21st Century Pools & Spas

Excellent job

Now that it's over I would still go with 21st Century even though not everything went exactly as expected and would recommend them.  Contact with Sales department was excellent.  Contact with Installation department was okay.  Primary concern is that the location of the new pool was communicated three times and as late as the day prior to the install was still being positioned incorrectly.  This was critical to have it the correct distance from the existing house and deck.
   Actual pool installation was quick and went as expected, very efficient and professional team.  A few issues did occur - Filling in the deep end of the old pool did not go as well as it could have.  Two comments - 21st did not properly anticipate the amount of fill required and needed to bring extra material in.  Not a big deal.  But after the install was complete and they left I've seen that they still did not add enough new material and have left a drainage issue that I now have to address with additional fill and expense.
   Pool heater stopped working a few weeks after installation.  21st could not fix and the heater manufacturer serviced (for free under warranty).  I believe the ultimate issue was that it was not adjusted properly for an above ground installation with the heater and pool at the same ground level.  I think this points to 21st not understanding how to correctly install.  No harm done.
   I got quotes from 3 other pool companies in the area.  21st was not the cheapest, they were in the middle (and I never received one of the quotes from another "big and long standing" company in the area but it would have been higher based on initial discussions and I never got a call back until 21st was already installing!).  21st's quote was far and away the fastest and most complete received.  2 of 4 companies (not 21st) did not even want to come to the house and look at the site before quoting.  21st was the only company willing to remove the old pool.  21st was the only company willing to quote replacing the deck from the old pool (ultimately went with someone else that they recommended and that went very well too).  21st was the only company that was forthcoming with estimating what different heater styles would cost to run long term.  They were far and away the most knowledgeable and forthcoming of the four companies which built their credibility.
   One additional comment about all of the quotes was that no one, including 21st, would quote the cost for the electrical work for the pump and heater (ultimately $1100).  I guess because this is not a service that they offer so I sorta understand.  It did feel like a service that they should have included in the quote though.  After all, what good is a pump and heater if you can't turn them on?  But I got the impression that their goal is to quote as low an initial number as possible and hope to get you to commit to the install before you understand the total cost.  When the project is done I will likely have spent another $2000 - $3000 beyond the cost of the pool and heater (not including decking).  Lesson learned would be to do everything possible to understand EVERY expense that you are likely to encounter before embarking on a new pool install (and read the fine print on contracts!).
   I think every company that I worked with is in the "pool" business and probably installs pools just fine.  I don't think any of them are "full service" when the request starts to get more involved (remove old pool, fill in the deep end, build a deck to replace the old pool deck, run electrical?) and this is where they start to make mistakes or just simply won't do the work.  21st was the closest I found to Full Service but I don't think our area actual has an "A" rated full service pool installer (at least for what I was looking for).  A solid "B" experience.  I expect any other choice I considered would have been a "C" at best.