Choosing a Company to Repair and Service the Pool?
After the initial startup of the pool equipment, your pool requires a mandatory maintenance (preventative maintenance). If any mechanism starts to wear out, this service would also be mandatory to prevent and diagnose any potential issues in the future. Proper care to these areas ensures significant longevity and functionality of your pool for the future.
Second, in the absence of a strict regime of hygiene and disinfection, your swimming pool may easily accumulate and develop disease-ridden bacteria. Regular visits from your pool specialist (outdoor pools require one to two times a week, interior pools – once a week) will save you from many problems and extra work (cleaning the surface area of the pool or skimmer , time-consuming sand filter washing, constant monitoring of chemicals and pH control over the level and temperature of the water in the pool, diagnostics and repair, conservation of your pool during the winter season, starting it back up in the spring , etc). Water quality will meet the sanitary requirements and provide you with a comfortable environment for recreation.
How should you choose a company that can be trusted to care for your pool?
In present day, Toronto and surrounding areas there are more than 200 small pool maintenance companies. In most cases, these companies are composed of one or two people working from home and involved in servicing pools during the summer season. Using such services has one advantage – cheapness. The downside is much greater, however. One drawback is responsiveness; for a small company to offer cheap rates, they must be able to attend to and juggle multiple customers. At a certain point during the peak season, this task becomes more and more difficult forcing the customer to periodically wait for maintenance, rather than having their pool attended to as soon as possible. In certain cases, while performing several jobs the pool company may not be able to even answer your call; you’d be leaving a message in a crowded inbox and would have to wait for an indefinite amount of time.
Another point that should catch your interest is the subject of insurance. Generally, small companies are much cheaper and simpler to close and reopen. Rather than being responsible for damages and repaying the full year’s worth of insurance, these companies can simply close down operations and start anew. Keeping that in mind, that cheap price tag for someone handling your expensive equipment may not always be as big of a saving option as it may seem.
Naturally, the next follow up would be the topic of warranties. Another common practice of small companies in the event of a potential breakdown would be to say that certain damages would not be covered by insurance. As the customer becomes increasingly frustrated and impatient, the company can simply cease to answer phone calls. If the company receives bad enough of a reputation with its customer service, it can simply close down rather than facing the consequences, as mentioned above.
Lastly, a very important aspect to keep in mind is the work permit or license. Many small companies may not posse these documents, and if something were to happen to your equipment, (eg. the gas heater, potential explosions or fires) these damages would not be covered by your insurance company. Their best course of action would consist of sending an inspector to find someone guilty of the misstep in order to find a way to avoid paying compensation. If their results lead them to believe that you hired an unlicensed technician who was not eligible for this type of work, you will be left guilty and without immediate compensation for the damages.
To summarize, the idea of saving is always an attractive one for the average consumer. However, it’s in the consumer’s best interest to keep in mind and understand that by saving a few dollars with smaller companies, many thousands in damages could be paid in the long run.