When a customer called requesting a new liner to be put into their pool, the process could easily extend up to an extra month for Magen Privett of Oklahoma Pool and Patio. She would measure the pool and record the numbers, then send the measurements in, only to be told a particular number was off.
“Then we would have to go back and re-measure,” Privett says. And it became more complicated as pool designs grew more sophisticated, with rounded forms, sun benches, steps and more.
When she was introduced to an app that allowed her to record the numbers and send them directly to the manufacturer, the process was cut down by nearly a month. There were far fewer revisions to be made, and no need to return to the pool to remeasure, either.
“It makes [customers] a lot happier because they’re getting their liners faster, they’re getting their pools faster and then they’re happy because it’s over and done,” Privett remarks.
Apps have started popping up on the scene for pool builders that allow them to draw the pool directly onto their tablets, taking A-B points and correcting mistakes on the fly. The app can determine if a measurement point seems off and highlights it, allowing the builder to check the point and fix it. The drawing can then be emailed directly from the app to the manufacturer’s CAD department.
“[The app] becomes a more efficient way of measuring and it’s 95 percent more accurate,” says John Vowels, regional sales director of Tara Pools, which created such an app. “Every trip back [to re-measure] means you’re losing money as a pool builder, because you’re paying them to go back and do more work.”
Some apps are free to download and use, such as Tara Pools’, and Privett says works well on an iPad because of the screen size. It’s easy to use, and Vowels says it takes builders only a few times to become comfortable with it. His company will send representatives to pool sites to walk builders through the process and become comfortable.
Privett, who describes herself as “not very tech-savvy,” says it took only about a month for her to become comfortable using the app. She found that the iPad worked much easily for her, and made a huge difference as she was learning.
The amount of time spent measuring the pool is the same, Vowels says, but it’s the process after that is much faster. Since everything can be tackled at the pool site, it saves an hour or three on callbacks and repeat visits, resulting in faster quotes and faster contracts.
And for those more sophisticated pool designs, the app draws out all the features such as sun ledges and curved stairs and so forth. It provides a visual cue that mirrors the actual pool, which helps the builders know whether they’re measuring correctly or not.
Vowels says the reaction to the app has been a game-changer. “It saves time and worry,” he says, “and makes the customer happier, too.”
For more information about the measurement app, visit tarapools.com.
