Complaint Review: Pools N Spas of Central Florida

Our pool project began with Quality Pools of Jacksonville, sold to us by Frank Messina. The pool was installed by Pools N’ Spas of Central Florida, also known as Strong, Inc. The project dragged on for months and was a terrible experience for our family. We signed the contract in Sept 2017, and construction began in early Nov 2017. They "finished” on March 29, 2018. There were no significant weather, permitting, or other issues to delay the project. In fact, a house around the corner from us started construction the same week on their pool, which included a screen enclosure, and it was completely finished in January.

The pace of construction was not our biggest concern; it was the absolutely terrible treatment and lack of communication from Strong, Inc that created tremendous stress. Communication was horrible with Jarrod Eden ('project manager’) - his voicemail is always full, he never answers his phone, and he only communicates via text message at his convenience. We had no idea who was coming, when they would come, or what was happening next.

Strong, Inc/Quality Pools of Jacksonville/Pools N Spas of Central Florida mispresented the product which was to be built in our yard with the drawings they provided. Anyone can look at the drawings and photos of what they built and clearly see this is not the same product. When confronted about this discrepancy, their salesperson, Frank Messina, was combative, disrespectful, argumentative and rude, stating that the drawing is simply a rendering and that we were wrong. Telling us to shut up and he’s the expert. You can’t reason with an unreasonable person.

Once construction was underway, I pointed out an area where irrigation lines were known to be and texted Frank Messina and Jarrod Eden a photo of the area as well as asked how we can ensure this is handled properly to avoid a break in the line, etc. They both ignored my inquiry. Several months later we discovered the line was in fact broken by the construction. Strong, Inc. said it’s not their responsibility. By this time we expected nothing less from these people.

During construction incompetence was displayed time and time again. The basic task of picking colors for tiles and plaster was a circus that took several weeks and someone driving to our home to drop off samples and a brochure when these choices were all available online. In addition, a table feature of our pool remained unfinished for weeks after the rest of the pool was finished. It took multiple follow up efforts from us to get them to come back and finish the table. But since there was already water in the pool, the water had to be drained by about 2 feet to do the work, and then debris ended up in the pool. The table is also not level.

The construction crew left behind trash and debris in the yard for weeks. Some of this ended up in the pool, and they didn’t bother to pick it up or sweep out the pool before putting water in it. The day they put water in it, they simply turned on our hose and left it running and left for the day without any communication. We were both at work, had no idea that this was done. We travel often and could have been gone for a couple of days, if this were to have happened the water would have overflowed. This was another example of their laziness and incompetence.

Overall, the experience we have had with this company has been negative, filled with stress and uncertainty. This is the largest purchase we have ever made, other than our home, and we expected to be treated as valued customers. We were not. We hope that by telling our story, we can spare other families from the suffering we endured.