Premier Pool Renovations

All of my experiences with highly-rated Angie's List providers have been very positive in the past (as you can see in my reviews to date) -- this is one truly glaring exception. I picked this company based on some of the positive reviews on Angie's List, but now I seriously think some of those were posted by company employees, family, or friends. From the beginning, communication and customer service were almost non-existent. I couldn't even get the sales rep to come out and physically look at our pool -- he insisted that they only sell one type of heater. That should have been a warning for me, but I trusted the reviews. It is virtually impossible to get a live human being to answer your calls, especially after you give them your money. They were extremely quick to charge my credit card for the 50% deposit as soon as I sent in the contract, but after that (over 5 weeks) they continued to delay the installation date of our heater and never returned my calls. Matt, a project manager, said that it was a simple job, so it could likely be done in 10-14 days. Dan, the sales rep, said it would be a couple of weeks. It took five weeks -- after a number of phone calls to the scheduling department (they NEVER return messages), I finally got a live human being (Brett) who finally gave me a specific installation date -- and then they never showed up (and never called). This happened several more times. Never showed up and never called. The few times I managed to get a hold of him, Brett promised to call me right back and keep me updated. He never once called me. To me, that is the most unprofessional aspect of this company -- they don't even extend the courtesy of returning calls or calling to let you know there is a change in the schedule. My feeling is that if you are not spending tens of thousands of dollars on a full-scale renovation, you will be last in line and will be bumped to the end of the waiting list every time. So I recommend that you don't consider them unless you are willing to spend a huge amount of money to get their attention (although check out some of the other reviewers who apparently did have large jobs but still suffered from numerous delays, poor communication, and lack of customer service). After the heater was finally installed (at least the installation guys were friendly and efficient), we still had to wait days for their electrician to come out to hook up the electrical so it could work. And WE had to get our own plumber (at our own expense) to hook the heater up to our gas line (another $250)! We're happy to finally have the heater, and it appears to be working well so far. So the quality of the equipment seems good but I rated Quality a C because I include customer service in that measurement. Last but not least, the company went ahead and charged my credit card the balance due before getting my approval! They certainly are quick to act when it comes to taking your money. Bottom line: If I had known it was going to take this long (and cause so much aggravation and inconvenience) to get this small job done, I definitely would have sought out another supplier and would have had a heater in my pool earlier. Save yourself the hassle and aggravation -- find another company to do your pool work. I don't know how this company can still be in business with customer service that is so appalling. We are glad to have the heater in our pool, but the customer service of this company made this a very poor experience.

BUYER BEWARE - DO NOT BE FOOLED BY WHAT APPEARS TO BE STRONG RATINGS!!! That was a mistake I made in hiring this company to do my pool renovations this year! As I have gone back and read through the reviews again, now I see signs of some of what was yet to unfold. Many reviews reference poor communication and difficulty in dealing with this company. Be sure you make note of that. From the start I should have paid more attention to signs that this company wouldn't live up to its promises. The sales man rescheduled a few times to accommodate his own scheduling errors. I didn't consider this particularly professional but believed the reviews I read and assumed this was an anomaly. After reviewing all of the work I wanted done I received an itemized breakdown of costs for each aspect of the project. I then replied with specific questions I had about details related to the job. Matt (whom they say is the owner), replied with much detail about how several of these items would be handled. I then spoke further with the salesman, Dan, and felt comfortable with the responses I received regarding my job and requested they send a contract. Contract negotiations should have been the second warning. I was extremely surprised to discover that the contract they sent was very incomplete and didn't include much of what we had agreed to, although they kept the price the same. I had to go back to them two or three more times before they finally revised the contract properly to account for all that had been and quot;promisedand quot;. It was extremely disorganized as I was then trying to deal with four different company representatives none of whom clearly communicated much with each other or just didn't care about getting it right. So we finally got the contract corrected properly and having signed it they gave me a start date of April 18, 2013 with an understanding that the company would come daily and be finished within seven (7) business days. So on April 17, 2013 I receive communication from them that they will not becoming as scheduled on the 18th but will be out the following day - 4/19/13. 4/19/13 arrives and they are not to be seen. I am given the run around and they promise to be out in force the following day. They do show the next day with a few guys for only a few hours and appear very disorganized about there tasks. And then they just take off promising to be back on Monday. Do you think they show? For the next month and a half they make promise after promise to show. And then just don't. And they don't call or communicate about this. And they don't even answer their phones. I finally speak with Matt again on the phone who gives me a sob story about a casino they are working on and they just don't have time for my job at the moment. They will be back out when they can... No apology or anything. And sporadically a few different crews would show up for a few hours at a time over the next month and a half. And my yard is fully dug up at this point and they don't seem to care at all. I have to hire an attorney to review the contract and he discovers several red flags... Because I am having lots of work at my house I am lucky that other contractors have been able to observe not only how unprofessional this company has been, but also point out areas of sub-par labor. And if this company tells you they don't hire sub-contractors don't believe them. I have pictures to prove it. But in any case, I then not only find myself having to beg them to even show up to my job, but to also correct poor craftsmanship that has already occurred. Wow, what started out as a job with high expectations based on what seemed to be good reviews has now turned into a bit of a nightmare. And I haven't even shared much of the nightmare with you. So to end this saga, they have never completed the job. There are many, many items still outstanding and I have had to hire other professionals to finish their work. They even asked to use MY electrician to do their electrical work and then didn't respond to my electricians requests for job details until days after my electrician had already come to the house. I can not imagine a company like this staying in business for long. I hope anyone thinking about this company takes any red flags they see seriously. I really hope no one else has to go through what we did with this company... UPDATE: In response to Premier Pool Renovations comments - It is not surprising to see their inaccurate and petty response. It is very telling that they would admit that the job is NOT complete all the while also stating that the and quot;job is done...and quot; Brett the individual I had to deal with for most of the and quot;joband quot; NEVER at any point came to my house to inspect or oversee any portion. He actually has no idea what he is talking about. Yes, this company is now in breach of the contract that was signed. A and quot;contractand quot; I have since disovered is in violation of NJ consumer protection laws. I never expected them to install a separate electrical subpanel. I hired and paid a private electrician to do so. But I did expect them to complete the work we had mutually agreed to. And not only have they left numerous items (many more then simply sod and topsoil) unaccounted for (which I had to hire others to complete), I have since had private pool inspectors out who have established that much of the job was done wrong and will have to be redone. I have now discovered that I can sue Premier Pool Renovations for DAMAGES. We have ended up spending more to have these issues addressed then the contract originally accounted for. So now you can see this companies response to legitimate issues related to a job they were contracted to perform but never completed... I think their lack of professionalism speaks for itself.

We got an estimate before we closed our pool last season for some spa renovations, infinity edge repair, and powerwashing the floor of the pool to remove stains. Contract was signed and returned, so I called the first or second week of April and the scheduling department said they could start the work on May 7. When May 7th came around, I heard nothing. It has been raining frequently, so I assumed there would be some delay from that. For the next THREE weeks, I made five phone calls, and never received a phone call back. I was looking for some information, a heads up, ANYTHING! I e-mailed, and received an e-mail back saying I would be contacted tomorrow. I did get an email the next day explaining that they are extremely backlogged, and wouldn't be able to start our work, and quot;until the end of July, at the earliest.and quot; I was floored! It would have been much appreciated to have heard that way back when the work was supposed to be started, and would have saved us a lot of time waiting around for nothing when we could have been contacting other companies in the meantime. Now we are scrambling around trying to get some other estimates so we can enjoy our pool this summer. No matter what the situation, the time crunch, or other issues going on, the complete neglect by this company was unprofessional and quite honestly mind boggling. It's a shame too, considering the man who gave us our estimate seemed very knowledgeable and like a nice hard working man.

Got a quick estimate last year but did not do the work right away. Called back early this year to do the work and they honored the original estimate without coming out again. After leaving a deposit, I followed up to schedule the date but they were still busy figuring out who to schedule when so I waited a bit and followed up. After a couple more follow ups, they scheduled the dates for demo/prep and plaster. The original dates stuck and the workers were timely on both days. The demo/prep day went well with the head guy explaining what they're going to do, why, how, etc. The second day was a little chaotic because weather didn't cooperate but the workers did really well in covering up the pool and working under bad weather conditions / rain / etc. However, it was hard to communicate with the guys on the second day and they were not very verbose. I asked a lot of questions and got few answers but all is well that ends well. The pool looks great! My biggest pet peeve was poor communication with the folks at the office on multiple occasions. First a delay in scheduling, then a delay in getting photos of other pools to choose a color (finally got photos 2 days before job started), then a delay in getting the care instructions, and my last question about balancing the water was not answered at all so I figured it out on my own.

The premier guys were Professional and neat. The job was done well and met and exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend Premier pool renovations and I give them an A+ rating. I was highly impressed and satisfied and would use Premier Pool Renovations again. I hope this helps anyone looking for neat, professional, proficient, cost effective work.

I received an advertisement in the mail, made a phone call and followed up in late summer when schedules were becoming more open. Matt from Premier showed me several examples of their waterfalls and we liked the style and construction. We set a date and Matt and crew showed up to begin the project. 3 days later they were cleaning up and showing me how to use the waterfall. Since we have been enjoying and dont want to have to close the pool but.....fall and winter is coming.

The final product is adequate. There were repeated delays. The communication was very poor. We were frustrated by the experience.

It went beautifully. Premier's employees are polite, hardworking and professional. Premier took a very old 20th century concrete swimming pool and launched it into the 21st century. My grandson, his friends, and my neighbors have been having a ball. And, although the water is getting too cold for me, I can sit out at night and watch a light show. (Now all I have to do is add a fountain or waterfall. That's a potential future project.) If you are considering renovating your pool, contact Premier.

We had gotten 3 estimates. The prices were all withing aa few thousand of eachother but Premier was definitley more interested and seemed to know exactky what had to be done.We sent our deposit and the work was scheduled within a week. This is not typical we were told but since it after the rush of the memorial Day and July 4th jobs things slow down.Crews were on time and very neat. The masons and plaster crew put tarps down on our driveway and also plywood across the grass. Overall it was very simple and easy. No suprises.We typically expect there to be problems or additional costs added when we do large projects but this was not the case.I personally think having the work done not at the peak time of the season is key in having the job go smoothly. That was our intention.

Initially I was nervous as this was the first major renovation I have done. Upon my first initial meeting with Dan O’Kane I felt very comfortable. The price was better than others I had received, he explained everything I needed in detail, and there was zero pressure to do any additional work. A few days later a representative came over with some tile and coping samples, he helped me chose my colors, and left me a sample to use to determine my decking choices. Once the work was schedule to begin I was concerned as the work was “weather permitting” and of course it rained for several days. One evening a week before I was scheduled they called and asked if they could do the demo work the next morning since their schedule was out of whack because they couldn’t do some of the finish work in their current schedule. They showed up the next morning, drained the pool, cut away the whole top section of the pool, and were gone before noon. If you didn’t look at the pool itself; the only sign they were even there was my neatly coiled hose as when they arrived it was all tangled in a pile. The sun came out two days later and they were back to complete the job. The work crew was professional and friendly and I was amazed by the precision by which they worked. When they were done they left a nice neat stack of extra coping and tiles if I should ever need them. I was thrilled! The work was beautiful, the price was better than others had given me, and it was completed ahead of schedule. I waited a year to write this review because I wasn’t sure how it would hold up over the winter, especially considering I do not have a cover. Everything still looks fantastic and this is the first year opening the pool that I didn’t have to do any repairs. I am located in Delaware County and if want to actually see and feel the work they do; contact Premier and I would be happy to show off my “new” pool to you.

It is very hard to find professionals like them. They were timely and professional. We did have some complaints about the quality of what they had done. They came immediately and worked it all out. They redid the work to our satisfaction. We had a level of expectation of professionalism. They came right out when we had a problem. I highly recommend them. They were here when they said they were going to be here.

Overall, they have been excellent. If there is every a problem, I just make a phone call and they are here. They did a very nice job. Our communications are good, they do answer the phone and comply with any requests we have. I would highly recommend them.

Initially we had them out for an estimate in 2008. Our salesman then was Chad O'kane. Then this spring we contacted them again and Dan came out. We went over the terms and the project and scheduled the work. The work was initially scheduled for Late May or first week of June. We picked the tiles and coping and the interior color prior to the work starting. The project began the 2nd Friday in June. The crews were all very professional and left no mess. They came as scheduled and no complaints. The whole thing start to finish was 10 days. We did add a pump and filter after the work had begun but other then that there were no additions or up charges to the work. Overall the job is really beautiful and we are very satisfied. Premier delivered what we contracted for and more.

Smooth and easy. I know construction can be a difficult process especially scheduling issues. This was not the case for me and I appreciate that the work was done as scheduled. I recommend doing work not at the busiest time of year.

It went very well. Some delay in getting the work done due to weather but excellent craftsmanship. A few flaws were touched up promptly upon notification. Premier was a bit more expensive than some other options researched but their service, professionalism and craftsmanship were well worth it for our project.

The sales representative seemed to be competent enough, but he seemed to be in a rush. He seemed to be a little arrogant. I did not feel that he was very customer oriented. I got quotes from 5 companies and Premier Pool Renovations were the ones that did not follow up. They did not really seem to want my business. The price was about the same as everybody else. They were competent and probably would have done a good job but my initial impression about them was not good.

We selected PPR on their reputation and quality of their work. We submitted the contract and downpayment in April, hoping for a June start date. We had a great deal of trouble closing the communication loop regarding when they planned to start and when each part of the project might be done. We eventually recieved answers to our phone calls with estimated start dates, but those dates went by without action. For each 5 or more phone messages or e-mail queries, we would eventually get a response which included their excuse about how busy the season was, and assurance that we would be served in the order we submitted our contracts. Finally in June, they inspected the job and dug some exploratory holes. More than two weeks later, they returned and emptied the pool to repair the ray vac leak. On leaving the jobsite, the mason was talking with the field supervisor who indicated that they would be back to continue the job Saturday or Monday at the latest. After a week, we filled the pool again because we were tired of waiting. I wrote, e-mailed, and called to let them know we filled the pool and decided not to have them do the dam repair. Too much waiting and uncertainty at the peak of pool season. A few weeks later, they called to schedule the caulking part of the job. After I changed my mind on the color choice, they showed up on Wednesday July 21. Finally, they had learned to make committments and meet their project plans. I am now waiting on a call for their visit to measure the pool and fabricate the pool cover. That could have been much easier and more professionally planned and communicated.

These people were wonderful to work with. They were here when they said they would be. Always returned my calls/emails. Pleasant and professional. They are a contractor that I would have come back ( I have not found many that I would want back lately in a few other fields). They were also back this past summer (2010) to do some further work and I will be calling on them again to ask for a hand railing to be installed at the end of this summer. Again, extremely nice to work with. Workers on site were friendly and very neat. I was extremely pleased with this company and their work and I have shown many people my pool and would definitely recommend them to anyone seeking pool services/renovations.

We hired Premier Pool based on their advertising of commitment to quality customer service. Unfortunately, they were the complete opposite. We selected our tile and coping in late April and received a start date of May 19th. No one showed. After checking in, we found out we were pushed back to June 11th. Again no one showed. When we called, we were assured work would start by June 15th. By this time, we were fed up as work was supposed to start May 19th (a whole month before). We sent a note stating that if work didn't start by June 15th, we were cancelling the contract. Well, workers arrived June 15th to demolish the pool. But, no other work was started until June 25th (magically appeared early in the morning - no one called to say they were coming). The tile crew finished in two days but the plaster crew showed up a week later - July 2nd. What really made us made was the complete lack of communication. If someone would have called early May telling us there was a delay (but open the pool anyway), we would have been fine. As anyone in the Philadelphia area knows, you really only have a few months to enjoy your pool. Given that it had to be one of the hottest May / Junes ever, it was really frustrating to see the pool closed or demolished during that time. Lastly, whenever we spoke with Brett, the scheduler, he was belligerent that we were upset about how dates kept changing and no one ever contacted us. At one point, he even stated we should be happy they will still do our work - other contractors would just walk away. The work was good (the pool looks great), but it was such a frustrating experience we could never recommend them to anyone. Oh, and they never told us to keep the hose running after the plaster is set (but before the water delivery arrives) so now we will always have a large stain at the bottom of the deep end.

I got 4 estimates for the job and chose Premier Pools because they only renovate pools and they have very good reviews on Angie's list and other online customer review sites. The sales and estimate person, Dan O'Keefe, is excellent and very responsive. The work was scheduled for the beginning of June, but got pushed back to the beginning of July due to rain. I made many calls to see where we were on the schedule from the time I paid my initial deposit to the date the work started. I had asked to pick the tile 2 weeks before the initial start date and was told that someone would get back to me. I had to call several times to get the person to set a date with me. I was also told that I would have a project manager who would communicate directly with me during the job. That never happened. Another great selling point was that Premier Pools told me that they do not subcontract any of the work. However, the foreman on my job was driving a truck for his own pool tiling company, not Premier Pools. They finished the job very quickly, in a day and a half. When the workers had left on the second day around noon and the pool looked done, I assumed it was finished and began refilling it. They workers showed up the next day to install a new drain cover, and they were luckily able to do it w.out me having to drain the pool. I called the office to complain that it was never communicated to me that they needed to come back, to also make sure that the plugs were in properly (we found one lose) and to tell them that the workers had knocked over one of our outdoor lights and were repairing it. The person in the office promised to call me back immediately, and never did. All the work looks beautiful, and we are very happy with the look of our pool. Time will tell if everything holds together as it should.

We met our salesman Chad in June and got an estimate the next day which was very impressive. We contracted to have it done at the end of August. The crews came and completed the pool work in 9-10 days. I know its a small pool but I thought that was super. I am very pleased with the workmanship and would recommend Premier to remodel your pool.

The company seems to be more concerned about making money than about providing an outstanding service. The pool was covered before they did any consulting and before doing any work, so they had very little to go on regarding what they were going to be replacing. The coping they installed has an orangey-red brick look, and it bastardizes the pool area. No where is there any such coloring or texture in our backyard, except when Fall comes and the leaves change color. The coping that was replaced was stone and totally appropriate for the stone house we live in. The new coping also doesn't seem like it will be as safe as the old because it does not have a raised nose edge, which helped me tremendously whenever I had to be near the pool's edge while removing leaves. One can more easily fall into the pool if not extra careful because of the new coping. Regarding the new tile, it is a single pattern type and a much lighter blue than the older (less than 6 years old) intricate-pattern Royal blue tile it replaced. Being a much lighter blue, the new tile now clashes with the dolphin pattern in the bottom of the pool and the tiles in the steps. Overall, the company exercised poor judgment in taking a renovation job about which they could not professionally advise the owner, since they didn't see the scope of the job before the actual work began. I have had more than one company before tell me that they couldn't do what I explained that I wanted done because doing so would put their reputations on the line, and the money from my project wasn't worth it to them to ruin their reputation. It doesn't seem like this is such a company. They didn't care enough to refuse to help bastardize our property.

Company contacted us immediately and did estimate. Shortly there after completed the work as required.

Great experience. We had them do a complete renovation of a 30 year old pool. Work done promptly and very skillfully. They made design suggestions that ended up looking better than our original concept. We have had contractors do several major projects over the past 20 years, and this was easily the most pleasant and satisfying experience of them all. Met with and got proposals from several companies, and felt most comfortable with Premier. Their bid was neither the lowest nor highest, but they were the most professional, responsive and flexible in meeting our goals and making sure we were satisfied. Their rep came out promptly and spent a good deal of time with us. We got references and looked at some of their completed projects. Work began when scheduled and was finished promptly. Good and frequent communication with their supervisors. They made sure that we were pleased with everything that was done and understood everything. Would not hesitate to hire them again or recommend them to others.

We scheduled the work to be done at the end of the pool season. They contacted us a week prior to the date we had chosen, to re-confirm. They showed up when they said they would. They followed our instructions on what access to use in our yard etc. They did a great job. I really am impressed by the new look and workmanship.