CARLTON POOLS INC

Wanted a pool. Carlton was recommended by my previous home pool servicer. They advised the Carlton proprietary pool surface material (aqua bright) was the cat's meow. That was enough for me. Carlton did its thing. Of course, as generally happens with construction projects, there were a few bumps in the road. To my experience this seemingly always happens to me. I report, however, that Carlton fixed the issues. In a timely fashion as best it could. Communication was generally good. Honestly the entire process, planning, digging, construction, finishing, cleaning up upon finishing, and needed follow-up to fix the bumps all went smoothly. I would not hesitate using Carlton again. Hope this helps.

Carlton put my pool in 29 years ago and it was time to fully restore the pool. I've always said that they put in a quality pool, so why would I go anywhere else for restoration. I signed a contract summer of 2023 knowing I wanted the pool completed early in 2024. The pool was completed within the first few days of May. The crews that were here for each step were professional and worked unbelievably hard. The coordinator, Joanne, was responsive and helpful and communicated what was needed for each step. A pool is no small investment so my gratitude for quality work delivered professionally is huge!

Carlton did a great job building our new pool. Getting a hold of someone was not as easy as we would have liked when we wanted information about next steps etc…but when it was all Said and done we love our pool!

Carlton was awesome to work with. Their team was professional and extremely helpful throughout the entire process.

We LOVE our pool and the service guys were great. Communication with the office was a little difficult in the construction process but they always came through in the end, they gave me a great guide, we are completely new pool owners and the parent company and retail stores have been amazing. The guys in the store have been amazing guides for us as newbies. I recommend Carlton for your pool.

Guys are knowledgeable and always able to provide the products we’re looking for. Top notch customer service!

Andrew was amazing throughout our entire experience! We seriously cannot say enough good things about Carlton Pools in Flemington! If you need anything pool out spa related, this is your place to go!

Carlton Pools have been an amazing partner in making our dream of a pool in the backyard a reality. They helped design and create our pool and Nirav at the local Carlton retail store has been amazing in helping us get up to speed with pool maintenance and chemicals. The custom pool cover is excellent as well. We are very happy with our choice in pool contractor and retail shop.

Excellent customer service and expertise!

Carlton pools provides excellent service, especially the Flemington store. I highly recommend.

Whenever I go to Carlton Pools, they are polite, helpful, and know their stuff.

I have 2 pool stores close to me, but I drive to flemington, because the staff is professional and extremely friendly.

Our pool project turned out perfectly!

I signed a contract with Carlton Pools to resurface my aging, in-ground pool in October 2022, forking over a $2,000 deposit with the understanding work would start and also be completed in "mid to late spring 2023." It's Jan. 12, 2024 and Carlton Pools is missing in action. When I finally reached someone on Nov. 15, 2023, I explained I lost confidence and wanted to cancel. I was assured my check would be in the mail within a week to 10 days. Then ... nothing. On Jan. 9, 2024, I received a random email from the salesman, Bill, again asking if I'd like to have Carlton Pools complete the project and, again, offering promises and discounts. I replied with a firm no and noted we had discussed this in November I made clear then that I had no intention of hiring them. The salesman then responded by email telling me he "believed" I was considering my options and that he was merely waiting for me to decide if I wanted to proceed with the project! Nuts.

“You broke my pool light,” I said. “How do we know if it worked before?” asked the Carlton Pools salesman. “You might have turned it on,” I said. “You would have seen that it worked.” “Well, it’s in the contract,” he said. “We’re not responsible for pool lights.” Be aware: if you hire Carlton Pools for an expensive pool renovation project, they will sandblast and plaster, and they will probably break your pool light because it’s in their contract. That’s the hill that their reputation chose to die on. They could test the light with a single flip of the switch and leave your pool light in the condition they found it, but they’d rather not. It doesn’t really matter because you only renovate a pool maybe every 20 years, and Carlton gets most of their money up front. Just don’t count on your pool light working. Maybe put aside another $1000 for rewiring and a new light. Or consider a company that guarantees your light will still work.

Carlton installs a good pool. It looks great! Contractors did a nice job. Once they have your money, however, watch out! The punchlists will go unanswered and the service department is absolutely horrible. My one year old pool needs service on the salt cells. I have called for weeks and they have stood me up 2 times! No calls, just a no show!! Don't use Carlton Pools. The absolute worse customer service I have ever seen!

Terrible experience thus far. It’s been almost a year since we signed the contract and Carlton took most of the payments just to hit us with a massive unexpected delay at the last step. They are non-responsive and completely unwilling to rectify the situation in accordance with the signed contract. Stay away.

Horrible! Below is an account of trying to get them out to fix their screw up. Hey folks...you wanna see how Carlton Pools handles themselves? Below was last May. They finally did come out to “fix” my Aquabrite. It started to crack within a few weeks. I notified them and Pablo said they would fix it again this May. Finally spoke to Steve in renovations and was told Pablo would be out to take photos of it. Well... this is the end of the week and not even a blip from Pablo. My next step will be to the Attorney Generals office and the BBB. This is what Carlton has left us with after a $20,000 renovation. Here is my pool today!!! My granddaughter won’t have a pool to swim in on the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend...why?? Had my renovation done by Carlton and here is the story! They are great with their renovations until it’s all done...then try to get them to fix something. I have been waiting over 2 seasons for them to fix their PEELING AQUA BRIGHT!!! You read that correctly. It peeled within one year after the renovation. The following opening, I drained the pool completely because of a water problem and to give them complete access. Had it all set for them to come out on a Saturday morning to fix the peeling Aqua Bright and had 4 water trucks set up to fill the pool when they were done. Waited over an hour for them to show up and nothing! I had the pool filled. When speaking to them after we were filled back up...I was told it was for the following Saturday!! I don’t make mistakes like that. They told me they would open my pool as compensation for the water I’m gonna have to replace! Now, they won’t call to schedule from calls starting over a month ago. Then they call and tell me they would be out the next two Saturdays...that’s no good. Not gonna be home. BTW...they told me this on a Friday before the first Saturday. All could have been set up a month prior. I was such a promoter of Carlton but as they do with many people, they pushed me around one too many times. Beware of these people. Greed and the almighty dollar win out over customers problems every time! Sorry Carlton...you caused this. Now my family is not going to have a pool for Memorial Day. If I don’t hear back very soon, this rant will continue to the BBB and anyplace I can put it on Social Media! Then on to legal action I guess. Sad way to do business!

Plans delayed as no one had completed permitting and pool was installed in spring. Only shell is installed by carlton pools. Plumbing, electrical, tiling, decking, and plastering were all contracted out to different companies. It was frustrating dealing with many different sub contractors including scheduling and rescheduling.

Initially permitting process was slow and had some issues with plastering subcontractor, but the end product is great. Pool looks and works great. They finished within two weeks of timeline.

The initial consultation and commencement went great. Our pool representative at the time was responsive and was patient with certain issues we had with our Survey (which they will not tell you is not included in the price until after you sign the contract). Nevertheless, things started as soon as the survey and approvals were complete. Be careful. On the day they start the project, they bring and make a contract that makes you waive everything possible relating to any damage that may occur or anything else when the backhoe is ready to dig and your kids are standing by. Once started, our pool representative pretty much stopped advocating for us. He was still responsive but pretty much disappeared, never checking on anything. I became the general contractor. We were charged for things that should have been included. Our Landscaper pretty much complete everything else and the project turned out great. I liked many of their people and will used them to open and close our pool.

In 2007 we contracted with Carlton Pools, Inc. to install a 45 x 15 concrete swimming pool, attached 6 x 9 spa, a filtration water sanitation cleaning system, a salt chlorinator, a heater, and a digital remote control system for a contracted amount of $47,698.00. From early in the construction process to just last summer, our experience with Carlton and its product has been nothing short of a nightmare. In October of 2007 we received a judgement against Carlton in the amount of $8,117.00 to correct the problems as they existed at that time. Carlton refused to pay the judgement and "lawyered up" to make it more costly to collect the money than the amount of the judgement. Since that time we had been using an inferior product with much money spent with pool maintenance companies to try to make the thing work. Last year, because of structural cracks and nonfunctioning equipment, we finally ripped out the spa and pool and started over. Through a reputable contractor, we now have the pool and spa that we had hoped for back in 2007. A few of the shortcomings of Carlton Pools are as follows. 1. Carlton Pools payment structure was designed to collect final payment for the project before the plastering of the pool could be scheduled and the finished product could be tested. After final payment was made and the pool was supposedly finished, many of the problems surfaced...The salt water chlorinator was installed backwards, control panel did not work, the hydrazzo plaster finish was blotched with inconsistent color, drains were cemented using white plastic instead of black plastic, tile work was uneven and amateuristic, the safety rope cups were overlooked and not installed, etc. etc. 2. Carlton salesmen claimed that Carlton Pools used no subcontractors. This was the main reason we chose Carlton Pools, in fact, this was false advertising as they used subcontractors for excavation, electric, plumbing, plastering, tile, and coping. Carlton failed to supervise their subcontractors which resulted in miscommunication, faulty workmanship, and mistake after mistake in placement in equipment and use of materials. Summary: Carlton Pools states in their brochure: "The goal of all of our highly trained and skilled personnel is to deliver a final product that exceeds your expectations. You can look forward to a very smooth construction process and a very smooth finish." Per our experience, this statement is entirely false. The many many hours and thousands of dollars spent over the past 7 years is the reason that i am writing this report.

Retail operations are fine, although pricey. I bring the pool water in, they test it and recommend chemical treatments. Chemical prices are high, but they use high quality products, and provide testing, so I don't mind. Carlton has opened and closed this pool since they built it almost ten years ago. We moved in four years ago, and have noticed a fairly consistent slide in the quality of service. It started with the technician getting into an argument with my neighbor last fall about where he was ejecting water. Technician should not have argued, and it created an ugly situation. Then, this spring, it took me three calls to the new service manager before he returned my call. Very cavalier about not getting back to me, then couldn't find me in the computer. Got the opening scheduled, and was surprised to see that price had gone up. This fall, called to schedule closing, and again, multiple calls before my call was returned. Closing was scheduled, but technicians never showed up, never called, and I never received a call from service manager. I called a competitor, and they were out that weekend, for less money. I now have a new pool service.

Be prepared for lack of communication and project management. The job did get complete on time but I feel that was part to me having to call multiple people daily. I attempted 2 times to have Carlton close my pool with no response. I had to hire another company to close the pool which I did not want to do.

We met with Bud Sudhop in the beginning of July. We got three estimates. We wanted an in ground pool with a diving board, and a custom shape. Of the three estimates, what stood out for us was that Carlton has all Carlton Employees working on the pool. When I divided cost per square foot, Carlton gave us the best for our money. The only subcontracting they did was the Electrical work and the Tile work. After signing the contract, we learned that before we can submit for a permit we needed to have a Property Survey. After the property gets surveyed and the report got back to Bud, then permit application was made with Montgomery Township. (approx. 3 weeks). The pool dig started at the end of July and the pool was completed on September 4. Bud Sudhop as a project manager was outstanding. Always responsive to phone calls, texts or emails. His expertise during the project made out pool buying experience excellent. I would recommend Carlton Pools but more importantly you need Bud Sudhop as your Carlton Pool sales Rep/Project Manager. High Points: Bud Sudhop: project manager on site supervising each step of the construction. Carlton Pools: In house employees for a majority of the project. Swimming this year versus waiting until the Spring Did we pay anything extra above quoted price: 1. Extra concrete for a larger sitting area. ($1500) 2. An electrical line added to have an outlet at the back of the pool area ($75).