It appears every day some new technology comes into being, and pool service companies owners bemoan the creation of this new technology and the advancements for the industry. This is nothing new. This has been happening as far back as I can remember, and this way of thinking is not specific to the pool service and repair industry.
When I was a kid growing up in Tennessee. I would sit around the General Store and listen to the old-timers tell stories about the past. After telling their stories, they would continue with, “The world is falling apart. The world is changing too quickly. The good old days are gone;” and they were right.
The good old days for these good old boys were disappearing; just as the past and a way of life is disappearing for our generation. For some, change is anticipated and welcomed. For others, change is a deterioration of values and the end of a wonderful life. Both are right, and both are wrong.
Change is good or bad only in the eye of the beholder.
When automatic pool cleaners were first introduced, pool service techs would call and tell me how the sky was falling. It did not fall. As a matter of fact, automatic pool cleaners have made cleaning a pool faster and easier for the pool tech. We actually make more money because of automatic pool cleaners. I could go on all day with these examples; but suffice to say, some saw the cleaners as good, and others say the cleaners as bad for business. The same holds true with nearly all technology. The truth is, you just need to find a way to implement the new technology. You need to find a way to make the new technology work for your company.
Pool Routes Business: Cutting Expenses
There is a fairly new product call pHin. I do not have unlimited space, so I will be brief. pHin is a way to chemically treat your swimming pool. You do not need a pool tech to test your chemicals. The testing is performed by a sensor. When the chemical readings fall below optimum, you receive an email to place into your pool different packs of chemicals. If you are a chemical company, this would sound ominous. Even for full-service companies, this could seem like a game changer. However, instead of looking at all the bad ways this product could change the industry, think about how you could assimilate this product into your company.
Let us say, for the sake of argument, you embrace this product. How could this product work for your company: 1) Employees no longer steal from your company. 2) Employees would not be wasting chemicals by unnecessarily adding chemicals to an already balanced pool. 3) If handled properly, pools should remain algae free. I could go on if I had more space.
Your customers might find it necessary to pay a little more in monthly service fees; but how many of your customers would pay a little more to be assured their pools would be algae free?
Pool Routes Business: Cutting Expenses
This is just one product and some suggestions on how this new product could be assimilated into your company. This is what I have done most of my life, and I never saw the sky falling. I did, however, see a brighter future for the pool service industry. I see an even brighter future ahead.
