SOLAR POOL COVERS LLC

The automatic pool cover business is dominated by a few large companies that become an effective monopoly after you’ve bought a cover from one of them and its exclusive local dealer. This manufacturer-dealer duo then has the opportunity to act exactly as you’d expect a monopolist would. In my experience, Solar Pool Covers took advantage of that power. The price for installing its equipment was good, and they did a good job installing it. But they have the option to get you on the repairs, where they have you over the barrel. On labor, they lowballed me on how much time they thought the repair would take and then worked slowly on the job (to be fair, it was a hot, muggy day). On parts, the manufacturer doesn’t disclose the price of parts on its website, except to its dealers. So Solar Pool Covers could mark up its parts price by a factor of five and then when I called them out on it acknowledge that they bundled the price of labor installing the part with the cost of the part. It was the first time I ever received a bill where labor and parts had separate line items (nothing unusual there)--but with the parts item including a hidden labor charge not in the separate labor line item. An additional part was also not listed specifically but under the larger more expensive system it was a component of, which effectively hid the name of the part that was replaced. After a service man does a job, I usually ask for a copy of the bill and then pay it then and there with a credit card. This dealer’s service man refused to give me the price of the job after it was finished, saying that he didn’t have time to fill out the bill and that time would need to be included in the bill. I’m giving them a C rather than an F because I had no problem with the work they did. The problem was the amount and way they charged for it.

Replaced the motor with a new faster "Big Red" motor but didn't give me the price. Decided to get it installed anyway. After the first winter, the motor failed. It has a 3 year warranty but they won't come out to service it until I buy a new cover ($3800)! They won't respect the manufacturer warranty on the motor and won't replace it.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS COMPANY WAS VERY FAVORABLE. THE TECHNICIANS WERE KNOWLEDGEABLE AND THEY REALLY DID THE WORK THAT WAS NECESSARY- THEY DID NOT FIND OTHER PROBLEMS OR CREATE OTHER DIFFICULTIES OR ADDITIONAL EXPENSE ON THE REPAIR.

THE SERVICE PEOPLE WERE VERY CORDIAL. THEY PERFORMED THE WORK DELIBERATELY AND ACCURATELY. THEY GOT THE WORK DONE QUICKLY. THEY PICKED UP AFTER THEMSELVES.

THE SERVICE MEN WERE CORDIAL AND SEEMED PROFESSIONAL. THEY WERE VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE COVER AND ITS OPERATING METHOD. I HAD NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SERVICEMEN OR THE WORK PERFORMED.