THE WATERBOYS

We installed the iAquaLink earlier this year and have been having ongoing issues with obtaining a functioning, compatible inside control panel. Wanting to consider other options, I called The Water Boys to give me an estimate, as they are a Pentair distributor. Jake came by to assess my current system and explained that while I could replace the Zodiac system with a Pentair, he didn't recommend doing so given the amount it would cost to do so. As an aside, he was absolutely right on this. He proceeded to call Zodiac on my behalf and convinced them to send me an upgraded inside panel, despite the fact that I'm not even his client. Given how displeased I am with Zodiac at the moment, Jake could have taken advantage of that to push a sale. Instead, he was honest and tried to assist me when there was no obligation to do so. From this experience alone, were I ever to change pool companies, I definitely would consider using The Water Boys.

I also went with the Waterboys because of the reasonable cost. I had many of the same issues as the other reviewers so I don't feel the need to go into detail about the issues I had with them. Everything was fine the first few months until a minor repair needed to be done. There was a huge lack of communication within the company, which caused an even longer delay for the repair. I do not believe that they really know what they are doing when it comes to the equipment. They did show up on service days, but never any other time when something needed to be fixed. When you have a pool, problems cannot be let go for a week. It just creates more costly problems. Jake was rude, defensive and not truthful when questioned about a problem that I had with my pump. These guys are amateurs, and not able to be there when you need them. In addition, I received a final bill after I terminated their services. I asked Jake to please itemize the bill so that I knew what I was paying for and to make sure the money I had paid them had been deducted. I received a totally inflated bill, with nothing matching the original bill. The dates of service and charges for services (which are listed on the contract) were completely different, and money I had paid them was not included. There is no real accounting system, just Jake typing stuff in. And, he had the nerve to bill me for breach of contract. I paid him what I believed to be fair and accurate. We'll see if he sues me. Good luck with that.

I realized that there were problems when after 1 week of pool opening the water was still not clear. Turns out that the crew had not installed the filters. We ended up installing a new filter tank and for a while it worked fine. After couple of weeks it was evident that something was wrong and that the water was not filtering through. Left multiple msgs on the phone beginning Thursday but no one responded. Had to call another pool maintenance company on Saturday to provide emergency repairs and cleaning. On Monday, Waterboys called and left a msg that we will need a new pump and that this problem was not electrical. However, the other pool company was able to ascertain that the problem was electrical and there was nothing wrong with the pump itself. We terminated our contract with Waterboys...it was clear that they lacked the responsiveness and expertise that we were looking for.

We switched to The Waterboys to close our pool last fall because they were cheaper than the company we had previously been using. Last fall, I noticed a hard, powdery stubstance on one of my rock pathways that I couldn't figure out. A few weeks later, I realized that the guys who had closed the pool down had emptied the DE on my rock pathway, creating a cement like glob that didn't disolve until the spring. At the time, I shrugged it off thinking they just didn't realize what they'd done but I was irritated since my entire back yard is landscaped. The glob definitely was an eye sore. In the spring, they were okay about coming out when they said they would although one day Jake was supposed to come out and he completely forgot - even admitted it on the phone when I called him back. We've been in our house for 8 years with an in-ground pool and have never had any problems getting the pool water set properly. This year, however, it has been a nightmare. We've had algae blooms every week so we're scraping the sides of the pool and adding hundreds of dollars of chemicals to try and get the PH corrected. I called Jake and said to just do whatever it took to get the situation fixed. He explained that the filter and all the pipes needed to be replaced. I was fine with that as I knew that the filter was on it's last legs. They came out, replaced everything (although a day later than when they said they'd arrive) and charged $1200 (not including the $300 pool closing last fall plus the help visits). Jake called me back when the work was completed, said everything was good to go, all the chemicals were set and I shouldn't have any problems. I specifically pointed out that one of the skimmers wasn't working and he assured me that they'd fixed everything. I got home that night and the skimmer was NOT working. The following week - another algae bloom - a.k.a. "swamp colored pool". I called Jake back and he sent out techs to get the water chemicals fixed again. He called me again and said they'd added several chemicals and we should be okay - but that he recommends weekly maintenance visits to get the chemicals set properly. I asked again if the skimmer was fixed - he assured me once again that everything was working okay. The ticket on the door indicated the chemicals they put in but pushed the weekly maintenance to get the chemicals set properly. When I looked at the pool - the skimmer was STILL NOT WORKING - at all! Since we've been in the house, we haven't had any problems with the water unless we slack off in August when it's just horribly hot. In previous summers, we add chlorine weekly, algaecide and we have crystal clear water with very little effort and love having the pool to enjoy in the evenings and weekends. But since The Waterboys closed the pool last fall, we've had nothing but problems and additional costs for chemicals - to the point where we can't even use the pool on some weekends.

I called the Waterboys and talked to Jake, the owner or manager. Jake is a nice guy who gives you personal service right away and provides you with his cell phone number so that you can reach him anytime. He provided me a reasonable estimate in line with other companies, and upon agreement he dispatched his team. The guys arrived at the pool and drained it. Then they spent a full day washing it and cleaning it with everything imaginable. Then they helped me arrange for water to fill it again. Finally, they turned the filter system on and balanced the chemicals. I now look at the pool and can't even remember how horrible it was just a week ago. Jake's guys are prompt and very polite. They are also hard workers. I decided to hire the Waterboys to maintain my pool going forward because if they were able to resurrect it from the horrible state it was in I'm sure they'll be the best at maintaining it.

We began renting a home in February of this year with an above ground pool that was not closed correctly last fall. Our landlord indicated that he would open the pool so that we could use the pool. As of June 29th, the pool had not been opened properly and cleaned. Having never cared for a pool, my husband and I began educating ourselves about pool maintenance and quickly realized we would need professional help. After calling several companies and not receiving return calls or being told that they did not service above ground pools, The Waterboys were located and called. They came out the next morning and started to work on the pool. When the Waterboys arrived, the water was very cloudy. You could not see more than a foot down into the water. The bottom of the pool was covered in leaf debris and silt. If you rubbed the bottom of the pool, clouds of brownish green sediment and old leaves would be rise and spread throughout the pool. The water was barely flowing through the pump. The Waterboys have paid three service calls to date: the first to open the pool, vaccuum the bottom, treat the water and make sure that the pump and filter were working correctly. The Waterboys also took the time to show me how to operate the equipment and how to take care of the pool and repeated the educational session with my husband on another visit. After the first visit, the water color was much improved and although we could see about four feet down, it was still very cloudy with leaf debris and sediment. They gave us realistic expectations about what it would take to clean the pool. In our case, there was a large amount of sediment and debris that was stirred up in the vacuuming process that has to settle for a day or two so that it can be vacuumed again. They have made two more service calls to vaccuum the sediment. We can now see the bottom of the pool! We can clearly see that there is still what I would consider, a modest amount of silt to vacuum and the Waterboys are scheduled for a fourth visit that will hopefully take care of this last bit of sediment.

They arrived on time to do the work. The quality of their work was bad. I would not use them in the future. I would not recommend them. They were reasonably professional while they were here. They did not fix the problem.