Project “Start” Date: September 2016
Estimated Project Completion Date: Mid-November 2016 (Pool and fence)
Anyone that is considering using Jimmy Cerna to design and build the pool of their dreams, PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION, or an even better solution would be to NOT PROCEED AT ALL!
My family and I had been saving for many years so that we would be able to have the pool of our dreams. While we were doing our research and comparisons, we came across “Artizan Pools” aka “Jimmy’s Pools”, and they may have switched to another company name by now as well, I am unsure at the moment.
We decided that we liked what we saw as far as designs and finished products, so we decided to use Jimmy Cerna (Artizan Pools / Jimmy’s Pools) for this project.
Jimmy Cerna came by the house to take a look at the area outback where the pool was going to be, so that he could get a vision of what would look best and what would be needed to accomplish our goals. As I’m sure is the case with many people getting a new pool, we decided to opt for a few more extra “bells and whistles” and upgrades, which of course we knew would increase the price of the project, which is totally understandable and makes sense.
Jimmy Cerna had also brought it to our attention that most people decide to add an exterior privacy fence which would look nice, but would also keep random people from using your pool when you aren’t home.
To keep things as brief as possible with this post/review, we decided we liked Jimmy Cerna and we were confident and totally at ease with our decision to move forward with his company. I am sure we all know that a job of this financial magnitude would require a deposit to cover materials, laborers, etc. which we again had no issue at all with.
We provided Jimmy Cerna with an initial deposit of $30,000.00 in mid-September to get things started. Without dragging the story out too much longer, Jimmy Cerna requested more money that he needed for more materials, workers, etc. Between the middle of September and the end of October 2016, Jimmy Cerna requested and was paid right around $91,000.00 (that total DOES include the initial $30K deposit).
As of 12/21/16 the pool is nowhere near completion, and the only work done with the fence has been installing SOME (not all) of the posts. I do not want to slander or provide and information that I cannot verify without some sort of document, so I will not speak on the laborers or vendors that are also involved in this project that have yet to be paid as well.
Jimmy Cerna is definitely a great speaker and is very good at making you feel comfortable with he and his company, but unfortunately there seems to be mostly excuses and smoke & mirrors rather than actual results or even following through with scheduled appointments (onsite, text and phone).
Jimmy Cerna is no longer responding to text, email, or phone. When we were able to speak with him previously he would always give us his “word” someone would be there tomorrow, which would turn into tomorrow, then next week, until he decided to just stop responding altogether.
Please do not give any of your hard-earned money to Jimmy Cerna, nor any of his other “companies” without being able to have product in-hand right then and there. After some research, we found we are NOT the only family he has done this too, and all of their stories seem very similar to ours other than dates and amount of money.
I hope this review reaches the right people, and I sincerely hope this post can help people avoid any losses from dealing with Jimmy Cerna.
Thank you everyone for your time, and please heed this warning.
#2Author of original report
Wed, January 25, 2017
After my original post, and speaking with the owner of the company, we were able to get everything addressed and taken care of.
All of the work has been completed to our satisfaction, and Artizan Pools/Jimmy Cerna did complete the job 100% and looks beautiful.