AT YOUR SERVICE

How to make the most of pool and spa service visits…

For growing and maintaining a solid brand and a faithful customer base, providing high-quality servicing is an essential. But beware. Without careful management, a number of avoidable mistakes by engineers on site can quickly taint a good reputation. Whether for one-off jobs or seasonal and annual contracts, stories about poor standards often spread more quickly than praise within both consumer and trade markets.

The resulting halt in the renewal of existing contracts and generating new business will soon impact a potentially lucrative revenue stream. Chris Brady, MD of multi award-winning 1 Stop Spas, knows some competitors will take shortcuts to save time and expense without considering this a false economy.

“Some companies think, ‘I’ve made my money now, anything else I do over and above that costs me as a business, therefore I’m eating into my profits’,” says Chris. “If you invest time into the consumer, it actually saves you money on warranty claims and disputes with customers.” Time after time, Chris finds that teaching owners the day-to-day essentials of the chemistry and operation of their new facility will engender confidence and trust in signing up for more expert periodic servicing.

On installation, it’s crucial there’s a thorough handover to the customer, adds Chris: “A lot of people suffer from premature deterioration of their hot tubs from new and it’s because on the point of handover, they’re not given the correct advice on how to manage the water.”

Unacceptable water quality can be the result of a multitude of overlooked details, explains Paul McMichael of Bell Leisure in Pulborough: “I find the pitfall for most engineers is when they try and cut corners, or not accurately testing water, using dip tests that could be out-of-date, or their eye reaction to colour might be different to another engineer that goes in.”

Paul is often discussing energy efficiency and sustainability: “Solar’s quite a big thing at the moment, and controlling spiralling prices, especially on indoor pools. If you specialise in a product that is organic and safe, that’s a big tick for me, saving the world from plastics as well. The big thing for us is making sure that for customers that do ask, we are putting together things that are more environmentally healthy. I’m a bit of a tree hugger anyway!”

DON’T RUSH
Nigel Brawn of Cornwall Pools, the UK Pool & Spa Awards’ UK Pool Contractors Of The Year has nine engineers and around 2,500 customers.

Nigel believes some problems are due to jobs being rushed by inexperienced engineers and not checked before leaving site: “I’ve always been a great believer that before leaving the job, you should go back, look at it, and make sure you’re happy with it. We’re very happy for someone to say they can’t do something and then we’ll look at colleagues who can fix the problem.”

Setting aside time in the office means effective teamwork, says Mark Howard, services manager of Dorking-based Neuman Aqua: “We meet frequently, every Monday morning before everybody is sent off on their way for the week, so that everybody’s fully aware of the sites they are going to, the clients they’re going to meet and what’s required on site.

Mark continues: “If someone hasn’t had experience of a certain product or a certain site, they will buddy up with somebody who has that experience.”

TECH SPECS
He has also seen the benefits of moving from paper to technology, not just for the engineering team but also office-based colleagues in customer service and finance. Many companies have installed trackers on vans, not to be ‘Big Brother’ but rather to make accurate records for on-site costings and to locate a colleague in the area if an engineer comes across an issue they can’t fix.

There’s a consensus that the dearth of formal engineering education and training across the industry can cause standards to fluctuate across the market. Nigel remarks: “You could go to Plymouth University and get a degree in surfing but there are no formal qualifications that you need for our industry.”

The right level of training and keeping abreast of developments in servicing products and technology can lead to great job satisfaction and long service for the team, as Paul has found, with a number of his 12-strong engineering team having served 19 years or more, including a current director who started in the company’s shop as a Saturday boy some 20 years ago.

The BISHTA water hygiene management course run for its engineer by 1 Stop Spas is a ‘must- have’ for Chris: “Whether a service technician, repairs technician or salesperson, anybody in the business who may be giving advice to the customer on how to manage their water should carry out that course. I liken it to the food hygiene certificate we have in restaurants if you serve food to any paying member of the public.”

MARKET TRENDS
While there’s been no recent revolution in servicing technology or customer demands, a few topics are currently trending. Mark Howard says: “There are products out there that can give you transparent monitoring and some chemical controllers allied with dosing pumps that will give you real-time messages about the pH level of your pool. I’ve yet to see a domestic client want that but the commercial sites are leaning towards this kind of real time-monitoring.”

Chris Brady has seen running costs become a prime consideration for customers: “The main focuses when buying the hot tub right now are the energy efficiency of the appliance itself, how well insulated it is, and how good the cover is. Air source heat pumps are revolutionising how a hot tub runs and essentially is the new standard.”

Nigel Brawn remarks: “We do AFM recycled glass, a lot of inverter pumps and heat pumps, good-quality cover systems, and all our pools generally are fully insulated. Of course, it’s a key selling point for people, that they do want to reduce their running costs. Especially with our existing customers, we’re always offering and sharing new technology to help them, and it also helps our business as well.”

PRICE POINTS
The age, size and complexity of units varies so widely across the market that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to fees can be very difficult. Mark Howard, Neuman Aqua: “Across our whole portfolio, the annual pricing structures will vary between high hundreds or low thousands for domestic clients through to the commercials that could be tens of thousands – depending on the package required.”

Paul McMichael, Bell Leisure: “We don’t do monthly servicing through the summer, we do fortnightly or weekly packages. “On an average pool, it could be from £1,500 a year. If someone’s being very proactive themselves and we just keep an eye on what they’re doing, I won’t be charging them the full amount, but if we have to do everything then we’re probably going to be about £2,500 for six monthly visits followed by 13 fortnightly visits, and all the chemicals included,” Paul continues.

“If you were to go weekly during the summer, 26 visits from April to September, it probably be about £3,500, maybe £4,000 for the year. We don’t do special offers because our reputation is good enough to know that our price is value for money.” Nigel Brawn, Cornwall Pools: “We offer a service package which is an annual fee, paid over 12 months’ direct debits, that includes all the servicing, closing and opening the pool, all the chemicals, and with a couple of breakdowns built into it, should we have to go back.

For a package like that, which is usually from April to September for an outdoor pool with a fortnightly service call, you’d be looking at about £179-£200 a month with the chemicals. If it’s got a hot tub with it as well, a fortnightly service would be £230-£240 a month.” Chris Brady, 1 Stop Spas: “One-off projects range from £199 for our flush drain refill service, to a more detailed service at £399. Plans range from £19 a month to £54 a month for one that includes basically everything you will need. Direct debit saves around 10%.”

COMPANY CONTACTS
1 Stop Spas
1stopspas.com
01522 300737

Bell Leisure
www.bell-leisure.co.uk
01903 892040

Cornwall Pools
cornwallpools.co.uk
01726 860866

Neuman Aqua
neumanaqua.co.uk
01306 621100