Leslie's - Danville

I wanted to replace my main filter pump and solar booster pump with a high efficiency Pentair Intelliflo VS3050 pump and went to Leslie's because they were selling the pump for $1000 which was $500 less than other pool service companies. I also purchased electrically operated shut-off valves compatible with my solar controller and paid a standard $240 for installation. The first serviceman was on loan from Arizona and told me that he knew nothing about solar. This was obvious because he immediately removed the manual solar shut-off valves despite my telling him they were essential. He had never installed an Intelliflo pump before and could not figure out how to wire it or the controller-activated shut-off valves. The area service manager was equally clueless. They spent hours on the phone with Pentair trying to get directions. Finally they decided that my solar controller would not control the Intelliflo pump and that I would need a new one from Pentair. Meanwhile, a second inexperienced service man came to unsuccessfully and incorrectly wire the pump. Then they decided that the circuit breaker box was incompatible and that I would need an integrated controller/box (EasyTouch 4: $1024). Even after the area service manager had tried to install this controller, the equipment did not work. Eventually, they called in a local independent consultant who told them what they had done wrong. Finally, Leslie's sent an experienced serviceman who quickly re-installed the manual shut-off valves, re-wired the equipment and set it up with the required programs. The major problem here was that they never sent someone to the job site before buying the necessary equipment. It took SIX service calls before the equipment was properly installed yet they had an experienced Intelliflo installer on staff. The manager of the Danville store (Joe) was as helpful as he could be during this process and gave me store credits for parts of the EasyTouch that were not needed. But he was at the mercy of the Leslie's service department which seems to operate as a separate entity. The good news is that the pump is very efficient and saved ~$650 during the first summer. So it should pay for itself in 3-4 years, but what a hassle!