Steve Bludsworth
All Pool Service and Supply
One thing we discuss at almost every meeting we hold with our field techs is performing a free and quick basic inspection of the customer’s pool and or spa equipment. We break these down into three categories.
We train on what we call Gates, Grates and Ground. We want all of our folks to look at these items every time they are in a customer’s backyard, whether it is to clean the pool, repair the pool, remodel, estimate or any other work. We look at the suction grates; this includes the pool, spa and any suction outlets such as a suction vac line or suction pool cleaner line. We look to see if the grates are in good condition, that they meet the current standards and that they are secure. We also look at all the gates, screen doors, baby fences, etc. We look to see if function properly and are in need of any repair or replacement. The last item is ground (actually bonding) but we wanted to use another G word. We look at the bond wire motor and any other metal equipment to make sure that it is attached. We also look at the bond wire on the screen enclosure to make sure it is attached. We find many bond wires that are just dangling in the air but not attached. Many bond wires are beat up from weed whackers and other law equipment.
We consider Gates, Gates and Grounds to be a basic safety inspection that only takes a few minutes and can save a life or prevent serious injury.
Our second inspection is on repair calls. After the tech has looked at the problem which prompted the service call and reassured the customer that this is something we can take care of, we offer to do an inspection of their other pool or spa equipment. This isn’t a detailed inspection like for a home sale, it’s just looking at the other items and identifying any current issues or anything that looks like it might turn into a problem. This does two things: it can generate additional revenue and helps head off the “ever since you were here” something else isn’t working phone call.
The last inspection is performed by our cleaning route techs. We give them a simple check list to use on their route pools that lets them look for problems with the pool and equipment. This works great early in the year because it lets us fix problems in the slow season instead of tying up the repair techs during peak season. We give the route techs a small SPIF for repairs that are generated from the checklist, so they like it to do it.
