Clear All Pools

We inherited this vendor from the prior owner. Having never had a pool before, we were clueless as to what to expect in terms of service or price except that the pool should be blue and not break the bank. So, through the first year we had no issues with the service. We were charged $75.00 per month for weekly service, plus an additional $40.00 each quarter for chemicals, which is an effective rate of about $90.00 per month. We had a pool leak (discovered soon after we bought the house). Isreal Machado (the owner) recommended a friend of his to fix it, which cost us $1,100.00 for maybe 2 months of no leaks. After that, the pool leaked incessantly. We also noted that even though we were supposed to have weekly service 52 weeks per year, our pool guy went on vacation 2 weeks each year, but there was no credit given for those missing weeks. During the first 3 years, we did not have any major issues other than the leak, but did have some small ones. Getting a response from the owner was like pulling teeth. It was largely because of that issue, and because the pool was not always blue, that we started looking for a new service company in our 4th year. At that time, we found out that we were paying more than normal -- most other companies were charging $65.00 per month plus $50.00 every 6 months for chemicals, so approximately an effective rate of $75.00 per month. These other companies also gave their customers a pro rata credit if their service people missed a week of service. So in addition to being merely average (on a good day) we discovered our service company was overpriced. I'm sure everyone would agree that paying a higher price is not a bad thing if you are getting better-than-average service, but the fair price for mediocre service is a mediocre price. We decided to switch, but were going to wait until after we renovated the pool and deck. This year (our 5th with this company) we had a number of major pool issues. The pool guy apparently left something loose or open at the pump, which caused a major leak/drainage of pool water. Our whole pool would have emptied if we had been away from home, not to mention the potential for the water to travel under the walls and into the house. No apology or "mea culpa" was received -- indeed, Isreal was adamant that his pool guy had nothing to do with it (which was interesting -- Isreal claimed he did not know what caused the massive drainage/leak, but assured us there was nothing wrong and it couldn't happen again). Then, we noticed that the pump motor was getting louder. Our pool guy had not said anything to us, so one day when we finally caught him (the days and times when he showed up were never consistent), we asked about it. His response was "yeah, I heard it from the front of the house. Usually it means the motor is going." So, our next question was, "what do we do?" His response was, "I'll tell Isreal and he'll call you." No call was received that week. The following week, when the pool guy snuck in and out, the pump motor quit 5 minutes after he left. We called Isreal, but never received a return call. We terminated the company's service at that point. We would not recommend this company. There are plenty of mediocre pool service companies out there for a much lower price, which may actually return phone calls.