What's More Important For A Successful Installation/happy Client, The Brand Or The Installer?

[jwilsonri]

What is the most important element to a successful installation/happy client?

Is the product put in the ground or the installer/builder who put it in the ground?

[don pool]

In my humble opinion, both a good product to install and the installer are of equal importance. If you were a good baker, using the best ingredients in proper measure would be of vital importance to the creation of the best final product. The end result would be something that would leave the customer with a sweet taste in their mouth, and of course they would brag to everyone that they met about the wonderful baker that they had discovered. Along these same lines, a good baker could use the skills that he has learned from years of baking experience to create something wonderful and sweet using the poorest of ingredients. On the other hand, a lousy baker could be given the best ingredients to use, but if he/she does not use them in proper measure or has no real interest in the quality of the end result, his or her customers would be left with a bitter taste in their mouths and as a result it would be more difficult for them to stay in the baking business." You don't give pearls to swines".

[pool tile]

80% installer and 20% product.

[txpoolguy]

75% installer, 25% product

All products are designed to operate within a certain set of parameters. A huge number of the problems experienced are caused by installing a given product in a situation that takes it outside that set of parameters. Even a poor product will do very well when installed correctly. Our industry is not widely known for "trained professionals". Most training is "on the job training", where mistakes get passed on from person to person or from generation to generation. "That's the way my daddy did it" isn't necessarily the RIGHT way. "Dig hole, insert pool, collect money" (in no particular order) - is often accepted as good installation. Whether it's the shell of the pool, the electrical, or the equipment, our industry does a poor job of installation.

Having said that, there are some great professionals in our industry. Unfortunately, since there is no required training/education on ANY aspect of installation, the good ones get lumped in with the bad ones in industry perception.

[rippedoffbyviking]

What is the most important element to a successful installation/happy client?

Is the product put in the ground or the installer/builder who put it in the ground?

We'll see if this comment gets deleted this time:)

In my opinion you need both elements to be 100% perfect. Right from the first contact with the customer to the pump quitting 3 years down the road. A good contractor will have his customers back and take care of product issues with the manufacturer. If I receive a defective product from a supplier I have them come back and get it and do whatever they do with defective products. It is never fun to do, but it has to be done. It usually costs us money in down time, and the schedule gets pushed back. But if you have been upfront with your client from the start and they can see the issue and that you stood up for them even when you know that they might not notice anyway, they will be singing your praise to their friends.

I was once asked what does integrity mean to me. One of my first thoughts was being the kind of person who does what is right even though no one is watching. And in the construction field that is usually the case. And when it is not, rarely do the clients know what they are looking at anyway.

Now in the case of a contractor that uses substandard materials, all bets are off. The best of contractors cannot turn chicken @#$% into chicken soup. I have an upcoming article that I am currently writing for my blog that deals with the differences in different pool shells, there will be video in it as well. Some people will not like this blog.

Now, now Jaime, we wouldn't want you ruffling the feathers of the higher ups, would we??

And yes Wrap, the leads are-a-flyin.....But good comments everyone. In fact, I think we can all agree on the following:

Pick a manufacturer that doesn't suck

And pick a builder that doesn't suck

Now how about that for Socratic summation??!!

And just what do you do if you've picked a manufacturere that sucks and an installer that sucks???

[don pool]

Take 3 steps back and punt the ball

[jwilsonri]

I am glad we had this discussion. We all think our pools are best and promote the brands we carry. But as members of the pool-buying public stop by our forum in their quest for knowledge and information, they can see that while we disagree on many things, we agree on how important it is to choose an experienced installer!