Approximately 2 weeks after the startup of my pool, on 9-20-05, my pool pump lost prime. In other words, water was not flowing through the pump at all, even though it was on. I called Blue Haven to come and check it out. I repeatedly left messages for the General Manager, Greg, to come out or call me back. Neither of which happened.
After 2 days of no contact from him, on 9-22-05, I called again and this time I was sarcastically told by his Office Manager and Wife, Kathy, that she didn't know when Greg would call me back and that she suggested that I use someone else to fix the problem. I couldn't believe it. I just spent $57,532 on my pool, and this was the treatment I was receiving.
5Sarcasm was something I was used too, with Kathy. Throughout all communications during the pool construction, she was very rude, condescending and sarcastic. In my opinion, she has no Customer Service skills whatsoever. The only reason I ever talked to her is because this was the only way to get in touch with her husband Greg.
He does not have voicemail on his cell phone. I always thought that this was odd, especially for a businessman. But, now I realize that he probably chose not to have voicemail because he would most likely be doing nothing but listening to his Customers complain. So in reality, Kathy is the buffer between Greg and the Customer.
I had another pool company come out immediately to check out the situation. He got my pump working again and told me that the reason my pump lost prime was that the Ozinator was connected in the wrong spot. It was connected prior to the pump. He also noticed that there was no adjuster valve on the Ozinator. An Ozinator pumps air (ozone) into the pool.
Without this adjuster valve, there was no way of controlling the amount of air that was inserted in the pool. To much air led my pump to lose prime. He said that the Ozinator should be placed at the pump or beyond it and suggested that I make another appointment with him to move it. He temporarily disconnected the Ozinator in fear of my pump losing prime again.
On 9-23-05 I called Blue Havens Corporate Customer Service Department and talked to someone named Barbara. She seemed very sympathetic to my situation. I explained everything that happened. I explained that I had an appointment with another pool company to fix the Ozinator placement problem. She asked me to please cancel the appointment and to give them one more chance. So I agreed. She said she was going to contact Greg and find out what was going on.
On 9-29-05 I still did not hear from anyone at Blue Haven Pools. So I called Barbara again to find out what was going on. She said she was shocked that I hadn't heard back from Greg or Kathy. I told her that I was done playing games. I told her if I didn't hear back from either her or Greg or Kathy by the end of business on 9-30-05, that I was going to file complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the State Contractors Board and Consumer Affairs. I never got a call from anyone at Blue Haven.
On 10-01-05, I made good on my promise and filed the complaints online and by mail. I also emailed Barbara, to let her know what I did.
On 10-3-05, Barbara called and said that she was going to call Greg and find out why he hasn't called me. She called back to tell me that Greg passed the information on to the Ozinator Sales Rep. and that the Rep. would call me to setup an appointment to fix the Ozinator problem.
The Ozinator Sales Rep. did come to my house and connected the Ozinator where it should have been located along with placing a valve on the end of the hose. The Ozinator Sales Rep. told me that this was the first Ozinator that Blue Haven Morgan Hill had ever installed and that they did not do it correctly. Since he reconnected it, I have not had any problems.
The above statements were only a couple of the many problems I encountered with Blue Haven. I had many other issues as well. Things like the Gunite having to be removed and readded because the shape of the radius was off by 10, valves were not installed, sheer descents that were not trimmed, and other crappy workmanship from Blue Haven contractors.
Whatever happened to The Customer is Always Right? Blue Haven Pools does not care about their Customers, especially if you have already paid them. I suggest holding back that last payment until you are 100% satisfied. Look at their contract closely though. It conveniently says that the last payment is due at plaster.
Before you sign the contract, make the Blue Haven Sales Puppet agree to change that sentence. I am sorry but plaster is not the final step in pool construction. These idiots expected me to pay them the day they started up my pool, even though the sheer descents were not trimmed, and even though a one way valve was missing on the pool equipment, which caused my SPA to drain every time I turned off the equipment and even though my Ozinator was not installed, because they forgot to order it. And they want their money because my pool is plastered? What's wrong with this picture?
Here is the icing on the cake. In the very beginning the Blue Haven Salesman suggested that I get the Ozinator. He said that they work great and it is a must. So I agreed to buy it. The day of startup, when I pointed out that the Ozinator wasn't installed, their answer was, that they would just credit me back the cost of the Ozinator. I told them no way. Then Greg told me, You know, they really don't work that great anyway. So I am thinking, either he is being lazy or his Salesman is a Liar. I told him maybe he ought to consider telling that to his Salesman.
I still to this day, have not heard from Greg, Kathy or Barbara. One would think that I would have at least been contacted by Barbara to see if everything was okay. But I haven't. I have however heard from the Better Business Bureau and the State Contractor Board. I have not be compensated my expenses for having the other pool company come out to fix the pool prime problem.
I would highly recommend that you investigate Blue Haven via the Better Business Bureau and your States Contractor Board prior to considering them to build your pool. Then also type in Blue Haven Pools in any search engine and see what happens. You will notice tons of complaints, from people all across the country.
Vince
Hollister, California
U.S.A.
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