Keep your job site clean and your customers will appreciate you more.

1. 6 | AQUATALK
lesso
the
ro

2. AQUATALK | 7
ons
from
oad
by Thomas Brown
Vice President of Business Development

3. 8 | AQUATALK
I once visited a prospective new member. Upon arrival, I immediately observed a state of general
neglect. The offices were rather messy and the front entrance to the showroom was filled with
weeds and scattered trash. Needless to say, it wasn’t the best first impression.
During the course of our meeting I asked to see a few of their projects, both
complete and in process. The prospect immediately beamed with pride
and eagerly replied by saying, “I have to show you this one job. This
house is beautiful and sits on the tenth tee of a country club.” And
so we went.
We entered into an extremely affluent neighborhood with beautiful
homes, impeccable landscaping and an arsenal of extravagant
autos. Virtually everything about the area screamed that these
residents liked luxury goods and services. There was no doubt that
this area was rich with referral business.
As we approached the back of the home, the first thing I noticed was a six-
foot high pile of trash. Yes, that’s correct – a pile of trash. And what’s more is that the prospect
pointed proudly toward the tenth tee, directly in front of the trash pile, where he had strategically
placed his sign and declared that he was bound to get new business. I walked slowly out to the
tenth tee and sure enough he had strategically placed his sign directly in front of the trash pile.
Congratulations buddy, you have now advertised yourself in front of an aging pile of trash and
poisoned every affluent golfer against your business.
Being a forward individual, I inquired how long the pile of trash had been there and better yet,
why? The prospect responded that it was common practice on his job sites. He always creates
a pile of trash and when the job is ready for final grade, they then remove it. And according to
him, it had only been there a week or two. What a line of crap – that thing looked like this was
the original job trash pile that had been building for months!

4. AQUATALK | 9
And there, as we stood amongst old burger wrappers and fast food cups, I asked why he did
not make it a policy to have his subs and crew remove the trash daily? As I nodded toward his
builder sign where an old mortar bag had blown, I said, “It looks like you are advertising that
you build great big piles of trash in your yard, not quality pools.”
And as if on cue, the next-door neighbor came out and asked, “Are you from the company
building the pool?” The prospect responded to the affirmative and then it really began.
The neighbor said, “I am sick and tired of looking at this mess and have complained to the
neighborhood association. When the heck are you going to finish? It smells and has been
here for months!” The prospect promptly instructed the neighbor to mind his own business.
He then finished with, “We finish when we finish.” Well, I guess that’s that! And yes, it was
that blatant. Another score for the builder – you have just alienated and pissed off another
potential customer!
You would think that I had seen enough by this point, but no, I pressed on.
I decided to inspect the pool quality, and much like the trash pile, it was
not a pretty sight. There, at the bottom of the pool, were the tile setter’s
2x4’s with rusting 16-penny nails eagerly waiting to impale someone that
unsuspectingly slipped in. He could have at least added them to the ever-
growing trash pile near his sign. And what’s more is that, based on the toys
on the mounds of dirt surrounding the pool, there were clearly children
around the build. And no temporary safety fencing either; just an open
hazard.
But wait, it continues. Apparently the tile setter had set up his tile saw up near the
beautiful brick house. And for those of you that build gunite pools, or have done tile
work in the past, know what happens. Yes, there was tile water everywhere! It covered the
sliding patio door, the gorgeous red brick and had completely ruined the owner’s rather
pricey Telescope patio furniture. And this clearly had not just happened. The spray was fully
dry and looked like it had been there for weeks. It was, at best, sloppy work and bordered
on gross negligence, with little to no regard for the homeowner’s property.

5. 10 | AQUATALK
When I told her that she should get her crew
out there and get the entire mess cleaned
up, she seemed relatively unconcerned. I
then pressed on, “If I were the homeowner
I would make you replace the patio furniture
that you ruined.” She remained un-phased.
We then moved on to the next project. But
before we even got out of the truck, were
met by the homeowner that refused to even
allow us on the property. He angrily said, “I
never want to see you again. You made our
lives hell.” What the prospect responded
with was unimpressive and not really suited
for print.
No cliffhanger here. We didn’t just pass
quickly on this guy, we ran!
Now here is the moral of this Lessons from the
Road edition: your jobsites are a reflection of
you and your company!
It’s time to get honest with yourself, what do
others see when they look at your job sites
or stores? And do you ensure that your crews
adhere to stringent safety standards in order
to protect the homeowner and their children?
And this one isn’t optional – pick up your
trash daily and never, ever place your sign
anywhere near a pile of job spoils claiming
you build great pools.
As members, whether you are a builder or a
retailer, we must ensure that we are better
than our competitors and differentiate
ourselves by our high standards in every way
that we can. This means that our customers
should view our job sites, showrooms
and stores using one word – immaculate.
Remember, word-of-mouth referrals are the
easiest way to attract new business or lose
it permanently. Make sure that the lasting
impression you make is positive.
One more thing; this builder soon went out
of business shortly thereafter as a result of
lawsuits over quality. No shocker there.