AUTOMATIC POOL COVER PROFESSIONALS

We've been having trouble with our Automatic Pool Cover opening and closing since the last pool season. My pool guy suggested that we have Automatic Pool Covers come out to fix the problem. My pool guy contracts out work to APC. The first service call was on May 2, 2016. They were here for less than an hour. At that time they cleaned the shaft and tightened the rope tension. The charge was $160. Due to the crazy Indiana weather, we only opened the pool probably less than a dozen times. On June 2nd, we were opening the pool and the cover stopped after a few feet. I noticed rope hanging in the pool and checked where the rope spins and noticed the the rope had gotten tangled in the shaft and snapped. I made a call to my pool guy and my pool guy contacted APC. This is the same problem that had been reoccurring with the rope only this time it snapped. I had to wait a week and a half for APC to come back. They came on June 13, 2016 and replaced the broken rope and adjusted the rope. I was assuming, to my mistake, that there wouldn't be a charge for the second service call. The rope snapping was caused by the same reoccurring issue. We had the pool open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday without any problems opening or closing. My daughter went to open the pool on Saturday afternoon, and once again, it stopped after opening a few feet. I texted my pool guy and he said he would contact APC and see what they could do. I called APC myself today. I was told that the earliest someone could come back out was Friday, June 24th. I told them that was not acceptable. We've already lost too many swimming days, because they can't seem to fix their own equipment. APC said that they could possibly return on Wednesday. I told APC that I wasn't expecting to get billed for the second and now third service call. APC said that the second service call was for a different issue since APC had to replace the rope. Again, if the issue with the pool cover was fixed during the first service call, the rope wouldn't have tangled and snapped. APC is still arguing that I will be charged for the second call, but the 3rd service call I would not. I'm beyond frustrated with this company!

guys came out and were here for 15mins. fixed the obvious problem. the track on one side was pulled and the screws were coming out. was charged for a service charge of their minimum 1 hour. I would have expected them to inspect the whole cover and let me know if there were any additional problems. They did not. I have noticed the same problem on the other side and many other loose screws around the track.

Over the 4th of July holiday the grandchildren jumped on the pool cover as a trampoline. Next opening of the cover a pin sheared causing the shaft not to turn leaving the cover closed. I replaced the bolt but at next opening some inner pins broke allowing the cover to close but not open. I was stumped on how to repair and replace the pins. I called the company who in turn scheduled a repair date for the next time they were in our area. The repairman arrived as scheduled pulled all the components, drilled out sheared pins, replaced, and reattached all the components in about an hour. He then checked for appropriate operation. I gave a B for responsiveness because it takes 2 or more days for repairmen to respond. I understand why the company covers appointments by area ( south side one day a week, north side another, ect.) and not by job if the problem is not an emergency, but when your a customer with 8 children at your house, in July, with no pool access, it gets hard to wait 2 or 3 days for service. In fairness to the company I did not price out emergency service nor did I ask if it was available. All of this aside I give them A++++ for everything else.

Automatic Pool Cover provided this service last year just prior to I closing the pool for the winter. Now that the new season is here I am experiencing the SAME ISSUE. Given the pool cover hadn't been "moved" for 6 months I assumed the work was still under service warranty: MY BAD. As shared by other Angie's List members now that I need follow up service on the SAME ISSUE Automatic Pool Cover shares with you THEIR POLICY. SERVICE WARRANTY IS FOR THE SAME POOL SEASON ONLY! Now their NON CUSTOMER FRIENDLY POLICY IS NOT STATED ANYWHERE, OR SHARED WITH YOU UNTIL YOU NEED FOLLOW UP SERVICE. So if you are foolish enough to purchase their services you would want to do this early in the pool season. Also the most recent ratings reflect a continued drop in service quality. Angie's List Members should use caution in hiring this service provider.

Prices too high. Had a bad experience with them before not completing the work and then wanting to charge to come back out to fix what should have been done in the first place. I thought after a few years I'd give them another shot to do routine maintenance on our cover and she said they charge $199 per hour and give the techs 3 hours to complete the job. No thank you!

When I was working on my pool this year, I got the old cover out and retracted back in, but I was not able to close up the unit. I was concerned about this as it presents both a safety and security issue. I stopped in to their office to note the issue with my automatic cover, and they said they would send someone out to close it up. I also ordered a new cover to be made. By the time I got home, they already had a technician out at my house working on the unit. By the following week, they had the new cover installed. I would highly recommend the company, I am very happy with their services.

Pool cover had slipped off it's tracking. A call for service was placed. They arrived same day call was placed. The repair crew put the pool cover back on track and then performed maintainance on the whole system. The crew was professional and knowledgable. There are two suggestions that I have: 1. When I called for an appointment no special arrival time could be guaranteed. It was left up in the air to when the repair crew might arrive so we didn't know if they were coming same day or within the next two days. It so happened that they showed up same day call was made. I was pleased with the response. Maybe a window of guaranteed arrival time could be made when a service call is placed so customers do not have to guess what time crew may arrive. 2. Credit card information is requested over the phone. I normally do not like to perform transactions with credit card information given over the phone. Maybe another system of billing with credit cards could be developed. In total I was very pleased with the service.

We had an unfortunate experience with one of the technicians however once this was reported, it was handled very professionally and with integrity. I would use this company again for sure.

Customer service is terrible! They really don't care and it shows. When I called Automatic Pool Cover directly in June 2011 to tell them we were missing a piece and needed them to come out, the lady on the phone informed me there would be a service charge to have them come out. Why would we would be charged a service charge when they didn't install the cover right the first time? When I argued with her that it should be under warranty since it was less than a year ago that it was installed, she reasoned that they didn't know what part was missing and would need to charge. When I again argued with her and asked her if any debris should have entered the pool, she agreed that it should not. I even said to her how were we supposed to know we were missing a part, but she didn't seem to care. We only discovered we were missing a part because our pool guy opening the pool said it was missing. I had to be rude before she finally said she'd get someone else for me to talk to and put me on hold. She then came back and said they would not charge me a service charge to come out. She then told me that the schedule was being made that day and I would get a call the day before someone was coming out. They called me Thursday evening to say they'd be out on Friday. When I asked if there was a window of time she could give me, like morning or afternoon, she said no that the guys make their own schedules. The guys showed up and were very nice and said they would order the part as it was not in stock and would call to come back out. Two weeks went by and I called to inquire if the part was in and was told it was in and someone would be out that Friday, June 24, 2011. He showed up with the part but it was the wrong length and a tad bit too short. He said he'd be back out that following Monday, June 27, 2011. A whole week went by and no call and no show. I called July 5, 2011, to inquire and was given the "run around" and told a manager would call me back. I waited 2 hours for a call back and called demanded to speak to someone. Mike Rover finally got on the phone. After speaking with the receptionist and her telling me that call backs were based upon priority and then speaking with Mike, I have come to the conclusion that this company doesn't understand customer service after the product is installed. They have been paid and really don't care to fix their error. What's sad about it, is that it's a small fix. If the response from day 1 of me calling and saying a part was missing had been that of I'm so sorry, we'll send someone out to look at it and then came back to install it without me having to call this many times and argue with them just to get them to finish the job that should have been done right the first time, I wouldn't have been upset with the service. I understand people make mistakes, but they should be willing to go above and beyond to fix it instead of putting us off. We're still waiting for someone to come out and put right part in. We'll see if they actually show.

Excellent. The lady on the phone clearly explained what they would have to do, and made it clear if I wanted the work done during the weekend there is an extra $99 charge. I told her that was ok and she said a technician would call me. The tech (Mitch) called me within 15 minutes and then he arrived at my house 30 minutes later. He appeared to be very competent and immediately went about his work. It was a hard job because half the cover was under water. My son and his friend and I helped Mitch pull it out which he appreciated. He completed the job, including replacing a couple worn out gliders, in less than one hour. Overall it was a very good experience.

They were extremely professional, tolerated my loud complaining about the need for a 5 year replacement cover (and got me some warranty credit), worked around my schedule on the other needed repairs, gave me some references for repair providers, and overall did an outstanding, high quality and timely job. Dave Johnson, service manager, is an outstanding guy in whom I have gained a lot of confidence. He is also very responsive and communicates regularly to let me know when the installation is scheduled, what follow up is required, etc. I feel like they were working with me to accomplish my goals and actually cared a lot that I be pleased with the work. I saw that one customer complained on Angies List because they want a credit card up front for the work. While I understand why in some cases that would be concerning, in this case I think that comment is a bit unfair. I thoroughly respect the fact that they are good businessmen/people and I am pleased to know that my prices won't pay for others' bad debts. In other words, I very much support the fact that they do want to get paid for their work as I believe some customers might not otherwise pay on time (or at all) and then the rest of us would end up paying for that through higher prices. My view is that I always pay timely and in full. Since that is the case, and since they always do great work and stand behind it so well, I have no problem at all with providing a credit card in advance. I am highly confident that if I was unhappy with something, they would adjust the bill or work it out with me. I will definitely use them for all of my pool cover needs and have done so for about 10 years.

Installers (Keith and Cary) arrived at approx. 9:30. They were polite, knowledgeable and worked hard. They removed old cover and replaced with a new one, replaced all the mechanicals (except lead bar and tracking) and installed new electrical controls. After they finished that they went through the rest of the unit and replaced missing track screws and rebent the cover holding brackets. The system should last another 20+ years. It's been years since I have had this type of service from anybody. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THHIS COMPANY. Thanks to both Keith/Cary and Dave Johnston.

The workers called a half hour before arriving as promised. They not only serviced all parts of the pool cover and mechanisms but also took the time to teach me about how the system works and how I can best take care of the system to keep it in good working order. They took everything apart, checked all the parts, replaced pullies, tightened the ropes, adjusted the cover and thourougly cleaned the box holding the pool cover when open. In addition, they re-anchored the boards in the box when I would have never known this needed to be done. They advised me on future care even though it would probably keep me from calling them again next year. I will contact them again when needed and will use them to replace my pool cover when that day comes.

08/26/2010 - I've changed my mind from the report I posted below in March 2010. I've learned that other competitive pool cover companies charge similarly. As well, I've had further experience with their service personnel which I have found to be exceptionally professional and helpful, even to a customer that had previously complained at length. Also, the cost of the original service was lower than originally estimated over the phone. -------------------------------- I've approximated the cost for this as I've not yet received the bill. I've always felt very "nickel and dimed" by APC. $35 to come to my house plus $140 an hour (approx.) service rate. Then my cover needed some sewing...another $50 just to take the sewing machine off the truck! What? It was already at my house - not like anyone made a special trip - oh wait, I paid $35 for the special trip! I understand pool chemicals are h****** covers but covers cost a lot of money and only last a few years, so it's a little insulting to pay such high service rates. The service guys that come to your home are knowledgeable and friendly but I feel overall that this company knows they have you and charge you exorbitantly for its services. Final note...I'm no dummy and I find the service department (over the phone) not too interested in customer service and rather condescending. I'm a chemist and an MBA, I'm not stupid so don't talk to me that way! This for me is reason enough to not use APC again. (I rated p"professionalism on this alone)

When called for service call they required a credit card number even before they would come out. The cover was 1 month out of warranty and the sewing came apart on the edge. They would not help at all, I even filled a complaint with the BBB. There response was tough luck. Poor customer service and a substandard warranty on the covers workmanship gives them a F rating from me.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I was particularly pleased that this company did not charge for an estimate like other companies (i.e. Carefree Spas) on Angie's List. I worked with Barry who was great to work with. I would definitley recommend them to anyone.

Automatic Pool Covers correctly diagnosed the problem as electrical from the beginning. They went out of their way to come to our house before the holiday weekend and again on Saturday afternoon. The technician set us up with an extension cord so that we could operate the pool cover over the weekend until the electrician was able to get back out. Although I think they are a little "pricey", they really do know what they are doing and I appreciate their efforts to resolve the problem for us so that we could use our pool over the holiday weekend. Also, they gave us accurate estimates of the trip charges.

They were very good. I highly recommend them. They were fast, efficient, came when they said they would and there's nothing I could complain about.

The pool cover was not closing completely, and was not operating smoothly. The technicians were very professional, arrived on time, and worked diligently, but when the work was completed, I could tell no difference in the operation of the cover. The final cost far exceeded the estimate, which I would not have minded if the results would have been more to my satisfaction. They did make a second trip at no cost to try additional adjustments.

They responded quickly, coming out the next day to fix it. It only took about 15 minutes. They were professional and efficient.

Their pricing was excellent. They recommended a new pool cover and gave us a quote without us even asking, which was neat. The work was prompt and it came well under the price I thought it would. I definitely remember that they were very helpful and friendly on the phone.

There was a problem with the cover but the company came out quickly to resolve the matter at no extra charge.

While opening our 2-year old pool cover, the switch wouldn't turn off and the pool cover ran off the back track. We have had problems with the switch sticking since day one and have called the original company who installed the new cover numerous times to address and fix this problem but they were always "too busy", wouldn't return our phone calls, and would never give us a time when they would come out. Always told we would be put on the list. This cover is still under warranty. I called Automatic Pool Covers and they sent someone out that day to get our cover closed for safety issues and evaluate what work needed to be done. The pool cover never closed all the way either and this problem was also solved with the adding of pool guide wheels. A new switch was put on and the cover now opens and closes very smoothly and stops when it should! Now we can use our pool for the first time this year (we couldn't open it to put in chemicals) and the cover has never worked better. This is our first experience owning a house with a pool - we moved here from out-of-state a few years ago. I only wish I had known about and called Automatic Pool Covers before to install the new pool cover - they truly care!

Their services are very good. They are good at coming out and answering questions. They had to replace the electrical box last year and I will continue to use them for future work for our cover.

I am very disappointed that every time I have had this company out (because I have their pool cover on) their workers have either left sharp metal shavings for my kids to cut their feet on, screws missing, screws stripped out, or things not even closed all the way. The service people on the phone are also very arrogant and will sometimes put you on hold for very long times.