Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Mr Pool Guy was hired to repair cracks in my pool as well as retile, raise pool floor, replanted and fix loose stones on spillway. There were several issues with the quality of work on the pool with the main problem that the cracks were not correctly repaired. Almost immediately after completion of the job, I noticed the need to add additional water to the pool several times a week in spite of having an auto filler as well as a large wet area next to the pool. Then I noticed visual cracks in the pool in the exact location where the repairs should have been made. I immediately contacted the owner of the company, and asked him to come to my home and see what was happening. He sent his son and a couple of other workers who agreed that it had serious issues. They took multiple photos and placed temporary epoxy in the cracks and reported back to the owner. I was assured numerous times that they would make the proper repairs. In the months that followed, I had numerous emails back and forth with promises that he would put me on the schedule. I have been continuing to contact the owner through text, voicemails, and emails. I have spoken with the receptionist at the company multiple times asking her to have the owner call to schedule my repairs. She assured me that he would call. The last couple of months, I am no longer getting any response from my attempts to contact them. I have asked for either the repairs to be properly completed or to refund my money and pay me for the water I had to have trucked in to fill my pool.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/07/2023

  After reading this complaint I want to say that yes we did the work on her pool and yes we did fix cracks in the pool shell that were there because of her existing builder who did not use the proper gunite mix when the pool was built. I always tell the customer and put it in writing that yes we will try to fix all the cracks with two-part epoxy and hydraulic cement but the crack may come back in a different spot close to the old one because of the weakness of the gunite. After the inspection of the pool we noticed cracking in a totally different spot from the previous repair so we fixed it at no cost even though there still is a balance on the contract and my contract states that if the contract is not paid in full there will be no warranty given. We also cannot guarantee cracks will not resurface, no company does.
  I have tried to explain the poor gunite and cracking in a different area to ***** but she thinks I'm lying to her and our company just did a poor job which that is not the case, we have always done a quality job.Our company does around ******* pools a year with Very little customer dissatisfaction. I even showed her pictures of the entire job from start to finish of all the cracks we repaired, but that didn't help. The customer is still not satisfied with everything we have done and I don't believe we can make her happy.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/15/2023

  Complaint: 20306570
  

  I am rejecting this response because there are several incorrect statements in ******** reply to my complaint
  
  1.  He never showed me pictures of the entire job.  I would love to see the pictures he has.  He has never come to see the project or check on the workers since the day he came to bid the job, despite my multiple requests during and after the job.
  
  2.  He did send some workers to see the cracks and they placed putty in the cracks as a temporary fix until they could make permanent repairs, which he promised to make as can be seen from the attached emails.
  
  3.  I told Owner and his accounting representative that I would pay all the remaining balance when the work is 100% complete.  I dont believe in paying before the work is completely finished.   Owner was in agreement with that.
  
  4.  I dont think ******* was fully apprised on how well his employees administered the placement of the epoxy and hydraulic cement.  He repeatedly told me throughout the project that he was having severe staffing issues.   I observed on the job training of the tile setter, plasterer, concrete mixers, etcetera.  One of his employees was injured because he didnt know how to safely use a piece of equipment.  I was able to provide first aid materials for him because the others workers did not have supplies.
  
  5.  I asked one employee about filling the cracks once the staples were placed and was told that nothing was to be put in the cracks and the staples would hold.  I dont believe it was purposely omitted, but more of the effect of an improperly trained employee and a lack of supervision.
  
  6.  Owner stated that cracks were in different location than the repairs he did.  The attacks pictures show that cracks are in exact same location.  There are excellent landmarks on 3 of the cracks; immediately to the right of the tanning deck, to the right of bench on the back side of the pool and immediately to the left of the steps.  
  
  7.  My main concern has been the cracks, that are now leaking worse than they were before the fix  I feel I must disclose more of the issues that did not go well with this repair.  New waterline tile was placed and now is not level, numerous tiles didnt get properly set, mortar is already coming loose.  Spillway repair was also done incorrectly with the stones not level so now flow is higher on one spillway than the other.  Mortar match was promised to be close, but is a totally different color.  Plaster job has several areas that are crumbly looking and steps are pitched way to steep, causing people to fall backwards when trying to enter the pool.  This is just a sample of some of the issues with the repairs.    

  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/10/2023

  Customer stated there had been issues with the pool for sometime and she had other pool companies do some repairs on cracks. 
  
  My original evaluation of the pool showed one crack. After draining the pool it was discovered that there were several cracks in the pool shell which we repaired. The repair process consists of chipping the crack area, installing staples, injecting epoxy into the staples and cracks, then applying a waterproofing agent called Water Stop. We also did an extra step of bond coating over the entire pool. This was to provide an extra layer of waterproofing. All processes are completed following the manufacturers instructions. 
  
  During initial conversation we discussed that if the Gunite is weak in certain areas the crack which was fixed with epoxy will not crack in the exact same place but can crack very close to it, thus we CANNOT and DO NOT guarantee cracks. Its impossible for us to know the quality of the Gunite in an existing pool.  In the pictures she provided it shows the crack is about 1 inch from the original crack. Customer wants us to fix additional cracks in the pool shell at no cost.  We are being blamed for issues with her pool that were not done by us.  
  
  In regard to employees, we had the same people working her job from start to finish. My son (who was the superintendent on her job) and all the employees know how to fix cracks in a pool and have been doing the process for years.  One employee cut his hand when he pulled the generator cable to start it, and it broke. It was not for lack of knowledge on the use of the generator. 
  
  I going to respond to each statement in the reply accordingly:
  1. I have been on-site to her project 4 times. I did not show her pictures since she is physically on property and watched them as they worked. We take pictures for proof of work completed. My son is a superintendent and ran the job and I have complete confidence in his workmanship. 
  2. I do not know what cracks specifically she is referring to. There is no temporary epoxy.  All cracks were fixed according to the staple manufacturer instructions. 
  3. All work was completed accordingly and full payment is required. The contract was completed. Again, there is no guarantee on cracks.  She should contact her original pool builder to determine the quality of the Gunite. 
  4. I am in daily communication with my superintendent and have photos for confirmation. 
  5. I dont know what employee she is speaking of but again, my superintendent knows what to do. 
  6. The new crack are more than 1 inch away from the original crack. 
  7. Some of the photos attached were prior to our work being done. In at least 1 picture of a crack there is no water on the interior finish. The interior finish is required to be covered in water or it will crack and or lift. There are very specific instructions that must be followed after the interior finish installation and that documentation is given to all customers and reviewed with customer at time of proposal and again at time of installation. 
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/23/2023

  Complaint: 20306570
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  There are multiple inconsistencies and contradictions in owners most recent reply.
  
  1.  Only one previous repair was done in February, 2012, over ten years ago, not plural as he stated. 
  2.  His original evaluation showed 4 cracks, the same number that showed when the pool was drained.  Initial bid states cracks (plural) would be repaired.  He stated he does ******* pools a year, so maybe he just isnt remembering correctly.  
  3.  We did discuss the fact that the cracks might reappear in a number of years, my previous repair lasted over ten years.  However, the signs of failure showed up within a couple of weeks and was leaking water far worse than prior to the attempted repair.  Again, it is obvious that a critical step was overlooked or skipped during the repair process.  Owner agreed that something went wrong and continually promised to make it right as can be seen in the emails attached to the initial filing of the complaint. 
  4.  Owner stated to me numerous times that he was short staffed and was hiring as fast as he can. I personally witnessed on the job training on my pool.  
  5.  ***** stated in his reply that he came to my pool 4 times. He has not been to my home since he bid the project.  
  6.  He stated that he showed me his photos of the project, which I still have not seen, because he has not been here. He then changed his statement and said he did not show me the photos.  The initially attached emails also show numerous requests for him to come and personally see the problems.  I met his son, Devon,  for the first time after the cracks reappeared.  He was sent to take pictures and observe the temporary epoxy fix of the cracks. Please see the attached email where I thanked him for slowing the water leaking with the temporary epoxy fix. 
  7.  In reply to the cracks being 1 inch from the original cracks, again, please see the photos that were preciously attached.  They are in the same location. 
  8.  Photo taken where no water was shown was taken when Mr. **** Guy drained the pool for repair.  
  9.  Mr. **** Guy made it clear to me that something went wrong with the crack repairs.  There are multiple attached emails where he stated that he would come and make the proper repairs.  His contract stats There will be a one year workmanship warranty on all work. This is without a doubt a workmanship issue as the cracks reappeared almost immediately after they finished.  
  It has become evident that Mr. **** Guy has no intention of honoring his warranty and commitment  to complete the proper repairs. I am requesting a full refund with the addition of $1250 I paid to ******'s Dairy Service for water delivery to fill the pool.