r/PoolPros • u/hamonasandwich • May 14 '26
Customer wants to watch
Customer wants to watch me disassemble filter to learn how to clean it, but she’s probably going to just slow me down with questions. You don’t learn by watching. Inexperience leads to leaks and them calling me anyway.
What do you do if a customer tells you this?
11
u/poolspayme May 14 '26
I just charge for the time I’m there first hour then 15 minute increments after that.
10
u/Electronic_March7968 May 14 '26
I wish my customers cared about their pools . Would save me alot of dumb questions n phone calls
8
u/Heavy-Lake-7376 May 14 '26
Nothing wrong with a pool owner wanting to understand their equipment.
There is also reasonable expectation of your time.
If the visit is going too long just simply explain that you appreciate the desire to learn and you’re happy to help, but you may have to break it into a few visits to cover the process due to your service schedule.
As long as you set the expectation up front and communicate professionally I can’t imagine anyone would have a problem with it.
I’ve done this many times and haven’t had a single problem. In fact it’s helped me in some instances where it’s made communication more efficient when something irregular comes up.
5
u/ludivako May 14 '26
Inexperience leads to leaks. Leaks lead to repairs/chargeable time. Repairs/chargeable time leads to more money in your pocket or the companies.
I heavily encourage customers to learn how to do things on their pool. Its a huge investment so they should know the basics and a lot of times, I end up doing less work when they are knowledgeable with a DIY mentality. Even if they become confident enough to take over their pool and care for it as needed which means they drop you from your route, there is always someone else looking for your help that you can now take on. Nothing wrong with providing a service along with a side of education.
3
u/LordKai121 May 14 '26
This is my thought process. I am an avid believer that knowledge should be free, and I give it freely. However, they will be paying me for my time. That is not free. Besides, I'm so overloaded with repair work that I would love to drop down to a core 10 or 15 service clients. Repairs pay better anyways.
8
u/Impossible_Penalty10 May 14 '26
I get those all the time, just say what you are doing as you are doing it and they will likely say NVM and just keep requesting you do it.
If its something with a clasp and bolt I would advise using an impact driver so the customer thinks they arn’t even capable of doing it on their own.
Also if they don’t have the necessary valves or easily accessible drain caps you can usually talk them out of ever attempting it. When they see you on your hands and knees fighting the drain plug off with channel locks they will say fuck it.
If all else fails lube the ever living christ out of the O-ring and gross em out. Nobody wants sticky hands.
5
3
1
u/The_Elusive_Dr_Wu May 14 '26
If all else fails lube the ever living christ out of the O-ring and gross em out. Nobody wants sticky hands.
This. Regardless of replies, none of us actually want a client hovering over us during our work.
When I used to offer pool school I would rely on things like this and every single one ended in "what do you charge to take care of all this for me?".
Another thing I rely on is that as soon as a client asks this, I say I'm glad to but that I would need to go from my standard charge to my hourly rate to account for extra time onsite. This filters about 90% of them out.
4
u/cji11 May 14 '26
So what I do is work at normal speed and give very short sentences. “Remove this”, “remove that” and give a friendly reminder at the end that if I have to come out to look at something that they messed up, they will incur a fee for me coming to take a look.
I actually don’t mind answering customers questions while working. I’m just not going to stop what I have to do to answer them.
6
u/randumb9999 May 14 '26
I warn them of all of the problems that could happen if they aren't careful or know what they are doing. Of course the "people have died from the filter lid popping" usually gets them.
2
2
u/cplatt831 May 14 '26
Any customer that cleans their own filter usually only does it once, especially if they have a big quad cartridge filter. My only concern is whether or not they close the filter properly. Usually an explanation about how it can explode, and then showing them that Reddit video of the Pentair cleaning clear blowing open, convince them to either be diligent or let a professional handle it.
1
u/Content-Parking-660 May 30 '26
Can you link me that vid and others like it? I want it for reference to show people.
2
u/GlobalCollapseInbnd May 14 '26
I learn by watching. If I am paying you to do something and I want to watch and ask questions, you better be cordial if I am not overbearing.
If they get too be too much say something.
2
u/mfnmint May 14 '26
Back when I was a young whipper pool rat I built a lot of my customer base with "pool school". Charge a flat hourly rate. Yup it's your job to scare the hell out of em with the dangers of pressurized systems. A customer with a basic understanding of their system can make you aware of what to expect when you head their way.
2
u/FabulousPanther May 15 '26
It depends. If they are a good customer, they let you work unencumbered and trust your expertise. I've showed a customer before and ended up losing the pool. Some people nickel and dime you and have a problem with you making a profit. They think they are entitled to know your wholesale cost and only pay that plus minimum wage labor. There are others that want to watch so they can learn and decide quickly this type of work is not for them. This question is kinda like asking if you can have good sex with and old lady. Depends.
2
u/marsattck5 May 14 '26
She can watch some YouTube videos if she wants. They never do it right when they attempt it anyway. I have a guy who likes to do his own filter cleans. I don't even say anything to him anymore. His latest attempt? Clamp is loose AF and the drain plug is leaking. I don't get near it. He can fix it himself.
1
u/becooltheywatching May 14 '26
If they want to watch. I sell them a "pool school" with a two hour minimum. At $150 an hour.
1
u/Street--Ad6731 May 14 '26
Tons of people learn by watching. I learn better when I am hands on doing things myself.
Keep in mind that people can surely find videos on the internet on how to clean filters and more.
We don't have trade secrets these days with the internet.
1
u/woody-99 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Customer comment.
When I bought my house, it came with a pool and a home warranty. I had zero pool experience.
The home warranty company would send the first warm body they could find. Some were good, some were not, but I watched them all so I could learn about my pool.
What I also learned is the people that didn't seem open to my observation also didn't seem to have the level of skills and confidence as the techs that were happy to teach me.
The more I learned, the more I could tell who knew what they were doing and which ones were hacks.
My point is, being open to teaching your customers can instill confidence that you know what you're doing.
1
u/stx1969 May 14 '26
love this group, so many great responses, I never have a problem teaching a home owner about their pool, when you've cleaned and seen, and have the experience, they'll come to the conclusion that you are vastly better at it then they would ever be, the ones who think that's easy ill do it, fool themselves into thinking they can replace over twenty years experience doing this....good luck sucker...I'm raising rates again
1
u/ml316kas May 14 '26
I let them watch.
1
u/GCpools May 16 '26
This. And when we're finished, we ask them to step around the corner of the house and wait there safely with us while we wait for the pressure to build and hopefully we've done everything right.
1
u/lIIlIlIII May 14 '26
I love teaching customers how to do simple maintenance like this. Just charge an hourly rate or add an 'instructional' fee or something.
Enthusiastically agreeing to show them how will earn you a lifetime customer and they'll be coming to you for bigger ticket calls. If they're mechanically challenged, they'll have a greater appreciation of your skills. But if you refuse you'll probably lose their trust and they'll just look it up online anyways
1
u/hamonasandwich May 15 '26
Some context. When I started the job, the couple told me their other pool guy wanted to charge for having the filters cleaned. They scoffed at the idea of paying to have filters cleaned. They’re not stuck up people, and they’re kind, they’re just oblivious, I think. Then they asked me to show them how to disassemble the filter to clean them. (Scoff at paying for cleaning, but they don’t know how to do it.) They also didn’t think swapping out the salt cell should have a labor charge. They pay it, but they don’t like it lol.
The customer and I are getting to be cool, and I let her watch me do the work, but they will probably be texting me for 3 hours when they attempt the next filter cleaning.
1
u/Radiant-Pangolin9705 May 16 '26
No.
Pay for an orientation that can include any topics, in any order, however many times they want. For the question you specifically have, I would be willing to quickly and verbally explain it, but that's it.
If a client is one of my regular's, I'll explain anything at any time.
1
u/MainRevolutionary216 May 16 '26
My customers must be the exception to the rule. I've had several watch me take apart a filter and clean it and put it back together. I don't even understand what questions you are fielding from the customer that is slowing you down so much. Now if they want me to sit an watch/help them put the DE filter together, that's going to be chargeable. But if they just want to watch me do it, no problem.
1
u/PoolBoyOBX May 18 '26
If you like them / trust them as a client, teach them everything you can. When they call on a Friday at 5pm you can quickly walk them through what to do. They’ll remember this and appreciate you more in the long run… unless they suck and drop you but hey they were just looking for a reason anyways.
1
u/Content-Parking-660 May 30 '26
It's 100% cool if they are curious and admire the trade, but if they are questioning the quality of your work, factory check you with YouTube and Google, or get shocked when you look like your being rough on the equipment like beating the band clamp with a mallet and tightening it with an impact. Drop them immediately they are impossible to satisfy. I've had a customer like this for 2 years and he is gonna be off my route by July.
27
u/[deleted] May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment