EMERALD POOLS & SPAS INC

My experience started off great. I contacted Emerald for a bid to have a Pentair Intelliflo variable speed pool pump installed. I spoke with Janet in their service department, who was very pleasant. As an authorized Jandy service provider, naturally she tried to convince me to go with a comparable Jandy product, but I politely declined, as I had done my homework on the Pentair system and had done no research on the Jandy product. I'm sure Jandy pumps are fine, but that is not what I wanted. Janet agreed to order the Pentair, but indicated that the pump would need to be shipped to them since they did not stock that brand. She even moved my install date out an extra day to allow for any delays in delivery. I scheduled time off of work to be home the day of installation. A day before installation was to take place, I received a call from my son indicating that there was a strange man in our backyard. Thinking it might have been Emerald, I immediately contacted Janet, who said that there service rep was installing the pump. Although I wanted to be there for the installation, there was a bonus in that the pump was installed a day early. When I got home that evening, I took a look at the installation and realized that they had put in the Jandy anyway. On top of that, they installed the controller about 8 inches above the ground, forcing me to get on my knees every time I need to view or change the mode. And on top of THAT, they installed plumbing over the pump basket access port which prevents the pump basket from being removed for cleaning. Realizing that there must have been some mistake for the wrong pump to be installed, I emailed Janet right away. Over a week later, Janet responded that, according to her notes on our original phone conversation, I had ordered the Jandy and that they had installed the correct pump. After explaining that I would not spend that sort of money on a product for which I knew nothing about, she agreed to talk with the general manager, Jacob, to determine a proper resolution. After several follow-up requests by phone and email, I finally reached Janet...over a month after installation. She explained that Jacob agreed to replace the pump, but would require a "restocking fee." I said that it was not fair that I would be required to pay a restocking fee when it was not my fault that the wrong pump was installed. She agreed, and scheduled a service rep to come out a week later. I, once again, scheduled the day off of work to be there. A week came and went with no service rep stopping by and no contact from Emerald Pools indicating that they would be unable to install on the date promised. I contacted Janet a couple of days later and she explained that the pump had not arrived at their warehouse. Notably, when I originally ordered the Pentair pump, Janet said that the pumps only take a couple of days to reach their warehouse. Nonetheless, Janet agreed to follow up once it was received. A week passed, then two. Janet finally responded to one of my multiple follow-up emails and explained that the pump had STILL not been received. Another three weeks go by with no news from Emerald. The following week I let Emerald know by email that I would be seeking legal resolution on the matter. I received a response from Janet the following day, indicating that, if I wanted the pump replaced, I would have to pay a $200.00 restocking fee. I decided to seek legal advice. My attorney presented a demand letter to Emerald that basically spelled out what had transpired to date and asked that the correct pump be installed. Emerald's attorney responded, indicating that Emerald had provided me with a description of what was going to be installed PRIOR to the time of installation, which is 100% FALSE. I received a receipt AFTER installation. Their attorney stated that he had no reason to doubt their claim and that I had no legal remedy. My attorney told me that, even if I filed a Small Claims suit (which does not permit attorneys to be involved in the case), they would likely remove it to a higher court (which DOES allow legal representation) and I could be faced with their legal fees if I lost. I?m not asking for damages or anything?just that they put in the right pump!! It sounds like they are just trying to use scare tactics to get me to back down. So at this point, I either have to trust that my documentation is enough to risk taking to court, or be faced with the fact that, in my opinion, I picked the wrong company to work with and will have to pay someone else to fix their shoddy installation. Sigh.....

DAVE DID A GREAT JOB. EVERYTHING WAS DONE WHEN HE SAID IT WOULD BE. A GREAT EXPERIENCE.