UPDATE: within 12 hours of posting this review, I received a refund.
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Everything went great for 3 years. When I lost my job due to the pandemic, he worked with me on pool service with reduced visits but I still continued to pay him. He expressed relief - "I am just glad you're not canceling."
I recommended Willie to a friend with a property management company who hired him for several jobs & my neighbor also hired him.
Then in April, my pool went green for the first time. Even prior to the pandemic when I was hosting regular pool parties it had never gone green. Plus, I had just paid him to install a new pool motor in March so it seemed strange it would go green.
I told Willie that I had not drained my pool in about 4 years but it was first time pool ever went green. He misunderstood me to mean I had never drained my pool. No matter how many times I tried to clarify that I drained it, he kept insisting.
The pool went green 2 more times that summer and I had to go to Leslie's to fix it myself. Willie no call/no showed a total of 3 times that summer, and that's when I realized he was shorting me on chlorine tablets (only 2 when my pool needs 3 every week in summer) and in July I noticed he had not changed my timer to run longer in the summer- it was only running 6 hours a night when it needs to run at least 10. His negligence was causing my pool to go green.
When I brought it up, he got defensive. I told him I had to buy my own chemicals to fix (and I didn't ask for reimbursement). Once he said, "are you even using your pool?" And actually I had not used my pool in a couple weeks because my dog died so I told him that and he replied "oh." I really was shocked by that question & the way he asked it. What does it matter if I'm using my pool, if I'm paying him to clean it? If I am paying him to service it correctly?
He would just shut me down and curtly say "I told you that you need to drain it." So I took a sample to Leslie's Pool Supply and they told me I didn't have to drain it based on their assessment.
At the end of Sept, I gave him a months notice in person that I would be ending my service at the end of Oct. I thought I was being nice. He said he understood. I paid him for Oct ($75 instead of $100 since in Sept he didn't show up one week), and the first week of Oct he didn't call or show up for service.
I asked for a refund through Venmo and to end service 3 times. He did not respond. Other polite requests over the next 2 weeks via text and email to refund my money went ignored. He had a key to my gate, I had to change the lock since he didn't return it.
Once I realized he would not respond, I went to his Facebook page and gave him a bad review. That's when things went really bad.
First, he only has a Facebook page and not a website- that should have been a red flag that he isn't a legitimate business. Second, he rigged the page so that even if you're leaving a bad review, it defaults to the most amount of stars. So I posted my review about how he had taken my money, gate key and wouldn't respond. He responded to my review insinuating I was a liar, and claiming I told him I would pay for chemicals myself (not true- I did say I would pay to fix the green pools but not monthly chemicals) then also said he didn't want to increase dues on me because "there was always a story on your end." I lost my job due to the pandemic but kept paying him. My dog did die. That's just two things in three years. It was completely classless to say that and it was clear he brought it up in an effort to discredit me and my review. He also pointed out that Sept had an extra week and that's why he didn't show up. But that was after the fact- he didn't bother to communicate about that in advance so I could pay him for another week or take care of it myself.
Meanwhile, I ended up spending over $500 of my own money from April - Oct to correct pool issues the entire time I was paying him $100 a month!
As I started working on my pool myself, I realized my skimmer basket was broken: it didn't have a bottom and was split. He never once mentioned it and I had to buy a new one. It had to have been that way during his tenure.
He blocked me from his FB page after my review and our back and forth, & officially refused my refund request on Venmo. I cannot express enough how awful this is- taking my money without any intention on service is theft. It was mind-blowing that he responded in such a manner. Completely unprofessional. And neither he nor his pool company is listed in the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
Willie Clark is unprofessional, untrustworthy, lacks integrity and character. Beware if you decide to still do business with him- you could end up like me with money being taken, pool in disarray, having to change locks, and being called a liar for daring to bring it up on his Facebook page. Shameful. read more