One of the winners in Pleatco's Perfect Pool Guy/Gal Contest was none other than AQUA's own Steve Goodale, who was awarded the 2018 Industry Leadership Award. After taking home the prestigious honor, Goodale shared a few thoughts (or, rather, "rules") that he would like to propose as an industry leader. We hope you enjoy it and get a laugh out of it.
Now that I have been given the Industry Leadership Award, things are going to change around here. As the official leader of the pool and spa industry, it is about time we start fixing some of the problems that have been hanging over our heads for too long. As the new captain I have some official decrees to lay on you:
1. NO MORE POOL PARTIES
Go ahead and start scripting up some letters to your customer lists. Effective immediately there will be NO MORE POOL PARTIES. Any customer found discussing an upcoming pool party will be scheduled to have their pool drained. No longer will pool service workers be a slave to your get-togethers! No more will we toil well into the darkness on a Friday night to prepare your pool for a Saturday engagement! Pool. Parties. Are. Canceled.
2. POOLS WILL BE CLEANED TUESDAY AND THURSDAY ONLY
You know what's not fun? Working every day, all day, from before dawn until after dark, sometimes seven days a week. By the power vested in me by Pleatco and the Industry Leadership Award, I officially declare that all pools may be cleaned on Tuesday and Thursday only.
If a wayward leaf should find its way into a swimming pool on a Friday, you can relax knowing you don't have to worry about it until the following Tuesday. Take a load off — you deserve it.
3. RAISES FOR EVERYONE!
You all work way too hard. You deserve a raise. Go ahead and inform your boss that you are worth more money and they will be giving you a raise. If you're self employed, consider actually paying yourself something for a change. And no B.S. 50-cent raises either — we're getting real raises of multiple dollars.
4. NO MORE LEAK DETECTION
Leak detection is hard and thankless work. It is challenging to find leaks and no pool owners like paying for leak detection and repair services. Even once you find the leak you still need to dig holes and tunnel underneath concrete decks in order to physically locate the leak...and that is when the fun part begins: you trying to glue two pieces of immovable pipe together using slip-connection pipe, all while upside down and twisted around backwards in a hole under the pool deck.
For this reason there will be no more leak detection services offered in the pool industry. From now on, any time a customer tells you they think they have a leak in their pool, simply reply, "Yeah, probably."
5. GO BREAK SOME STUFF
You know how any time a piece of equipment breaks, YOU get the blame because you were the last one to touch it? "It was working fine until you changed the settings," they say. Well, as the newly crowned leader of the industry, I am allowing everyone to choose one special customer whose equipment you get to break, no questions asked.
Maybe it's the ancient pump that takes forever to prime, or a decrepit valve that you cut your hand on every time you turn the handle. You get one freebie, so make it count! (And don't worry, we'll cover for you if the cops come snooping around.)
Steve Goodale is a second generation swimming pool expert located in Ontario Canada. You can learn more about Steve, as well as swimming pool construction, maintenance and repair from his website: SwimmingPoolSteve.com.
