Patriot Pools (formerly T&D)

[rjn5656]

Fired them today. No cleaning for over 2 weeks. Had 5 separate discussions and promises to come but never happened. Excuses were from sick time, to tech phone didn't work, tech didn't have a phone, etc. When I spoke to supervisor, she asked me what she should do. They don't have a clue how to run a customer service business . Asked to talk to the owner, not available.

[billethkid]

PAtriot was knowledgeable enough to send notice to their customer base about the new price increases.....but not a word about improving the disaster of a business they purchased.

Surely they knew what they were buying into......right?

We fired them several weeks ago.

[JSR22]

Fired them today. No cleaning for over 2 weeks. Had 5 separate discussions and promises to come but never happened. Excuses were from sick time, to tech phone didn't work, tech didn't have a phone, etc. When I spoke to supervisor, she asked me what she should do. They don't have a clue how to run a customer service business . Asked to talk to the owner, not available.

I live on Witherspoon in Bonita. We too fired them and hired Tri Count Pool and Spa. They are great, same person shows up every week at the same time, and the pool is sparkling!

[vintageogauge]

I see a company out of Ocala here on a regular basis doing pool maintenance. I believe it is called Penny Pincher, you can search for their contact number.

[Happinow]

We are firing T$D (Patriot) pools too. They have 2 more cleanings that we have paid for and then they will be gone. That company is a hot mess express!

[Stu from NYC]

Can write a book how they managed to destroy a once upon a time successful business.

[justjim]

Low wages, lack of affordable housing, growth of The Villages and need of services because of growth has all but depleted the labor supply in this area of Central Florida. It remains to be seen if this is a short term issue or much longer than we anticipated. I have a guess that it’s the latter rather than the former. Businesses are all having problems recruiting employees. I suspect the former T&D pool service company is no exception.

[boxcarwilly]

And $2.00 for a flawed pool water test....Pinch a Penny and Trouble Free Pool forum for me.

[tklloop]

Fired them today. No cleaning for over 2 weeks. Had 5 separate discussions and promises to come but never happened. Excuses were from sick stime, to tech phone didn't work, tech didn't have a phone, etc. When I spoke to supervisor, she asked me what she should do. They don't have a clue how to run a customer service business . Asked to talk to the owner, not available.

Same here. We fired them 3 weeks ago and went with Tri County. So far great service. Patriot hadn’t showed up to clean for 3 weeks, when I called to ask for a new bill the girl who talked to me insisted that I still owed for the 3 weeks they didn’t show up,,,, because they would eventually show up and clean!! WTH. Then she stated I wasn’t able to understand their billing process because i’m not very bright! Loser company for sure!!

[Girlcopper]

Same here. We fired them 3 weeks ago and went with Tri County. So far great service. Patriot hadn’t showed up to clean for 3 weeks, when I called to ask for a new bill the girl who talked to me insisted that I still owed for the 3 weeks they didn’t show up,,,, because they would eventually show up and clean!! WTH. Then she stated I wasn’t able to understand their billing process because i’m not very bright! Loser company for sure!!
Slam them in the BBB site so others know to beware. Complaining here means nothing

[TNLAKEPANDA]

We really like the guy who does our pool for T&D and he takes good care of us however three just increased the price from $135 to $155 without even notifying us. That is an outrageous price for the service. Now looking for a new service company. I see people talking about Tri County and Pinch A Penny. Any others?

[KRMACK55]

Same here. We fired them 3 weeks ago and went with Tri County. So far great service. Patriot hadn’t showed up to clean for 3 weeks, when I called to ask for a new bill the girl who talked to me insisted that I still owed for the 3 weeks they didn’t show up,,,, because they would eventually show up and clean!! WTH. Then she stated I wasn’t able to understand their billing process because i’m not very bright! Loser company for sure!!
Problems aren’t low wages or lack of housing many times it’s pure stupidity and or lack of education. Education is not a big priority here. Good luck to all those companies moving here.

[vintageogauge]

Low wages, lack of affordable housing, growth of The Villages and need of services because of growth has all but depleted the labor supply in this area of Central Florida. It remains to be seen if this is a short term issue or much longer than we anticipated. I have a guess that it’s the latter rather than the former. Businesses are all having problems recruiting employees. I suspect the former T&D pool service company is no exception.

And therefore the apartments are coming, North, South, East and West, lots of housing on the horizon.

[Janicepyatt]

It's all about who the pool person is...when we had T&D (for their last 4 months) - it was horrible. One guy was great at banging his pool cleaning pole against our screen door, leaving dirt in our pool area, etc... Once Patriot took over we got a great person. We're really happy with Patriot!

They did notify us of the price increase. We couldn't figure out how T&D was making any money at $120. 4 or 5 visits a month... $30 or $25 a visit. Salary, chemicals, truck, gas, driving between houses...

[billethkid]

I failed to mention who I hired after firing T&D....

Trident Pool Solutions.
Shawn (owner) is ex Navy seal...
Family owned and operated.
Modern pool and spa testing/cleaning equipment.
Reasonably priced.
Very consistent!
352-566-1585

[almondz]

We love our tech with Patriot. Dependable, hard working and cares about doing it just right. If we loose our tech this may change. They are very short staffed and over worked trying to pick up routes of other techs not so caring and dependable.

[riley2011]

Fired them today. No cleaning for over 2 weeks. Had 5 separate discussions and promises to come but never happened. Excuses were from sick time, to tech phone didn't work, tech didn't have a phone, etc. When I spoke to supervisor, she asked me what she should do. They don't have a clue how to run a customer service business . Asked to talk to the owner, not available.

What cleaning service were you using?

[Kenswing]

We really like the guy who does our pool for T&D and he takes good care of us however three just increased the price from $135 to $155 without even notifying us. That is an outrageous price for the service. Now looking for a new service company. I see people talking about Tri County and Pinch A Penny. Any others?
We dropped T&D and signed up with Sparkling Waters. They've only been here 2 weeks so far and seem to do an okay job. They are only $95 a month for a pool and $105 for pool and spa..

[Goldwingnut]

T&D decided to sell their service business off a while ago (a loss leader?). Business decision, understandable. The new owner then sold it a few months later and it became Patriot.

It’s a bit unfair to now be making adverse comments about T&D, it is not them and not their issue.

Taking care of a pool isn’t that difficult, I spend maybe 30 minutes a week on mine. Chemistry on saltwater pool is easy. I use a MX8 automatic pool cleaner every 2 weeks for about 6 hours, most of the work is done.

[coleprice]

PAtriot was knowledgeable enough to send notice to their customer base about the new price increases.....but not a word about improving the disaster of a business they purchased.

Surely they knew what they were buying into......right?

We fired them several weeks ago.

Following is a list of Pool Cleaning Services, including contact information so that you can call to obtain quotes for pool care:

Pool Service Spa Kingdom - 352-728-0772
Pinch-a-Penny Pool Store - 352-561-4331
Trident Pool Solutions. - 352-566-1585
American Swimming Pool Co. 352-229-8422
Lovett Pools - 352-8571740
Sparkling Waters Pool & Spa Service - 352-633-2578
Lovett Pools - 352-857-1740
ProCare Pool Service Inc. - (352) 530-6411

[daspiva]

Low wages, lack of affordable housing, growth of The Villages and need of services because of growth has all but depleted the labor supply in this area of Central Florida. It remains to be seen if this is a short term issue or much longer than we anticipated. I have a guess that it’s the latter rather than the former. Businesses are all having problems recruiting employees. I suspect the former T&D pool service company is no exception.

You are SO right about all this! I really don't think that too many people in The Villages realize how bad of a labor shortage there is and it's everywhere! Restaurants, service companies, trades people! I bought a fixer upper here and I almost regret doing so, because I have had a hard time finding good, qualified contractors to help me with projects! We have an aging population and not very many younger people have chosen to do anything other than go to college and get white collar jobs in the past 20 years, so they don't know how to fix and clean. So now we have huge demands for so many things and those demands can't be met.. Low wages and lack of affordable housing don't help either. People needs to realize this, try to understand and be patient and adjust their expectations.

[J1ceasar]

you would think - with the economy - worers would LOVE more PAY/HOURS. 9 million out of work ...

[keepsake]

Having identical type problems with solar contractor(s).
Allocated the funds back in February.
Negotiated and hired with contract and $12k deposit back in late March one Orlando outfit. Come June the licensed contractor, still did not procure engineering plans and in turn had not pulled a county permit. Fired them, got the 12k back.
Hired another outfit mid June, gave them $10k with contract and had deadlines ink'ed into the contract. One month later, they have blown off the deadline dates and still have no sealed engineering plans.
What is with Florida business ?

[keepsake]

Is there a TOTV setting that let's me see when anyone responds to my posts ?
Maybe I can get an email when a thread I contributed to, gets added to ?

[Kenswing]

Is there a TOTV setting that let's me see when anyone responds to my posts ?
Maybe I can get an email when a thread I contributed to, gets added to ?
Yes. Just click the subscribe button at the bottom of the post window..

[graciegirl]

T&D decided to sell their service business off a while ago (a loss leader?). Business decision, understandable. The new owner then sold it a few months later and it became Patriot.

It’s a bit unfair to now be making adverse comments about T&D, it is not them and not their issue.

Taking care of a pool isn’t that difficult, I spend maybe 30 minutes a week on mine. Chemistry on saltwater pool is easy. I use a MX8 automatic pool cleaner every 2 weeks for about 6 hours, most of the work is done.

I so agree. It isn't T&D. They sold it as Don points out. AND there is a very concerning lack of ability to hire people, perhaps due to their enjoying money from another source at this time.

To say it again.

Patriot is NOT T&D.
People looking to hire anyone have no one to hire.
If I say more, I will break the rule about you know what.

[jammayer]

My cousin has a referral for a pool company. Please call her at (508) 846-3045.

[GPGuar]

Same here. We fired them 3 weeks ago and went with Tri County. So far great service. Patriot hadn’t showed up to clean for 3 weeks, when I called to ask for a new bill the girl who talked to me insisted that I still owed for the 3 weeks they didn’t show up,,,, because they would eventually show up and clean!! WTH. Then she stated I wasn’t able to understand their billing process because i’m not very bright! Loser company for sure!!I had the same problem no show for two weeks and was told that I was still required to pay for the whole month anyway. My response to the manager on the phone was that I contracted for a pool cleaning every week that’s 52 weeks a year. I will only pay for two weeks service when the bill comes and if they don’t like it I’ll drop them and start doing it myself and save $1700 a year!

[rjn5656]

I truely liked my tech, but dealing with the office sent me over the edge. They forced my hand to leave.

[Road-Runner]

People looking to hire anyone have no one to hire.
If I say more, I will break the rule about you know what.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more...:icon_wink:

[Vpi1984]

I must be in the minority here. I recently bought a home here with a pool. T&D has serviced the pool since the beginning. Zero issue. The pool technician does a great job. He has been with company 8+ yrs. Very friendly and answers all my questions. Had an issue with the pump breaker and they had a technician out within a couple days to resolve it. No complaints from me.

[boxcarwilly]

Slam them in the BBB site so others know to beware. Complaining here means nothing

complaining here means everything.

[rjn5656]

2 of my neighbors fired them also yesterday. no show for 2 1/2 weeks and office unresponsive. never an issue with the tech.

[ditka41]

So easy to get on here and "vent" about perceived problems. Why not give some positive suggestions about improving service when quality help is so scarce, (regardless of who is POTUS at the time?) Patriot is the new name, but several of their service people worked for T&D also. They may have scheduling problems due to circumstances beyond their control for now. "Firing" Patriot is not going to punish them as they're plenty busy anyway and may welcome lighter schedules for their remaining good employees. Management I dealt with at Patriot was polite and fair. They are trying to find solutions to the labor shortage. Some of these complaints are petty and unfortunately, apparently just part of being in business in our "friendliest hometown". The pitiful complaint over being charged $2.00 for a water test to save a few dollars on pool chemicals on-line or somewhere? ---please put on your "big boy" pants. Give Patriot a break and some time to solve scheduling troubles. I find Patriot to be reasonable to deal with if you aren't looking for the "big bargain" all the time. I will stay with what is generally honest and good service from Patriot as they continue.