LESLIE'S SWIMMING POOL SUPLS

Since this was the first year we had our pool, we decided that it would be best to have the professionals come and open it for us. Big mistake! We had Leslie's close the pool for us the previous autumn, and the technician told us NOT to use the air bladder under the cover (to prevent water and leaves from collecting on top of the cover), stating that it was better for the cover and the pool just to let it rest on the surface of the water during the winter. So I assumed that when we had them come open the pool, they would be pumping the accumulated water off the top of the pool before removing the cover. I even told them to feel free to leave any leaves and debris on the grass, and I would put it in our compost pile later. Instead, they dumped the contents of the cover -- stagnant water, rotting leaves, even a few tree branches -- INTO THE POOL. Then they told us to fill the pool up with the hose so they could check the pump, and they left. After an hour or so, I noticed that the water level wasn't rising as fast as I thought it should, only to find that they had left the cover of the pump open, so that my backyard was now flooded. They came back, apologized for the pump cover, turned the pump on, and told us that we just needed to put the chemicals in and vacuum 24 hours later. NOPE. With the amount of flotsam they dumped into the bottom of the pool, it took a MONTH of daily vacuuming, shocking multiple times a week, backflushing sometimes TWICE daily, and three separate flocculant treatments before our pool was swimmable. (They "opened" the pool on 5/27, and we couldn't swim in it until 6/26.) We will NEVER be customers of Leslie's again.

Service was adequate but not great. When we engaged the service we told them the biggest issue was removing and storing the ladder (which, being filled with water for stability, is too heavy for us to lift). They left the ladder standing in the yard next to the pool when they were done and we had to call and ask them (again) to put it into the shed. They came back promptly and took care of this, which is good. This spring when we went to get the ladder out, we found that they had never drained the water out of the ladder! Had we not had a mild winter, the freezing water would probably have ruined the ladder. Also, we were unable to find two of the hose clamps. We went to Leslie's to get more clamps (we did find the original clamps, later, stored inside the filter chamber) and told the clerk about the pool-closing issues. The clerk just nodded and said "uh-huh". Granted, it was a busy day; still, he should have referred us to his manager at that point. Blowing off customer complaints is a really dumb practice, Leslie's. Given that we had to do much of the work ourselves (buy the pool closing chemicals ourselves, put the chemicals in, call and remind them to put the ladder away, and then find in the spring that they hadn't drained the ladder, muscle the heavy ladder out of the shed to drain the water out), we think we paid Leslie's pool closing contractor about twice what they were worth. This fall we'll just find a handyman to take the ladder out, and do the rest ourselves.

Any interaction I've had with Leslie's has been top notch. Katie, the store manager is very knowledgeable, about everything and anything I've ever asked. I was in the market for a new filter and was torn between a DE, Cartridge or sand filter. I had read so many conflicting things about all 3, yet she was able to very clearly and plainly give me the pros and cons to each and ultimately I felt best with the sand filter. The filter I was using previously held 2 bags of sand, the filter I should have been using holds 6! HA. What a difference it has made when I vacuum. My pool is crystal clear. And the Zeo sand is great. Thanks Leslie's and thanks Katie!

We scheduled an appointment to have our pool closed for the winter. We missed them the first time and had to reschedule, but they did so promptly. They showed up on the appointed day and did most of the closing, but apparently didn't get the instructions to put the ladder into the shed and the pump unit up on the blocks we provided. When we called about it, the contact person apologized and immediately contacted the workers to come back out. They came out on the appointed day and finished the work with no problems.