ComplaintsforHobert Pools Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  07/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased cash to do a pool from Hobert and the company has not completed the project. With poor customer service to no quality control the process has been a nightmare. If I did not have a hole in my backyard I would ask for my money back. They give dates on completion but they fail to comply. From the management to the crews they outsource they do not do quality work.

  Customer response

  07/15/2024

  On March 5, 2024 we signed a contract with Hobert to have a pool built. We paid cash and the process should have been completed but as of July 14th it still not completed. We have had the worst experience in regards to inaccurate communication, lack of professionalism from the staff. There is no resolution as of yet and Im asking for compensation from all the problems and time I had to take off from work in regards to sprinkler, electrical and monitoring of project.

  
  

  

  Business response

  07/15/2024

  Here are the facts not untruths..  The Blas pool has been under construction for 79 days as of today 7/15/24 the average pool build is 90 days.  That 79 days is also with more than a month of rain at the start of construction.   The ****** have been horribly rude to all staff this whole time with really no reason for it.  The construction supervisor was there almost daily checking the job and providing excellent customer service.  As you can see from the picture the pool was a complete rock hole at excavation i.e. there is no soil from 4" below the grass line.  The pool is weeping.. weeping is water coming back into the pool through the gunite as gunite is porous and since there is no soil the rock does not hold water it finds the path of least resistance and that's back inside the pool.   This "weeping" is what causes us "NOT"  to be able to plaster the pool (which is the last step in completing their pool)  with weeping you have to wait until the water stops or it will ruin the plaster thus causing the current delay.  The plaster team has visited the house daily to see if the weeping has stopped so the pool can be plastered and will continue to do so until we can complete the Blas project as quickly as possible.  It is unfortunate that people filing complaints must lie to try and create a complaint and that is what is being done here.   The statement below is just not true.   Hobert pools gave a significant discount to the Blas's at contract signing and this is a ****** learned that if this is the customer response it was certainly not worth it. 

  I was as just alerted the pool is being plastered today 7/15/24 so the project is complete. 

  Customer response

  07/22/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   
  First, there was no discount applied. There was a promotion that Hobert was advertising and when ******* at Hobert set up our initial appointment she told us about the promotion. Next, we were not rude but when there was no communication on the project then we reached out to the owner and the staff did not like that but unfortunately it was the only way to get things moving forward. The project manager did not come out daily since he had other pools going on at the same time.  Duke at Hobert hung up on us when we were asking questions so if he is the one handling the complaints then that reflects how Hobert treats its customers.  The project manager was also rude and stated that our yard smelled because of our pets. I find this unacceptable that **** at Hobert would call us rude. The pool is still not completed and we are still waiting on resolution for the remaining list already submitted to Hobert as of 7/21. Its been 139 days since contract was signed. The remark that we filed a complaint just because, we have not filed complaint before.  Customer service should be top priority and Hobert did not provide that.

  

  Business response

  07/23/2024

  Please find attached 127 pages of text communications with the Blas family, if this is no communication as she mentions then I don't know how to answer that.  The problem was they did not like what the scheduler had to say about what was going next etc etc.  They are entitled and reached out to the owner to be moved ahead of others that were in front of them.  The fact still remains their pool was under construction for 84 days.  ************* mentions 139 days from contract signing.  I have no control over how long the electric company or the cities take to issue permits.  We count construction time from day of dig to water in the pool which was 84 days with 10 of those days being rain days.  The truth side to the dog story mentioned was ************ brought **** over to one side of the yard and asked what did he smell.  **** told him he smelled dog excrement and ************ attacked him for offending his dog a member of their family.  They were extremely rude to the people trying to serve them.  As for me hanging up on them is another lie.  ************ was yelling "DO YOUR JOB" repeatedly as I was trying to explain what weeping was so the conversation was no longer productive and I said "GOOD BYE ************ and ended the call and I have a witness to that conversation.  I don't participate in rude behavior and I always speak with a civilized tongue. The Blas family has a different perspective and that is fine I stick with facts and truth and will respectfully dispute their complaint.  

  Customer response

  07/23/2024

  Obviously ******************* and I are not going to agree on his lack of customer service. He is going to continue to lash out his terrible we are. We are willing to meet with ***************************- owner but the operations manager **** is no longer trying to find a solution. I will schedule a meeting with ****** to go over the outstanding issues left and ask for compensation.

  Customer response

  07/23/2024

  I am rejecting this response because:   
  *********************** is not focused on a resolution but instead is focusing on being negative towards me and my family. We will contact ******************************* and will let him know the situation that happened in front of my neighbors and crew.  The project manager was yelling and being disrespectful to my husband in front of others and the Hobert crew.  Hopefully ******************************* and ********************************** will find solution with the item that are now completed.

• Initial Complaint

  03/27/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Poor workmanshipinitial communication to business about missing tile that came loosenever called me back. When they finally returned call, I was magically out of warranty by a month. Now..,a year later-only two years after pool is finishedseveral time are falling off. Had a professional look at it-said it was horrible craftsmanship-and that this would probably happen (expect more if not all time to come loose). Now its going to cost me thousands of ?? to fix -when they could have returned my calls on just one tile before hand, have done the right thing when we initially complained and we were told out of warranty. Had a friend get their pool done by this this company at the same time-similar experience. They went elsewhere vs dealing with Hobert because it wasnt worth the headache.

  

  Business response

  04/01/2024

  128664 02/21/2022 02/23/2022 Edit *************/SPA / POOL SCHOOL - SN
  128665 02/21/2022 03/11/2022 Edit 2 WK ********** - SN
  128693 02/25/2022 03/01/2022 Edit SET UP CHILLER & INSTRUCT H/O
  GET SERIAL #S
  *********/03/2022 03/07/2022 EditREPLACE ALL 3 3/4" BALL VALVES - SN 
  206798 06/20/2022 06/27/2022 Edit NEEDS INSTRUCTIONS AGAIN ON HOW TO USE CHILLER  TR
  370135 11/21/2022 12/05/2022 Edit HEATER COMES ON THEN KICKS OFF - GETS AN E06 ERROR
  415263 06/27/2023 06/29/2023 Edit called h/o on phone for chiller- resolved
  415580 08/01/2023 08/02/2023 Edit replaced capacitor on aqua cal chiller
  416487 01/30/2024 02/01/2024 Edit Check valves for water feature. One deck jet not p
  416520 02/08/2024 02/09/2024 EditHeater not getting power. BH

   

  Above are the only work orders or calls to service that we have for ****************.   I don't see one mention of a tile issue.  I guess I would first ask who was she calling to report the issue?   I will have our warranty manager contact ***************** to see what the issue is with her tile. 
   
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  5 years ago we had Hobert Pools do a pool installation with extensive decking and an outdoor kitchen. Almost $100K and we were thrilled with the final product. But then time passed. We installed the highest end Travertine paver decking; that began to become unstable with sinking and rising pavers with up to 3 inch vertical displacement one to another; coping falling off exterior of the pool; and shifting of grill/fridge brick enclosure. Sure, we live in N TX with shifting soil, so a bit of instability expected, but this was pretty bad. We had their expert come out and he agreed about worst he had seen but nothing they could do. Fast forward 2 years, and just keeps getting worse. Same "expert" came out and reviewed and re-iterated "worst I have seen"; he turfed to management. That was over 2 months ago; no communication back. Won't respond to emails or texts. We are filing formal BBB complaint and pursuing legal action. I would love to be able to post pictures. We now have quotes from 3 decking companies to repair, each one documenting in their quote that all of the problems are due to poor workmanship.

  

  Business response

  12/13/2023

  I find it odd that a claim of bad workman ship comes 5 years after the pool was completed and after a sewer replacement right through the area of the movement.  I pulled all the service calls from the client from the day the pool was plastered/completed 8/9/2018 through today.  The only mention of paver issues was 10/13/2022 in which the warranty manager went to the property to look at the issues and noted ground movement.   Since that date in oct of 2022 the sewer was replaced 9/2023 (see photos attached).  If you look at the second picture ******* 2 you will notice the pavers next to the pool coping does not have any sand in the gap.  Part of paver maintenance is making sure you sand your pavers as a part of paver maintenance.  Neglecting that allows water to get under the pavers causing paver movement.  If you review photo *******3 you will notice the deck drain side view which shows a minimum of 8" of subbase under the pavers to his natural soil.  Mr. ****** claims bad workmanship, if that were the case why did that not show up weeks after installation vs 4 years later.    Since we have been building pools for 48 years we have pretty much seen it all,  and I can assure you with the number of pools we have constructed we do not build pools with bad workmanship.   And as a company with integrity had we done so we would be the first to address it.  In this case it is a matter of lack of paver maintenance as shown in the photos and ground movement.  

  Customer response

  12/19/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  I find it odd that after our initial communication about the problem on June 11, 2019 (<1 year following project completion) that over 4 ½ years of scores of communications and complaints to Hobert Pools about our travertine decking/coping/outdoor kitchen assembly, that the very first response we get from the company now 54 months into the engagement is a response to a Better Business Bureau complaint-that appeared within 12 hours of filing.
  And, I find it odd how completely uninformed this person responding to our BBB complaint is to the history of our grievance and how erroneous their facts are.
  What a perfectly dismissive and arrogant rebuttal from someone (not self-identified) who clearly has no information about or knowledge of the history of our problems and our 4 ½ years of communications and complaints that have been completely ignored by company leadership. And who seems to have based their entire opinion/conclusion on 2 photographs that I submitted in an online review site without directly engaging in assessment and remedy; and most importantly, absent any communication whatsoever with us. Did I mention it has been 4 ½ years of no response?
  To be clear in this grievance, the workmanship on the pool and spa are not an issue; they are of outstanding quality across the board. Similarly, we have been completely pleased with our weekly pool maintenance contracted with Hobert. All of those issues are 5-star/just superb.
  Our issue is with deterioration of decking/coping/kitchen a) beginning not 5 years as claimed in the company’s response to our BBB complaint, but rather within the first year after installation (see e-mail June 11, 2019) and worsening month over month and year over year; and b) with a complete lack of any communication or response from the company leadership over 54 months of submitted concerns and complaints and despite scores of emails and texts, and c) in the context of 2 in-person visits by the company warranty representative (Fall 2022; Fall of 2023) to address our issues, but with no communication whatsoever from the company after either visit to attempt to resolve.
  Go figure-the first and only communication from the company with regard to resolution came days after our BBB complaint (did I mention it has been 54 months…); a bid for repair at a cost of >$25,000 with no comment at all on responsibility for the problem or any offer to share expenses.
  Specific issues:
  Timing of complaint
  Counter to the company response to the BBB complaint that we just raised this issue 5 years after completion of the project, we notified the company within the first year after installation about this problem, first notification Tuesday, June 11, 2019 9:40 AM email to Ms S. N. Pavers breaking/unstable and no evidence of sand in any of the joints. Pictures provided were provided in communications the following month. (See complete summary below of communications with company about this issue, dating well prior to 10/13/2022 as claimed in company response).
  Response to BBB claim does not acknowledge the formal leak assessment by company that was conducted Oct 24, 2022; ruling out pool/spa leak but also on comment/concern about any other leakage
  The comment about the sand is interesting. Correct, we have not re-sanded the deck. But a) never was a mention made and nothing in writing from Hobert at time of installation or at either of the 2 warranty expert inspections about maintenance re-sanding. And sources online suggest in places like Texas, California and Florida that re-sanding is typically not needed for many (10 or more) years (e.g. *******************************************: time stamp 1:20 about Texas)-our troubles began in the first year post installation. So, if the sand is the issue, this again challenges the initial workmanship. If polymeric sand was used as it should have been, seems to have been woefully inadequately applied with instability of pavers within the first year, plants growing in joints in first year, and presently at demolition in preparation for sewage line replacement, no evidence of polymeric sand (or sand of any kind for that matter). Pictures provided company as early as July 2019-no evidence of any sand in the joints.
  Sanding/re-sanding importance was never conveyed to us: the very first reference to this issue is in the company response to our BBB complaint-as if this is an inherently evident maintenance activity. I am not able to find any information online about “maintenance recommendations” for re-sanding, though lots of maintenance information about cleaning and sealing/resealing of travertine pavers. So, I acknowledge that we have not re-sanded.
  Supporting the challenge of the quality of the initial workmanship, having to re-sand in the first 1-3 years seems well beyond the norm, at least in Texas.
  The disintegrating outdoor kitchen and the coping falling off edge of the pool challenges the implication of insufficient gap sand as underlying all the problems.
  Hobert employee has been providing pool maintenance weekly since installation, and while their focus is on maintaining/servicing the pool equipment and pool/spa, might it be reasonable to expect someone who works every day on pools to have noted the beginning and progressive failure of the decking? Could easily have alerted us or more appropriately, reported back to the company on the disintegration.
  Concerns about sewage line replacement
  Implication from the BBB complaint response from the company is that our sewage line caused some if not most of the problem. This is based on the fact that we recently updated all of our underhouse HVAC ductwork and sewage pipes replacing original materials now 80 years old. To be clear, we never had or suspected a sewage leak. The sewer line was replaced due to iterative blockages and an inaccessible clean-out, but never an identified or suspected leak.
  The absence of sewer pipe leakage was confirmed at replacement excavation with no evidence of leakage throughout the length of the trench or even any moisture in the excavated channel (video corroboration of this available).
  The instability of pavers involves areas far beyond the recently replaced sewer line implicated in the company response.
  Brick outdoor kitchen enclosure appears to have been built on top of pavers instead of on its own foundation (will only know for sure after demolition). It has disintegrated beyond usability.
  Claim by the company of “Ground Movement”
  yes-ground moves in N. Texas. Seems this should be factored into the engineering of pool decks, akin to San Francisco accounting for earthquakes. The attribution in the company response of “ground movement” seems passively defeatist-can a company not anticipate and engineer for ground movement at this price point? The extreme of paver deck/coping/kitchen enclosure disintegration we have experienced raises the question of adequacy of engineering/planning, challenging the quality of foundation/sub-base/compaction preparation-an opinion objectively shared by 2 A-list companies from which we have gotten quotes for repairs.
  In company response, I am not sure how deduction of “minimum of 8 inches of sub-base” is determined from a photo without scale.
  To be clear from company response-I do not claim poor workmanship; my comment is simply reflecting the independent determination of estimators of 2 different companies documented in writing on each of their repair estimates-both on Angie with A+ BBB rating and >4/5 Yelp/Google ratings.
  
  Communications:
  First communication to Hobert about paver issues: Tuesday, June 11, 2019 9:40 AM (<1 year from job completion).
  Several email responses about other issues raised from Ms ******** failed to acknowledge the paver issue
  Sent pictures of paver problems July 18, 2019-pavers fracturing and no evidence of any sand in the joints. Reply that work order was placed; never heard back from company on this request
  July 18, 2019-2nd email contact about paver/decking problems (with pictures); noting in these pictures no evident sand in the joints (< 1 yr from completion). Same day response from Ms ******** that subcontractor would be out to assess. That never happened.
  9/21/2021-2nd email contact about disintegration of decking/coping (with pictures)
  10/9/2022 – again contacted company with progressive deterioration with additional pictures provided. This prompted the first response from company by sending Warranty Expert to assess around 10/14, 2022.
  Warranty expert came to property (first response since initial complaints to company June 2019). Commented how bad things looked and he would get back with us.
  From that visit, scheduled leak test that was completed 10/24/2022
  We got no follow up from warranty expert assessment/plan nor from Leak Test, and then a series of emails with Sherri ********
  11/2: we queried leak test results
  11/4: she replied; “10-foot crack found in the pool; no evident leak so nothing would be done”
  From 11/8/22-5/8, 2023-we queried with 5 emails to Ms. ******** about plans for repair of the crack in the pool, and to get some plan/resolution with regard to the pavers/coping, with a single reply to only one of those emails from Ms ******** on 11/28/22: “let me see what I can find out”. Never heard back.
  9/2023 after additional complaints/pictures, 2nd Visit of Warranty Expert end of September 2023.
  With progressive and spreading disintegration of pavers/coping, now outdoor kitchen structure failing with refrigerator no longer working and with inability to open doors to grill, we requested another evaluation from warranty expert (up to now, no communication since visit in 9/2022), and no company response/plan since initial complaint June 2019. Assessment of warranty expert: Serious problems noted; will bump the issue to management
  Weeks pass-query on progress 10/12/2023 with response from Warranty Expert that day-“let me check with the deck crew”
  Almost a month; no communications from company. I sent email to warranty expert 11/6/2022-no reply.
  Repeat email query 12/10/2023-no reply
  After 54 months from initial complaint with no response from company and no plans for repair/recourse, BBB complaint filed 12/11/2023
  First communication from the company (presumed owner) is in the form of a response to the BBB complaint (and rebuttal of reviews I had posted on multiple online review sites by same person chronicling the same issue). Still (and up to now), no communication from the company except for below
  12/15/2023-, 54 months after first report of these ongoing and progressive problems with pavers/coping and ultimately outdoor kitchen requesting assessment and action from company for recourse and repair, and only after filing BBB complaint, we got a bid from Hobert to complete all repairs at a cost of >$25,000; no other communication or apology or offer to adjust cost of the job. This quote seems to stand by the rebuttal posted by the company on BBB:  “not our fault; your fault, and the ground moved” position and with complete absence of any communication otherwise.
  
  In company response to BBB complaint final comment, “…as a company with integrity had we [completed a project with poor workmanship] we would be the first to address it.”

  
  We request Hobert Pools to action this integrity and cover all expenses for repair (by another company; we are not interested in working any further with Hobert Pools). We have a bid for ~$15,000 for the complete job by BBB A+/Angie listed/Good Contractors listed company (contrasted with Hobert quote >$25,000).

  

  Business response

  12/20/2023

  I'll keep it professional since Mr. ******* wants to add insults to his response I will choose not to participate in those.

  Attached is the paver care letter that is included in all pool start up pool school folders, as well as his contract and color selection sheet with warranties listed.   

  I pulled the history of every time he called the office about a problem and again the first mention of a paver issue was 10/22, the movement was in the exact same area where the sewer was replaced 9/23.    

  I would  also ask Mr. ******* to review his contract that there is no warranty of decks of any kind.    As a company we offer a paver reset within the first year of pavers since there is usually some initial settling and we do that a courtesy.   Again, no calls about pavers until 10/22 in our records. 

  Hobert Pools will not pay the invoice for the contractor to put the pavers back from his sewer reroute.  

  With this backup provided we consider this closed with the BBB with no merit. 

   

  Customer response

  12/26/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   

  I will sign off on this BBB complaint; I am completely unsatisfied with the company response now after 2 rounds of back and forth, and I am not willing to engage further with the company on this platform. This should remain “answered/unresolved” on the BBB site.
  Final thoughts on this thread to a) correct several inaccuracies in rebuttal comments by the company; and b) further clarify the company’s failure of expectations.
  I have no idea what is meant by the company response charging me with casting insults and implying lack of professionalism-I cannot find anything in my prior post that is personally insulting. The respondent is completely uninformed on the history of our communications with the company about our paver/decking issues (objectively documented in submitted communications timeline from these exchanges)-not an insult, but a fact; and my claim that their response is dismissive and arrogant-not an insult, but a personal opinion. Summarizing the bottom-line respondent conclusion: “we don’t make mistakes; this is your problem”.
  
  I stand by all of my prior assertions, and feel the very same about this 2nd rebuttal: completely dismissive and arrogant.
  
  The company’s 2nd rebuttal again anchors on a falsehood that Oct 2022 was our first report of problems with pavers, completely ignoring the time chronicle in my prior post. Our communications with the company about paver problems began within 9 months of project completion with first communication to company with this specific issue June 11, 2019 (attached .pdf of the original email noting a problem) and continued through December 5, 2023: we have 15 archived email communications (and confident that we are missing others due to email server switch) with the company 6/2019-10/2023 about paver/pool deck issues, with the communications since 2022 also including reports about and pictures of the outdoor kitchen that subsequently deteriorated to the point it is now not usable. From all of these communications, the company response has been sparse, and none from leadership. On July 18, 2019, 6 weeks and 3 emails after initially documenting our paver issue, an email reply was received from a company service representative “I am putting a work order in for our sub to come out and take care of the issues. At this time of year they are running at maybe 2-3 weeks out.” (NOTE: we never heard from the “sub” and we got no further follow up at all from company). Other than that 1 email from the service representative, the only other company response over these 4 ½ years is that a Warranty Expert came to our property 10/2022 and again 11/2023; each time acknowledging major problems and assuring us that the company would get back with us. We got no further communication from the company after either of these visits, except for specific responses to our queries, and no action plan proposed for remedy either time. The first and only company leadership response over these 4 ½ years is the rebuttal to this BBB claim-noting that it occurred within just 24 hours, after 4 ½ years of radio silence. And adding insult to injury, on Dec 15, 2023, just 2 days after posting a series of negative online reviews and this BBB complaint and 4 ½ years after first reporting a problem, we got the first estimate for repairs from Hobert Pools by email, with an estimate of >$25,000.
  
  The company response anchors on the fact that a sewer line ran beneath the decking; one we recently had replaced during a maintenance renovation project of all under-house/underground piping and ductwork. I can only deduce in that claim by the company an implication that a sewer leak contributed to the problem of “ground movement”. We never had a sewer leak; never suspected a sewer leak. I have formal documentation from the plumbing company that at excavation a) that the sewer pipe from house to alley was completely intact; and b) there was no evidence of a leak anywhere along the pipe/trench; and c) no water/mud/moisture was found anywhere along the trench.
  
  The company representative states that they routinely offer re-setting of pavers within the first year of installation as a courtesy. This “courtesy” was never offered us, despite the fact that by the 1-year anniversary of completion of our installation, we had submitted at least 4 email communications chronicling our paver issues.
  I posit that if in the first year, the company had responded to our reported problems, or even if not, offered the paver resetting that is claimed in the company response to this BBB complaint to be routinely offered as a courtesy- but was not offered to us, that this interaction would have enlightened us to the importance of paver sand maintenance and we might have avoided whatever degree of disintegration of our decking and kitchen attributable lack of joint sand maintenance.
  
  So, to the degree lack of re-sanding contributed to disintegration of our deck and kitchen, I believe that timely customer service and consumer education would likely have avoided much if not all of that issue.
  
  Regarding the importance/imperative of re-sanding pavers: the company response comments on a “pool start up pool school folder”, in which is a 1-page information page about paver maintenance, with a .pdf of that document attached to the company response
  We have retained to file every document associated with the installation contract, project build, pump/cleaner control equipment and service agreement/supportive documentation. To the best of my and my wife’s knowledge, we do not recall having received such a “pool school folder” and we have no copy of such. And thereby, we did not receive the 1-pager on paver care submitted by company as proof of education about paver re-sanding (attached again here).
  Now having reviewed the paver maintenance 1-pager, even had we received it, it offers no material insight, instructions or guidance into re-sanding. While it provides some detail about sweeping, cleaning and dealing with stains, no comment on re-sanding-why/when/how. Rather, it provides 3 disparate objective comments about sand: a) sand is in the joints; b) it is polymeric sand that gets hard after getting wet; and c) it is sold at some stores.
  Until the company response to this BBB complaint, no one from the company ever mentioned re-sanding - not at installation/project completion; not in the context of weekly service visits or quarterly filter cleaning visits; not in the context of 3 or 4 service visits for cause for issues with pumps/cleaner; and not in the context of either of 2 visits by a warranty expert to assess the specific paver/decking/kitchen issue.
  One immediate response from all 3 companies from whom we have gotten quotes for repair is: “Why was an outdoor kitchen structure built on top of sand-based pavers (photos attached Pic 5 and Pic 6)? This should have had a dedicated foundation.” Now we have quote from Hobert to repair for $4725.
  Bottom line: we spent over $100,000 for pool/decking/outdoor kitchen. We were thrilled with all of it at first-especially the personal interaction in planning the project, selecting all the details, scheduling the work, and the work being completed. And since installation, weekly pool/spa/equipment maintenance has been top notch.
  But, wheels fell off around our decking, and subsequently around our outdoor kitchen. Near complete company unresponsiveness for 4 ½ years to our reports of paver and subsequently outdoor kitchen issues, with at least 15 communications requesting help with these prevalent and progressive issues over these 54 months, with the first response from the company leadership to these issues is the response to this filing of BBB complaint (ironically, I have gotten company response within 24 hours twice in this volley of BBB communications after 4 ½ years of nothing but crickets from the company).
  Adding insult to injury, both of the 2 responses have been completely unempathetic/impersonal/dismissive/arrogant. The company might very much better have responded “Gee, Mr. *******, I am so sorry for our complete failure of communications, response and action over these past 4 ½ years.” And/or “Gee, Mr. *******, I am so sorry to see how your pool deck and outdoor kitchen have disintegrated over such a short amount of time.”
  We picked this company from the beginning based on the principles communicated so eloquently here by company founder, Mr. Hobert ********: ******************************************
  Quoted from conclusion of this piece: “We believe in service after the sell; that’s how we got here. You are not just another name or number for us, and that we’ll stand behind the product and we will stand behind you as long as you own it.”
  We got absolutely no service after the sell on the issue of the early onset and progressive deterioration of our travertine paver pool deck and our outdoor kitchen, despite myriad reports to and requests of the company. The position of the company in their rebuttal referencing the executed contract of “there is no warranty of decks of any kind” abjectly contradicts Mr. ********’s core principle that “we will stand behind the product”. Warranty or not in the contract, a principled company would stand behind this product when the deterioration began within 9  months of installation and has progressed over only 5 years to the point of inability to use. I am pretty certain that the late Mr. ******** would be completely ashamed of this company response.

• Initial Complaint

  06/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had a pool installed from ****** Pools for almost $75,000 that was completed in January 2022. It was ****************. We had some communication issues with the service people and we hit rock and paid the rock time as instructed. We were told that having this much rock was a good thing, less chance of cracking and shifting.A little more than 1 year later, we had 2 fairly sizable cracks in the plaster, leaking water out of our pool. Hobert sent someone out almost immediately, and found there was a fault in the pool that needed to be patched. Also they stated they would reimburse for our water bill. Sounded like everything was going to be great. They came out to fix the crack and when they were finished it looked like they put a piece of extra wide off white duck tape across the length of the crack. I called and asked if they were done and if the said patch would blend into the color of the rest of the pool. I was told no, and that the warranty was that they would fix the crack and as long as the pool held water it was fulfilled. I told them that was unacceptable for an almost $75,000 investment. They came back and said they would split the difference in replastering the pool and it would cost me an additional almost $1,600 to repair.. I found this unacceptable and asked them to fix the patch to match so our investment would be sound. I was told by one of the owners that I should have read the contract more closely, which by the way said nothing about the fact they would patch the pool with a different color, just that it would be fixed. I asked if they felt if was right to put a different colored patch on a $75k investment, and asked how as an owner this was acceptable, only to be told that she ***** wasnt going to take the abuse (not sure what she was talking about) then hung up on me.

  

  Business response

  06/05/2023

  We apologized for the negative experience ******************** had with our company.  Regarding the repair, we understand his frustration with the color imperfection and we apologized for any inconvenience this may have caused. However, according to our contract, under warranties and limitations #2 clearly states what crack repair is.   We are only responsible for ensuring the pool holds water.  Unfortunately,  we don't have control on ground movement.   We are not contractually required to pay anything towards replastering the pool but we did offer to split the cost of replastering the pool as a gesture of goodwill. But ******************** was insulted at that offer and the call was terminated after listing to him berate one of the owners. 

  Customer response

  06/05/2023

  I am rejecting this response because:   
  

  I didnt berate the owner, I asked what she would have felt if she was to have paid $75,000 for a new pool and the fix was what looks to be a wide piece of tape of a different color.  True the contract does state a repair, just not that it would be a different color.  It looks like a just that, like someone came and put a piece of tape on the crack in the plaster. 
  

  ***** (owner) just stated I am not going to take this abuse, because she probably knew I had the right to be upset with the repair job on such a high value item.

  

  Business response

  06/14/2023

  I'm not sure why there is a response besides Thank you as I am in the middle of replastering his pool right now at my expense? 

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contracted Hobart Pool to build a pool in Sept. 2020 and due to Covid and large amounts of sale they did not start on my pool until Sept. 2021. The pool was completed late April to early May 2022. The construction went fairly well knowing they were stretched thin and the project manager did not appear to much time overseeing the job.After the Designer Series Plaster work was completed it had a lot of white streaks, blotches and the steps didn't look right. The Start up Tech came out and gave me a run down of the operation of the pool and said the plaster would look OK after I scrubbed the surface as told twice a day for two weeks. After that, I complained about the looks and a Service Manager came out and said my pool had Scale and keeping the Ph within recommended levels would over time clear up the plaster, but a fast fix would be to pay Hobart $800 to Acid Wash it. In December 2022 I complained to the Sales Manager and in January 2023 he came out and said the only remedy was to have Hobart Pools Acid Wash it at $800. I told the Salesman and Sales Manager at signing, I've never owned or had a pool before and they assured me Hobart had build many pools and I had nothing to worry about. I'm sorry but every time someone visits and they ask what's wrong with my pool, I have a hard time sleeping at night thinking what can I do and no one really cares about a satisfied customer or a quality finished product, but they want your money.

  

  Business response

  02/14/2023

  When we plastered the pool with the customer we hand over instructions and tools needed for plaster care. It is the customers responsibility at that point to maintain their plaster. Similar to a car you maintain your car you have to maintain your pool. Water chemistry is a science and I personally gave ************ instructions on his type of plaster before he purchased the pool as we met many times prior to starting his pool construction. **************** pool plastered 4/15/2022 and was started up on 4/20/2022 and gave pool school at that time. ************ called the office about his plaster conerns. My warranty manager went out on 4/26/22 and explained new water new pool water chemistry is a battle but explained again how to maintain and take care of it properly, the warranty manager went out again on 7/21/22, and 9/16/22 each time instructing ************ that it was a water chemistry issue and instructed him how to correct. I personally went to his home on 1/13/23 and looked at his plaster I noticed scale on the plaster which is water chemistry related. He shared his recent water test and I noticed his calcium level was 580 the normal range is ******* with ideal levels being closer to 200. I gave him instructions on how to lower the calcium level and offered to do an acid bath on the pool at my cost he felt it should be free and I said unfortunately this is not a installation defect its a water chemistry issue which falls on the person that is maintaining the pool in this case ************. We have gone out to Mr. ***** home many times and offered our solutions on how to repair the issues caused by his water chemistry and offered a service at cost to fix the issue caused by water chemistry so I'm not sure how its wanting money but folks rarely take ownership of issues they cause themselves. I think we have been more than fair with ************ in our offer. See attached pictures of the pool on my visit 1/13/23 you can see the scale on the steps (white film) otherwise the pool looks great. I also included a pic from the day we started the pool up called cone042022.jpg. Its a chemical issue plain and simple. We appreciate ************ as a customer but this is not an issue caused by Hobert Pools.
  See Attachment/File: cone1

  Customer response

  02/19/2023

  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  Unfortunately there are two opposite sides to this complaint and business response. I did talk with the sales Manager several times before construction about Tile, color of Plaster, Pavers around the pool, my worries about how the pool will turn out. Plaster maintenances was not one, I did not know to ask. After the Plaster I questioned the work to the pool school guy and, as noted before, he said my two weeks of scrubbing would dissipate the imperfections. I do not remember getting, after Plastering, literature or conversation on how to maintain the Plaster. Not until the Warranty Manager came out did I know about Scale and to watch closely the Ph, alkalinity and chlorine, I've checked the water 2 to 3 times a week and keep a log ever since. I was told keeping the ph in range would help clear the scale over time. Otherwise I'd have to pay $800 to acid wash the pool. As in the Companies response Warranty Mgr. came out 6 days after the pool school guy.
  By doing some research through Orenda Technology website, I have learned that start up, beginning with of putting water into the pool, requires more that just filling up the pool with water.
  As a first time Pool owner I'm sorry this situation came about and If I would have had experience with pool systems I would have been more proactive.
  
  Please Note I do not want to go any further with this complaint. My wife and I like and have enjoyed the pool.

• Initial Complaint

  08/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Our 17 year old pool need replastering. We opted not to have the tiles replaced. Two tiles were broken in the process and we now have unmatching tile in the pool. We had the flagstone replaced as well. The plastering company ruined 15 flagstones by digging gouges in them. Then, I noticed stain marks on the side walls 6 days after plastering. There are also stain marks on the flagstone. When the guy came out to check the stains, he used sandpaper on one and it came off. I was told to get some sandpaper and do the rest myself. Additionally, plaster was left all over the tile. We payed nearly $14,000 to have the pool redone and it looks worse now than it did before we started and I have to do some of the work myself. I have pictures for proof. Thank you.

  

  Business response

  08/22/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/22) */ I know that Don has been in contact with Mrs. ****** and has work orders to have the coping that was damaged repaired or replaced and have the plaster looked at. I agree that Don should not have told Mrs. ****** to clean off the organic stain herself and have told him to have that addressed by us. The 17 year old tile that Mrs. ****** mentions is not plaster overspray but waterline calcium from 17 years of being in the pool at least from the photos that I have seen. However when the plaster crew is there to address the other issues I will have them look and clean any "plaster" that might be on the tile for sure. Again we appreciate Mrs. ****** complaints and certainly would have addressed them but am happy to correspond through the BBB on resolution. We also have before, during and after photos that we can share if needed. Consumer Response /* (2000, 12, 2022/10/25) */ per consumer vm case is resolved

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Signed contract Feb 2nd for a pool. Hobert built a pool for me in the past, less than 1/2 the cost and took under 8 weeks. Nothing from them for months (accurate communication, work) Was told they don't use subcontractors and will be done (since they are behind) by Sept or Oct. Nothing from them but collecting the next check since them. All texts regarding work crews showing up were misleading / lies.

  

  Business response

  01/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/08) */ It is unfortunate that people who file complaints cannot be honest. I only deal in facts and truths. My assumptions is Mr. ******* is not aware that a pandemic has occurred and that everything is different. Mr. ******* would be correct that his last pool was built in 8 weeks because we were fortunately not in a pandemic. If you watch any news station or read any news paper that is all that is talked about, hundreds of ships sitting in the ocean waiting months to be unloaded, help wanted signs everywhere companies begging people to come to work. That is the reality that we are in. Yes pools are taking longer to build today, yes materials are out of stock, yes manufacturing is behind trying to play catch up for being shut down for weeks or months at a time, all of these things affect the build time of Mr. Kincaids pool and every other pool by every other pool builder in the metroplex and around the world. Mr. ******* signed his contract on 2/2/21 and his permit was received 3/17/21. His pool was excavated on 6/24/21. That was obviously pushed back due to the 24 days of rain in the month of ***. 7/2/21 steel, 7/8/21 plumbing, 7/9/21 city inspection, 7/14/gunite, tile and coping 8/2/21, electrical 9/1/21 inspection 9/9/21, 9/20/21 we were told to stop as Mr.******* was doing a project that was not contracted by Hobert Pools. See text from him on 9/19/21 that he was having a structure built and we will have to while he selects a contractor and they acquire permits.. Mr. ******* neglected to mention that in his complaint. I would also like to include 46 pages of text communication to counter his claim of communication. Mr. ******* signed the contract with the payment terms clearly stated. If he did not want to agree to those terms he certainly did not have to sign the contract. In closing with responding to this complaint that is completely false we will continue to complete Mr. Kincaids pool as its contracted to completion and stand behind what we built as we have done for the last 46 years we have been in business. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/12/09) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This is quite a spin, mostly accurate with a few exceptions. Texts explaining that each crew (whatever crew is up next) is way behind and unsure when they will get started is not good communication. A crew showed up yesterday to resume, this is good. I did ask you to wait until the city inspector (in Sept) passes the dirt hole in the yard before you pour concrete decking. They inspected 2 weeks after (it rained a lot the following week, so no deck work was going to get done anyway and none was scheduled) and the job was finished the next day. That was September. Still no concrete, it is December. Again, this is too long regardless of pandemic. I drill oil wells for a living, if I explained to guys who paid for the well nearly a year ago that a Chinese virus is why I can't get the job done, I'd be bankrupt. Thank you for resuming work, please continue and I'll close the matter with BBB and let's move on. In my wildest dreams I did not expect to have a green algae filled frog pond and mud pitt in my yard nearly a year later. It is not fair or good business. Your company is signing too many contracts and taking too many deposits for the work you are able to perform in a timely manner. How long do YOU think is reasonable to build a pool start to finish? We're over 10 months now and counting. When would YOU start getting annoyed and complain. a year? 2 years? I've been extremely understanding and patient - until recently. Please put yourself in my shoes - if you were, you'd be mad at Hobert Pools also right now.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩