A-1 Pool Service Inc
About us
Personalized Service & Professional Design Construction & Remodeling- Residential Pool Service- Short -term & Long term rentals pool service- warranty service center for Pentair, Jandy/Zodiac, Hayward & Goldline and others- filters, heat pumps, propane heaters, pool pumps, salt systems, automatic control systems
Business highlights
Services we offer
Complete Remodeling of pool & decks, Crack repairs, Deck Repairs & Painting, Design new Pools, Heater Repairs, Leak Detection, New Pool Construction, Pool Repairs, Pool Replastering, Weekly pool cleaning, automatic control systems, heat pumps, pool pumps, propane heaters, salt systems
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 68% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 11% | ||
| 21% |
"Thank you- let us know if we can be of any help!"
"Thank you - if you ever need us just call!"
"Thank you"
"Thank you we look forward to continuing our work for you."
"Thank you"
The entire process of choosing & ordering the spa & having delivered was seamless. Paul & Dawn were fabulous to work with me as I am an out of town homeowner with a rental property and we communicated via telephone and email many times to help make my choices.
The rental company is very pleased that we will now have a new spa for our rental guests to use. A-1 has explained to me how to use the spa & provided directions for me to post inside the home & for the rental company to provide for renters.
This could have been a very long and drawn out process, but I encountered no problems whatsoever. Emails and telephone calls were always returned, they let me know choices via websites and work was completed very quickly with their staff.
I am very pleased and have been using this company for a very long time, and will continue to use them. They are the only service provider that my rental company (both current and past rental company) recommend for service in this area.
"Thank you for your review. Let us know if we can be of assistance at any time."
1. The most awful customer service your can imagine. We've only ever dealt with one person at A1 from a customer service standpoint and it was always the same.
2. We've had several large charges pop up on our bills over the years for work that was not authorized and repairs that were not needed or approved. Each time we asked about these we were met with rudeness by Dawn. We've made it clear that they were not to perform any repairs to our pool without our prior approval and yet they've continued to do it. Until recently we've paid all of the bills for the work that was not authorized.
2. They backwashed a huge pile of sand into our newly landscaped area and ruined it although there were many appropriate and convenient places to backwash. When Dawn was contacted about this she made no effort to remedy the situation and pretty much said it wasn't her problem.
3. We had renters who paid us to heat the pool and A-1 was supposed to turn on the pool heater a few days prior to their arrival. When the renters arrived the pool was cold and the heater was not on. I contacted Dawn and she insisted that the pool heater was turned on and it was not their problem. I even had our renters take pictures of all the heating equipment that proved the heater was not on and Dawn still told me it was not her problem. On several occasions when we have been at the house, A1 has turned our pool heater off without permission when we have been the ones to turn it on. So, A-1 may have turned it on as Dawn stated but someone from her company turned it off before the renters arrived because the heater is locked and A-1 employees were the only ones who had access. We had to give our renters a refund and Dawn still made us pay for them to turn the heater on even though it wasn't on for the renters. Dawn did not care at all what problems A-1 created for us or our renters.
4. Last spring we had another situation where the pool was not heated for a renter. I immediately contacted A-1 and the person who answered said Dawn wasn't there and she couldn't help me. This escalated into a big deal because I had unhappy guests at my house who paid to have the pool heated and the pool was cold. I decided to take matters into my own hands and had a tech from the heating company dispatched who was able to easily fix the issue for me. The heating company also identified at this time that the heater was never turned on. Again, I had pictures taken which clearly showed that they heater was not on. The heater is locked and the only way it could have been turned on or off was by A-1.
In the meantime, A1 took it upon themselves to send someone from their company out and charged me even though I told them I would handle it on my own when the person on the phone at A1 told me she couldn't help. When the charges popped up for this, i contacted Dawn who insisted that we pay them because they sent someone out. The fact that they did not turn the heater on, told me that they could not help, and that I had to get the pool heater fixed myself meant nothing to her and she was extremely argumentative. Once again, we paid another bill for something that was not requested or helpful.
5. The final straw was this summer when I asked A1 to check the light in our pool because someone said it wasn't working. A1 never got back to me on this and when I asked about it again they said the light was fine and there was nothing wrong with it. I was very clear when I asked Dawn about the light that I did not want any repairs done without our approval, I just wanted to know if anything was wrong. Low and behold the following month I have a HUGE charge on my pool bill for the light being replaced. When I contacted Dawn about this she said it was her mistake and if we didn't want it then they could come back and undo all the work and put the non-functioning one back in. Last I heard there was nothing wrong with my light, why would you need to replace it if there was nothing wrong? And seriously A1, that's your response when you make a mistake? To tell the customer it was your mistake and you will come back out and put a supposedly non-function light back in the pool? Your "customer" solution is to spend more time "undoing" your mistake to leave the customer in a worse position? That defies all logic and does not help anyone.
Based on the information I received from A1 I do not believe there was anything wrong with the light in the first place and I think this is all a coverup for the erroneous charges. I made it very clear that I would not be paying for the work that was not authorized which was their mistake and that I was switching pool companies. I received another email about payment for this work and I again made it clear that I would not be paying for this. Dawn's response to this was to tell me that the account would be sent to collections if I did not pay it. She also offered again to spend additional labor to undo the work that they did. I declined, and told her that I do not trust them and do not want them on my property. As an alternative, I let her know if they wanted their light back that I would have my current pool company remove it and send it to them as long as A-1 paid for the labor upfront. She responded that she would be sending this to collections.
I am not worried about the collections process at all as I can't imagine how we could be expected to pay for work that was NOT AUTHORIZED. However, I did decide to write a review on google so that I could share my repeated problems so that others would have this information when they needed to select a pool company.
I promptly received an email from Dawn after I wrote a review on Google stating that "since I wrote a negative review" they can not resolve this issue and have no choice other than to send it to collections. What? You have no choice and can't resolve the issue? This makes absolutely no sense since she has made zero attempts to resolve this over the last few months and had already stated that she was sending it to collections. I have been bullied into paying for charges that were not previously authorized and for mistakes that A-1 has made but I will not be bullied into staying silent over this. It's important for me to share an accurate and honest view on my experiences with A1. That's what reviews are for and I feel that people who are considering using A1 should know how they treat their customers.
Lastly, I was astonished by the response that Dawn posted to my Google review. In this response she stated that we have safety and flood issues with our house and they replaced the pool light due to safety concerns. This is 100% NOT ACCURATE. It is a fabrication after the fact to try to negate the facts in the review. When I contacted Dawn about the bill for the light she stated that this was their mistake. Don't you think that if there was a safety issue that it would have been included somewhere in the explanation of why work was done that was not authorized? We have been working with A1 for years and the FIRST time that I have ever heard anything about safety and flood issues was today in reading her "public" response on Google. I am shocked that she would fabricate something like this after the fact, but I guess it shouldn't surprise me given my other interactions.
We own several homes and this is the first time that we've encountered a situation like this. My co-owner has three engineering degrees including a PhD in engineering. He specializes in Safety Engineering and we are very diligent about any potential safety issues surrounding our house.
"1) The day we notified you that the invoices for the repair and the months of cleaning services not paid were being sent to collections, you posted the negative public reviews. We can not deal with this issue in private now after your decide to make it public and we have to respond to defend ourselves from your false accusations. Before you decided to take this issue public, we offered to remove the light unit from the property & replace with your old unit if you did not want to pay for it, and you declined. We did explain that we can not remove the months of cleaning charges that you did not pay for as of yet. 2) I did NOT acknowledge any mistake as there has NOT been a mistake. You notified us via email that the light not working, we reset the breaker & informed you. We went to check again after your 2nd email and found that the light had water in it, thus a safety issue. We did replace the light, assuming that you would know it was still having issues and would want a safety issue taken care of immediately. I did inform you that I was in the hospital due to surgery the week this happened and out for the following 2 weeks, which is why I could not respond the day it happened to let you know it had been replaced. 3) You have a heat pump that does not work if temperatures are not warm enough (generally below 60 degrees). This is an issue with heat pumps. We inform all owners of this issue, even before installing heat pumps and you were informed on the contract for the heat pump. We also inform you when problems arise that we can not add refrigerant to heat pumps as you need to be an HVAC company to complete this so we do refer you to an HVAC company if we have determined that all other areas working appropriately (electrical and plumbing). Your pool area is unlocked and renters and other providers can access the equipment, thus turning on/off equipment as you have the code to give them. 4) The pool can't heat for some renters due to the outside temperatures, which was the situation this past spring due to the heat pump issue. 5) Your property is a beach oriented property and has drainage issues due to how it was constructed. There are no other places to backwash on the property and it is a sand filter, thus some sand does come out. We have tried to accommodate your request many times, but we can not seem to make you happy. When it rains heavily on the property, you also get sand wash out and landscape deterioration that is not our fault. 6) If anyone is concerned about our activities on any property that we have received false reviews, we do encourage anyone to ask us regarding the issues as there are always 2 sides to every story. We try to work with our owners dilligently, but they do become upset when they do not want to pay invoices and are sent to collections. We do respect your privacy and have not used your name or specific property address, but we will defend ourselves against your false accusations. 7) Again, we have tried to work with you in private first to resolve this issue of non-payment, but it was to no avail. We had no choice but to send to collections as you did not want to resolve this issue and it was your decision to make the issue public by placing the reviews."
"We were requested by her rental company in July to unlock spa jets for their use, which we did complete and forwarded the email to the owner and rental company verified that it was completed. For whatever reason, in September the rental company “refunded” the renters $1600 for spa jets not working. This is not correct; as the pool and spa were useable the entire week of their stay in July and the jets would work if they pressed the buttons in the correct order as the directions report to. The rental company stated that the renters said only one jet worked, which is the normal position for the spa when the spa is in pool mode, when it is in spa mode that one jet will turn off and other jets will operate, which immediately tells us they did not press the buttons in the correct order given. We were never requested by rental company to visit guests during that week to give this information in person, or notified of any problems after we unlocked the spa jets, as the rental company knows that the owner does not like paying for additional service calls and has quite a temper, so they (rental company) are trying not to lose the account and blaming us for jets not working, when in actuality they did work, but it was operator error on usage. I have the email from [company name removed] on Sept 8 referring to this and can send you a copy of it. We have requested to meet with the rental company and owner on the property to explain this again in September when we were notified of the claim, and both refused and the owner cancelled service immediately. The home rents, as you can see by going to google the address online, for $2600 per week in the off-season and $4600 per week in the spring/summer seasons, so the owner does profit from the rental of the home quite well. We have been performing pool & spa services for rental properties for over 20 years and currently have many properties with many different rental companies on Hilton Head, and have never heard of such a large amount being given for “jets” not working, when in fact the renters were not even paying the additional money required to heat the spa? There are many times during the season of April – September that we have to go out to properties to show renters how to use the spa and spa jets and how to press buttons, even with directions present inside as they are at this property. We do this repeatedly during the spring/ summer season as it is a “regular” problem and confusion for renters at many properties and with many different rental companies. This seems to be negligence on the part of the rental company for not meeting with us first to discuss the issue or to meet on property in September to help resolve the issue, or to even call us out in July when renters were in town to meet with both their representative at the property and the renters in the property to help solve the issue."
"We explained to the renters and to you with a photograph that the area they were seeing was due to fiberglass gel coat in the pool etching and looking like sand when it was a stain- we even took a photo of it for you and sent to you. This is a problem that can not be cleaned or vacuumed and we recommended you call a fiberglass company for re-coating of the pool."
A-1 pool service solved all our pool problems after a competitor performed a problematic installation of mechanical equipment that was left leaking, shaking, and improperly located outside our service yard. Despite a pattern of assurances, the original contractor never commenced the necessary repairs.
I gave up on the original contractor and called A-1 Pool service for help. The owner, Paul Bullock came out to my home within two hours of my call. He showed me that the pump and filter were poorly matched and that this was going to result in early mechanical failure. He identified other deficiencies that had to be corrected as well, and offered to reposition and enclose the system so that I could comply with the rules of our home owner’s association.
I hired Paul on the spot. He put together a plan that addressed all the problems left in my lap by the original contractor. The work is now done and the results are fantastic. The water is crystal clear because the new filter and pump work at maximum efficiency. The pump is quiet and the pipes don’t leak and shake any more. The pressure gauge reading is now normal. Components left sitting on the ground by the original contractor are now properly installed. The pool is safe and clean, and the installation complies with the HOA standards.
A-1 Pool Service is a professional operation in every respect. It’s a pleasure to deal with a responsive and helpful office manager. They communicate with you. Their work is meticulous and that is evidenced by a perfectly functioning pool. A-1 is now doing our weekly maintenance. Their technicians come on schedule, are friendly, and leave everything clean and safe. You can depend on these people. I am glad that I found this company and strongly recommend A-1 Pool Service.
"Thank you- we look forward to continuing our work on your property for you! Let us know what else we can do to be of assitance."
"Thank you- we look forward to continuing our work on your property for you. Please let us know whatever we can do to be of assitance."
The owner is a stand-up guy, I think, but has over shot his size and has severely suffered in consumer satisfaction and service.
It is a shame, but I could NOT recommend their service to ANYONE!
It's unfortunate, but his wife is the direct contact for customer service, and she seems to have some health problems and is not very pleasant or prompt in getting back in times of need. Also, I own rental property in addition to my home pool, and they are not available by phone (almost never, but) on the weekends, not even an emergency number...This is unheard of! Email is your ONLY CONTACT!
Their repairs are poorly done and just within the last month, both my pools have been drained because the technicians had left the valves in the wrong position. Had I not been home, my pool would have been filling on autofill for a week!
I could go on for two pages.
DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE! THEY USED TO BE GREAT, BUT HAVE GONE BAD FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS!!!
"Since our founding in 1992, we have provided honest, reliable and personalized service to our many satisfied customers. I have provided my personal cell number for this owner and he would use as he needed. The incident in question lasted all of 1 hour. Unfortunately, this owner has chosen to escalate their criticism to a personal level in a public forum. I find this to be insulting and disappointing, considering the personal good will I have extended to he and his wife as mutual business owners in the area. Despite often difficult and time sensitive circumstances for both of his properties, my company has tried its best for these customers and we wish them the best of luck in the future."
Licensing
State Contractor License Requirements
All statements concerning insurance, licenses, and bonds are informational only, and are self-reported. Since insurance, licenses and bonds can expire and can be cancelled, homeowners should always check such information for themselves. To find more licensing information for your state, visit our Find Licensing Requirements page.
*Contact business to see additional licenses.