tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34083187.post117423655347546264..comments2021-08-30T20:28:51.334-07:00Comments on The Pool Biz: The Pool Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904496518630518958noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34083187.post-1174326097899284212007-03-19T11:41:00.000-07:002007-03-19T11:41:00.000-07:00I'm assuming by the flavor and character of your r...I'm assuming by the flavor and character of your responses that you're going with the "there's no such thing as bad publicity" approach to marketing?<BR/><BR/>Good luck with that.The Pool Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12904496518630518958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34083187.post-1174322523388173842007-03-19T10:42:00.000-07:002007-03-19T10:42:00.000-07:00Tpg, you "called me out" by name and dedicating a ...Tpg, you "called me out" by name and dedicating a whole blog to my previous communications with you. You've selectively quoted me, out of context in most of your points, and you want me to not respond? "You see, folks? Sean just can't stay away."<BR/>Interesting viewpoint, and to use your often used response to me, "duh".<BR/>I am surprised though as I didn't think you would leave my comment intact.<BR/><BR/>So here we go again, it's your blog site and again with the "selective comprehension". I did not denigrading pool men. Tpg, we are not on the same page.<BR/>I denigraded the ignorant pool salesman telling a homeowner that once they buy a salt system, they never have to buy chemicals again. This statement is not true and is ignorant of the salesman to do so. It IS a shame.<BR/> <BR/>By the way, your link to "Anotherview..." didn't have anything to view. Can you post a corrected link, or explain what your point is to bringing up that site.<BR/><BR/>Finally, you said that I "...made some interesting points...if you can separate the wheat from the chaff." Yet you still do not respond to simple questions like, are you experiencing these problems with all your salt pools? Or, do your customers on sodium hypochlorite experience these same deck and coping; rail and light rings; electrolysis issues?<BR/><BR/>Does ANYONE besides tpg see my comments as $blahS, $blah$, $blah$? Or does anyone think tpg should honestly reply to questions he's refused to answer?<BR/><BR/>Kinda like the kid who says, "It's my ball so I get to make the rules, or I'm taking my ball home."<BR/><BR/>I owned a Jaguar XJ6 once, before my salt sales days, and was told before I bought it, "Don't get it. You're either going to have a good one or a lifetime lemon. It'll spend more time in the shop than on the road."<BR/>Well I got the good one. But what a shame to categorize ALL Jaguars in the "Don't get it." category.<BR/><BR/>Tpg, this is what you're doing with pools. We have seen these same issues with pools NOT on salt, yet, salt gets the blame? Poor quality deck materials, improper mixing of poured decks and coping, cheap limestone, salty soil base, high TDS, high salt levels, high chlorine levels, low pH, improper water chemistry, improper electrical installations can all produce the same effects you're describing. But again, let's blame salt.<BR/>I don't honestly believe ALL your 40 plus salt customers have these issues you've dedicated alot of time blogging. I don't even believe HALF of your salt customers experience these issues. And as such, you've categorized the small percent of problem pools to the fault of all salt systems. Now THATS fair and balanced... but it's your ball.<BR/><BR/>Here's my advice, seeing that more than 50% of new pools over the last 2 or 3 years have gone in with salt systems, if you were smart, you would get out of "pool clean up guy" business and start a repair and renovation company. <BR/>Then you can sit back, rake in the big bucks and say, SEE? I TOLD YOU SO. I'd probably go towards a Prius than an Jag these days though.<BR/><BR/>Have a nice day.Sean Assamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15163234603109453300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34083187.post-1174315556192528342007-03-19T08:45:00.000-07:002007-03-19T08:45:00.000-07:00You see, folks? Sean just can't stay away. He make...You see, folks? Sean just can't stay away. He makes some interesting points in here, if you can separate the wheat from the chaff. If you kinda squint your eyes and remember that he won't be able to make his mortgage payment if salt system sales go through the floor, then you'll be able to put his drivel in proper context. I said it a few posts ago, and I say it again; I'm not here to debate, especially with salt peddlers. This is my blog. If Sean and the rest of his wrecking crew want to get their word out, they can get their own blog. They tried it once, and here's what they had to say:<BR/><BR/>http://anotherviewofthepoolbusiness.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>On the subject of my denigrating pool men. Yes, I said that. Sean and I are on the same page there. I constantly bemoan the fact that my industry is hopelessly devoid of well trained technicians. But then, I'm not trying to sell them salt systems to install. Sean's attitude reminds me so much of the Jack Abramoff's "effing trogoldytes" attitude toward the clients that he's skinning with his smoke and mirrors of what a great deal salt is going to be for them and their customers. If you listen closely and read between the lines, you can hear Sean's real message. It goes something like this: <BR/><BR/>"$Blah$, $blah$, $blah$..."<BR/><BR/>But they must be feeling the pinch. Otherwise, why would they even be writing to me?The Pool Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12904496518630518958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34083187.post-1174285483902552312007-03-19T00:24:00.000-07:002007-03-19T00:24:00.000-07:00You're a funny man TPG (the pool guy). It's your ...You're a funny man TPG (the pool guy). It's your blog so you can pick and choose whatever "quotes" you want to use from someone's communication with you.<BR/>It would be very interesting to see if you allow my response to be posted and left unedited, on your blog.<BR/> <BR/>When I first contacted you back in January, this was my opening paragraph:<BR/>"Dear "The Pool Guy", <BR/>Thank you for taking the time to mention me in your blog site. I'm sure your site is viewed by pool owners and pool industry people alike. I'm sure you also realize the salt chlorine generator industry people probably view your site as an attack on their testosterones. If I may be so bold to try to explain it from a "salt" point of view, not speaking for the salt chlorine generator industry or as a spokesman for AutoPilot, but from my point of view, having dealt with salt chlorinators since I entered the pool industry in 1986. By no means am I an expert or claim to be smarter than the average bear, but I would think that with your experience in the industry, which I believe you've mentioned to be quite a bit more than my 20 years, I have to believe you've seen similar type degradation and damage to pool decks and equipment, as you are seeing today. I've read this over and over again, before I send this to you to make sure I am not being aggressive or argumentative in my response. Hopefully it is conveyed as such. If you read it differently, please accept my apology. It is not ment to be."<BR/><BR/>I went on to ask you specific questions, which you've dodged with your salt industry attack like this one: <BR/>"That is exactly why the tone of my blog is so contentious. I am the counterweight to that lack of education. I am the natural consequence to the kind of marketing that's been done for salt systems so far.<BR/> You guys have had it all your way for too long. You've all made a fortune off the misfortune of pool owners by not disclosing the whole story about salt and not giving them all the facts before they made their buying decision. Zodiac made so much money off of salt that they were able to turn around and buy Polaris two years ago and Jandy last year. That is staggering sums of money.<BR/> I just want you all to start spending a part of that pile of money on telling the truth about your products so that the pool owner's can make informed decisions, and not have to find out in some blog rant or some forum post that they ought to be hosing down their hardscape every week, just as an example.<BR/> Not to mention that you're putting potentially explosive devices into the hands of poolmen, for God sakes, to properly install and teach the customers how to maintain. You know and I know that for every good, experienced pool guy, there are ten who ought not be trusted with a screwdriver. It is the sad and ugly truth of our business."<BR/>WAIT A MINUTE, did YOU say that about your fellow pool service companions? Quite hypocritical for you to point out:<BR/>"Pretty scathing indictment of pool supply distribution and local pool companies. Wouldn’t you say? That’s you, Pool Guys. That’s you he’s talking about. Did you know that if you don’t have a licensed electrician do the work, then you’re on your own if anything goes wrong?"<BR/>By the way tpg, take the WHOLE section rather than selective words to "imply" my thoughts. The whole section in which I said, "...ignorance. It is a shame" goes like this:<BR/>"“No More Buying Chlorine” - AutoPilot chlorine generator marketing information. <BR/>This is a true statement, unfortunately the message being conveyed to the consumer by the dealer selling the salt system is that you never have to by CHEMICALS again. This very well may be as a result of (as you mentioned) any pool company being able to buy a salt system over the counter at their local distributor, and not knowing anything about it, reselling it to a pool owner. No training, no education, ignorance. It is a shame." <BR/>So, am I speaking of "pool supply distribution and local pool companies", or am I speaking of the ignorant salesman telling a homeowner that they never have to buy CHEMICALS again?<BR/>Tpg, don't mislead your readers by using selective quotes to stir emotions. That's pretty devious. <BR/><BR/>I asked "How many salt pools do you have, and are they all experiencing these issues?"<BR/>Why have you never answered this question? If salt is so bad, wouldn't the 40+ salt customers you have (30 - 40% of your all your customers) all be complaining?<BR/><BR/>This blog opens up with my asking for more information on Mr Bakers cell and pointed out to you that Clearwater cells cannot handle high pressures. It's very possible that the damage occured due to this reason. In fact, without even knowing, I asked if he had an in-floor cleaning system, to which you admitted he did. Let's just blame salt then!<BR/><BR/>I've pointed out many things to you in our correspondence, which you've not replied to. You said that a salt pool will experience deck and coping damage in about 2 years. I asked if you've ever tested the salt level on a pool on sodium hypochlorite, which adds quite a bit more salt that you can imagine, no answer from you. In my experience, years of adding sodium hypochlorite can bring the salt level to above 1000 ppm. Past the EPA level of taste of salt, yet I don't think these pool owners are complaining of salty pool water. Have you gotten these complains in your 30+ years in the industry? Have you personally been in a salt pool? At 3000 ppm, the water does not taste salty. <BR/>Here is another perfect example of your pick and choose what you want to use.<BR/>You replied to CHEM GEEK in one of your earlier comments (Oct 14th): <BR/>"Further, the more I hear you and Dynamictiger talking about stray currents, the more convinced I am that, even if it doesn't fit the textbook example of Galvanic Corrosion, that's what it is. But then, I'm "just a pool cleanup guy". I don't have the advantage of the view from the Ivory Tower. Just down here on the ground, where everything's turning to rust."<BR/>What is your experience on salty taste, or deck and coping corrosion with sodium hypochlorite pool customers? Are they experiencing deck and coping damage? <BR/>Would you agree that the salt level increases to high levels when the water evaporates, whether you start with 1000 ppm or 3000 ppm? So the same results of deck and coping, rail and light rings, electrolysis, etc....should all be complaints of sodium hypochlorite pool users too, right? Where is that blog?<BR/>Everyone should stop using sodium hypochlorite and salt, and switch to tri-chlor! Tpg says so!<BR/><BR/>And once again, I did not "swore never to write to me again". My closing e-mail to you said: "So while you're now on a stray voltage, electrolysis and shocking effects of a dissolved bonding lug, you also say, well not ALL salt pools are shocking the swimmers....well, why not? If this was experienced by one builder researching salt installations that they've done, why not more pools experiencing the same effects? But here again, you choose to ignore the many other salt pools that do not experience these conditions. This is not a nasty e-mail. It's a fair evaluation to your blog. <BR/> TPG, you will not be receiving any more e-mails from me, so that should free your time from "just another salt peddler" as you have categorized me.<BR/><BR/>Regards, <BR/>Sean"<BR/><BR/> Hopefully you can stop deceiving your readers and stop using that old trick of picking and choosing quotes to make a point.Sean Assamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15163234603109453300noreply@blogger.com