Desert Waters Pool Care replied on 10-18-2011
The review by Alesther about Desert Waters Pool Care is patently false and we have the written proof in a volume of emails, billings and notations of calls. Desert Waters Pool Care is a family owned, family operated pool cleaning/repair company that has grown rapidly to over 150 clients. All three owners are college graduates who have been successful in other service businesses - stock broker, financial consultant, and owner/president of 14 person advertising agency. We started this business with the intent to give prompt, dependable and exceptional service. We are becoming aware that it is not possible to please everyone. However, since this is our first complaint, and in order to set the record straight, we must respond to this slander of our business.
Alesther states that she is our "longest" client. Not quite, but she was with us for almost 2 years. Isn't it amazing that with probably 200 pool companies in this area, she would stay that long with a company who had poor service, no communication and was overpriced? She says we were "hard to get a hold of." Calls and emails, even on Sunday and late at night, were always responded to in a timely manner by Kerry, our office administrator, whose husband is an owner. When messages went directly to the pool service technician, they were responded to as soon as it was possible. When the "pipe burst" incident happened, we immediately instructed her how to turn the pump off and we were there the next afternoon to take care of it. This was not an "emergency" as she states - there was no immediate danger.
As far as her scheduled meeting to fire us, we have it listed on our written logs for between 12:30 and 1:30, not 11:30 and 12:30, as she states. Our on-line computer log shows the time we arrived as 12:33, which would have been only 3 minutes late, even if she were correct.
As to being overpriced, the filter cleans and two other repairs done in the 2 years averaged considerably below norms for the industry. We informed Alesther in writing in July 2011 that her filter cartridges were shot and should be replaced. She said she couldn't afford it. In our efforts to keep the pool clean, we continued to dump abnormally large amounts of chemicals in her pool (at no extra cost to her.) After the huge dust storm, in which everyone's pool was a disaster, we hand vacuumed her pool, because she has no vacuum and the grids in her filter were so clogged that the pool wasn't being cleaned. She was charged nothing extra for this service even though two people spent twice the normal time at her pool.
As to my telling her to "fire me," I must plead guilty. There is a great deal of frustration in not being able to do one's best job for a client because they refuse to allow needed maintenance work. We wish her well working with her next pool cleaning company - and lots of luck to them too.
Mark Wolkos, Rich Rieth and Tom Wolkos
Desert Waters Pool Care Partners read more
