So the other day we called the Tav Pools Company to open our pool for the spring since we are too inexperienced to open it ourselves as we are new pool owners. We scheduled for them to come on May,12th but they asked to reschedule our appointment for May,18th since they are behind schedule, they were supposed to arrive after 4 pm however they ended up arriving after 6:30 pm. We told it was too late to come at this time but they said they don’t mind working till midnight. They proceeded with taking off the tarp covering our pool before pumping the dirty water off the cover. This caused all the debris and dirty water on the cover to mix with the pool water. They also did a very poor job in cleaning the pool cover and attempted to store it away while it was soaking wet and still fairly dirty. After, they starting connecting the tubes they stopped while reassembling our filter because the Company Owners wife (Tav’s Wife) told them they’re not supposed to touch the filter, so they just connected the tubes to the filter and they stopped at the tightening of the screws of the filter. She suggested calling Tav to ask for the filter service which turned out to be extra cost which we had to pay, meanwhile a thunderstorm began to hit very badly and we told her it’s just a matter of tightening the screws of the filter but she told us that she had to go and the other guys we’re already waiting for her in the car so she told us she had to go with the guys. Under these circumstances she asked me to sign a receipt as she was in a rush to leave due to the storm. I asked her if their job was complete and weren’t they supposed to start up the pool and leave it finished and ready. She replied, no I have to call Tav and ask about this, because they can’t start the pool if the filter is not completely assembled, keeping in mind that filter assembly was just a matter of screwing in a few screws on the top. She said just call Tav and he will explain to you what to do. The next day I called Tav and in the beginning I asked how long the process of opening the swimming pool should take, he said 1 hr and half to 2 hrs and half, I told him your team “finished” the job within 30 minutes and they left. He said it doesn’t matter. I told him about the filter and that we finished assembling it ourselves and ask him if they could please come back and finish their job with opening the pool. He said no he will not send anybody to finish this job as he considered the job finished. He said we should come to the store and he will explain to us in person how we should go about starting up the pool and opening it. He said that he apparently fired one of his guys and came off as very aggressive and angry and said that I should be calling and saying “thank you” because they came during a thunderstorm. I told him that I would appreciate if they could’ve come another time not during a storm and actually finished their job to an acceptable degree; I paid over 360 dollars for this job to be complete and I trusted his company. He said, if you want somebody to come and run the swimming pool I would have to pay 178$ more for this service. In the end, I ended up going to his store for more explanation on how to run the swimming pool. In his store he said that he doesn’t have the slightest idea about our type of filter but he explained something related to the pump and told us to go and start the pump, and that if we needed any more help that we could call him and he was explain further if needed. We went back home and tried to run the pump but there wasn’t any water being pumped. I called back and explained to him the situation, he referred me to another guy called Paul, and again I explained to him the situation, he suggested that we check some stuff and I told him everything looked fine, however, since we don’t have experience with this equipment I asked again to send somebody from their company to check, he again suggested that we’d pay more money for this service, I told him it stated on their website that they would run the pump and he said that it was not a part of the opening pool service. I told him again that it was mentioned very clearly on their website under the section of “startup the pool”, suddenly he replied “Ma’am have a pleasant weekend” and abruptly hung up the phone. I checked with my children through the internet what was wrong with this system and realized that they had connected the tubes in their incorrect places, leaving us very confused as to why the filter and the pump weren’t working. We believe that due to our lack of pool experience and knowledge we were conned by this company and they’d been dishonest with us. Since they know very well that this process should take minimum 2hrs or more, and as we learnt from our neighbor they should never dump the dirt and debris of the top cover into the swimming pool as this will put more pressure on our filter and might cause problems to it, also we learnt that cleaning the cover should be completed by drying the cover before storing it, and they’d been fooling us by asking to put the soaked cover into the shed which will end by it collecting mold and insects and would render it useless in the future. We found during their work the team seemed to be arguing and having problems which each other, since it seemed that one of them was doing most of the work while the other two we’re fooling around and this guy had been fired because he was complaining to the owners wife that he was tired of being the one doing all the work. In the end, I want my money back since they didn’t deserve their payment, as well as it does not make sense at all to pay over 360$ for 30 minutes of poor work and even potentially damaging work to our equipment. I believe this kind of company shouldn’t be in business as they are a well-known company and they are fooling new customers and new pool owners like us.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $360.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
All customers are told what is involved with a pool opening upon booking, so let's not pretend we didn't know what was involved. We arrived at 6.30pm and left at 9pm. so this customer saying we were there 30 minutes is an absolute lie. This customers complaint should be with whomever closed her pool as the beaded winter cover was duct taped to the pool walls instead of being put into track on pool wall, and someone put ceramic floor tiles around pool to hold winter cover in place. When we arrived to remove the cover, that was impossible as it was in the bottom of pool and therefore it had to be pulled out. This customer is ranting all over the internet and slandering our business (which is against the law) because she is looking for a way to get her pool opening for free. As far as her DE filter, we will not re assemble equipment that someone else has dismantled for unknown reasons. This customer should have called other pool companies who would be very quick to tell her exactly the same thing we have. We have spent much too much time explaining how to operate a pool to this customer and she just keeps saying over and over again "when are you coming to finish opening my pool?" We provided a pool opening service and did an excellent job and gave over 2 hours of advise which she isn't interested in. We pride ourselves on great service and will not allow ANYONE to slander our business with this complete nonsense.