I regret I ended up choosing Martin. During building phase the crew made a mess in the street. Tons of dirt that they should've picked up and when we mentioned it they just kind of shrugged and went on their way. It was embarrassing to explain to neighbors why it looked like a war zone. I spent most of a day getting the dirt up the best I could.
The salesman was not honest. Or maybe forgetful. As we're nearing completion of the pool I'm told about extras to pay for including either a whole new fence around my yard to pass inspection, complete with alarms on every window, or a baby gate. My wife was with me throughout and both of us weren't made aware. And they never produced a document showing as such. Speaking of documented, the contract looks like something they drew up in preschool. Handwritten, not professional looking in the least. Also they were to pave our back porch and when we pointed out some cracks in the cement he very confidently said that's not a problem. Then the paver came out, took one look and said, "I don't know why he would say it's okay to pave here. This would crack very soon after I finished the job."
Throughout the pool process I was told that the project manager, Brian Martin, would be "on the job frequently". He showed up TWICE. Once early on to make himself known, and then later on when I called to complain. Great project management. And while I realize rain and other natural elements may delay a project, there were many times it was sunny, ground was dry, but I would hear nothing from them. Never knew when they'd be showing up next. I put that blame on lack of project management (Brian).
The spa had problems too. One of the jets barely works and though they came out to look at it, they never were able to identify the problem. The heater for the Jacuzzi also malfunctioned. The spa heater rep. came out and confirmed it wasn't calibrated correctly. Again, this is something they should've verified before turning it over to us.
The final straw came recently when several (nearly half) of our pavers came loose on the spa. Our pool construction was completed in December 2013, so it's only about 2.5 years old. While we understood it wasn't under warranty, we certainly wouldn't expect that approximately half the pavers around the rim of the spa would come off. This isn't normal wear and tear or some minor fix. This was a shoddy job when they were originally constructed.
After several failed attempts to call/text and get in touch with the paver contractor, I called Martin Pools and was told they'd reach out to them then let me know. Martin Pools never called back like they said they would, and again, never heard anything from the paver contractor until he showed up out of the blue. So I raced home from the office to meet him and he was already busy at work. Afterwards we were presented with a $200 invoice yet not once was amount discussed and again, thinking this was such bad work to begin with they were having to fix, thought it may have been covered by Martin.
Since we have to assume this isn't normal for relatively new pools, we felt it reflected VERY poorly on the quality of their product, and hoped they would work with us on the repair. It certainly would've gone a long way toward good customer service for Martin Pools to show some sort of concern. We tried to contact Brian, but could only reach his assistant who let us know simply that Brian said we were responsible for the payment since it's out of warranty. Basically we got nothing but "it's your problem."
Here's the punch line: The assistant then told us that Brian said we should be sure to pay the paving company "because they are from South America." I can't even believe I'm typing this, but this is what we were told! I even called back on speaker to confirm this is what was said so those with me could hear and yes, that was the case. The assistant confirmed it. To say this was totally inappropriate, and even threatening, would be an understatement. I documented all of this and let the company know all of the details in an email. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, no response. There are some nice folks within the company, but unfortunately, they're tarnished with the inept, rude and dishonest employees (or is that family members) that you're likely to encounter throughout the process.
Do your homework. There are several great pool builders in the Jacksonville area who have integrity, are honest and will work hard for your business. I just wish I had picked one. read more