Lee (25:17.125)
Yeah, absolutely. I think these things that we're talking about now, it's all about preparing the customer. It's managing their expectations. So we're identifying an issue, we're letting them know this needs rectifying now, or it's going to need rectifying soon. And it's like, it's just keeping them informed. It's communication. We come back to the good old communication word. So yeah, preparing the customer.
Peter Wiedermann (25:23.281)
Yeah, 100%.
shane (25:38.484)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (25:45.453)
setting their expectations. So yeah, but it's funny, like people don't think twice about booking a routines visit to the dentist to have a checkup and have plaque removed or whatever the case might be. I actually told my accountant one day that I'd rather go to the dentist than go to him. I can tell you my accountant was not.
Peter Wiedermann (25:59.065)
I do. I hate the dentist. It's bloody painful. Although there is happy gas, which is a plus.
Peter Wiedermann (26:13.085)
Hehehe
shane (26:13.666)
Hehe hehe
Lee (26:15.017)
impressed with that analogy. And the funny thing is his wife is actually the dental receptionist. That was even funnier. But...
shane (26:23.319)
Brilliant.
Peter Wiedermann (26:24.467)
Interesting dinner time conversation for them that night.
Lee (26:28.849)
said to him that at least at the dentist I get pain relief and I know how much it's going to cost me. So the accountant he actually he actually is well he will finish he finishes up at the end of this month funnily enough yeah with us selling our business coincided with him sort of taking long service leave and going into early retirement so
shane (26:35.978)
Is he snowing or a cone so mainly? Just a curiosity.
Lee (26:56.28)
It's timed very well for our business, so it's funny.
Peter Wiedermann (27:01.405)
That's why he, the reason he gives Lee for him stopping providing accounting services. I just think she, she offended him so badly. She, he thinks, nope, she can go to the bloody dentist. Let him do it, do her taxes. Hey.
Lee (27:16.957)
Oh, I hate paying tax, don't we all? Anyway, but yeah, we don't think twice about doing those sort of things. We put fuel in our car and I liken that to getting the water tested in our pool and vacuuming in a pool. We put fuel in our car, we check the oil, but it's we take our car in for servicing or we take our car in for major repairs.
So it's like, it's the stepping stones. Yes, testing your water, vacuuming the pool is your basic of basic maintenance. Just as putting fuel in the car makes it go. But then the next step up is doing that routine, periodic checks, inspections, servicing, freezing O-rings, those sort of things. I liken that to your car being serviced on a regular basis. What do we do at every?
15,000 kilometres, 10,000 kilometres, or every so many months you do that with your car. Now, the alternative is that your car breaks down in the middle of the road or in the middle of nowhere if you're in Australia, because there's lots of middles of nowhere here, and it costs you a shit-ton to repair. I liken that to a swimming pool. You do the preventative maintenance. Yes, it doesn't mean that you're not going to replace...
Peter Wiedermann (28:28.84)
Yes.
Lee (28:42.993)
do repairs to your car, but it's a lot more likely that they're going to be manageable and they're not going to hit the hip pocket as hard as they will. Everything fails because you haven't put oil in there or you haven't replaced a gasket or filter that needs to be replaced in your car. It's just like that with your pool and I don't know why people just don't understand it. Like you wouldn't put up with
dust coming out of your air conditioner. Like, if your air conditioning guy came in and said, oh, look, we'll just blow out your filter and we'll stick it back in, and you still had dust coming out of it, you'd go, hey, hang on, let's just replace it. Whereas your pool guy comes along and says, hey, we need to replace your filter element, we need to replace your filter media, oh no, it'll be fine.
It's strange, isn't it? How some people, like, yes, we've all got good customers that go, yeah, whatever you think needs doing, you do it, we trust you. Those customers we love. But you do get those ones that, yeah, just balk at everything, don't they?
Peter Wiedermann (29:45.061)
Mm.
shane (29:56.667)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (29:57.061)
And again, it looks fine to me. Well, I've been doing this a little bit longer than you. Doesn't look fine to me. I've seen this problem turn into a major issue. In particular, replacing squeeze tubes and chemical feed lines. The number of times I've gone to a customer's place and, oh, the acid pump isn't working, the parasitic pump. And you have a look at it. See that the squeeze tube's starting to perish quite badly. See that the...
Lee (30:11.435)
Oh yes, yes.
Peter Wiedermann (30:26.077)
uh... feeder tubes uh... you know brown or whatnot from staining and stiffen bristle uh... and i've had them where the corrosion with the acid leak through the squeeze tubes been that bad that the pump the motor itself for the pump is actually corroded out rusted out so i will get that's why i've been telling you it needs to be lubricated every depending on make and model squeeze you blue lubricate every three months squeeze you've been asking feature chemical
shane (30:43.421)
Mm.
Lee (30:45.165)
and they're quite costly.
shane (30:46.377)
Yeah.
Peter Wiedermann (30:55.721)
replace once a year. I know you don't want to spend the money but it will cost you a lot less to get this fixed and replace the entire peristaltic pump and everything else especially since that's sitting directly over where you keep your chlorine.
Lee (31:10.789)
So Pete, do you have a contact management system that allows you to say, schedule that routine maintenance?
Peter Wiedermann (31:17.673)
kind of. I make notes.
shane (31:21.996)
It's all up here.
Lee (31:22.654)
So like, well, that's the pro.
Peter Wiedermann (31:24.769)
No, no, I do make notes about it, but I don't have a formal CRM system for that. I probably should.
Lee (31:31.45)
No, and that's the hard thing. Like we know it's good practice to do it. We know it's something that we should do, but how do we make sure it gets done? That's really upping the ante on the customer service level that we're delivering to clients, which is fantastic because we're one, we're gonna make a sale, guaranteed sale every 12 months of the tubes and whatnot and the service work, but two,
Peter Wiedermann (31:35.826)
Hmm.
Lee (31:56.577)
we're doing that preventative maintenance for the client. We're managing their expectations if we let them know upfront that, hey, we're going to do this routinely for you every 12 months because this is what's going to happen if it doesn't. But then we actually need a way to schedule it. And so like some of us run computer programs that actually can schedule it and put an automatic reminder in for 12 months time, I suppose, just like we do in our mobile phones, we schedule appointments, we can do the same thing.
But the other thing that I'd actually thought about over the years before we put that sort of system in place was actually a little whiteboard or something in the shed to say when the filter media was last changed, when the peristaltic pumps were repaired or the tubing in the acid feed was replaced. Little things like that, just so that us as the service technician have that as a visual reminder. Now.
if it's not our business that's going back there all the time, that's maybe not information you want to share with the opposition. So, but a contact management system is certainly a great way to do it.
Peter Wiedermann (33:05.309)
Yeah, with the annual stuff, for me, the first service after Easter, which is typically where things are quieting down in our region. I mean, a few years ago, I remember it was still stinking hot in June, which is unheard of for us. I was building pools at the time. We're thinking, well, this summer, end of the bloody end, I want a day off.
shane (33:05.602)
God bless you.
Lee (33:09.093)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (33:17.435)
Yep.
Lee (33:23.069)
I'm going to go to bed.
Peter Wiedermann (33:29.745)
But yeah, straight after Easter is a good time as things start to wane. And that's also when you get people say, oh, look, I know the equipment's not working, but I don't wanna do it now. I'll just leave it till after Easter. Leave it till spring.
Lee (33:40.453)
leave it till summer. Yeah don't you love that one? Yeah yeah that's it. They think oh we don't need to spend the money now we'll spend it later. So that is a way of obviously trying to get them over the line for one creating work for you for winter but two getting those sort of jobs there that take up some time and a bit of a hassle through summer is actually to offer a
Lee (34:10.301)
20% off or maybe if you're doing a filter media change, you do instead of doing sand, you do glass at no extra. Like you work out what you wanna do. Every business is different as to what they're prepared to do but you wanna try and do something to encourage that work to come through. But winter is a great time to get those periodic things done because we do have the time to think about them and do them. So Shane, we talked earlier about
Peter Wiedermann (34:31.133)
Mm.
Lee (34:39.901)
filter media cleaning and degreasing and also filter media changes obviously. So we actually routinely and Peter you might be the same I don't know, we routinely did filter media cleans in winter. So it was something we did every winter with our mid-winter service. And it was just something that we did with our regular service clientele.
shane (34:41.197)
Mmm
shane (34:45.76)
Yes.
Lee (35:10.109)
It would automatically be done and they would be charged accordingly We did it at a good price for them because we were buying in bulk and we'd sell the chemical from our bulk stores So yeah, there was some good perceived value there for the client and it gave us some extra work to help out Guys get through winter. So is that something you do Peter?
shane (35:13.89)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (35:32.369)
Yeah, depends on the pool. Things like your filter degreasing. There are some which I do. I digress, you know, two, three, four times a year, depending on the pool, depending how much organics get in, depending if the customers listen when I tell them leave at 15 minutes between putting sunscreen on your skin, as in sun lotion, not cyanurite, that would be bad. You know, put on, wait 15 minutes before you get in the pool so it can be absorbed and doesn't end up in your filter. And I don't mean 14 and a half. I don't mean 14 and three quarters.
Lee (35:41.493)
Okay, yes, cartridge filters and yes.
Lee (35:51.343)
Yes.
Peter Wiedermann (36:02.353)
15 minutes. That's how I tell them. Because I know if you tell them 15 minutes and the kids are nagging, there's every chance I say, oh yeah, 10 minutes is enough. When I tell them 15 minutes and they say, oh well 10 do, for whatever it may be, you know, stay out of the pool for an hour. Oh, can we go in half an hour? I say, okay, stay out of the pool for four hours. And I say, oh, but you just said an hour. I said, yeah, but you want to negotiate and that's not a game I play.
Lee (36:04.87)
Yeah.
shane (36:26.692)
See you.
Peter Wiedermann (36:31.293)
This is about your kids' health and safety. I'm blunt. Well, it's your kids' health and safety. Yeah, they might nag for an extra five minutes or hour or whatever. Well, it's better than having them come down with some exotic disease from your pool water because you haven't allowed the treatment to do its thing. Or if I've just added a potent chemical, chemical injury, something like that.
Lee (36:34.332)
Yep.
shane (36:35.463)
It's business.
shane (36:39.709)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (37:01.225)
The same goes when there's algae in the water. Look, don't swim. There's algae in the water. Oh, but the water's clear. Where there's algae, there's bacteria. Customers need to listen to us. And yeah, follow up with a text message. Stick it on the invoice. Make it a separate email if you like. The invoice is a good one, because it goes straight from the accounting software and its permanent record. And that's where we also put things like these maintenance.
your squeeze tube needs replacing, next service, your filter will be degreased, things like that. And the filter will be degreased, this will mean the pool will be inoperative for 24 hours or whatever the case may be, depending which type I use. So, yeah, I do like to schedule these things in, sometimes the pool and its surrounds and the people using it do add extra variables to the frequency.
Lee (37:56.729)
Yeah.
Peter Wiedermann (37:57.862)
But yeah, if they say, I don't want this done, look, I can't help you. I can do the job. Another thing I say, I'll do the job properly or not at all. And if it comes to them saying, Oh, I might find someone else will do it the way I want by all means, just don't consider it a properly done job.
Lee (38:19.077)
Yeah, absolutely band-aid solutions are never a good thing If you want a job done properly do it properly
Peter Wiedermann (38:24.559)
Mm-hmm.
Peter Wiedermann (38:28.449)
I had one guy, he rang me, this would have been easily two, three years ago, he rang me up and said, oh, I want the sand in my filter changed. I said, okay. He said, but I want the existing gravel kept.
shane (38:40.046)
Thank you.
Peter Wiedermann (38:41.645)
I said, how old is that media? If you use gravel in the bottom of it, that that's decades old.
Lee (38:45.763)
Yeah.
as I've been used for a long time.
Peter Wiedermann (38:50.837)
No, that's it. Not in our part of the world anyway. And I said, look, when I replace media in a filter, I empty it completely, replace the standpipe, hub and laterals, service or replace the multi-port valve, and of course, have new media in there. That's the way to do it properly. And he said, no, I just want sand, not this fancy glass rubbish he called it. I just want sand in, but I want to keep the existing gravel. I said, sorry, can't help.
Lee (38:54.138)
No.
Peter Wiedermann (39:20.653)
He got so annoyed. He got quite aggressive on the phone. I said, look, I'll do it properly or not at all. If you want it done half-assed to save 50 bucks on a couple of bags of coarse-grade media, sorry, then look, it's not going to work. It's just not a good idea. But he's to his own.
shane (39:25.174)
Good night.
Lee (39:29.478)
week.
Lee (39:45.481)
We actually had an agreement, I suppose you'd call it, or acknowledgement that people used to sign when we do sand changes and it was an old filter and they wouldn't replace the laterals because you'd get people that would say, look, you actually need a new filter. Your filter's that old, you need a new filter now. And they'd go, no, I can't afford it. Or no, this one will be fine. You go through those arguments.
Peter Wiedermann (40:05.125)
Mm.
Lee (40:13.989)
But the thing is, if that filter then dumps all that media that you've just put into that filter, of course they're gonna blame you. So you need to try and eliminate that risk. So we actually had an agreement that stated, you've asked us to undertake a filter media change, you acknowledge that our recommendation has been to replace the filter. Given the age of the filter, our recommendation is to replace it. You have...
decided to not accept that advice, and you've asked us to undertake a filter media change, and you take all responsibility in the event that it's, yeah, something happens. And very quickly people would go, no, I'm not signing that, I'll buy a new, like I'll take a new filter. So it actually helped get them across the line. But then in the case of where it did, and yes, we did actually have one.
where that happened, they actually had to then pay for the sand to be removed from their pool and then the filter replaced and go through the same process again and they still had to pay for the original job. So it was, yeah, it's like you can give them all the advice in the world but some people are just adamant that they know better despite the fact that we're competing with them.
20 plus years experience in the industry, they still think that they're right. And look, is the customer always right? Well, we need to let them think that they, that it's their choice. I always used to say to people, it's your pool, it's your choice. If you ask me what I'd do, I'd choose something else, but your pool, your choice. Yeah, so it's, give them the options.
Peter Wiedermann (41:47.175)
No.
shane (41:48.824)
Thank you.
Peter Wiedermann (41:49.481)
tact is pivotal.
shane (41:59.821)
Yep.
shane (42:04.086)
Just out of curiosity, in your part of the world, when you replace, when you do a media change, you replace the medium, is it common practice over there to write maybe put a date on the sticky label and stick it to the filter or mark it on the side of the pump shed or anything? It's something that doesn't seem to be a common thing over here, but it's something that I've implemented.
Lee (42:09.222)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (42:24.761)
Yes, we have. Yeah, we did do that. We did do that.
shane (42:33.934)
for all our business themselves.
Lee (42:35.341)
Yeah. We used to write it on the filter bowl with a black sharpie. If it was, if it was a bowl that was smooth, like, because obviously a lot of them are um, fiberglass and they're spun so they're um, not smooth on the exterior. Um, so yeah, making a note somewhere is always a good thing, but it's like, well what do you put the note on? If you put it on a sticker, is it something that's going to fade? If you write it on the bowl like we did, is it something that's going to fade?
shane (42:39.266)
Hmm.
Lee (43:05.081)
Um, yeah, that's where it's hard. Unfortunately for us, the software program we had, we could put that information in. But the thing is it's not always the easiest information to draw out. So you can put it in the file, but how do you then actually identify all the customers that have had a sand change in the last X years or who hasn't had a sand change in the X years and it's like anything, the data is only as good as the information you put in.
shane (43:12.086)
Yeah.
Lee (43:35.241)
and then the ability of the system to spit it out at you is another thing. But there are now some good programs that do that sort of stuff.
Peter Wiedermann (43:40.253)
Hmm. Media.
Peter Wiedermann (43:45.641)
Yeah, media changes, the frequency of media changes or replacement elements in cartridge filters, so much that depends on again, usage of the pool, pool surrounds, I have one customer, a filter element, cartridge filter element will last them six months tops. I've got others with, I'll get a year and a half, two years out of it. Others a lot longer, but they should have replaced them a very long time ago. Had one of those yesterday, a first time.
Lee (43:57.789)
absolutely.
Peter Wiedermann (44:15.105)
I actually gave him an instruction session.
early last week. And I said, look, your filter element's going to need replacing. It's gone, it's starting to fray. You can see the greasy buildup inside. And I said, this, you can try degreasing, but frankly you're up for a new element. So he called me out there yesterday saying, oh, the pump's making a funny noise. I've never seen this before. I started the pump up, the filter itself
making this screaming noise. Pressure on the pressure gauge shot right up to uh... what are we? 14 psi, this was about 30 psi which is about...
getting my measurements mixed up here. Somewhere around the 200 odd kilopascals. So double what it should be. That was high. No flow worth speaking of, but within about three seconds I had it turned off. Pulled the element out, reassembled the lid on the filter, worked fine. I said look it's not your pump, that's your filter doing something I've never before seen a filter do. So yeah got him a new
shane (45:10.518)
Wow.
Peter Wiedermann (45:33.181)
Filter element works fine. There's a reason that we encourage, that we recommend this stuff to people and it's not just so we make a sale. It's because I don't want you to keep calling me out here every time you have least little issue for something that could have been fixed when I told you at first.
Lee (45:52.589)
It's like we backwash a filter to avoid the pressure building up in the filter and potentially with the weaker filters leaking or exploding or Whatever the case may be so Yeah, actually sort of like they don't seem to understand that when we say hey your filter needs replacing one Your water quality is going to be shit But to you potentially you could be causing problems for your filter, which actually might be quite
Peter Wiedermann (46:06.535)
Hmm.
Lee (46:21.893)
salvageable and reusable if you just change the media in it. But if you don't change the media in it, you're risking the integrity of that filter bowl and that filter head. So it's all about prevention and educating the customer and sharing that information with them.
Peter Wiedermann (46:41.701)
Another one on that I always look at, when there's metal fixings, for example, a multi-port valve, two parts of which are held together with little nuts and bolts, I always check them for corrosion. Because I've seen the results of them corroding, pump starts up, pressure builds in the filter, that NPV can blow into pieces. And you get nuts and bolts and bits of plastic flying everywhere. Happened on my brother's pull.
Lee (46:52.47)
I guess.
Peter Wiedermann (47:09.909)
I mean, he was in the pool industry for a very long time. He knows the things like don't turn the valve handle when your pump's running. But he went, turned it back on and yeah, boom, this thing just, he said he's never seen anything like it. And I've seen photos in industry bulletins of people who have, you know, had their face cut open by a bit of flying MPV. It's, it's a serious thing.
Lee (47:32.902)
Yep.
Peter Wiedermann (47:35.393)
And A, I don't want me or my staff to go through that and get injured by an exploding piece of equipment, whatever it may be. And secondly, I don't really want that to happen to a customer. Firstly, for their own sakes. Secondly, because I don't need the litigation that's going to follow afterwards.
Lee (47:54.413)
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. No, completely. So I suppose.
Peter Wiedermann (47:56.029)
you service my pool and then the filter blew up.
Peter Wiedermann (48:02.501)
I'm getting very, what's the word, cynical, I guess, in my old age.
Lee (48:09.041)
cynical.
shane (48:12.139)
You're getting there, or? It's been there for a while.
Lee (48:13.537)
We met.
Peter Wiedermann (48:16.681)
more and more exponential growth.
Lee (48:16.721)
Patience is like...
Lee (48:21.157)
Patience is like hairlines, it stings with age.
shane (48:25.112)
and
Peter Wiedermann (48:26.321)
What did I hear the other day? I used to have a wave of hair but now it's just beach. I like that one.
shane (48:31.118)
Hehehehe
Lee (48:32.753)
That's a good one. That's a good one. So yeah, so I suppose we're coming to the end of our podcast. We need to look at, yeah, the importance of regular maintenance. It's about setting the expectations for the customer and preparing them for what's to come, not sticking your head in the sand when you see an issue. Identify it, verbalize it, communicate it with the client.
then it doesn't become, you don't turn a molehill into a mountain. Like none of us want that. The customer doesn't want that. So it's all about preventative maintenance. And so if you let the customer know, hey, we can address these small things to hopefully avoid or delay a big issue, then the customer show, you're showing the customer that you care.
And that's exactly what we want. We want them to know that we care about their pool, we care about them as a client, we've got their best interests at heart. So identifying these issues and keeping on top of them, addressing the small ones as we can, or preparing them for what's to come so that it's not a shock, I think makes...
makes a big thing and so and recording those things the regular routine repairs that we need to make or servicing of equipment like we're talking about the acid feeders getting them into your schedule and getting them scheduled so that one it creates future work for you which is great for you your bank balance but two it shows the customer that you really do you are caring for their pool you're looking after it you're providing service that's what we do we provide service.
And so we need to make sure that we are actually providing a service, not just go through the basics of testing the water and backing the pool. We're doing the extras. We're looking for the extra things. And a classic example of that is a leaking mechanical seal. So go into a plant room. You see that puddle under the pump. That's telling you there's a problem. Like let the client know, Hey, I've noticed you've got a slight leak from the pump. I'm not ignoring it.
Lee (50:43.125)
I'm going to come back and address that when we get a break in the traffic or when I come next month, I'll bring a service pump, swap it out so I can change the mechanical seal for you. Those sort of things. It really shows that you're providing a great level of customer service. And it gives you pride in your job because I think if you are like, if you're a service technician that constantly sticks your head in the sand and ignores these little problems, you're going to dig yourself a hole.
that you are going to fall into. And you either fall into that hole or you jump out of the industry before you fall into the hole or jump out of that job before you fall into the hole. We don't want that. We want you to stay. We want you to be happy. We want you to enjoy your job. So own it and manage those customer expectations and provide a great level of service that'll give you pride in your job and the service level that you deliver. So.
Peter Wiedermann (51:21.776)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (51:38.905)
And also it'll feed on itself. In other words, you do a great job for someone, they will tell their friends. They will jump on the Facebook community group. Like I've said many times, I don't pay for advertising. I do not advertise. I always ask a customer, how do you find out from me? And 97%, oh, you are recommended by such and such a person. That's a good way to have it. Because when...
Lee (51:41.682)
Mm.
Lee (51:45.733)
Yeah, there's nothing better.
Lee (51:52.965)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (52:08.023)
It's great for your self-esteem.
Peter Wiedermann (52:08.625)
you are recommended, it's great for your self-esteem, but when you're recommended, they already have a level of trust in what you do, because somebody they respect has said, this guy's good or this girl's good. It makes good sense commercially to go that extra mile, 100%.
Lee (52:29.593)
Yep, deliver great service. Yep, deliver great service and be proud of the service that you provide. So, yeah, it's a great note to end on, I suppose.
Peter Wiedermann (52:39.145)
of course Shane can barely get a word in edgeways with us two ranting on.
Lee (52:44.925)
Sorry, Shay.
shane (52:45.073)
That's alright. I'll have a beer next time with me.
Peter Wiedermann (52:53.936)
Anyway, thank you both. Thank you everyone out there for listening. Please, please send any topics you'd like discussed or any feedback to talkingpools at gmail.com and that will then go to the most appropriate host on the most appropriate weekly episode. Make sure you do listen to the other episodes each week as well. There have been some rip snorters lately.
shane (52:56.834)
Thank you.
Peter Wiedermann (53:18.761)
Do you reckon in America they know what the term RIP SNORTER means? Do you guys know what RIP SNORTER means by the look on your face?
shane (53:23.187)
I don't even know.
Lee (53:24.045)
Let's see. I was gonna say, let's see if they do.
Peter Wiedermann (53:30.129)
Bombard Rudy with emails. No, we should start a survey for that
Lee (53:35.103)
It'll show up on the Facebook page, I'm sure. Tell us what you think a RIP Snodder is.
Peter Wiedermann (53:37.498)
I'm sure it will. A ripped snorter.
Peter Wiedermann (53:44.177)
this week's assignment. Thank you all again. Thank you both again. You guys have a great week. Moo-roo.
Lee (53:46.021)
Yes.
shane (53:48.747)
See you later.
Lee (53:50.641)
Thanks guys, bye.
Create a two-paragraph introduction to a Talking Pools Podcast episode with the team from Australia and New Zealand (Peter, Lee, and Shane) based upon the transcript above
ChatGPT
ChatGPT
That was an interesting discussion about the importance of regular maintenance and customer communication in the pool service industry. If you have any specific questions or if there's a particular topic you'd like more information on, feel free to let me know!
You
3.5
User
Lee (25:17.125)
Yeah, absolutely. I think these things that we're talking about now, it's all about preparing the customer. It's managing their expectations. So we're identifying an issue, we're letting them know this needs rectifying now, or it's going to need rectifying soon. And it's like, it's just keeping them informed. It's communication. We come back to the good old communication word. So yeah, preparing the customer.
Peter Wiedermann (25:23.281)
Yeah, 100%.
shane (25:38.484)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (25:45.453)
setting their expectations. So yeah, but it's funny, like people don't think twice about booking a routines visit to the dentist to have a checkup and have plaque removed or whatever the case might be. I actually told my accountant one day that I'd rather go to the dentist than go to him. I can tell you my accountant was not.
Peter Wiedermann (25:59.065)
I do. I hate the dentist. It's bloody painful. Although there is happy gas, which is a plus.
Peter Wiedermann (26:13.085)
Hehehe
shane (26:13.666)
Hehe hehe
Lee (26:15.017)
impressed with that analogy. And the funny thing is his wife is actually the dental receptionist. That was even funnier. But...
shane (26:23.319)
Brilliant.
Peter Wiedermann (26:24.467)
Interesting dinner time conversation for them that night.
Lee (26:28.849)
said to him that at least at the dentist I get pain relief and I know how much it's going to cost me. So the accountant he actually he actually is well he will finish he finishes up at the end of this month funnily enough yeah with us selling our business coincided with him sort of taking long service leave and going into early retirement so
shane (26:35.978)
Is he snowing or a cone so mainly? Just a curiosity.
Lee (26:56.28)
It's timed very well for our business, so it's funny.
Peter Wiedermann (27:01.405)
That's why he, the reason he gives Lee for him stopping providing accounting services. I just think she, she offended him so badly. She, he thinks, nope, she can go to the bloody dentist. Let him do it, do her taxes. Hey.
Lee (27:16.957)
Oh, I hate paying tax, don't we all? Anyway, but yeah, we don't think twice about doing those sort of things. We put fuel in our car and I liken that to getting the water tested in our pool and vacuuming in a pool. We put fuel in our car, we check the oil, but it's we take our car in for servicing or we take our car in for major repairs.
So it's like, it's the stepping stones. Yes, testing your water, vacuuming the pool is your basic of basic maintenance. Just as putting fuel in the car makes it go. But then the next step up is doing that routine, periodic checks, inspections, servicing, freezing O-rings, those sort of things. I liken that to your car being serviced on a regular basis. What do we do at every?
15,000 kilometres, 10,000 kilometres, or every so many months you do that with your car. Now, the alternative is that your car breaks down in the middle of the road or in the middle of nowhere if you're in Australia, because there's lots of middles of nowhere here, and it costs you a shit-ton to repair. I liken that to a swimming pool. You do the preventative maintenance. Yes, it doesn't mean that you're not going to replace...
Peter Wiedermann (28:28.84)
Yes.
Lee (28:42.993)
do repairs to your car, but it's a lot more likely that they're going to be manageable and they're not going to hit the hip pocket as hard as they will. Everything fails because you haven't put oil in there or you haven't replaced a gasket or filter that needs to be replaced in your car. It's just like that with your pool and I don't know why people just don't understand it. Like you wouldn't put up with
dust coming out of your air conditioner. Like, if your air conditioning guy came in and said, oh, look, we'll just blow out your filter and we'll stick it back in, and you still had dust coming out of it, you'd go, hey, hang on, let's just replace it. Whereas your pool guy comes along and says, hey, we need to replace your filter element, we need to replace your filter media, oh no, it'll be fine.
It's strange, isn't it? How some people, like, yes, we've all got good customers that go, yeah, whatever you think needs doing, you do it, we trust you. Those customers we love. But you do get those ones that, yeah, just balk at everything, don't they?
Peter Wiedermann (29:45.061)
Mm.
shane (29:56.667)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (29:57.061)
And again, it looks fine to me. Well, I've been doing this a little bit longer than you. Doesn't look fine to me. I've seen this problem turn into a major issue. In particular, replacing squeeze tubes and chemical feed lines. The number of times I've gone to a customer's place and, oh, the acid pump isn't working, the parasitic pump. And you have a look at it. See that the squeeze tube's starting to perish quite badly. See that the...
Lee (30:11.435)
Oh yes, yes.
Peter Wiedermann (30:26.077)
uh... feeder tubes uh... you know brown or whatnot from staining and stiffen bristle uh... and i've had them where the corrosion with the acid leak through the squeeze tubes been that bad that the pump the motor itself for the pump is actually corroded out rusted out so i will get that's why i've been telling you it needs to be lubricated every depending on make and model squeeze you blue lubricate every three months squeeze you've been asking feature chemical
shane (30:43.421)
Mm.
Lee (30:45.165)
and they're quite costly.
shane (30:46.377)
Yeah.
Peter Wiedermann (30:55.721)
replace once a year. I know you don't want to spend the money but it will cost you a lot less to get this fixed and replace the entire peristaltic pump and everything else especially since that's sitting directly over where you keep your chlorine.
Lee (31:10.789)
So Pete, do you have a contact management system that allows you to say, schedule that routine maintenance?
Peter Wiedermann (31:17.673)
kind of. I make notes.
shane (31:21.996)
It's all up here.
Lee (31:22.654)
So like, well, that's the pro.
Peter Wiedermann (31:24.769)
No, no, I do make notes about it, but I don't have a formal CRM system for that. I probably should.
Lee (31:31.45)
No, and that's the hard thing. Like we know it's good practice to do it. We know it's something that we should do, but how do we make sure it gets done? That's really upping the ante on the customer service level that we're delivering to clients, which is fantastic because we're one, we're gonna make a sale, guaranteed sale every 12 months of the tubes and whatnot and the service work, but two,
Peter Wiedermann (31:35.826)
Hmm.
Lee (31:56.577)
we're doing that preventative maintenance for the client. We're managing their expectations if we let them know upfront that, hey, we're going to do this routinely for you every 12 months because this is what's going to happen if it doesn't. But then we actually need a way to schedule it. And so like some of us run computer programs that actually can schedule it and put an automatic reminder in for 12 months time, I suppose, just like we do in our mobile phones, we schedule appointments, we can do the same thing.
But the other thing that I'd actually thought about over the years before we put that sort of system in place was actually a little whiteboard or something in the shed to say when the filter media was last changed, when the peristaltic pumps were repaired or the tubing in the acid feed was replaced. Little things like that, just so that us as the service technician have that as a visual reminder. Now.
if it's not our business that's going back there all the time, that's maybe not information you want to share with the opposition. So, but a contact management system is certainly a great way to do it.
Peter Wiedermann (33:05.309)
Yeah, with the annual stuff, for me, the first service after Easter, which is typically where things are quieting down in our region. I mean, a few years ago, I remember it was still stinking hot in June, which is unheard of for us. I was building pools at the time. We're thinking, well, this summer, end of the bloody end, I want a day off.
shane (33:05.602)
God bless you.
Lee (33:09.093)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (33:17.435)
Yep.
Lee (33:23.069)
I'm going to go to bed.
Peter Wiedermann (33:29.745)
But yeah, straight after Easter is a good time as things start to wane. And that's also when you get people say, oh, look, I know the equipment's not working, but I don't wanna do it now. I'll just leave it till after Easter. Leave it till spring.
Lee (33:40.453)
leave it till summer. Yeah don't you love that one? Yeah yeah that's it. They think oh we don't need to spend the money now we'll spend it later. So that is a way of obviously trying to get them over the line for one creating work for you for winter but two getting those sort of jobs there that take up some time and a bit of a hassle through summer is actually to offer a
Lee (34:10.301)
20% off or maybe if you're doing a filter media change, you do instead of doing sand, you do glass at no extra. Like you work out what you wanna do. Every business is different as to what they're prepared to do but you wanna try and do something to encourage that work to come through. But winter is a great time to get those periodic things done because we do have the time to think about them and do them. So Shane, we talked earlier about
Peter Wiedermann (34:31.133)
Mm.
Lee (34:39.901)
filter media cleaning and degreasing and also filter media changes obviously. So we actually routinely and Peter you might be the same I don't know, we routinely did filter media cleans in winter. So it was something we did every winter with our mid-winter service. And it was just something that we did with our regular service clientele.
shane (34:41.197)
Mmm
shane (34:45.76)
Yes.
Lee (35:10.109)
It would automatically be done and they would be charged accordingly We did it at a good price for them because we were buying in bulk and we'd sell the chemical from our bulk stores So yeah, there was some good perceived value there for the client and it gave us some extra work to help out Guys get through winter. So is that something you do Peter?
shane (35:13.89)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (35:32.369)
Yeah, depends on the pool. Things like your filter degreasing. There are some which I do. I digress, you know, two, three, four times a year, depending on the pool, depending how much organics get in, depending if the customers listen when I tell them leave at 15 minutes between putting sunscreen on your skin, as in sun lotion, not cyanurite, that would be bad. You know, put on, wait 15 minutes before you get in the pool so it can be absorbed and doesn't end up in your filter. And I don't mean 14 and a half. I don't mean 14 and three quarters.
Lee (35:41.493)
Okay, yes, cartridge filters and yes.
Lee (35:51.343)
Yes.
Peter Wiedermann (36:02.353)
15 minutes. That's how I tell them. Because I know if you tell them 15 minutes and the kids are nagging, there's every chance I say, oh yeah, 10 minutes is enough. When I tell them 15 minutes and they say, oh well 10 do, for whatever it may be, you know, stay out of the pool for an hour. Oh, can we go in half an hour? I say, okay, stay out of the pool for four hours. And I say, oh, but you just said an hour. I said, yeah, but you want to negotiate and that's not a game I play.
Lee (36:04.87)
Yeah.
shane (36:26.692)
See you.
Peter Wiedermann (36:31.293)
This is about your kids' health and safety. I'm blunt. Well, it's your kids' health and safety. Yeah, they might nag for an extra five minutes or hour or whatever. Well, it's better than having them come down with some exotic disease from your pool water because you haven't allowed the treatment to do its thing. Or if I've just added a potent chemical, chemical injury, something like that.
Lee (36:34.332)
Yep.
shane (36:35.463)
It's business.
shane (36:39.709)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (37:01.225)
The same goes when there's algae in the water. Look, don't swim. There's algae in the water. Oh, but the water's clear. Where there's algae, there's bacteria. Customers need to listen to us. And yeah, follow up with a text message. Stick it on the invoice. Make it a separate email if you like. The invoice is a good one, because it goes straight from the accounting software and its permanent record. And that's where we also put things like these maintenance.
your squeeze tube needs replacing, next service, your filter will be degreased, things like that. And the filter will be degreased, this will mean the pool will be inoperative for 24 hours or whatever the case may be, depending which type I use. So, yeah, I do like to schedule these things in, sometimes the pool and its surrounds and the people using it do add extra variables to the frequency.
Lee (37:56.729)
Yeah.
Peter Wiedermann (37:57.862)
But yeah, if they say, I don't want this done, look, I can't help you. I can do the job. Another thing I say, I'll do the job properly or not at all. And if it comes to them saying, Oh, I might find someone else will do it the way I want by all means, just don't consider it a properly done job.
Lee (38:19.077)
Yeah, absolutely band-aid solutions are never a good thing If you want a job done properly do it properly
Peter Wiedermann (38:24.559)
Mm-hmm.
Peter Wiedermann (38:28.449)
I had one guy, he rang me, this would have been easily two, three years ago, he rang me up and said, oh, I want the sand in my filter changed. I said, okay. He said, but I want the existing gravel kept.
shane (38:40.046)
Thank you.
Peter Wiedermann (38:41.645)
I said, how old is that media? If you use gravel in the bottom of it, that that's decades old.
Lee (38:45.763)
Yeah.
as I've been used for a long time.
Peter Wiedermann (38:50.837)
No, that's it. Not in our part of the world anyway. And I said, look, when I replace media in a filter, I empty it completely, replace the standpipe, hub and laterals, service or replace the multi-port valve, and of course, have new media in there. That's the way to do it properly. And he said, no, I just want sand, not this fancy glass rubbish he called it. I just want sand in, but I want to keep the existing gravel. I said, sorry, can't help.
Lee (38:54.138)
No.
Peter Wiedermann (39:20.653)
He got so annoyed. He got quite aggressive on the phone. I said, look, I'll do it properly or not at all. If you want it done half-assed to save 50 bucks on a couple of bags of coarse-grade media, sorry, then look, it's not going to work. It's just not a good idea. But he's to his own.
shane (39:25.174)
Good night.
Lee (39:29.478)
week.
Lee (39:45.481)
We actually had an agreement, I suppose you'd call it, or acknowledgement that people used to sign when we do sand changes and it was an old filter and they wouldn't replace the laterals because you'd get people that would say, look, you actually need a new filter. Your filter's that old, you need a new filter now. And they'd go, no, I can't afford it. Or no, this one will be fine. You go through those arguments.
Peter Wiedermann (40:05.125)
Mm.
Lee (40:13.989)
But the thing is, if that filter then dumps all that media that you've just put into that filter, of course they're gonna blame you. So you need to try and eliminate that risk. So we actually had an agreement that stated, you've asked us to undertake a filter media change, you acknowledge that our recommendation has been to replace the filter. Given the age of the filter, our recommendation is to replace it. You have...
decided to not accept that advice, and you've asked us to undertake a filter media change, and you take all responsibility in the event that it's, yeah, something happens. And very quickly people would go, no, I'm not signing that, I'll buy a new, like I'll take a new filter. So it actually helped get them across the line. But then in the case of where it did, and yes, we did actually have one.
where that happened, they actually had to then pay for the sand to be removed from their pool and then the filter replaced and go through the same process again and they still had to pay for the original job. So it was, yeah, it's like you can give them all the advice in the world but some people are just adamant that they know better despite the fact that we're competing with them.
20 plus years experience in the industry, they still think that they're right. And look, is the customer always right? Well, we need to let them think that they, that it's their choice. I always used to say to people, it's your pool, it's your choice. If you ask me what I'd do, I'd choose something else, but your pool, your choice. Yeah, so it's, give them the options.
Peter Wiedermann (41:47.175)
No.
shane (41:48.824)
Thank you.
Peter Wiedermann (41:49.481)
tact is pivotal.
shane (41:59.821)
Yep.
shane (42:04.086)
Just out of curiosity, in your part of the world, when you replace, when you do a media change, you replace the medium, is it common practice over there to write maybe put a date on the sticky label and stick it to the filter or mark it on the side of the pump shed or anything? It's something that doesn't seem to be a common thing over here, but it's something that I've implemented.
Lee (42:09.222)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (42:24.761)
Yes, we have. Yeah, we did do that. We did do that.
shane (42:33.934)
for all our business themselves.
Lee (42:35.341)
Yeah. We used to write it on the filter bowl with a black sharpie. If it was, if it was a bowl that was smooth, like, because obviously a lot of them are um, fiberglass and they're spun so they're um, not smooth on the exterior. Um, so yeah, making a note somewhere is always a good thing, but it's like, well what do you put the note on? If you put it on a sticker, is it something that's going to fade? If you write it on the bowl like we did, is it something that's going to fade?
shane (42:39.266)
Hmm.
Lee (43:05.081)
Um, yeah, that's where it's hard. Unfortunately for us, the software program we had, we could put that information in. But the thing is it's not always the easiest information to draw out. So you can put it in the file, but how do you then actually identify all the customers that have had a sand change in the last X years or who hasn't had a sand change in the X years and it's like anything, the data is only as good as the information you put in.
shane (43:12.086)
Yeah.
Lee (43:35.241)
and then the ability of the system to spit it out at you is another thing. But there are now some good programs that do that sort of stuff.
Peter Wiedermann (43:40.253)
Hmm. Media.
Peter Wiedermann (43:45.641)
Yeah, media changes, the frequency of media changes or replacement elements in cartridge filters, so much that depends on again, usage of the pool, pool surrounds, I have one customer, a filter element, cartridge filter element will last them six months tops. I've got others with, I'll get a year and a half, two years out of it. Others a lot longer, but they should have replaced them a very long time ago. Had one of those yesterday, a first time.
Lee (43:57.789)
absolutely.
Peter Wiedermann (44:15.105)
I actually gave him an instruction session.
early last week. And I said, look, your filter element's going to need replacing. It's gone, it's starting to fray. You can see the greasy buildup inside. And I said, this, you can try degreasing, but frankly you're up for a new element. So he called me out there yesterday saying, oh, the pump's making a funny noise. I've never seen this before. I started the pump up, the filter itself
making this screaming noise. Pressure on the pressure gauge shot right up to uh... what are we? 14 psi, this was about 30 psi which is about...
getting my measurements mixed up here. Somewhere around the 200 odd kilopascals. So double what it should be. That was high. No flow worth speaking of, but within about three seconds I had it turned off. Pulled the element out, reassembled the lid on the filter, worked fine. I said look it's not your pump, that's your filter doing something I've never before seen a filter do. So yeah got him a new
shane (45:10.518)
Wow.
Peter Wiedermann (45:33.181)
Filter element works fine. There's a reason that we encourage, that we recommend this stuff to people and it's not just so we make a sale. It's because I don't want you to keep calling me out here every time you have least little issue for something that could have been fixed when I told you at first.
Lee (45:52.589)
It's like we backwash a filter to avoid the pressure building up in the filter and potentially with the weaker filters leaking or exploding or Whatever the case may be so Yeah, actually sort of like they don't seem to understand that when we say hey your filter needs replacing one Your water quality is going to be shit But to you potentially you could be causing problems for your filter, which actually might be quite
Peter Wiedermann (46:06.535)
Hmm.
Lee (46:21.893)
salvageable and reusable if you just change the media in it. But if you don't change the media in it, you're risking the integrity of that filter bowl and that filter head. So it's all about prevention and educating the customer and sharing that information with them.
Peter Wiedermann (46:41.701)
Another one on that I always look at, when there's metal fixings, for example, a multi-port valve, two parts of which are held together with little nuts and bolts, I always check them for corrosion. Because I've seen the results of them corroding, pump starts up, pressure builds in the filter, that NPV can blow into pieces. And you get nuts and bolts and bits of plastic flying everywhere. Happened on my brother's pull.
Lee (46:52.47)
I guess.
Peter Wiedermann (47:09.909)
I mean, he was in the pool industry for a very long time. He knows the things like don't turn the valve handle when your pump's running. But he went, turned it back on and yeah, boom, this thing just, he said he's never seen anything like it. And I've seen photos in industry bulletins of people who have, you know, had their face cut open by a bit of flying MPV. It's, it's a serious thing.
Lee (47:32.902)
Yep.
Peter Wiedermann (47:35.393)
And A, I don't want me or my staff to go through that and get injured by an exploding piece of equipment, whatever it may be. And secondly, I don't really want that to happen to a customer. Firstly, for their own sakes. Secondly, because I don't need the litigation that's going to follow afterwards.
Lee (47:54.413)
Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. No, completely. So I suppose.
Peter Wiedermann (47:56.029)
you service my pool and then the filter blew up.
Peter Wiedermann (48:02.501)
I'm getting very, what's the word, cynical, I guess, in my old age.
Lee (48:09.041)
cynical.
shane (48:12.139)
You're getting there, or? It's been there for a while.
Lee (48:13.537)
We met.
Peter Wiedermann (48:16.681)
more and more exponential growth.
Lee (48:16.721)
Patience is like...
Lee (48:21.157)
Patience is like hairlines, it stings with age.
shane (48:25.112)
and
Peter Wiedermann (48:26.321)
What did I hear the other day? I used to have a wave of hair but now it's just beach. I like that one.
shane (48:31.118)
Hehehehe
Lee (48:32.753)
That's a good one. That's a good one. So yeah, so I suppose we're coming to the end of our podcast. We need to look at, yeah, the importance of regular maintenance. It's about setting the expectations for the customer and preparing them for what's to come, not sticking your head in the sand when you see an issue. Identify it, verbalize it, communicate it with the client.
then it doesn't become, you don't turn a molehill into a mountain. Like none of us want that. The customer doesn't want that. So it's all about preventative maintenance. And so if you let the customer know, hey, we can address these small things to hopefully avoid or delay a big issue, then the customer show, you're showing the customer that you care.
And that's exactly what we want. We want them to know that we care about their pool, we care about them as a client, we've got their best interests at heart. So identifying these issues and keeping on top of them, addressing the small ones as we can, or preparing them for what's to come so that it's not a shock, I think makes...
makes a big thing and so and recording those things the regular routine repairs that we need to make or servicing of equipment like we're talking about the acid feeders getting them into your schedule and getting them scheduled so that one it creates future work for you which is great for you your bank balance but two it shows the customer that you really do you are caring for their pool you're looking after it you're providing service that's what we do we provide service.
And so we need to make sure that we are actually providing a service, not just go through the basics of testing the water and backing the pool. We're doing the extras. We're looking for the extra things. And a classic example of that is a leaking mechanical seal. So go into a plant room. You see that puddle under the pump. That's telling you there's a problem. Like let the client know, Hey, I've noticed you've got a slight leak from the pump. I'm not ignoring it.
Lee (50:43.125)
I'm going to come back and address that when we get a break in the traffic or when I come next month, I'll bring a service pump, swap it out so I can change the mechanical seal for you. Those sort of things. It really shows that you're providing a great level of customer service. And it gives you pride in your job because I think if you are like, if you're a service technician that constantly sticks your head in the sand and ignores these little problems, you're going to dig yourself a hole.
that you are going to fall into. And you either fall into that hole or you jump out of the industry before you fall into the hole or jump out of that job before you fall into the hole. We don't want that. We want you to stay. We want you to be happy. We want you to enjoy your job. So own it and manage those customer expectations and provide a great level of service that'll give you pride in your job and the service level that you deliver. So.
Peter Wiedermann (51:21.776)
Mm.
Peter Wiedermann (51:38.905)
And also it'll feed on itself. In other words, you do a great job for someone, they will tell their friends. They will jump on the Facebook community group. Like I've said many times, I don't pay for advertising. I do not advertise. I always ask a customer, how do you find out from me? And 97%, oh, you are recommended by such and such a person. That's a good way to have it. Because when...
Lee (51:41.682)
Mm.
Lee (51:45.733)
Yeah, there's nothing better.
Lee (51:52.965)
Mm-hmm.
Lee (52:08.023)
It's great for your self-esteem.
Peter Wiedermann (52:08.625)
you are recommended, it's great for your self-esteem, but when you're recommended, they already have a level of trust in what you do, because somebody they respect has said, this guy's good or this girl's good. It makes good sense commercially to go that extra mile, 100%.
Lee (52:29.593)
Yep, deliver great service. Yep, deliver great service and be proud of the service that you provide. So, yeah, it's a great note to end on, I suppose.
Peter Wiedermann (52:39.145)
of course Shane can barely get a word in edgeways with us two ranting on.
Lee (52:44.925)
Sorry, Shay.
shane (52:45.073)
That's alright. I'll have a beer next time with me.
Peter Wiedermann (52:53.936)
Anyway, thank you both. Thank you everyone out there for listening. Please, please send any topics you'd like discussed or any feedback to talkingpools at gmail.com and that will then go to the most appropriate host on the most appropriate weekly episode. Make sure you do listen to the other episodes each week as well. There have been some rip snorters lately.
shane (52:56.834)
Thank you.
Peter Wiedermann (53:18.761)
Do you reckon in America they know what the term RIP SNORTER means? Do you guys know what RIP SNORTER means by the look on your face?
shane (53:23.187)
I don't even know.
Lee (53:24.045)
Let's see. I was gonna say, let's see if they do.
Peter Wiedermann (53:30.129)
Bombard Rudy with emails. No, we should start a survey for that
Lee (53:35.103)
It'll show up on the Facebook page, I'm sure. Tell us what you think a RIP Snodder is.
Peter Wiedermann (53:37.498)
I'm sure it will. A ripped snorter.
Peter Wiedermann (53:44.177)
this week's assignment. Thank you all again. Thank you both again. You guys have a great week. Moo-roo.
Lee (53:46.021)
Yes.
shane (53:48.747)
See you later.
Lee (53:50.641)
Thanks guys, bye.