Buchmyer's Pools Inc

8/29/2014I am Kriste*. B[redacted], Vice President of Buchmyer’s Pools, Inc.
Mrs. Susie B[redacted] is currently out of the office, so on her behalf, I will respond to your complaint, I certainly do apologize that we didn’t respond to your first attempt to contact us. The email...

you have sent this to is [email protected] and is not getting to the owners of the company. In the future, if you would kindly use either my direct email address [redacted] or Susie's direct address of [redacted] it would be best. Our Salesman check the [email protected] as that is where our sales leads are forwarded to. Again, I do apologize we didn't respond to this sooner.I am familiar with the customer whom filed this complaint and his dissatisfaction with our company. First I will present all of the facts to you that are supported with paperwork and computer generated dates. I will then conclude with my overall thoughts/experience in serving this customer.
Here are the details of this customer and the paper trail I can provide you that are truthful facts and notable to be disputed:
The original contract that was signed on 05/31/2007 explains the warranties The warranties on the products are offered by the manufacturer. The warranty provided by Buchmyer's Pools is a workmanship warranty that we have properly installed the products the customer is purchasing; the only warranty offered by Buchmyers is the 2 year workmanship warranty. That paperwork signed by the customer is attached and marked #1—the pertaining Warranty information is on page two of the terms and conditions.
The liner warranty is not 35 years, his actual pool warranty was 35 years. His liner warranty was for 25 years and it was a pro-rated warranty, Please find a copy of his warranty (attached and marked #2) that was provided by the manufacturer. It states that on year seven, the customer will be responsible to pay for 60% of the liner. The liner itself is provided to the customer and may be purchased at the discount offered. The warranty does not cover labor or any other materials to refurbish the pool, as it states.
The estimate to look at his pool liner was created on 07/12/2014-attached #3. This is the only known date I have as to when this request transaction was started.
This transaction number of [redacted] is the estimate which then gets converted into a contract once the customer agrees they wish for us to do the work. His contract with the same transaction number will show you the date it was created –attached #4
You may wish to note that the terms and conditions have changed a little bit over the past 7 years, but the warranty portion on the contract signed for on 07/25/2014 is exactly the same warranty received 7 years ago attached #5
The date that he signed and gave a deposit on the contract was 07/25/2014, Attached #6
As part of our contract that was signed on 7/25/2014 were the terms and conditions. The first portion concerns the construction dates. The first date we indicated we would be able to install the liner would have been on August 13th. This page was initial by the customer. Attached #7
He contacted us on August 13th and cancelled his contract. We gave him a full refund on August 14th minus the special order lines of $360.00, Attached #8
We kept $360,00 for the special order liner. This is our policy as noted on our terms and conditions (attachment #7) that the customer signed on 07/25/2014
His liner is here and it is paid for. He may pick it up at his earliest convenience, or we are willing to drop it off for him. The liner was special made for his exact pool depth and in the print that he chose. The liner print he chose for us to order was “greystone” as noted on attachment #4 at the top.
Below is what I can add concerning this complaint.
I am aware that we did not come to our first scheduled appointment, Mr. Buchmyers' assistant Steph was asked to call the customer to reschedule the appointment. She cannot remember what exactly came up and why Mr. Buchmyer couldn't keep the appointment,Mr. Buchmyer admits to not seeing the split seam on his first visit to the pool. When a liner estimate is routinely performed, we check the exterior walls to make sure they are sound, we measure the pool for exact measurement so that we quote properly and we look at the pool bottom to see how much re-work needs to be done again to estimate the job properly. We do not claim to look over the entire liner surface since the customer is requesting to have the liner replaced. If a service call would have been requested to locate a hole then yes we look over the whole liner surface. It is unfortunate that the split seam was behind his ladder and Mr. Buchmyer did not see it. We were not made aware that is where we needed to be looking.
It was not until Mr. Buchmyer had given the customer our original quote of $1871.00, that the customer informed him of a liner defect. Mr. Buchmyer went back out and confirmed that the liner had a warranty claim. He processed the claim with the liner manufacturer and the discount was determined. The new quote of $1313.00 was given and accepted. The customer came into sign his contract.
In summary. The estimate began on Saturday 07/12/2014—we scheduled and changed the appointment with the customer. We visited his property and looked over the pool, no one was home to point out the liner defect. We left him a message to call us back to give him the quote. He called back and stated there was a defect, we went out a Second time and looked behind the ladder confirmed a warranty issue. Processed a warranty claim, adjusted the quote and typed up his contract on Wednesday 07/23/2014. This was one and a halfweeks total. I do not agree with the customer that we wasted any time.
The customer called less than two weeks after signing his contract. I remember this clearly because I personally took this call and was very surprised that he would be calling already, less than two weeks after giving us his deposit to proceed with a liner order. Liners typically take 2-3 weeks upon order placement before we can pick them up. The nature of the call was that he demanded his liner be installed on August 5th. He told me that if we did not install his liner on or before August 5th, that he would cancel his contract. As I was telling him when we planned to install the liner he hung up on me,
After the call ended, I did call the liner manufacturer to check on the status, I was planning to install it if it was ready. The liner was not ready, they told me the liner was scheduled to be made on August 12th and we had installation penciled in for August 13th (weather permitting). As it turned out, the week of his job, we had a rain day and it was moved to August 14th.
On August 13th, the customer called and Cancelled his contract. I processed the invoice refund on 08/14/2014 and Mrs. Buchmyer printed the refund check for a total reimbursement (minus his special order) it went in the mail on August 19th. I do not understand why the customer is claiming that we have not refunded his money.
It is unfortunate that the customers original liner had a defect. I do sympathize, it’s why our company processed the warranty claim for the customer, to help out as much as we can. The liner itself was $ 619.99, the warranty stated that he need to pay for 60% of that cost, we did a little better than that for him. The discount should have been $371,99, we sold him the liner for $360.00. And we actually discounted our job as well. The original quote of $1871.00-360.00=$1511.00. We did a little better than that and gave him an additional $200.00 off making his contract $1313.00. I couldn't change the fact that the liner had a defect, all I could do was offer him as much of a discount as we could give to him. We are not willing to install the liner at no charge. We did not make the liner or create the defect.
I will say that the course of this transaction was difficult. The customer was very angry and rightfully So, his liner has a defect. We did the best that we could for him. It was personally difficult for me to get yelled at, cursed at and hung up on. However, I did the fight thing as a business owner and I did try and get the liner installed sooner, it was not yet manufactured. I was not able to meet his demands, I personally think his detmands were unfair, We gave him honest and good dates from the very start and the dates were in writing, he could have questioned those dates and/or decided not to proceed with the work before he ever gave us one penny. I feel that our company followed this job through from the start to the end in the appropriate manner.
I am certainly open to your thoughts on how or what Buchmyer's Pools, Inc could have done differently.Please let me know if you need anything further from me and I certainly appreciate you taking the time to review this incident,Regards,Kriste*. B

Review: Buchmyer pools installed our pool iner 4 years ago. We have always closed our pool ourselves but last fall (2012) we purchased a new sand filter and since we did not ever close a pool with this kind of filter we hired Buchmeyer to close it for us. When spring of 2013 came around and it was time to open our pool, we again hired Buchmeyer to open our pool due to not knowing how to start up the new sand filter. When I arrived home the day of the opening of the pool my liner on one of the long walls of the pool was separating from the lip of the pool and I had wrinkles in my deep and and some in the swallow end. I immedialetly called Buchmyer Pools and received no satisfaction. Upon calling the numerour times about our wrinkles in our liner the owner ([redacted] Buchmyer) came out and said that the reason we had wrinkles is due to our water and the in-balance of chemicals in it. I understand that this can be a cause but when they closed the pool without wrinkles and then opened it with the wrinkles they should fix the problem.Desired Settlement: I would like to recived a new liner installed by Buchmeyer pools since in the 15 years we closed our pool and we never had this probelm. The first year we hired Buckmyer to close and open our pool the liner is wrinkled.

Business

Response:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: [redacted] Buchmyer <[redacted]>

Date: Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 6:42 PM

Subject: Response to Complaint ID# [redacted]

To: [email protected]

Cc: [redacted] Buchmyer <[redacted]>

Attached please find my response to complaint ID# [redacted]

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at ###-###-#### or [redacted].

Could you please confirm receipt of this to my email address listed above.

Regards,

[redacted] Buchmyer

Buchmyer’s Pools, Inc

August 27, 2013

Whom It May Concern:

In response to the above referenced complaint, I have attached documents in 3 categories as follows:

1) The letter dated July 23, 2013 we sent to the [redacted] after [redacted] "[redacted]" Buchmyer looked at the pool liner on July 22, 2013 along with the water analysis results from the sample we collected on that day. I have marked the readings on our water analysis that are of great concern. I also want to point out that [redacted] expressed his concern in his letter regarding the possibility of damage to the pump and motor they purchased from us in 2012. While the customer may not agree nor be pleased with our determination that the damage is due to improper water chemistry, we do not wish to see further damage occur that would result in additional costs to the [redacted]. We also did offer to discuss a goodwill discount to the [redacted] if they decided to replace the damaged liner during our slower month of August.

Also please note: Our software program tracks all purchases our customers make in our store. Our water analysis program also tracks all water tests performed for our customers. We have never had a water test or the purchase of any chemicals from the [redacted] since the installation of their new liner in 2009.

I have also enclosed a copy of the Invoice for the [redacted] liner in 2009 as I am somewhat confused by the Purchase price listed in the complaint of $5000. Their liner replacement cost was $2641.98.

2) Copies of both our on line Inground Pool Service Agreement for Fall, which would have been completed by the [redacted], as well as our Pool Closing Confirmation, which would have been mailed to the [redacted]. I have indicated on both of these our notation that it is the responsibility of the customer to have their water analyzed and balanced prior to closing.

3) I have also included a few of many documentations/publications available showing the effects of improper water balance to vinyl liners (as well as equipment).

While I sympathize with **. and [redacted]. [redacted], I maintain that the wrinkles in their liner are due to improper chemical balance; most specifically pH and alkalinity. We open more than 550 pools each Spring and close more than 650 pools each Fall. This is a large part of our service business every year, as it is with most pool companies. It is rather absurd to think that these services would be performed by pool professionals if they resulted in damaged liners.

I trust that the supporting documents I have provided sufficiently answer the concerns expressed by **. and [redacted]. [redacted]. If I can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

In closing, I'd like to state that Buchmyer's Pools, Inc. has been in business over 30 years, since 1981, and are very proud to have an excellent reputation as a pool professional. We are experienced, employ a wonderful staff and constantly are attending conferences and training to continue to offer the best products and services for our customers.

Regards,

Review: Our pool liner developed leaks after 6 years (very early on in the life of the pool, and we have a 35 year warranty). Buchmeyers employees first wasted our time by originally not even showing up to look at the pool on the scheduled date, then showing up on a rescheduled visit but only giving it a cursory glance and MISSING the tear. Finally on a 3rd visit, the tech actually looked around the whole pool and admitted that the damage was covered under warranty, but they still insisted on charging us for it (they offered a minimal discount). The warranty is crafted in such a way that whatever the damage, Buchmeyers can deny honoring it. They further wasted our time by misleading us about when we could expect the tech to come repair it, and added insult to injury by being terribly rude and unapologetic about *their* disorganization with regard to scheduling and ordering the liner. They've lied to us about when someone would be here, they've failed to even identify the problem and order the liner in a reasonable time frame even though we'd already paid them. After dealing with this vendor several times, they are dismissive, uncooperative, and have no regard for customers' time and money. We no longer want to deal with them, and have asked for a refund, which they are refusing.Desired Settlement: We either want the liner replaced and installed at no charge, in a timely manner, or a full refund.

Business

Response:

8/29/2014I am Kriste*. B[redacted], Vice President of Buchmyer’s Pools, Inc.Mrs. Susie B[redacted] is currently out of the office, so on her behalf, I will respond to your complaint, I certainly do apologize that we didn’t respond to your first attempt to contact us. The email you have sent this to is [email protected] and is not getting to the owners of the company. In the future, if you would kindly use either my direct email address [redacted] or Susie's direct address of [redacted] it would be best. Our Salesman check the [email protected] as that is where our sales leads are forwarded to. Again, I do apologize we didn't respond to this sooner.I am familiar with the customer whom filed this complaint and his dissatisfaction with our company. First I will present all of the facts to you that are supported with paperwork and computer generated dates. I will then conclude with my overall thoughts/experience in serving this customer.Here are the details of this customer and the paper trail I can provide you that are truthful facts and notable to be disputed:The original contract that was signed on 05/31/2007 explains the warranties The warranties on the products are offered by the manufacturer. The warranty provided by Buchmyer's Pools is a workmanship warranty that we have properly installed the products the customer is purchasing; the only warranty offered by Buchmyers is the 2 year workmanship warranty. That paperwork signed by the customer is attached and marked #1—the pertaining Warranty information is on page two of the terms and conditions. The liner warranty is not 35 years, his actual pool warranty was 35 years. His liner warranty was for 25 years and it was a pro-rated warranty, Please find a copy of his warranty (attached and marked #2) that was provided by the manufacturer. It states that on year seven, the customer will be responsible to pay for 60% of the liner. The liner itself is provided to the customer and may be purchased at the discount offered. The warranty does not cover labor or any other materials to refurbish the pool, as it states.The estimate to look at his pool liner was created on 07/12/2014-attached #3. This is the only known date I have as to when this request transaction was started.This transaction number of [redacted] is the estimate which then gets converted into a contract once the customer agrees they wish for us to do the work. His contract with the same transaction number will show you the date it was created –attached #4You may wish to note that the terms and conditions have changed a little bit over the past 7 years, but the warranty portion on the contract signed for on 07/25/2014 is exactly the same warranty received 7 years ago attached #5The date that he signed and gave a deposit on the contract was 07/25/2014, Attached #6As part of our contract that was signed on 7/25/2014 were the terms and conditions. The first portion concerns the construction dates. The first date we indicated we would be able to install the liner would have been on August 13th. This page was initial by the customer. Attached #7He contacted us on August 13th and cancelled his contract. We gave him a full refund on August 14th minus the special order lines of $360.00, Attached #8We kept $360,00 for the special order liner. This is our policy as noted on our terms and conditions (attachment #7) that the customer signed on 07/25/2014His liner is here and it is paid for. He may pick it up at his earliest convenience, or we are willing to drop it off for him. The liner was special made for his exact pool depth and in the print that he chose. The liner print he chose for us to order was “greystone” as noted on attachment #4 at the top.Below is what I can add concerning this complaint.I am aware that we did not come to our first scheduled appointment, Mr. Buchmyers' assistant Steph was asked to call the customer to reschedule the appointment. She cannot remember what exactly came up and why Mr. Buchmyer couldn't keep the appointment,Mr. Buchmyer admits to not seeing the split seam on his first visit to the pool. When a liner estimate is routinely performed, we check the exterior walls to make sure they are sound, we measure the pool for exact measurement so that we quote properly and we look at the pool bottom to see how much re-work needs to be done again to estimate the job properly. We do not claim to look over the entire liner surface since the customer is requesting to have the liner replaced. If a service call would have been requested to locate a hole then yes we look over the whole liner surface. It is unfortunate that the split seam was behind his ladder and Mr. Buchmyer did not see it. We were not made aware that is where we needed to be looking.It was not until Mr. Buchmyer had given the customer our original quote of $1871.00, that the customer informed him of a liner defect. Mr. Buchmyer went back out and confirmed that the liner had a warranty claim. He processed the claim with the liner manufacturer and the discount was determined. The new quote of $1313.00 was given and accepted. The customer came into sign his contract.In summary. The estimate began on Saturday 07/12/2014—we scheduled and changed the appointment with the customer. We visited his property and looked over the pool, no one was home to point out the liner defect. We left him a message to call us back to give him the quote. He called back and stated there was a defect, we went out a Second time and looked behind the ladder confirmed a warranty issue. Processed a warranty claim, adjusted the quote and typed up his contract on Wednesday 07/23/2014. This was one and a halfweeks total. I do not agree with the customer that we wasted any time.The customer called less than two weeks after signing his contract. I remember this clearly because I personally took this call and was very surprised that he would be calling already, less than two weeks after giving us his deposit to proceed with a liner order. Liners typically take 2-3 weeks upon order placement before we can pick them up. The nature of the call was that he demanded his liner be installed on August 5th. He told me that if we did not install his liner on or before August 5th, that he would cancel his contract. As I was telling him when we planned to install the liner he hung up on me,After the call ended, I did call the liner manufacturer to check on the status, I was planning to install it if it was ready. The liner was not ready, they told me the liner was scheduled to be made on August 12th and we had installation penciled in for August 13th (weather permitting). As it turned out, the week of his job, we had a rain day and it was moved to August 14th.On August 13th, the customer called and Cancelled his contract. I processed the invoice refund on 08/14/2014 and Mrs. Buchmyer printed the refund check for a total reimbursement (minus his special order) it went in the mail on August 19th. I do not understand why the customer is claiming that we have not refunded his money.It is unfortunate that the customers original liner had a defect. I do sympathize, it’s why our company processed the warranty claim for the customer, to help out as much as we can. The liner itself was $ 619.99, the warranty stated that he need to pay for 60% of that cost, we did a little better than that for him. The discount should have been $371,99, we sold him the liner for $360.00. And we actually discounted our job as well. The original quote of $1871.00-360.00=$1511.00. We did a little better than that and gave him an additional $200.00 off making his contract $1313.00. I couldn't change the fact that the liner had a defect, all I could do was offer him as much of a discount as we could give to him. We are not willing to install the liner at no charge. We did not make the liner or create the defect.I will say that the course of this transaction was difficult. The customer was very angry and rightfully So, his liner has a defect. We did the best that we could for him. It was personally difficult for me to get yelled at, cursed at and hung up on. However, I did the fight thing as a business owner and I did try and get the liner installed sooner, it was not yet manufactured. I was not able to meet his demands, I personally think his detmands were unfair, We gave him honest and good dates from the very start and the dates were in writing, he could have questioned those dates and/or decided not to proceed with the work before he ever gave us one penny. I feel that our company followed this job through from the start to the end in the appropriate manner.I am certainly open to your thoughts on how or what Buchmyer's Pools, Inc could have done differently.Please let me know if you need anything further from me and I certainly appreciate you taking the time to review this incident,Regards,Kriste*. B