6 | AQUATALK

lessonsfrom

theroad

AQUATALK | 7

lessonsfrom

roadby Thomas BrownVice President of Business Development

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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!

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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.

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.