Budd's Pools & Spas

RUN, use a different pool company. Budd’s has gone down hill. They take your money, do a crappy job and won’t call you back. My pool is falling apart and is just 4 years old. It’s been falling apart since it was built. They replaced the coping once and made it worse. Promises not kept and again Chris will not get back to do the work promised. Grout disintegrating into my pool. Waterfall stones are crooked and the filled 2” gaps with grout instead of stones. Liner lock has grout in it so it isn’t locking in the liner. The under side of the coping has holes big enough for my finger to go in it. Concrete sank and pump pad leaving my equipment sitting in 5” of water. Chris blamed us for this issue.while my pool was being build, we had a major rain storm and all my piping and pump pad where floating. They never went back and tamped it, therefore it sank.

Horrible. Budds flakes on commitments, won't respond to my calls/ emails, they don't care about their customers.

Had them open my pool this year.....disaster. I was disappointed a few years back but decided to give them another try. Main tech was rude but his partner was nice and a hard worker. We had just had a heavy rainstorm the night before opening so there was water and some debris on the cover. In the past they had been good about getting most of it off before removing it. Not this time. Didn't take any care in trying to remove the cover without dumping debris into pool. I called another company who came and spent 2 days cleaning it up. They did an amazing job. They have a new customer for life and I am done with Budd's for good.

Beautiful Proffessional job, well coordinated

They came out three times. Once to check the site once the spa was purchased to make sure there would be no problems and provide advice for the electric hook up. The second time was to deliver the spa. After the spa our electrician finished they came out the day I filled the spa for an orientation and to ensure that everything was working correctly.

They cannot service my hot tub.

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It must be a bad year for Budd's we have been using them for 3 years open our pool.  We typically use them because they are convenient and they call use to schedule yearly.(bonus points) This year seems like they were cutting corners and charging us for additional services. Typically they store my equipment inside the pool storage box but this year all the plugs were left to blow around my pool area. (change in Service Level) Our service was schedule for June 1st the Budds team called to confirm and asked us to ensure the pool cover was clear of water.  I cleared it off on Sunday but we received a record amount of rain the day of the service so I was charged extra without being asked. (http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KPHL/2015/6/1/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Mount+Royal&req_state=NJ&req_statename=&reqdb.zip=08061&reqdb.magic=1&reqdb.wmo=99999) The fact is if they are going to charge people extra for service on rainy days they should ask first or not work when it is raining. The most troubling part of the story is that I called to see if we could resolve this issue and I have yet to receive a call back.  The person I spoke with said they would look into the issue but they have yet to return my call.  She was said she would be reviewing the pictures and I am sure they will show my pumps pulled off the pool and my shop vac next to the pool cover as I used it to vaccum off the last of the water on Sunday before our record breaking rain. I have waited a reasonable amount of time before posting a negative review for them to contact me back and I will be shopping around for a new provider for my closing this year and my opening from now on.

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I called in the winter to have my pool anchors replaced and a new cover made.  Unfortunately twice the appt had to be cancelled due to weather.  They said they would call and reschedule when the weather got better.  I never received a call---not a problem I am sure they had a lot of customers to reschedule and put it on my calendar for early July.  I called in early-mid July and told the woman answering that I had tried to schedule an estimate in the spring and would like to get on the schedule as soon as possible.   She said the person in charge of service would call me back the next day---I did not receive a call and called back again ---I still have not received a call back and am disappointed since Budd's has a reputation of being the best in customer service and quality of work.  I ran into this before when I needed a pool repair done---they eventually came but I felt like I was inconveniencing them.

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Have to admit that although I had two big hiccups with the installation of this pool that I can't say enough about the high level of customer service that Budds provides. We planned the design of our pool with Larry Stoelker, who was pleasant and good to work with. I had many delays in installation that were caused by an outside hardscaping contractor but Budds, namely Shawn, was ALWAYS in constant communication with me and the contractor to keep things moving along. If he said he was going to call, he did. Many times he either came out himself or sent a qualified person to take care of any issues/concerns either the same day or within a day.  
About the "hiccups": somehow the pool was completed at a 6' depth when we had wanted an 8' depth. Although it was written on the top portion of the contract as 6', the diving depth portion of the contract clearly was marked as "diving depth" (which is 8') and which is where our initials were signed. I admit it was my oversight not to double-check the top portion of the contract where the specs are listed and from which the permits are filed, but the contract is lengthy and we clearly initialed the section acknowledging it to be diving depth. We also had a very lengthy discussion with Larry during the planning phase about WHY we wanted diving depth which he did recall. We didn't realize the depth of the pool was incorrect until we took our first swim. We also were very unhappy with the color of the plaster. The color made the pool water look a dingy grey. During the planning process we were shown photos of completed pools and chose a photo which reflected the color of the water that we wanted. However, the plaster that was used in that photo was a dark grey and our water didn't look like the rich blue as it appeared in the photo. 
Chris and Larry came out to our home to discuss our concerns and disappointment in the final outcome of the pool. They empathized and admitted that despite the contract stating 6' it DID also state it was diving depth where we initialed AND Larry DID admit recalling the conversation explaining why we wanted 8'. Because we weren't happy with the color of the plaster and since we all agreed it was not efficient to re-dig the pool to get two more feet of depth, they offered to replaster the pool with a color that would brighten the blue up a bit. This was a satisfactory solution for us all and once we accepted they immediately started the replastering process. We love the revised and now final version of our pool!
Second hiccup was with the automatic pool cover. This was an item installed by a separate vendor BUT was managed through Budds pools. After our pool was finally completed the end of last summer it was only a few weeks after that it was closed for the season. When it was reopened early May this year we found that the automatic pool cover was not working. I spoke to Shawn several times as he sent people out to diagnose the problem and to get it working temporarily so we could use the pool in the meantime. It was finally determined the issue was not electrical but a problem with the motor. With much hemming and hawing by the pool cover company, Shawn was finally able to get the vendor to come out and replace it with a brand new motor. All this time Shawn also organized opening and closing our access panel in our patio (a travertine tile arrangement that can only be done properly by a professional hardscaper). Budds' expert in the hardscaping aspect, Eric, came out a few times to help with the travertine access and with initially diagnosing the problem. He came AFTER hours and even provided his cell phone number to contact him if we needed to. Now, the cover is finally working and my peace of mind is satisfied.
We've had a few maintenance visits already--we opted for the bi-weekly plan. Our service guy is Joe and him and his assistants are extremely courteous, informative and thorough. 
Although the issues I discussed here may seem like big deals and they are, Budd's immediately and conscientiously addressed our concerns and corrected them to our satisfaction. The issue with the pool cover was something I can see any other pool company telling me to talk to the cover company directly and it was my problem to deal with. Shawn chose NOT to do that but took care of the problem and dealt with them himself--all this during peak pool installation season. I cannot say enough great things about the high level of customer service that all the employees that we've had contact with have given us. It's impressive and should be how all companies are run. Would highly recommend this pool company to anyone else. Thank you especially to Shawn and Eric for outstanding service!

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They fit me into their schedule even though their green to clean season was over. Then, they arrived on time, kept me informed of their progress and they finished quickly! It was completely painless. The price of $600 that I wa given ended up being higher but after my experience with a local F-rated company, it was an absolute relief.

The Budd's team was very professional and proficient from the initial sales consultation at my house, to meeting with the project foreman, to the workers on the ground throughout.  Even the subcontracted work (electric and concrete) was as pleasant to work with as it was with Budd's.   Any curve ball we (or the earth in our backyard) threw, they reacted quickly and without complaints.   We recommend Budd's to anyone looking for a pool installation.

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A person from the company came out on the day and at the time he said he would. He explained the whole process of what they would do to resurface our 20 year old in ground  pool. On the first day, the pool was drained and a bonding coat was applied. On the second day, the finish coat was applied. On the third day, the expansion joint was replaced. On the fourth day, they came out and tested the water and got us started with the needed chemicals. Because our water is so full of minerals, we decided to buy water to refill the pool. Budd's made all the arrangements, and they stayed to supervise the refill. Everything went smoothly. This is the second pool for which we have had this procedure done. The first on was about thirty years ago at our old house. This finish is much better; our pool looks brand new. there is nothing we did that we would do differently.  

It went great!  Two repairmen arrived on time, were very efficient and cleaned up everything after.

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Finding a responsible and responsive pool and spa service contractor is not an easy task. Budd's Pools & Spas staff is knowledgeable and professional even down to the woman making the service schedule. Despite this being a very busy season Budd's Pools & Spas manages to provide exceptional service to the little guy who already has a pool installed and just needs a service call. Budd's Pool and Spa actually calls you back in a timely manner shows up when they say they are gonna show up and sends a professional. Over the years I have dealt with 3 well known pool service companies and it was a struggle in some way or another. I am glad to find a team who knows what they are doing.