. The only ones.

They are the biggest crooks on the planet. A leak that should have cost a few hundred ended up costing us $1,800. They actually wanted to tear off siding and do other things and my husband stopped them. I have since talked to many others in Tallahassee and every one of them without exception had a horror story about Swain Pools ripping them off. My landscape guy had horror stories, my electrician as well, my yard guy, and on and on. I haven't heard a single person say one good thing. One man told me had done some work at the owner's house and when finished they refused to pay him! I have since found a reasonable spa repair guy who is honest and shows up on time. I did - thank goodness - have a really reliable pool guy so I never used them for my pool. These guys are crooks and have a terrible local reputation. I can't figure out how they stay in business.

The folks at Swain Pools and Spas are the best in the business. We were so pleased with our service when we lived in Tallahassee, that we paid a substantial premium to have Swain Pools and Spas handle the design and installation of our new spa, in Virginia. WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Swain Pools and Spas is the most dependable and efficient pool service there is. We can depend on them to always go above and beyond on our pool and spa needs. Thank you for ALL you and your staff do!

My first meeting with Jeff Swain convinced me that the quality and professionalism he showed made him and his company the ones for the job. Even though the estimate was higher than I expected, I didn't bother to get another estimate. As a local business owner in this town for over 30 years, I know that the only way to stay in business that long is by developing a great reputation, so I put my trust in Jeff and was rewarded with an excellent job, well done. Jeff was very thorough in discussing all the options for the pool renovation, offering creative design ideas and overseeing all aspects of the project personally. The day after the project was completed, Jeff stopped by to see if there were any outstanding issues he could help with. I asked him if his store sold replacement leaf nets and he said he thought he had some in stock that would fit, so I planned to go there the next day and purchase one. At 6:30 that evening he came back to deliver the net personally. What service! I couldn't be more pleased with the results of the renovation and highly recommend Swain Pools and Spas to anyone seeking pool services.

The Sales People were helpful. When we came back to check on more information about the spas, they had filled a tub of similar specs so we could actually feel the strength of the jets! The delivery was timely and done efficiently.

From start to finish, this was a fun project! Mr. Swain provided direct service every step of the way--from the first consultation visit to the final demonstration of the routine maintenance required. He was on site frequently to make sure things were getting done right.....and was never more than a text or phone call away to answer questions. (He even came over with the crew to divert stormwater away from my garage during a torrential rain...) My back yard is small and shallow, and he made the most of the space by building a unique pool that wraps around the wood deck with nifty angled steps going in from either side. I love my turquoise plaster! The best thing: he installs a larger than needed pump system with 1 sand filter and 1 cartridge filter so that the use of chemicals is greatly reduced. It's essentially a fresh water pool! He uses imagination, knowledge, experience....and seems to enjoy what he does. Building a pool is a big deal. I am so grateful that I chose this company to build mine. Feel free to contact me if you want more information.

Swain Pools resurfaced and remodeled our pool and deck, installed new pump and cleaner equipment and installed a new drainage system around our pool and deck. The people from Swain were friendly and professional. The owner Jeff Swain was involved from beginning to end. Not just a salesman but a craftsman, a true professional and a very hard worker. Excellent customer service. Felt like they took a lot of pride in their work and were grateful for our business. We designed a comprehensive plan together, with their professional input (they were not pushy at all) Then Jeff Swain and his crew did exactly what they said they would do and did in on time and on budget - no problems, no hitches. Very friendly and cooperative and trustworthy. The finished product was outstanding - met all our expectations. Once the pool was completed we even signed up for their monthly service. We wholeheartedly recommend Swain Pools to our friends and neighbors - without hesitation or equivocation. Would use them again in a New York minute.

We liked the spa model but were told we had to pay for close to the entire purchase price before delivery, which made us very uncomfortable. Then we were told that we could not have a firm price for installation and would be charged approximately $250 per hour for the installation. This made us very uncomfortable. The service provider did come to our home for a complimentary site review and said it would take approximately 5 hours to install the spa, but would not give us a firm price still, and said the final bill would be for however many hours installation actually took. That was the final straw for us. An open end installation contract is not what we consider fair, especially after a site review. We got the impression that the provider thought he was the only vendor we could use. We ended up going out of town to make the purchase. The provider we chose gave us firm pricing on the spa, delivery and installation. He also only required about 20% down payment deferring final payment until satisfactory installation. THAT is what I consider a fair business deal. I am very happy that I paid attention to my intuition and did not make the purchase from this vendor.

I have used them for ten years and they are true professionals.

A total nightmare. Unbelievable combination of hubris and crappy work. Shameless overbilling. We were billed $12,000 for repairing a pool leak that Swain caused when he repaired a faulty pool light. We refused to pay. As he has a habit of doing with many of his former customers, Swain sued us in a Leon County small claims court and we requested a jury trial. He could not produce records to support his exorbitant charges and the jury ruled in our favor. It didn't take the jury very long to decide that Swain's charges were Not justified.The judge assessed Swain $12,000 for our legal costs and he also had to pay his own lawyer. We have been using a different pool service company that unlike Swain keeps our pool water clean. Unfortunately Swain intimidates many customers who would rather pay him than fight. We fought back and won.

The hot tub from Swain Pools & Spas was a custom order so it took a while to come through and be installed. The experience has been good. We have had our ups and downs. The quality that they have provided has been exceptional, and any issues that I have had, they have been very responsive.

A nightmare of an experience. Our pool liner was leaking. We were losing about four inches of water about every eight hours. We tried to secure a diver to come out and patch it, but they were all busy and it wDas going to be days. Desperate, I called Swain Pools and they agreed to come out that day, but not without a deposit of $150 over the phone. They did explain that they charged $150.00 per hour, but at this point we needed to get the leak stopped until we figured out what to do. They arrived promptly and proceeded to go to work. The owner arrived, Richard Swain and while we were waiting he proceeded to show us a video of their sand filter cleaning process. Liner patched, he sold us on getting our filter cleaned. It never occured to me that it was not a fixed cost, but at a rate of $150 per hour $200 if there were two of them there. So they take the filter apart, clean the sand and then can't get everything hooked back up because the filter settled down about a half inch from the pipes that connected to it. They try and try to reconnect everything to no avail. Then he says that they can't reconnect the pipes and that we will have to have a concrete pad poured to replace the plastic one it was on in order to fix the problem. I'm looking at the plumbing and suggested that we just cut the pvc 1/2 in lower and all would be fine. Answer, won't work. He says a pad would cost about $4500 dollars. I'm thinking $4500 for a 2X3 concrete pad? You've got to be kidding me! He tried to get me to commit to the job, but I said no that I would have to speak to my husband. They left that evening leaving me with an unusuable pool filter. The next day I come home and he's there, without my permission, fixing the pump. He installed a new cap that I didn't ask for and reconnected the plumbing, without the need for a concrete pad. Said he wasn't charging us for the call. OK. Then I get the bill. $949.00 for taking about an hour and a hal to patch the pool and clean the filter. Got billed for all the wasted time to try and reconnect plumbing and $150 for the new cap that I thought he threw in that I didn't ask for.Oh and he quoted a new liner without measuring a thing and that quote was $8500, without any "unforeseen additional issues." We went with Salvo Pools. They did a great job and for $5700 including repiping some valves for us. Don't use these guys.

See above

We have a very old well and without their help we would have never found a replacement motor. They stuck with it and help us through all the numbers and codes. We've called OVER 100 places because we've been without water for 3 days. They we're so professional and provided the greatest help of anyone.

Not happy -- worst experience with a business person EVER!

My experience was extremely lousy. I bought a $6000 hot tub from them and it stopped working about a year or so later. I had bought an extended warranty from them but they said they were going to charge $200 of driving time to come out to fix the tub. They are only about 65 miles away. When they came out they told me it was a problem with the electrical system. I had an electrician come out to look at it and it turned out the problem was with the tub. They had to make 2 more trips out to my house to fix the tub.

The renovation ran 60 days behind schedule and 20% over budget. The hot tub began to have problems within the first 90 days and has not stopped having problems ever since. I engaged Swain to maintain the pool and hot tub after the work was done, so there would be no issues about who was responsible if anything went wrong. They tacked on $80-$100 extra monthly for chemicals, and every time the hot tub broke down, which was four times in the first 8 months, they claimed we had done something wrong and it was not under warranty. Then, we requested that they drain and clean the spa. We came home to find the spa drained and the pump and heater running full-blast and no one around. After that, the spa was always either overheating or giving a sensor error and shutting off the heater. They denied responsibility, and claimed that we had left the lid off (we didn't) or cleaned the filter with the pump running (we didn't), causing the impeller to clog. They charged us $150 to clear the impeller, but the overheating and sensor errors continued unabated. We did discover the source of the debris in the impeller, though...the enclosure for the filters is supposed to be sealed to the spa shell and it is just floating free. The lid they sold us with the spa became waterlogged with normal use and bent the lid lifter due to the excess weight. They replaced it and it quickly became waterlogged again, causing it to crack under its own weight when lifted, so now we have a hot tub lid that looks like a vinyl sack of crumbled styrofoam, which is what it is. They refuse to replace it again. Final effect is this: I come home after a long day wanting to get in the hot tub, and half the time I get either a cold tub with an error message flashing, or an overheated tub at 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Jeff Swain has refused to listen to our complaints, talking over us and insisting that we are doing something wrong. I have written to the manufacturer and I am hoping they will make good on the warranty, since Swain is the only vendor in town for this brand of spa. The join where the concrete extension meets the rest of the patio is cracking after 3 years and will need repairing. I have spent thousands of dollars on this spa and instead of a refuge from stress, I have gotten more stress and aggravation and a sense of being ripped off by a greedy j***, who would be Jeff Swain. If you are looking for pool and spa work, run, don't walk to a different vendor!

After the "repair" we found that they charge $90-100 per hour and there was more than one person working on the problem. The leak occurred again within two weeks and they would not agree to even look at the problem without charging another $90-100 per hour again even though it was obviously the same problem. We argued with the owner, Jeff Swain, but to no avail. He did not care about this customer and in my opinion is a crook for not coming out (under warranty) and at least looking at the "new" leak. Beware of his spill about how he's the only company in town that can find tough leaks under pool decks or how he does "Technical Plumbing" because that is garbage. We did get this fixed by someone else and it took 3 hours (not 20). Also be sure to retain a quote which should convince you to hire a Doctor to help you as it will be cheaper.