THE POOL GUYS

After agreeing in August on a pool closing and safety cover install with the pool guys, we were left hanging with postponements weeks before canceling us all together with two days notice this late in the season. I can't review their work other than saying that incompetence and lack of integrity would get them 5 stars DO NOT PUT YOUR TRUST IN THESE KNUCKLEHEADS

I would NEVER recommend this company to install your pool. We got stuck with them because of the pandemic and couldn’t switch. If it wasn’t for that we wouldn’t have worked with them at all. First off, the communication is NON EXISTENT. We were given their name by the place we bought the pool from. We began calling them the first week of March to get an install date. We called and called and called and called. WEEKS later we got a call back. The guy said oh I’ll be out on Tuesday. Then Tuesday rolled around and he’d be out Thursday. Then Thursday he’d call and he would be out the next week. Then that next week turned into a week later and a MONTH afterward he finally came out. He told us he’d pull the permits and he’d start working on it as soon as he came in. Then crickets. Several texts, and phone calls went to them for status updates. NOTHING. Finally the pool store people reached out to them and behold the permits were in. They said they’ll come out the next week to begin work and a few days after for the install. SHOCKINGLY- that didn’t happen and we are three weeks out before they began the work. Over and over we were promised we’d have our pool up before memorial day but again, that did not happen. When the owner finally came out to dig we asked for a date and he told us he couldn’t give one because he has 70 other jobs that were “more important” than ours so he’d get back to us after those were done. Several weeks later he gave us a date only to yet again cancel it and push it back another week. We were told they’d install our pool the end of April and it’s mid-June before it was installed. One week after install the pool leaked. When we texted the owner about it we asked him to come out Monday. He said he’d be out Tuesday. He shockingly didn’t show up Tuesday. We are still waiting. Other than a pool leak we have construction issues- caps aren’t on right and the pool is bulged on one side. If you are thinking of having them install your pool THINK AGAIN- unless you enjoy being ghosted, constant date changes, not being able to actually swim in your pool and disappointment.

This place was the absolute worst. I should have known better when it took me almost 2 weeks and multiple failed attempts to even come out and quote the pool. Every single step was a mess. They said they would pull the permit (you know, because it's the law). I paid them for a permit that they then told me was my responsibility to pay for. Todd decided on a whim to show up on 7/26/2020 unannounced. He sent the first text at 630 AM on a Sunday before just deciding to show up. He rang the doorbell scaring myself and my children. When Todd was over on 7/26/2020 he told me that it was "no big deal" to upgrade to a bigger pool. He then ran across multiple cable lines that he said were my responsibility to fix. Today comes. It's an additional 500$ to upgrade the pool that he tells me after doing the work. I told him it was really crappy business practice to tell me the quote increased after doing the work. He then proceeded to start screaming and swearing at me about how he would "tear all this **** down and pack his things up and leave". Todd is a big guy. He was using his size to intimidate me. My children were witnessing this and that's unacceptable. They tried to charge me 200 to install a light that wasn't in the original quote. They tried to charge me 4 % to use my credit card that wasn't in the original quote. They wouldn't build the ladder that came with the pool despite that not being in the quote either. Bottom line. This place is GARBAGE. Todd, you should be ashamed of yourself for the way you run your business. You trying to charge people extra and LYING is unacceptable. The way you try to upcharge people and intimidate them is unacceptable. Stay far, far away from Todd and the pool guys. I wish I would have paid more attention to the reviews. Todd and Laurie, you have lost a customer for life. STAY FAR FAR AWAY! Fill out a trash can if that's what it takes to avoid having the pool guys build your pool.

This company should be called the jerk around guys. Lori seems to be the only person that can be contacted, that is when she chooses to respond. They are never on time and I never know when they are coming. Apparently they feel the customer should be the ones inconvenienced because they are so busy. They put off my opening for weeks and even longer for the heater. Then one day I look in the back yard and there they are. They showed up one day when I wasn't home so they had to come back. No phone calls or texts letting me know. I'm not sure if Lori is overwhelmed? Maybe she needs help in the office scheduling and answering phones. I'm not sure if she is related to Todd but, you would think he would hire a communications person who actually had those skill sets. You never get to talk to anyone else. Gas line is in and heater is sitting next to the pool. Still waiting for the guy (I think his name is Rich) to come and hook up the heater and show us how it works. Nobody answering!!!

I used these guys last year to open and close my pool. They recommended and installed a sand filter vs my cartridge because easier to maintain. Wasn’t super happy w opening as they do not scrub water line after opening or vacuum so I have this ring around my pool. I tried them again this year and same thing w stained water line. Todd, owner, said oh the chlorine in the water will take care of that when asked don’t they need to scrub the water line before pool fills. It didn’t, still stained water line. The next day after pool was filled I noticed quite a bit of debris in shallow end that looked like sand. When I called Todd to say I think there’s sand in my pool he’s said it’s probably something else. He took no accountability that the sand came from sand filter or to send someone to inspect. The sand ultimately flowed through to heater and ceased that up. Myself w A&F Heater called TPGs and spoke w Laurie more about the whole situation and she assured someone would call back. Never heard from anyone. Terrible company and no accountability.

This is a condensed account of my pool building journey with The Pool Guys LLC. If you choose to read through this review it will give you a real feel of what this process is like and how Justin and his team will interact with you during it. First off let me state that my Wife and I absolutely love our new pool! So, how did we get there? Let’s start off with the ability to make time for you even before you’re an actual client. Justin and I started conversations regarding pool designs and pricing back in October of 2016. Over the course of the next year and half my Wife and I tweaked our design and Justin stayed right there with us. He was always available for a phone call or even a visit when needed in order to finalize things. I’m a big believer in testing any contractor prior to entering into any contractual agreement with them so I know what I can expect from communications point of view. Once we agreed on the pool design and signed the contract they ordered the supplies required to build our pool. Justin kept me updated with estimated start date which was accurate! Let me also state that I’m a project manager by trade so I’m very much into schedules and timing and they were able to satisfy that requirement which is saying a lot! On to quality of build. Since I’m able to work from a home office three days a week I was able to observe the construction process and I have to say that these guys work very hard! Another benefit is that was able to speak to the city inspectors regarding the work being done and there wasn’t a one that didn’t speak highly if the work being done. As an example, for the footing of the pool they used more concrete than the city even requires. Another example is the amount of time that went into prepping the deck foundation. They had different workers compacting the base for solid day! I truly feel like that pool is built like it was in his own back yard. Now as we were nearing the end of the construction process I let Justin know that we were planning a pool opening party that coincided with another major milestone in the family. In order to make that happen Justin drove to the distribution center of the carrier that was supposed to deliver the liner to his warehouse to pick it up so that he had it to install before the weekend. Talk about going beyond to make your client happy! The last thing I can say is that sun decks absolutely rule!! Thank you The Pool Guys LLC!

We have used these Guys for 6-7 years when they were first starting out. Loved their service and prices seemed reasonable. Spent approximately $16K+ in those years with them. We are in West Bloomfield and they are in Shelby. Had them scheduled for our normal opening of pool, but due to being across town they did not schedule us until 6/1. We confirmed appt. on 5/31. At 5:00 PM on 6/1, after waiting all day, they called to say they would not be coming out, ever again, due to being their only customer on west side of town. They left us hanging. Very, very unprofessional. The proper way would have been to "honor" their appt. with us and then informed us of the change to their policy at that time. Left messages for the owners, but never received a courtesy call back. Would say to everyone.......Buyer, beware! Once they have your money, there is, obviously, no loyalty.

fast and great clean up

Same as above. The pool has since been removed. It is not fair to the contractor or other members when Angie's List forces a member to rate a company who WAS NEVER EVEN CONTACTED in order to stop receiving reminders!

We recently used the Pool Guys to remove our old in-ground pool. They were very professional and hard working. They kept us informed of what they were going to do and when they were going to do it. If we had questions, they were there to answer them. We had great communications and received a great job at a fair market price. They did everything they said they were going to do and gave us a very satisfactory job. You couldn't do better than working with them.

Called the pool guys to remove my pool, their sticker was on the side of the pool. Over the phone they stated they would drain the pool (which was full of bugs and what not into the sewer behind my house (I purchased a 6 month vacant foreclosed home). Turns out, they just tore open the pool and let it flood everywhere, flooding my yard and the neighbors lawn, ruining all of his plants. I called them and they proceeded to try and tell me that they drained the pool, as I was looking at the pool water and sand all over my yard. They came back out and cleaned up the mess, but, there was nothing that could be done for my poor neighbor. Just not a good group of guys, wouldn't recommend.

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The Pool Guys were pretty good. I got everything done that I wanted done but it was bit expensive and took a while. Schedule it as early as you can because it is going to take time. It took probably about 45 days trying to get subcontractors in here to do the different work and all that stuff. I am extremely happy with how it came out.

We had them come out to clean the pool when opening for the season. I asked about a opinion on filters. We had a cartridge filter and it did not work great. We discussed sand filter options. I then asked for a general cost and Todd said it would be less than replacing the cartridge on our current filter ($200) to get a new sand filter but said he didn't have info on him on models and would have Lori in his office call me on Monday for options. She did not call. I went out of town for business and on that Thursday Todd showed up with a sand filter and installed it without me being there. Todd said to my husband that I ordered the filter, and my husband assumed I did. When he got a hold of me I told him I asked about general info but did not order anything and to tell them to take it back but they had already left. I NEVER got a call, or a quote or requested they come out. I called their office multiple times the following weeks and could not get a call back to see what to do at that point. Then I get a bill for $700. Originally Todd said a sand filter is the cost of a cartridge replacement which is $200. Even at that I may not have got a new filter as my other one still worked. But to pay $700!! Online it is only $300. So I told Lori I am not paying that amount as it showed up unsolicited and I never ordered it verbally, in writing or received a quote. The price is ridiculous. She calls my work phone daily harassing me and sends threatening emails. I have never dealt with such a company that make their own rules. I agreed to pay the cost of a cartridge as that was the only verbal conversation I had with Todd, even though I did not order the filter. Lori, the girl in the office, is rude and threatening. When questioning why they brought a product not ordered she said," I am sorry if you cannot afford this but you can make payments." I was floored. I asked for a copy of an invoice signed by my husband when it was delivered, but she refuses to send me a copy ( I don't think it exists). She sent me a notice today they will pursue Legal Action. I told them, again, that I will send it back to them as I never ordered it. She wants to charge rental since it was delivered. Such a great scam! After reading the other posts on this site and Yelp it seems that she is an ongoing bully and the people that work on-site have a habit of making up prices and showing up with products whether or not you approve it. Quite the scam. Pulling phone records I have received 37 calls from Lori and 2 aggressive calls from men at the company. They are making me nervous and I recommend proceeding with caution if doing business with them. Read the other posts as well. Same stories. It is a shame because I took a chance on a small local business, which I prefer to do if possible, but it doesn't work if they don't act like a professional corporation. By the way, most of the positive reviews on social media were filled out by themselves per the sign in information ( Lori, make up a false name if you want to rate yourself great since it loses validity signing in as yourself!)

the owner thought it was funny to moon me I made the mistake of not calling the police. Then are pool started sagging we complained they said they were out but I was hiding I had no idea they were here, I never would have not answered the door ever since then they have ignored us completely.worst company ever don't use them.

I contacted Todd, and I explained all of the details regarding the installation of a new pool replacing our old one. Todd gave me a phone estimate of $1,750.00. I repeatedly requested for him to come out and see the job along with NUMEROUS requests for the estimate in writing. Todd never provided a written estimate. The installation was delayed several times by the Pool Guys. The night prior to the installation Todd came over and dropped a load of sand. I attempted to have him look at the job, and he continued to tell me that he needed to be somewhere within the next 15 minutes. My neighbor overheard the conversation and was quite surprised at the lack of customer service this man was providing. Todd and his crew showed up the next morning requesting my husband sign a contract for $2,500.00 for the installation. They contacted me at work and I told my husband that this was not the price that was agreed upon. I told my husband to send them home. After a lengthy conversation we agreed to have them complete the work. Todd stated the reason for the extra money was the need to dig out the middle to 5 feet, even though this was done with the prior pool. My suggestion to ANYONE wanting to use these installers is "Get a written estimate signed by one of the owners, and hold them to it." I quarantee they will try to get more money out of you. Another suggestion is to be there on site while the job is being completed. The consumer shouldn't have to baby-sit the contractor, but these you would be wise to do so. We used these installers because they were referred by Pools & Spa a Go-Go on Van D*** in Shelby Township. Todd left the site after 1/2 hour to go to another site. The young men he left behind to complete the job were professional and freindly. Todd requested payment prior to starting the job, another RED FLAG. I suggest giving them 1/2 up front and the rest upon your satisfaction with the completion of their job. If they say No, then tell them good-bye. I would never use this company for any other service and I would never recommend their service to anyone.

Thankfully the weather cooperated for us on Friday. The guys showed up on time and began working right away. They assembled the posts for the sides on the oval pool. Once completed they moved outside and began removing the old buttresses and straps. Upon removal they found that Wind Surf and Sail installation failed in other areas. In order to have have our pool last awhile we had them install Happy Bottom and Wall foam as our pool is salt water. We also had them install a main drain for better circulation and for faster opening and closing of the pool. They leveled the site again, as it was not level from the first installations by Wind, Surf, and Sail. They used a transit unlike the other company we used the first time. They completed the install by Friday afternoon. We were not home at completion so we reviewed their workmanship on Saturday morning. Everything was level and the pool didn't have any installation issues that we could see. Todd came out on Sunday morning and went over the main drain with my husband and how to remove the top caps and rails so we could rustoleum the screws for the wall to prevent corrosion on them. He also went over different types of chemicals to use and what to look for. We are satisfied with the job they did and have requested a quote for some landscaping work to be done as well. They are a great group of guys who like to have fun while they work, without compromising the quality of the work. Definitely recommend them for pool installations.

The young men who came out to install the liner, were prompt, friendly and professional. They worked well together and it was obvious they knew their job. They took time out to answer my questions. When they left the pool looked great, and the entire area was cleaned no issues at all with their work. My only issue was the price, I was quoted $500 to replace the liner and $300 for a water truck. What I did not know until the day of was that the water truck would only partially fill the pool I had to finish filling it myself. I agreed to the water truck with the wrong assumption that it would be cheaper than filling on my own. Everything came at an extra cost: sand, screws, reveling a few posts (okay get that would be extra). The plastic liner holders were extra, as was the sand and setting up of the filter.

Poorly. I initially contacted the company when my husband and I were researching different companies that might be prospects to install an above ground pool for us in our backyard (the pool business was completely new to us). We saw The Pool Guys on Angie's List and called them to get some information. I initially spoke to Todd Kulling who was very nice and gave me a detailed phone estimate on costs to install the pool after hearing my specified needs; that estimate totaled $1,600. We set a date/time for Todd to come out and look at our site, however his associate said his truck broke down and he could not make it that day. We set another appointment and again it was not kept. Finally, I was told that someone else would come out (turned out to be Todd's partner Justin Giordano), which he did on July 19, 2012. I remember arriving home and seeing what was his truck parked across the street and him opening the truck door and saying, "I'll be there in a couple of minutes." I believe someone was in the truck with him, and that couple of minutes turned into 10 or 15 waiting for him. I greeted Justin and took him to our backyard to see our site for the pool. We spoke briefly about our family's needs and plot plan/permit issues as he surveyed the grounds, however I sensed he was somewhat rushed and wanting to get to the bottom of things. We sat down as he got out a Proposal Form and began writing. I remember him telling me to get the permits required, but I told him that my husband and I would like the pool company we hire to obtain those permits. Nonetheless, he mentioned my getting the permits again, and I again said we would like him to get them and that Todd had even included permits in the phone estimate he gave me: $350 for them to pull permits, $150 if we did. Again, Justin deferred to me to get the permits, at which point I dropped it-- it was clear he did not want his company responsible for that part of it. As Justin finished the paperwork, he surprised me by blurting, "What would you like to give me today... $500?" We had not even gone over the Proposal details, and I said I would have to speak with my husband first. I told him I noticed his final estimate totaled $2,000... $400 more than Todd's phone estimate. Unfortunately, at this point he said some things I felt were unprofessional, including shocking me with, "I think you'd be a difficult customer to work with." (Would you ever say this to a potential customer while you are bidding on a job?) Perhaps he was upset that I didn't just sign the form and give him a check to be on his way, but I was new to all this and had questions for him and wanted to know why the estimate difference. He did bring the estimate down $50 to $1,950, but proceeded to give me a little lecture on how just as a customer picks the company they want to work with, the company picks the customer and that it was just as important that he want to work with me as it was that we wanted to work with him (!). I was pretty taken aback by this, but talked through the awkwardness and said goodbye. I never heard back from Todd after Justin's visit in a followup call to ask why we did not choose them or to discuss anything, which was also a disappointment. Needless to say, we went with another pool company.

Had a new liner installed on our 15x25 oval. The crew was very professional and fast. I never have contractors show up on time and these guys actually called AND showed up. They installed foam on the bottom, and replaced an old broken skimmer with a new hayward model. The liner looks great (no wrinkles!) and the guys did a great job and even went above and beyond and helped out on a different problem with our pool.

I hired them to do some work on the pool pumps and filters. Comments: They did excellent work. It is a problem to get this work done as not everyone does this work or does it well or does it friendly. I am on a weekly pool check service where they come by to check the water and make sure any extra chemicals are added. They added Ph increaser today. They charge extra for chemicals. The pool is doing great. They installed LED pool lighting where it saves electricity and doesn't wear out. I can change the pattern and the colors by putting on the switch. They can do anything necessary. They were punctual, friendly and they did great work. The problem ceases to be a problem rapidly with them.

This was installed 4-22-05 was all ok until 11-05 called them everyday to let them know it was caving in. They said don't worry about it. Well we did all winter (paid in full). They only like to take cash. March 06 the pool had to be re-done. They did not back fill properly so they used the same liner and pool wall and parts to fix and ordered 10 yards of sand to re backfill. They actually wanted us to pay them $1400 to do this because they say it was not their fault. Well we did not want it to sit so we agreed to pay but did not. We told them if it is still in good condition for this (2007 season) we would consider paying so we had them come and close the pool September of 2006. I told them I noticed a spot on the bottom of the pool. It looked like a stain. he tells me it looks like mold (that we should of put down lime before they installed the liner) so I paid them $200 to close the pool and they agreed if it is in good condition for 2007 they will get paid. It is caving in again.