Found this pool company here on Yelp and thought I would give them a try.
No one answered the phone during business hours and the voicemail was full. This situation didn't change after 2 phone calls. Finally I got someone on the phone and he got me set up on a weekly schedule.
The first time they came out to my house, it seemed professional. They even took photos of my pool before and after and photos of the skimmer baskets and any issues. Up to this point it all seemed legit. I even asked them to quote me for a new pool cover and a new heater, which they said they could do but never followed up on.
Then came the big upsell: they claimed the entire pool needed to be drained and the water replaced and wanted to charge me an hourly labor rate with no estimate on what it would cost. They couldn't even advise me on what would be involved to drain the pool. I live on a lake, so draining a chlorinated pool into there is not legal or ethical. They advised I do it myself and they would look the other way. I told them I didn't want to harm the environment but they offered no other alternative. I then told my other pool guy what they said and his response was that the pool most certainly did NOT need to be drained, that any imbalance issues were easily addressed with chemicals. and that any minor appearance of algae could be easily removed. It was at this point I started to wonder about the integrity of Paradise Pools.
I got their first invoice via Intuit and there was no button available to pay the invoice. I accessed it over a dozen times and it simply wasn't configured properly. I emailed Paradise Pools and their abrupt response was, "The PAY button is there. Because you failed to pay the invoice your pool will no longer be serviced." They then sent another invoice, and this time the PAY button was there and I was able to pay the bill. I then replied that it was completely unprofessional that they would terminate service after not paying the first bill 3 days after it was sent to me with no way to pay it, and the same day after it was sent to me properly. They were supposed to service my pool the day I was able to pay the invoice and did not. Who in any business gives someone only 3 days to pay a bill?
I then called them on the phone and again, full voicemail and no answer. Finally someone did answer and I asked to speak to the owner. They refused. I called back again. I asked to speak to the owner, and this time the same voice I spoke to before claimed he WAS the owner. We went back and forth about all the nonsense going on and he refused to give me his name or apologize or admit any mistakes regarding the billing. I told him if he didn't give me his name I would be visiting their place of business to find out who these people are running an anonymous pool company with shady business practices. He informed me this business is run out of a residential home and that if I came over there he would call the police.
I informed him they were fired and that I would be disputing the payment made on my credit card, as they failed to service my pool as promised even after being paid.
Anyone with a truck and some chemicals can claim to service your pool, running a company out of their home with little business experience. I would advise other pool owners to choose a service company very carefully. read more
