Pool Man Frustrated

What is it about swimming pool service, aka "the pool man", that makes him loathe his job so much?

I don't know about your town, but around here it seems like every other pool man has an Ol' Man Wilson grumpy attitude... or is a flake and shows up when they feel like it... or they just disappear in the middle of the night, but continue to bill me anyway.

Perhaps it's that Buttermaker "I just want to go coach the Bad News Bears" syndrome... the pool service pays for the beer and if there is enough beer, no need to rush to my swimming pool.

Now most of the time our pool man shows up when he's supposed to and does a good job. And I'm not sure anyone really enjoys brushing or skimming pools ten times a day unless they just love being outdoors. I mean, I skim once a week during the summer and I don't even look forward to that.

But as any good swimming pool owner knows, it has to be done... and someone has to do it.

So let me get on with my story here...

Recently we had some relatively strong winds... it happens... and this left an unusually heavy amount of leaves in my pool. You would figure the pool man would come as scheduled and just clean it, since that is what he is paid to do.

And he did. But not without some reservations.

When I came home from work I saw a handwritten note that my dear pool man had left behind... it went something like this...

"Please tell your lawn men to not blow leaves into the pool. I had to clean up their mess and that's not fair."

Now maybe our pool man was just having a bad day and needed to vent. Still, it wasn't our "lawn men". It was our weather, you know... the wind.

That note was like someone publishing a novel and then telling his fans that he doesn't want too many autograph requests at a book signing... because then he'll have to actually work.

So I said, "I'll do it myself... I don't need no pool man!"

Then after visiting our local swimming pool supply store I realized how much I would have to spend on a automatic pool vacuum, chemicals, and then of course I would have to actually do the work.

Nothing against you DIY'ers, I love doing-it-myself for a lot of my pool things and part of why I'm online is to help you build an above ground pool deck and to help you get to know your pool.

But bringing you all of this swimming pool information through my website and newsletter is a full time job and sometimes at the end of the day I prefer a relaxing float or swim in my pool, rather than pool related work. I'm sure you know what I mean.

So despite the pool man's bad day, I decided that he does a good service for me and my pool. And he does it right. So, I might not "need" his help... but I do want his help.

As always, enjoy your pool!

Best regards,

Paul Ottaviano


P.S. - Usually I bring you swimming pool tips and quality pool deck information with my newsletter and blog. But today I thought I would share with you a personal tid bit regarding my pool serviceman... okay, I vented... but sometimes we can all learn something from grumpy Ol' Man Wilson.