CERTIFIED POOL & SPA SPECIALISTS

"As a long time business in the Coastal Bend we never want to have an unhappy customer. This customer did purchase her spa from us. The brand of spa that she purchased actually comes with a breaker and breaker box from the manufacturer. This is what was installed for her spa. If there was a problem with the electrical we were never notified of it. From her description of the problem, I am not sure if the problem was with the new breaker or with the existing breaker box and one of the breakers in it. As for her maintenance problems. We maintained this pool for approximately 1 year. In looking back over her statements I don't find any notes where the customer called complaining about her service until the final month that we maintained her pool. I find 3 times over the course of the year where the dogs were out. On each notation the employee wrote that the dogs were out and no one answered the door. Our employees will not go in a backyard with dogs because they have been bitten in the past. For each time that the dogs were noted, they went back the next day for the maintenance. If a customer calls questioning chemicals we will make a note in their file and credit back whatever they feel was used in error. Our employees keep daily logs from each house that they go to with chemicals listed for each job. Our service manager then enters all the chemicals into the customers account on a daily basis. At that time they also discuss with the employee all of the accounts that were serviced that day and any problems are discussed and noted in the customers account. This customers file appears to be fine up until the final month in with she cancelled. The customer did call the final month that we were maintaining her pool and complain because it was not being maintained properly. At that time, as noted in her file, she cancelled her service. We never like an unhappy customer and offered this customer a months maintenance at no cost to compensate for the issues. The customer came into the store after cancelling and wanted to pay off her bill. At that time we told her we had already written the amount off and did not want her to pay. She wrote a check anyway which was later torn up. We maintain over 100 pools a month with minimal problems. When there is a problem we make every effort to make it right. I am sorry that this customer had a bad experience with us and hopefully we will have a chance in the future to make it up to her."

"It is unfortunate that [member name removed] feels he received poor service. After 34 years in business it is not our intention to ever have a dissatisfied customer. Our billing was explained to [member name removed]and she understood that we charge for our diagnostic time. Our rates are always quoted up front and she was aware of our hourly charges. Once estimate was established the [member name removed] were called with a price to fix. They approved all cost including the labor. We do collect for parts up front when they are special order, paying for labor upfront is an option. This was all explained and was not a problem at the time. The bulk of the cost was the Ozone system. An Ozone system is the sanitizing system that works with chemicals to keep the water sanitized. It is not necessary for the spa to run correctly, other chemical options are available, however the customer wanted this fixed. The other part needed was a high limit. This is what controls the temperature of the spa. This part is necessary for the spa to work and is a minimal amount ($23.80) One has nothing to do with the other but both needed replacing. They were charged for an hour and a half of labor on the repair call, which is minimal for the work that was done. As for the part (hi limit) not being sent from the manufacturer, we have no control over their error, as soon as the part arrived it was installed and of course no additional time was charged. When the tech left everything was working fine. A month later we were called out for additional problems. This call was due to a reading on the control panel on the spa. The spa was in "Summer Mode" The customer could have changed the mode themselves but did not realize this is what was wrong. This call had nothing to do with the original call where parts were replaced, as I said when the tech left after the original call the spa was working fine and as far as we knew the customer was happy. The customer did not have this "error reading" problem until March. We had told the customer at the time of the call that we would try and run the charge through warranty, however warranty was rejected because it was deemed user error since it was a matter of switching the controls off the mode it was in. Even though the manufacturer rejected the warranty claim we did not charge the customer for this last call and the amount was written off as a courtesy call. The customer has failed to acknowledge this. Our rates are in line with other pool & spa repair companies. Very few companies give free estimates anymore. They might tell you they are free but they are eventually worked into the cost of the call. Cost of labor and doing business does not allow it. Total time charged on this call was two and a half hours for a total of three separate calls and four trips. The additional hour was written off as a courtesy. Considering the amount of work done it is within reason. To my knowledge we never received a complaint from this customer concerning this work. As a new member to Angie's List this is the first that I have heard of his dissatisfaction. We are the only pool & spa company in South Texas that are able to work on all brands of pool & spa equipment. Other service companies often call for advice on problems they can not resolve. As I said it is unfortunate to have a dissatisfied customer but from the sounds of it the bulk of the dissatisfaction in this case was due to customer error concerning the last call and an additional trip that he was never charged for."