Hauk Custom Pools Ranks Fourth in Customer Service Among Top 50 Builders

Product Knowledge

Most customers aren’t extremely knowledgeable when it comes to designing and building pools and spas. They’re coming to you as the professional to guide them through the process and leave them with a finished product that meets their needs.

Not only should you know your products and the construction process inside and out, you also should be able to explain it all to the customer in a way he or she can understand. If a design concept the customer wants won’t work, tell them why. If an inexpensive product is inferior, explain that, too.

Hauk Custom Pools makes sure its sales staff is thoroughly trained in the products they’re selling. “We constantly enforce to our sales staff that they are educators, not salespeople,” says Clay Hauk, president of operations.

The training process, which was first implemented six years ago, is rather extensive. Salespeople go through six months to a year of product training. “We’ll send them to courses and classes to learn,” Hauk says. “We actually have engineers who come in and have instructional meetings with our sales and construction staff.”

The company aims to have a sales force that can speak intelligently on products, giving customers pros and cons and letting them ultimately make an informed decision.

The builder also uses customer responses to teach its sales team about product benefits and drawbacks. “Based on feedback from customers, we do full summaries with our sales staff on products of what products work and what don’t work,” Hauk says.

This has paid off. Hauk said customer satisfaction and sales improved after the company put the training program into action.

In addition to the training, Hauk Custom Pools shot a professional video for salespeople to use as an instructional tool for potential customers. The footage shows the construction process to give homeowners a better understanding of what they can expect.

Clients clearly appreciate the effort. “I interviewed several companies before choosing Hauk,” says Patrick C. Prosper, a customer. “There were several companies that just told me what I wanted to hear rather than provide me with expert advice. After careful consideration and cost analysis, I chose Tim Ryan and Hauk. I believed then and now know that although Hauk wasn’t the cheapest, they were the best!”