Quality vs. Quantity

(Oh, How I Hate the Term "Pool Boy")

By J.B. Smith, CPO Advisory Council

At the outset of this article, I hope anyone and everyone who is reading this will not be offended by anything that is written. I want readers to please view this “the right way” (as an analysis from a large-picture perspective) as compared to “the wrong way” (meaning that the contents are directed at anyone specifically). What I talk about is based on analysis and observations of mine over the last 40+ years as an aquatic professional. There is no research behind this, but rather personal observations and examinations that I have continually seen.

I don’t know about you, but I really hate it when I hear the term “pool boy.” Now, this is not a new term. The term was coined 40 or 50 years ago. It continues to be used, and I consider it to be an offensive directive to someone who works to clean and maintain swimming pools. A welder’s assistant isn’t called a “welder boy,” nor is a carpenter’s apprentice called an “carpenter boy.” At airports, you don’t hear of a baggage handler as a “baggage boy” or “baggage girl,” do you?  If someone can explain to me why this insulting term has been used, and continues to be used, please, I’m all ears.

Something Behind It

I really feel that there are many reasons why (notice that, except for one time at the end of this article, I will refer to it as “the term”) the term is used. Whether it is stated directly or indirectly, behind it can be the issue of “Quality vs. Quantity” in terms of swimming pool management, maintenance, and care. This is the part of my discussion that many people are going to read and maybe not like.  I get it, I get it—a pool company needs to make money and pay the bills. However, at times I feel as though “quality” of pool service gives way to “quantity,” the number of pools serviced.

Here's the scenario: Pool Company A services apartment complexes, hotels, motels, and backyard swimming pools. The company continues to grow larger by taking on more and more pools. As the volume of pools they take on grows, the quality of service diminishes because the size of the staff servicing the pools stays the same. What is happening is the “quality” part of the equation gives way to the “quantity” side. As time goes on, the push for increased income dwarfs the service provided to customers. If customers are unhappy and choose to switch to another pool service company, the previous pool company figures, “Eh, so what, we lose one but we have gained x number of facilities; it doesn’t really matter that we have lost one or two.” That type of mindset absolutely does not enhance the company’s quality.

A couple of years back, I had the opportunity to interact with a company owner who was servicing 1,400 pools. His goal was to grow his company to servicing more than 4,000. In talking with this individual’s office manager, she explained how the 1,400 count was already too many to care for. The owner’s attitude was, “Well, last week we gained 7, but we lost 2, so we are ‘up’ by 5.” She pointed out that from a revenue standpoint, life was great, but in terms of quality, her phone was ringing off the hook, all day long. The employees servicing the 1,400 pools barely had time to take a water test before they had to move on to the next facility. She basically said, “We can’t handle 1,400 pools, so how are we supposed to handle 2,000, much less 3,000 or 4,000?”

Conclusion

Without a doubt, there are hundreds of pool service companies who are exemplary in terms of providing care for swimming pool facilities. These are the “doers” with regard to quality of service. When a company gets too crazy about increasing income, enhancing the bottom line, and taking on more facilities, then they have the potential to take their eye off of the ball when it comes to quality.  When the “doers” provide quality, the individual who is the face of the company by doing the actual work on the pool is a “pool service technician,” or a “pool care professional.” If a company disregards quality for quantity, those that care for pool are, very often, “pool boys.”