PRESTIGE POOLS

Service Provider Response

[Member Name Removed] - We apologize if you feel that we did not handle ourselves in a professional way or were not responsive enough to your inquiry. We certainly appreciated you contacting us regarding installing a liner in your pool, however, it is currently our policy to only install liners in pools that we originally built because we have the specifications for that pool and are certain of the quality of construction. We have moved to this policy because of what we have found when we have removed liners from pools we did not build and seeing the scope of the project balloon into something both we and the homeowner did not expect. Again, we strive to handle ourselves in a professional and courteous manner when explaining this to customers that inquire about a product or service we do not provide so we apologize if you felt differently. We would be happy to help you in the future with any products or services that we do provide. Respectfully, Pat Henry

Service Provider Response

Our first meeting was at the Minneapolis Home Show in winter of 2012. Evidently you gave me a business card in the form of a coin with your business information engraved on it. I say “evidently” because the first topic of discussion we had was about this coin. I don’t remember it, it’s true. After 43 years in the pool business and still doing home shows, I don’t remember everyone I meet. But you railed on me anyway about “surely you must remember it”. The following dates are public record and easily verifiable. The balance is left to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. 5/10/12 Proposal #1 meeting at your home 6/18/12 Proposal #2 via fax 6/26/12 Contract signing - no down payment was made. You were well aware of the fact that nothing custom would be ordered or permits applied for until a down payment was made. 7/10/12 Initial payment of $4100 arrived. Keep in mind $1620 of which was immediately paid to the city and county. 7/10/12 Applied for permit 8/1/12 Permit approved by Scott County- very slow process, and they didn't care who this guy was. 8/2/12 Excavated pool 8/3/12 Pool delivered 8 am 8/3/12 Footing inspection 11:30 am 8/3/12 Concrete footing placed around pool (Marshall Concrete) Time out: By this point, after placing the equipment pad as approved by your wife and landscape person (including all plumbing lines also) you arrived back in town and requested we move the entire thing. Additionally, the brass light boxes that you wanted moved further back were installed at a pre-directed location. Moving these out required the addition of hundreds of dollars of 3/4” brass pipe. We moved them but, of course, you had no obligation to pay for any of these items. By the way, you still have several hundred feet of garden hose that my brother left for your wife to water the numerous pine trees around your large custom home on 4 acres because they were dying and she needed a hose. As far as the concrete, I did meet with him 3 times and evidently it’s my fault he can’t read a tape measure and manage to get 4 cups set in concrete the same distance from the pool. The entire pool is backfilled in sand and built in a granular soil. The liner more than likely floated because it is the wettest spring since 1874 and your entire large custom home and surrounding area drain towards the pool. As I remember, my job was to build the pool. Nobody was interested in my opinion regarding drainage. In conclusion, yes, the cover took an unusually long time to install (the cover was in my warehouse 8/21/12) because you owed me money and I had had enough of your condescending, arrogant, buffoonery BS I could take. I should have known from the beginning when you insisted on changing the payment schedule (typically a sign that someone doesn't intend to pay), that you would not finish paying for your project, and you didn’t. This proved to be precedent considering you ultimately didn't pay almost $5,000 of the final bill. I admit, at the time it seemed like a bargain. Regarding your point about the step height being wrong- there is no wrong or right. A vinyl lined pool has to have a minimum first riser (10”) because the water in the pool starts 6” down from the top and this leaves 4” covering the tread, a minimal amount to hold the liner down. The cover track channel and deck go above this 10” riser, resulting in a first step of between 14"-16”. This is a tall first stair (the rest are 10”) but it is always going to be the case with a vinyl lined pool. Again, you are too busy looking at your coin to actually listen to an explanation. That reminds me, the custom 3 level depth pool you are complaining about: Did you think I just wanted to personally spend more money for you on your large custom home? Hardly. I thought you were paying attention when the idea was proposed and you and your wife liked it. Evidently I just wanted to inflict more pain on myself beyond the massive discount I initially took because “you’ll sell a lot of pools for me”. Good luck in your large custom home on 4 acres located somewhere in a parallel universe that I pray is light years away from me.