Ona-Mission

Anyone ever heard of Pool Service America in Dade and Broward County? If you have heard of them and have any experiences I would greatly appreciate any feed back? Thanks.

Jupiter Sunsation

Another millionaire coming to the rescue by trying to be a Wayne Huizenga of the pool business. Guy is trying to formalize the pool service industry by building large routes with low paid workers and make lots of money.


This was attempted by a guy in Boca Raton ten years ago. US Pool bought out mom and pop operations for under market value (by offering owners jobs/ bond payment plans- which never got paid since he folded before the bond was due). He aquired 5,000 accounts, leased a fleet of trucks, spent money on advertising and muscled suppliers into low margin prices. Ford ate 40 leased/rusted pool trucks, one local supplier took a 700K hit in unpaid bills and the routes ended up disbanding followed by a half azz sell off.

It was the National Marine of the pool business for about 5 years. Looks like this guy is trying to run routes from Coral Gables up through Ft Lauderdale....... D I S A S T E R ! ! ! !
The idea of any route business is keep it centralized/ tight. The guy only makes money when workers are cleaning pools not driving around burning gas......

Ona-Mission

Why do you think this concept is a disaster? Any info you have is appreciated. Honestly... I have been in the pool business for 25 years now. Began while i was in high school and other then 6 months of washing dishes, never had another job. I own a very successful pool renovation business in michigan and am looking for something else to do. not sure if I'm ready to sell or just look for a winter job in a warm winter climate. What ever the case is I have responded to an add for Pool Service America. I have the luxury of choosing what I want to do. I want to gather as much info as I can. Thanks for your time.

mikebrls

JUST GET THE CASH AT TIME OF THE SALE .
AND YOU CAN DO WHAT U WANT AFTER THAT

Jupiter Sunsation

You can PM me on the serious site if you want to........ I have been in the pool business in S. FL for 19 years now. The industry was deregulated about 10 years ago so anyone can get a $30 occupational license and go clean pools. This guy advertising on craigslist for $400 a week employees (sounds like $10 an hour to me). The low wages will be just enough to train your future competition and will doom his business with an insane turnover rate. People won't want a new stranger that may not speak English in their backyard every other week....... The market he is targeting is way too large (south Miami to Ft Lauderdale is 25 miles then probably out to Weston (15 miles west) would give him a 375 sq mile route radius? He bought out Dan Essig (longtime pool builder ) to give him base routes. Pool guys can sometimes get lucky and sell a dream to a rich guy with a plan! He will get tired of the constant hiring and the huge customer turnover as well.

For my area: I operated in Boca Raton exclusively for 12 years doing 350 pools a week and renovating 75 pools a year with a crew of 5 guys. Sold just as US Pool came to town.
Restarted in Jupiter (50 miles north) with a pool builder that was FINISHING 10 POOLS A DAY/ 2500 a year! We were gaining 4-6 pools a week for years while the building boom was happening. Sold 55 heaters in 120 days in 2005. Jupiter like Boca is an affluent area but has been hit by the slowdown. Builder that was building 2500 a year won't finish 200 pools in 2009 IF he doesn't fold. Jupiter Island is extremely lucrative BUT the remodeling/ new construction has even slowed over there too.

My buddy ran the biggest route company in the area (2000 weekly accounts) and said the turnover was 50-75 pools a month. So you are losing 1/2 to 3/4 of a route in one month! At 2000 pools they are bringing in 200K a month just in service but could easily double that with repairs/renovations. It was a cash machine but also a huge headache trying to get people to pay/ get guys to work/ get guys to show up at the right pools on the right day. He left and started his own company and thinks the 500 accounts mark is the place to be.
The PS America guy will make back his original investment and then look to sell it asap. My guess is he won't want to get involved with you since you have too much experience and he won't want to pay you for it. Also S. FL is all gunite pools (in 19 years I have seen 2 liner pools total). If you don't have experience with gunite pools and high water tables you won't get hired. Remember dig down 8 feet in FL and you will hit water.

bobhowells1

Keeping your swimming pool sparkling clean isn't as complex as you think. All pools are different and so are their maintenance needs. The secret of an adequate pool health is regular maintenance and proper pool service by an expert. Remove your plastic basket of the pool and shake it out, this can help dislodge stubborn objects.

Scott B

Well, that was educational, gee thanks bobby...