Here’s a funny story about that comment. Well maybe not funny, but it illustrates a good example of why many pool companies have pricing and installation policies.
We quoted a heater for a customer. The price was a little more than they were hoping to pay, and like any customer would, he checked prices on the internet and found out he could get the heater for half of what the pool company was quoting, including free shipping.
Naturally the next question to the pool company was, I purchased a heater online, how much would you charge to install it for me?
Our response was, “I’m sorry, we don’t install what we don’t sell for liability and warranty reasons.” End of story.
Well, the homeowner called this week and asked if he could get on the schedule for a heater install, at the originally quoted price. As it turns out he ordered the heater online, it came in, and had parts and pieces that were broken on the inside.
Back it went, and a new heater was shipped out. The homeowner is not sure, but his guess is when the delivery truck got to the driveway the heater was pushed off the back end (we may be exaggerating, but you get the idea). The second heater also had clunking and banging on the inside with parts that also seemed to be broken.
Rather than risk it again, and noticing the trend in heater parts where they shouldn’t be he opted in the end to purchase the heater and have it professionally installed. One day later, and the heater is in – heating the pool with new energy efficient standards.
There are some pool parts that it is great to be able to purchase online. As a consumer, please also understand that we and other pool companies pride ourselves in offering great service and professional installation. When you buy from us, you get a great product and the knowledge that goes with our years of experience. The professional difference is priceless.
(Note to customers, yes, you can find internet pricing on heaters sometimes at BETTER pricing than what small dealers and retailers can even purchase it for through distribution, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best choice.)