Terrible experience which started with getting a quote in March 2020. I met with the sales representative Doug. Right off the bat he made comments asking me about my husband not being home, and how "in his experience" this usually results in the spouse needing to talk to their partner first. I assured him that I could make this decision independently and we had already made the decision to get a pool. At the end of the visit he was very pushy with having a contract signed that day despite me letting him know that we wanted to get several quotes and make an informed decision about which company we wanted to go with. This seemed to annoy him and he left promptly. Stevenson ultimately had the better price/material for your buck so we planned to move forward but then covid escalated so we decided to wait. I called Doug explained my concerns with the pandemic and he made multiple statements in regards to holding the price if we signed a contract that season. Fast forward to September/October, my husband and I decided it was the right time so I called up Doug. Immediately he made statements about the cost of materials going up. I expressed concerns about him telling us he would hold the piece last time. My husband works as an electrician alongside many other contractors and he assured me that the cost of steal and concrete had not increased and to be leery of anyone trying to claim that it had. Doug told me however that he would need to come out and see the property again and would do his best to keep it as close to our original quote as possible. My husband and I discussed it and decided that we would still sign the contract if it was within a certain amount difference. Doug came out, quoted me $4000 more for the same pool, which is more than my husband and I agreed on, so I told him I'd have to discuss it with him and he got snarky again because I wasn't signing a contract that day, and he quickly packed his stuff and left. Making comments on his way out such as "I could have given you the price over the phone". This was despite him telling me that he needed to come out again to give me the price lol It was rude, his demeanor was rude, and I was put off by it. He also said he would only hold that price until Friday of that week. I decided it was best to reach out to the owners or other decision makers at Stevenson. I want to add that Stevenson had built our first pool that we had for 20 years prior to moving to this new home and they had always taken good care of us. My family also had a very minimal social tie to the Stevenson family because my father was close friends with one of their son's Father-In-Laws. As a teenager I had even been to the home where Jake Stevenson lived for a cookout/pool party. So I felt reaching out to them personally may resolve my frustration. Boy was I wrong. I left a message for Jake Stevenson directly which went ignored and when I called the second time I got a call back from another sales rep instead of anyone in charge. I explained the situation and my disappointment in being promised a price that they increased as well as the attitude of the sales rep. The other sales rep defended his actions and when asked about speaking to someone else, I was told that the owner stands by his sales reps and is going to support the price that they give. No apologies for my experience, no directing me to anyone else etc. After the conversation that went no where, I was told the owner would call me..... but I got no phone call ever. I texted the sales rep several weeks later and was told that the owner had left me a message. Not true. I asked him to try again and was told he would call me. Then nothing. I am shocked that a company we had for so many years would treat us this way because we didn't jump for joy when they increased their price after telling us they would hold it. I would have been happy just to get return calls from upper management and even if they offered to meet us somewhere in the middle.... but I was blown off. Ultimately we found a better company, with better sales and communication standards and are super happy with our current contact! We will be getting the pool of our dreams at the same original price I was quoted by Stevenson Pools but even better quality. Oddly enough that company is run by a former employee of Stevenson who had a fallout with them and took his crew elsewhere! If you want to be treated with respect and dignity and rewarded for loyalty- go elsewhere! read more
