After interviewing several companies, checking reviews, and doing my homework, I chose Richards Total Backyard Solutions and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made. I had worked with them years ago when I purchased my Jacuzzi/spa, which is still gorgeous, but this pool has completely transformed my backyard into a private resort. The process took some time in the beginning with planning and design, but it absolutely paid off in the end. Between Montana, Jacob, and Stacey, and their fantastic and friendly crews, the final result looks like something straight out of a postcard. I literally can't stop staring at it. The back of my patio villa home is mostly windows. I used to keep them open just for natural light. Now, even at night, the view is so stunning that it feels like living inside a luxury retreat. I never imagined something this breathtaking could be my own backyard. They designed and built the pool, waterfall wall, and deck to blend seamlessly with my existing natural stone pond and waterfall. The attention to detail is incredible. As pretty much expected, we ran into a couple of snags and I'm a perfectionist. BUT what truly sets this company apart is how they handled everything. Montana, Jacob and General Manager Stacey they went above and beyond to make it right. and then some. The colors, textures, and overall design are just invigorating. And I don't even have to tell you how much my adult kids and grandkids love it, they never want to leave! Because I trusted their work, I continued with irrigation repairs, landscape design, and outdoor lighting and once again, they delivered a home run. I even added one of their chillers systems. In Texas, where summers last nine/ten months, pools can quickly turn into bathtubs. The chiller will make all the difference, allowing us to actually enjoy the pool even in peak heat. My backyard is now something people dream about. We're retired and used to travel to experience beautiful scenery. Now, we have that same feeling right at home from morning coffee to a glass of wine in the evening, it truly feels like our own private resort. I highly recommend Richards Total Backyard Solutions for pools, spas, landscaping, irrigation, lighting, and complete backyard transformations. read more

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It's been 10 weeks since we signed our contract and paid the deposit, yet we still don't have permits or a start date for the pool and spa. I had high hopes when we met and designed the pool, but my hopes are quickly diminishing. We have had no communication, outside of us reaching out to the salesperson, so I'm now left to wonder if that will be the case once we actually begin the process. I am highly disappointed in this process, beginning to wonder if I should have gone with my number 2. Hmmmm My advice, proceed with caution. read more

Thank you Everett for helping my parents and I with the chemicals. We had no idea what we were doing but the spa school that you gave helped out a lot. Thanks again read more

Update: While it ended up taking longer than expected, Richards did end up finishing my pool and it looks great! Once centerpoint raised the powerlines, the city approvals and final construction were very smooth. Bray John and Stacy were very helpful throughout the process and I'm glad we can finally use the pool! read more

Sales: excellent. Installation: excellent. Service department (not technicians): nightmare; consistently, irrationally, unprofessionally. Why don't they know? If they know, why don't they care? Why has there been no change over many years? Clearly a five star outfit should they acknowledge and rectify this major personnel/marketing issue. read more

Sent out unqualified tech to quote a repair. The tech charge was $270 and Richards Pool gave a quote based on their techs information. When they realized they had made a mistake they wanted to upcharge me. I asked that they honor their quote . They refused but refunded my 1/2 down. They would not refund the $270 "tech service visit" despite the fact that it was their techs incompetence which caused the problem. Very shady business. I strongly recommend not doing business with Richard's! UPDATE: Richard's did come through with a full refund and I was finally able to speak with a competent manager who was actually interested in improving customers service. I feel that that in itself is worth 2 additional stars as they did make things right although it was a frustrating experience. read more

We worked with Kristi Patterson on a pool quote. Kristi came out to review our house and backyard and provided some very useful information and asked great probing questions. She took a ton of pictures and then put together a beautiful pool design for us. She really listened and took into account everything that we wanted in a pool. Richards has been around for a long time, and offer a full lifetime warranty rather than the industry standard of 3 years. In the end we had to choose a different builder that fit into our price range, but Richards was not overpriced when you consider the value you are receiving. Ask for Kristi for amazing service! read more

We broke ground in August 2022. Communication has been poor. Our rep is Jesus. Nothing has been more frustrating since it is now Oct 21, 2022. We go 2 weeks about 2-3 times since breaking ground with no activity. There is only activity when I'm screaming hell. Then all of a sudden they have a schedule and someone coming out immediately the next day. Jesus appeases with this and that will happen and then it doesn't. Seems like no one else is responsible or follow up. There is no communication unless I initiate it. $130,000 and then photo is what you see. Nothing but frustration on our end. They seem to pick up new business and string along the current clients. Always excuse if I have another job. What about this job or how about not taking on more than what you can do. Also ordered and installed the wrong brick and Jesus blames the design guy and the design guy throws it at us. Seriously. read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - This is Oct 2022 - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

Update: Today is Friday, May 13, 2022. It has been almost 1 year and 6 months since we have purchased the hot tub. I won't change the 1 star I have given this company. I would like to wait 3 months to see if the newly installed panels will warp. I will reevaluate my star review in 3 months. I am thankful that Richard's pool got our hot tub fixed. It took over a year and a post of dissatisfaction to finally get their attention, But they came through in the end... and for that, we are grateful. read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Everett came to install our new hot tub cover and remove the old, water logged cover. Needless to say that the tub water was nasty. He couldn't install the new cover over that so he drained and cleaned the top of the tub so that he could put the new one on. He also explained how to clean the tub and the plumbing. Definitely a five star job! Thank you, Everett! read more

Update to business response. We were not at all surprised by the response of RTBS. By the way, we did not accept their response to the BBB and called it out for what it was a Bogus Invoice to justify keeping our $2000 deposit. Basically they stole $2000 from us. Take a look at all the 1 star reviews across all of the review sites and you will see there is a definite business model that they follow. Fortunately for us, we found a Wonderful pool company to build our pool. Pools Plus LLC is fantastic and a company with Integrity. It is like comparing a Mercedes to a KIA with RTBS representing the KIA. read more

We originally signed our contract in May 2021 and began construction in mid-April 2022 (at our request to defer starting construction). Since mid-April, we are 7 weeks into construction and beginning to plaster the pool/ pour water this week. Jose is great to work with and ensures the work crews are completing work timely. He also fills you in on details you will want to consider along the process to set you up for success. I am going to post the finished product once all set on here and update this review. However, overall to date, I am satisfied with the company. This is fully contingent on how well the plastering is done and how the final steps go over the next week or two. read more

I feel saddened that what everyone is going through with this company. Seem very consistent with issues. read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - This is what they consider plaster done correctly - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

At a suggestion from several friends I plan to review during the phases of my pool build. This review will be updated and pics added as it progress's! Starting off Barry was a great sales person to deal with, he spent a lot of time reviewing options and upgrades and helping my wife and me to decide on pool design and materials. Jose, our project manager, has been great communicating and letting us know whats going on. I look forward to his updates as we progress. Phase 1 - The Dig. Fast forward to the dig, wow those guys are fast! This is my first pool construction but I have to say I was very impressed with the dig. Phase 2 - Coming soon! Update - At this point I think I should wait until the pool is finished and give an overall review. There have been highs and lows as expected. read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - Phase 1 the Dig - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

Outstanding customer service during design process with our designer Nick! Can't wait to see the pool Complete!! read more

the salesman billy is awesome. but as as soon as you deal with delivery lady kristie/christy how ever you spell it. the service turned bad. rude to say the least. if you do not use their electrician because you are replacing a hot tub, they will not connect the tub. stating they dont touch someone else's work. wtf. the wires are inside the hot tub so that makes no sense. now i have a tub i cant use. trying to contact hot springs company now smh the 2 stars for the salesman read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

Very frustrated working with Richards. My pool started on Feb 10th. Since then 14 days have made progress. I just went back and looked and on April 11th they told me the pit install and pavers were up next but as of May 7th neither has been resolved and I'm getting surprise costs and can't get updates from the team. read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - 3 months in - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

This company gets 5-Stars from us. They were recommended by a friend after we got several crazy bids from over $100K to less than $50K for the same size and same features. Our sales rep Kristi came out the same day I called her and took pictures and measurements. We then met with her at her Katy location to look at the design and go over cost and features. The owner Richard even stepped in to explain more details about the brands they offered along with the reasons why we wanted to use specific equipment for energy efficiency and why they recommended the specific coating that would last longer. We waited to get started until after Christmas and again met with Kristi to make color selections. Do your research, you have to choose colors on tile, coping, interior pool coating and deck colors. There are multiple YouTube videos on all of this which I didn't see until after the fact :/ Construction meeting follows when you meet your Project Manager and pray you get Jose. If you can request him he was the best! He kept us in the loop daily and was even here some nights an weekends when necessary. He quickly became part of the family since he was here everyday making sure every inch of this pool was done correctly. He had several crews for the different areas listed above and we were just blown away with how he coordinated and took care of each one of them. They also have an app for your phone, since we were not at home most days he would post progress pictures on the app with any current information we might need to refer to. We were warned the yard would look like a war zone during the construction but in just a months time we came home to a full yard of grass and a beautiful blue pool. If you didn't see the grass squares you'd think nothing ever happened from the front yard but walk into our back yard and you can see from the before and after pics what an amazing job they did. Couldn't be happier and can not wait for warmer weather so we can landscape and enjoy our beautiful new pool. Thanks to everyone at Richard's for making our backyard dream come true and special thanks to Jose for pulling it off so quick and without a hitch. Amazing - I highly recommend. read more

Contracted 10/9/2021 - Still begging for them to plaster my pool. 10/20/2022 This has set waiting for final stage now for 2 months because Project Manager failed to receive proper City Inspections. I've had to beg every day of this 10/17-10/20 week just to get the pool finished and then was told Payment of $3,745 was going to hold up scheduling the plaster. However, I'd already paid $78,860 of $82,584.25. Within 10 minutes I paid said request and was told it would be scheduled within 5-7 days. I've paid them in full and pray they do what they say they will do. If you are going to deal with them - Demand a custom contract with negotiated terms - Don't just sign their standard contract. My attorney reviewed and said it didn't offer me any protections. Get your own contract and demand better terms. I trusted the salesman that sold it to me. read more

We are very disappointed with this company! Since our hot tub purchase in April, everything has been a struggle. Nothing happens until I call and express my frustration. People in the store act clueless to all questions and it's always someone else's area and no one is around. Skeleton crew, I don't know what's happening with your project. Lots of excuses and little action. What we thought was going to be an exciting addition to our home has turned into frustration, anxiety and disappointment. I just want the project to be done so I don't have to deal with this company any more. They have our money, we have a lot of unhappiness. I would not recommend this company to a friend or anyone I remotely like. Move on. read more

Even though I purchased a lifetime warranty service from them, they just charged me $273.82 for a one-ft. rubber pipe replacement, arguing the warranty didn't cover this item and the site visit fee was $249. They should clearly disclose this information before scheduling the service and ripping off the customer. read more

10-8 We still do not have electric, decking, or plaster complete. Shoot! The tile and coping & stone is not even completed As of today, we only have an ugly hole in my backyard. I think it's rather rude they left not only my backyard a mess (understandable) but also my front yard (see pictures) 9-17 sadly, we still have not made progress on my pool. Jose did not respond for a week and now when he went to order my materials, they are not available. Therefore, I have to wait TWO weeks for ANY progress. He stated he was unable to expedite the stone we chose, which I know everything is capable of expedition with a fee. However, I'm the one who suffers. I will amend my review IF this is turned around, for right now I'm upset... 8-1-21 We originally reached out to Richards Total Backyard Solutions due to past experiences via customer reviews. As a business owner myself, I understand the importance of reviews. I will update as we go along but so far so good!! ‍ Jonathan Gill was great and helped my husband and I to find the perfect design. He was friendly, patient and is still available to answers any questions we have! Our project manager is Jose Zepeda. We met Jose Friday, he was extremely knowledgeable and we have high hopes! Praying all goes well! 8-13 The team dug our pool (which only took one day) 8-16 My underground cleaning system is complete! Which I am very pleased to say was extremely quick! The contractors were very friendly, as clean as can be, and timely! We're set to lay rebar today or tomorrow and stub out on Thursday 8-19. Jose and Jonathan were very helpful, as we hanged our design to make our pool 6ft longer. I look forward to our next steps and will update! 8-18 Rebar and stub out is complete! Which is earlier than expected 8-23 Gunite is complete! Jose told me this morning they'd be here for cleanup and plumbing today and tile, coping and electrician by this weekend! I'm shocked to hear the time delays from past reviews! They are definitely moving along and being extremely transparent! I couldn't be happier! 8-30 I was hoping to have electric and tile complete but unfortunately, Jose stated the tile company has COVID and electric is behind. I hope things don't get delayed... read more

Kristen Barrow is a gem to work with! She had my hot tub delivered promptly and communicated with me every step of the way! She always follows up and is professional and knowledgeable. Her installers did a fantastic job! Thank you Kristen! read more

We worked with Kristi Patterson on our pool and hot tub design. She is extremely knowledgeable and an expert in her field. She was patient when we had revisions, helpful when advising, and answered all the questions and concerns we had along the way. Highly recommend Kristi at Richard's Total Backyard Solutions. read more

started the pool build Oct 19, 2018. Today is Nov 10th. It has been nothing but a headache to this day. I work long hours and far away. Each step of the phase something has gone wrong. The project mgr is never on site when subcontractors come out. The project mgr is new and knows absolutely nothing and can't answer any questions. I am never informed as to when someone is coming to my house. It is a nightmare. I will give more details in my next post but as a warning don't give in to their fancy showroom. Update: 12/29/18 I explicitly went over the tile design with Bray. I come home and the tile is incorrect on the exterior wall of my spa. Update: 1/15/19 Pool is still not done. Poor workmanship all around, no one checks the integrity of the contractors work. I have to check everything myself and inform the project manager because he shows no interest in learning or knowing his job. My deck drains are full of cement and trash, my skimmer drains are full of cement and trash, my cable and internet lines have been cut over 10 times, fence broke, iron gate broken, the site is a mess. If you choose this company you will end up hating the decision. Do not sign the contract! Update: 2/6/19 Guess what, it's February 2019 and the pool is still not completed. Tile and decking very poor workmanship. Need to come back to redo. I would NEVER recommend this on my worst enemy. There are no quality checks behind the contractors they send. The project mgr (Bray) is useless. I will be so so happy when this project is finished. Take your money elsewhere and don't get suckered by the fancy showroom and 3D modeling software. Implementation and construction of your dream pool will have you pulling your hair out. I have not been discounted on the price even though thehave exceeded the project completion date of Nov 2018. Its Feb 2019 and the nightmare continues..... March 1, 2019 Finally the day to plaster the pool. Again the work was subpar (see pics) and to top that they cut my landscape lighting and I have no lights in my backyard. I'm so over this company, if I could return this pool I would! I would never ever buy another pool from them! read more

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I'm giving it a 4 star for now hoping when finished it's a 5 star. Let me say first we started looking at pool companies around June, but in Aug. we decided to go with Richards our pool designer Jonathan was great, I probably drove him nuts changing things but he was so understanding and helpful. We are doing a pool spa combo with a patio and decking. They started 5 weeks ago and they have dug the pool, gunite, did the coping, waterline tile and stone. I'd definitely recommend u asking for the sheet of tile and not just the sample, the sample didn't have this dark piece in it and when they came to put the tile on I was very disappointment but it was the same tile but sample didn't have any dark colors in it. Due to it being the same and adding extra time I'm just hoping for the best when it's completed. But other than that everything has been going great gunite, coping, tile, wall all of that has been completed, plumping and the electric were next and now we been waiting over a week for someone else to come and do the patio and decking, but our project Manager Jose has been AMAZING with communication. I know rain put us a little behind. All we ask for is communication and honesty so far they have been great with that. I'm hoping everything stays on track. I will definitely update the review. Update 1 So plumping and electric have been finished as far as I know we were supposed to move on to decking, patio & plastering pool. Well our PM called last Thursday's and explained the sub contractor had a emergency and can't do it right now so he was looking for another and now we are waiting to hear back. My biggest fear is having this going longer than we thought I understand things happen but hopefully we can stay kinda close to our date. read more

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Kristen Barrow gives excellent customer service, she made the delivery of our hot tub run very smoothly. Whenever we have a question or need anything Kristen always takes care of us. Innocent and Richards thank you for excellent customer also read more

I am afraid I will echo several of the reviews posted here. We broke ground in October 2022 for a pool and landscaping project that we were told would take 14-16 weeks. Since December, we have been told that we're two weeks away from completion of the project but 3 months later we are still waiting for the landscaping and the pool to be completed. We are 30 weeks into this construction and we are not able to get them to commit to a timeline to finish the project, nor to answer our e-mails and messages. At best, we have seen workers in our backyard for 1-2 hours at a time every 3-4 weeks. It's mind-blowing. In addition, the landscaping is not even what we asked for. The rendering we got when we sign does not match the product we are getting. The communication is terrible. The project manager does not even have the courtesy to answer to our e-mails asking for timeline and updates. The team has been disrespectful and we are at the stage where we will have to seek for legal assistance for them to complete the project. I would definitively stay away from Richards. read more

It was determined that during the initial purchase of our spa and installation for 10K, that the electrical box was installed improperly going to the whirlpool. The electronic "brain" inside of the spa blew, as a result of this, and then they came out trying to say that it was another issue to get around the warranty. A classic case of moe (money over everything). :-( read more

When we seriously started looking to build a swimming pool for our new home, I knew I wanted to get a quote from RTBS. I was first introduced to RTBS at a Home & Garden show over 10 years ago and loved the customer service they offered without doing business with them at the time. Today, I rate RTBS with a 4 Star but would give them a "+" if I could. Fast forward - In January 2021, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting our designer Kristie who went above & beyond the call of duty and won us over. She was the only designer who spent time with us virtually to understand our desires, wants, and needs and then took the time to visit our home and spend time in our backyard to see firsthand how we would use the space with a pool. I was blown away by Kristie's eye for detail as no other company did this for us. In the end, RTBS was not the cheapest bid, but we knew we were buying a Brand. RTBS has been around for over 30+ years and I can see why. Kristie was very transparent with us from the beginning and explained how Covid had impacted vendors, laborers, parts, supplies, etc, and she set the expectation that the pool industry was in high demand and we would need to approach the build-out with an open mind and patience. We finally started our construction on April 19th, 2021 just 2 1/2 months after signing our contract. We were excited. Upon meeting our Project Manager (PM), Jose, he reassured us that he had the experience to oversee our build and let us know we were in good hands. Along the journey, we ran into many roadblocks with crews not being available to do the work. As frustrating as it was at the time, Jose always followed up to ensure the job at hand was completed to our satisfaction. At times, Jose was not always proactive in offering next steps, but when asked, he was always prepared with an answer. As I learned through this project, PM's are managing a lot of moving parts and some things are going to fall through the cracks. This is no different from any other job people do. We all are human and sometimes there is too much happening at one time and as a PM, Jose did not always have direct control over a situation. However, when I would speak to Jose, he would be open and honest and at times took accountability when he needed to. I truly respected this about Jose! As I look back over the last 6 months, I am very pleased with the outcome and the quality of work that went into our pool build. I know part of this is because Jose has established relationships with his contractors and has set the right expectations and work ethics with his teams. We had no issues with any of the contractors not doing their work. They all seemed to be very dedicated to their crafts and showed great work ethic and respect for us and our home while on our property. Today is October 6th and I am pleased to say that our pool build is 100% complete and even Jose followed up with a phone call to see how things were going. Thank you Kristie & Jose for making our backyard dream come true! read more

If I could evaluate this company with a negative rating then I would. They have just installed a pool and spa at our new home and we have encountered numerous issues and some disgusting customer service. Work commenced early Oct and we experienced numerous technical issues that included an insufficient blower being installed resulting in a spa without bubbles (now fixed) and our spa jets constantly popping out (took 3 weeks to replace). Worse, their attitude on commercial issues is disgusting. We were sold a package included a remote control panel that was omitted from the fine print in our contract. Despite my wife and I recalling in detail exactly what was discussed at time of sale, their "error" in not including reference in small print cost us an extra $2.5k. By far our worst experience was associated with the appalling state the left our yard. Despite our contract clearly stating "grass to be restored to original state". To make good on their mess cost us several thousand dollars further. I cannot recommend this company to anyone. Their behavior on such issues has been appalling and included me having to hang up on their owner falling some personal abuse given during a phone call. Their project manager Kyle is a good man but without the authority to make cost related decisions. If his senior management had a similar attitude to customer care then I am certain our experiences would have been more favorable. An all round, horribly frustrating experience from a company who's only focus appears to be taking your money over making you in any way a satisfied customer. Avoid!! read more

Richard's Total Backyard Solutions - Hot Tub & Pool Near Me - Houston, Texas

Do yourself a favor, go elsewhere. Unless you enjoy mistake after mistake coupled with excuse after excuse. Be prepared to be your own job superintendent and clean up crew because no one else cares. Just speaking the truth which they cannot deny. read more

Richards installed a pool and hot tub for me 25 years ago. I know your thinking what the heck !!! This is very serious though , someone could be really injured or KILLED at worst. Please read on. All of my pool equipment is run off of a sub panel that they installed when pool was put in. The sub panel was wired to the incorrect side in main breaker box to the house. So here ya go think this one out. When the main breaker switch in the top of the breaker box is turned off all power to house and pool is suppose to have zero juice. But all of the pool equipment remains to have power. Now i am no electrician, but centerpoint(electricity provider) came out to take the meter out so an electrician could come out an install generator wires etc. This is where it gets EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. He turned off the main breaker in the garage that was suppose to turn off ALL electrical to EVERYTHING at my home. Luckily being a licensed electrician knows to test before you touch. Guess what pool equipment wires, were still having all the electric running to the in the sub panel. If he had just went in and touched them he would probably be in the hospital. He left and came back with an estimate of $1200 to make it right. Give me your thoughts on what i should do from here. read more

Christina, it is now the end of the week you said everything should be completed. I understand the plaster guys are to come out Monday to drain the pool and fix the plaster but several other issues still have not been addressed. We still need the regulator for the heater, tiles properly cut, chlorinator line replaced, tool to clean waterfall that was never given to us, and back wall completed. We know 2 families who got new pools with other companies. One started a month after we started and the other 3 months after, both of their pools have been completed. read more

After 7 months, Richard's agreed to come acid wash our pool to correct the horrible quality from March. They agreed to pay $400 for all the water to fill/refill and bring in a professional to rebalance the pool with hundreds of dollars of chemicals at their expense. True Story, here is what has happened to this point. They sent me a check for 35% of the $400. They acid washed the pool on Oct. 6th. Left all the chemicals at the bottom of the pool and then refilled the pool, which all the toxic chemicals turned to JELLY. Of course, their commitment to send the company to balance the chemicals still hasn't shown up almost 2 weeks later. Pool owners understand that I will spend $300-400 to balance the water that was promised by Richards and not delivered. After 20 hours of my work washing filters every 4-5 hours of pool pump run time due to the jelly left by their contractor, the chemicals have ruined my $250 pool filters which I have had to replace. The chemicals have also destroyed the basket in my robotic cleaner, which is another $100 with my labor. This company gets better by the day. Now I understand how they earned a 2.5 YELP rating! They cost me easily an extra $1,000 not including 20 hours of labor! I have all the emails and am willing to forward! read more

Going more than 8 months with this pool build/ excavation begin in August 2020 and we are in May 2021. Richards TBS still can not complete the pool build. Permit still open/ plaster not done properly, light fixture not flush in pool, ..etc. Had several project managers but they were never on site to check job site, communication is the worst with this company. Many occasions I had to check on the contractors and point out the errors so they would be corrected. Being our first pool build experience it has been an on going nightmare. Beware. read more

Awesome people to work with!! Paula Nezat at the store location is instrumental in getting us service as promptly as possible..... Paula is truly an asset to Richards...... Our service person, Angel!! He is truly an angel!! Wonderful service person and so helpful..... instructing me on the specifics of weekly and monthly care..... RICHARDS BACKYARD SOLUTIONS..... a 5 star company with 5 STAR PEOPLE!! read more

Project took twice as long as quoted. Project manager does not respond to emails or calls. Cost of pool paid in full and I am still awaiting my handrail and explanation on a panel the cost extra to install but has no use. RUNNNNNNNNN FAST!!!!! read more

I went to Richard's because they were listed as the distributor for Endless Pools in Houston. I understand pricing is expensive & there were long delays from the manufacturer. Those things can't be helped. The problem with this company is their customer service. Poor communication from the project manager & unnecessary delays due to her poor planning & disorganization. It's been 10 months since I ordered my swim spa. I told them from the beginning that I believed I needed electrical service upgrade, & repeatedly asked for the electrician to come early to avoid delays, but they kept saying don't worry about it, their electrician will take care of it. Until he finally came out & said he can't do it, a week before the pool is to be delivered, & they tell me to find my own electrician. Last month I had to go to the BBB to resolve a price issue (they tried to charge me extra for medical tax exemption, even though I completed the paperwork at time of contract). When they got the BBB complaint, they were suddenly accommodating, at least until I withdrew my complaint when they corrected the pricing. Since then, it's like pulling teeth to get a response from them about anything. I haven't been able to use my driveway for two weeks due to the mound of dirt they left there when they finally framed the concrete pad. The latest is that they will schedule the clean-up crew sometime next week. Back to the electrician: I got one out with firm dates on the service upgrade, and immediately informed the project manager exactly what date they could deliver the spa this month (which according to her, is already on its way to Houston & could be delivered on Tuesday if they hadn't delayed the electrician coming out). She arbitrarily (spitefully) said she could schedule the delivery AFTER the 4th of July weekend. No reason for the delay. Just passive aggressive. She doesn't take my calls, & ignores half my emails. So back to the beginning: I'm still dealing with this company because they are the distributor for the swim spa I want. But I don't recommend the company if you have a choice. UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO CHRISTINA: I fully expected this kind of response from your company, as no one there ever admits fault and your staff have repeatedly lied & tried blaming me (and each other) for their screw ups. A simple acknowledgment of errors and an attempt to make it right would go a long way in improving your customer relationships. I have the emails showing I have been asking since November to have the electrical looked at. Your own electrician told me that the pre-site person told him I said I think I might need an upgrade (it's also in the paperwork), but that she and he didn't think so. Your project manager, Kristen, told me in March that the electrician would come out in April, in response to my reminding her that I was still waiting for the electrical assessment to see if the service upgrade was needed. AT NO TIME IN THE PAST 10 MONTHS has ANYONE from your company said that I needed to do the upgrade, or that I would have to find my own electrician. ALL conversations about the electrical were brought up by me, repeatedly telling your staff that I need to know if my panel can handle the extra load or if it needs an upgrade. I was repeatedly told not to worry about it, and that if it was needed, your electrician could do it (at an extra cost). I repeatedly expressed concern about getting the electrical question answered so that it could be addressed without causing further delays. As for Kristen always responding, you know that is not true. If I leave a message or send an email, it takes DAYS to get a partial reply, and in many cases I have had to copy the owner on the communication in order to get any reply. At every turn, I have adjusted my schedule, often on a moment's notice, to accommodate you. Including responding immediately to email sent at 11:30 at night on a Saturday saying the concrete pad would be done on the Monday holiday. I made myself & my property available at your convenience. You waited four days before sending the electrician to do the stub up (after repeatedly telling me he's standing by to do it at the same time). Even when the electrician was finally at my house, he indicated to me that he could do the upgrade. We discussed how it would be done. He drew plans. I have it all on video with audio. The next morning, I got a call telling me to find my own electrician. My electrician came out within ONE DAY of my requesting. He put me on his next available date for the work. Don't try to act like any of the delays are my fault. This is on Kristen and Torah. Torah even admitted to me that she was "new" when we did this contract, so she didn't do everything right. read more

We contracted Richards mid 2020 to build our pool and spa. This was the worst decision we've made. Not only did it take way longer than expected to complete the project, construction ended a couple months ago and we still do not have a functioning pool and spa. We contact them constantly with little to no reply. We were lied to constantly about time frames and when things would be fixed. I would never recommend this company to anyone. read more