These have been interesting times, no doubt. But for Stephen Little, it goes beyond that.
“I will tell you truthfully, 2024 will prove to be the most radically disruptive year I’ve had in the pool industry and will set the tone for the next 20 years in my company,” says the CEO of Claropool in Palm Desert, Calif. “It has been radically disruptive.”
This year, Little developed several new plans that will be rolled out in full at the beginning of 2025.
These changes didn’t result solely from the more immediate economic conditions that have presented themselves post-COVID. Expecting to come out of 2024 with profits increased by 15% to 20% over last year, his company has done well.
Indeed, Little also is responding to longer-term generational shifts and is preparing for them to take a stronger hold as time passes. In his service area – California’s Coachella Valley, a nationally popular retirement destination – those born toward the end of the Baby Boom are replacing their more senior generational counterparts, as well as retirees from the Silent Generation. Little and his team have found these clients to be more discriminating than their predecessors -- both more savvy and more concerned about how they spend a dollar that doesn’t stretch as much as it used to.
“I’ve seen a migration the past couple years, and it has really culminated this year, from an older guard saying, ‘I will pay what I have to pay to get the job done,’ to a more thoughtful, intentional decision-making process, where they say, ‘I’m going to vote with my wallet,’” Little says. “That’s a two-edged sword: If you come to them inauthentic, you’ll lose their business; If you come to them authentic and intentional, they will embrace your business.”
This change comes in combination with generational shifts in the workforce, with younger workers similarly more selective about their employment.
But Little did feel the need to response to current economic conditions as well, especially rising costs. So the first part of Claropool’s retooling came to its business and billing model. Before, Claropool offered several contracts to choose from.
“I used to have 15 different prices,” he explains. “I decided that my business model related to pool cleaning would be very simple.”
Essentially, customers choose between once-a-week or twice-a-week service. Before, all choices included two visits per week. While on the surface it may seem like this way gives the customer fewer choices, it provides more: Customers can add on whatever services they want for a cost.
And while it may seem to cost the customer more, it actually could lower their bill if they switched to one visit per week.
“It is billed transactionally,” Little explains.
However, to do business with the company, customers must sign up for certain services the company believes necessary to uphold its standards. These are not negotiable. They include an annual “tune-up” with services such as replacement of O-rings and inspeciton of grounding, bonding, GFCI and other items, as well as a filter cleaning and specialty chemical treatment. They also agree to certain services on a quarterly basis.
“We provide that service as the basis for what we need to do to keep your pool clean, safe efficient and healthy,” Little says.
While invoicing goes out monthly, charges are tabulated weekly to allow for variations that might occur from visit to visit, with services billed in arrears.
“I’ve gone from an all-inclusive service to a transactional model," Little explains. “ ‘These are things that you must have, and these are things you may have -- it’s up to you.’”
He saw this as a necessary step for staying on top of changing prices.
“What I paid $10 for pre-COVID, I’m paying $20 now,” he reports. “So if I was charging $250 pre-COVID and now I’m charging $375 -- but my costs have doubled -- my profit has dropped 50%.”
To explain this and prepare customers, Little is sending them a letter called, “The Economics of Providing Pool Service,” outlining the reasoning behind the change. “It’s about arming them with all this information and letting them make a decision,” he says.
To make employees happier, as well as improve his company's services, Little is revamping his training program to be more intensive, with more emphasis on skills and less on cultural immersion than before. What used to be anchored by a training manual and ride-alongs for on-site learning has expanded to include a 360-hour academy that focuses on specific skill sets and tests.
“I think young people are less concerned with culture and more concerned with tangible assets,” he says. “A skill is a tangible asset. I’m looking at skills as almost another form of compensation.”
Little also is moving from uniforms to allowing employees to choose what they wear on the job – within certain parameters for safety and professionalism. Shirts must have the company logo, and attire must meet OSHA standards for safety (closed-toe shoes are a must, for instance). Employees can make most other decisions.
He sees it as a way to develop relationships between his staff and the clients they serve. “I want them to embrace their individuality,” Little says. “I think one of our greatest strengths as an industry is our individuality.”
