Industry icon Vance Gillette passed away Aug. 10 after battling a long illness. He was 75.
For decades, Gillette served as the face of Jandy and its parent companies, through his retirement in 2013.
But, as friends and colleagues explain, his impact reached well beyond the brand he represented. Indeed, he largely reframed the industry’s image of itself, the value it provides, and its approach to customer service and sales. Through his frequent talks and articles to the industry, as well as interactions with his own clients, Gillette promoted an idea that the industry now takes for granted - emphasizing the lifestyle changes that pools and spas mean for homeowners.
At a time when many pool professionals focused on the nuts and bolts of their products when selling to customers, Gillette encouraged them to emphasize the emotional aspects of pool ownership instead. He'd implore them to “sell the steak, not the sizzle.”
“He was never just about parts and filters and motors and cleaning systems,” said Lewis “Buzz” Ghiz, former owner of retailer/builder Paddock Pools and manufacturer Paramount Pool & Spa Systems, both in Scottsdale, Ariz. “He was about lifestyle. So he had such an impact on the way people presented their swimming pools.”
Over the years, that approach became the industry’s default. “He was saying that so early on,” said Scott Frost, executive vice president of sales and service for Fluidra. “... The backyard vacation or staycation — anything about the experiential part of the pool — he started it.”
He frequently reminded pool/spa professionals that they deliver joy. To get the point across, he would joke that he wasn’t in the pool industry but the entertainment industry, Frost remembered.
Gillette got his message across and held such influence through discipline to his message and an ability to immediately engage virtually anyone.
“He was one of those guys who you kind of fell in love with when you first met him,” Ghiz said. “And he walked the walk and talked the talk.”
Gillette found his family in the pool industry, friends say. He was born Nov. 2, 1948 in the San Francisco Bay area. After a challenging childhood, he entered the industry in 1966, as a teenage telemarketer selling pool cleaners for Arneson Products. He would cold-call customers over the phone, and secure appointments for a representative to visit homes and sell the new and expensive technology. He eventually was promoted to salesperson.
“He had a pitch and a way of approaching that you didn’t say no to,” Frost said.
In 1975, he moved to chlorine-generator manufacturer Geni-Chlor, where he served as vice president of marketing and sales. Two years later, he was hired by Jandy Pool Products Founder Andy Pansini as executive vice president of the San Francisco Bay-area controller manufacturer.
By all accounts, he quickly became the face of the company and shaped its culture. “It was Vance’s culture of being so laser- and hyper-focused on the customer and being customer-centric,” Ghiz said.
Gillette remained with the Jandy brand through various acquisitions, including by Teledyne Laars, Waterpik, then Zodiac Pool Systems, which has since merged with Fluidra.
An interesting thing would happen after each acquisition: Jandy’s culture would infuse its acquirer rather than the other way around, and Jandy executives often would take top positions with the new owner. “I would suggest that was 95% Vance Gillette,” Frost said.
As a manufacturer, Ghiz said he modeled his approach to customer service after Gillette. “He knew how to build an enduring, meaningful, heartfelt relationship with his client,” Ghiz said.
Throughout his career, Gillette served on several committees and councils for the national trade association now called the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, such as the Builders and Manufacturers Councils.
Gillette also played an important role in the formation of Genesis in the late 1990s, signing on to the organization’s message immediately and signing up his compamy as one of its first sponsors. Over time he became known as an honorary founder.
Last year, Genesis presented Gillette with its Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry and the organization.
“Vance was big on relationships, and he had an ability to make people feel like they were the most important customers,” said Genesis Co-Founder Brian Van Bower.
