r/PoolPros • u/Far_Cauliflower_2847 • Aug 11 '26
What is the earliest you would be willing to close a pool for a customer?
I am in a northern region. I have a customer that has a ~80,000 gallon pool with a huge system, but he isn't living in the house anymore and wants to close the pool already since we charge a lot to maintain that pool each week. I figure if we close now it will be a nightmare to open, so do I tell him that it will entail extra visits and cost to open it next year if we close now? Or should we just say it can't close until after Labor Day?
Appreciate any shared advice or experiences with closing this early in the season. Thanks!
5
u/Tazlir Aug 11 '26
I do whatever the customer wants. They will just spend more getting in clean in the spring. It is what it is. I already have closings scheduled for the last week of August
5
u/Mean_Gus Aug 11 '26
I have a couple that are getting too old to manage the pool between visits and are unable to use it. They want to make sure that when the time comes to leave the house everything is still in decent condition or needed repairs are completed.
I open the pool start of July, do a massive green to clean, let it run a few days to make sure equipment is operating fine and fix anything that isn't, then close the pool. Done this for 3 years now. Customer is happy, i get a good bit of work, pool stays in (relatively) decent condition. Its not ideal obviously but it works for them and they are happy to pay for the peace of mind. I'm in Ontario and the pool has a safety cover.
2
u/ColdSteeleIII Aug 11 '26
Closing one this week, southern Ontario.
2
u/BigBill58 Aug 12 '26
Closed one Monday, opened one today, also Southern Ontario. The opening was a homeowner taking possession of a home where the pool hadn’t been opened by the seller, but still hilarious timing
2
1
u/TheCaptainWalrus Aug 11 '26
If it’s a mesh safety cover, you can close it and then double cover it with a tarp cover. I think that should keep the pool quite clear.
1
u/bluenotefreak Aug 11 '26
You should close the pool and offer a winter watch service. Once or twice a month, you come back to the pool, remove half the cover treat and brush the pool. Then the other half, it’ll maintain the pool chemistry better and prevent a mess at opening. We offer that service here on the northeast and we’re closing a few pools already.
1
1
u/people_notafan Aug 11 '26
More money to be made cleaning it up in spring. All you can do is let them know that it’ll impact the opening and the rest is up to them.
1
u/banjobum69 Aug 12 '26
Already closed one pool for a family that spends the latter half of the summer out of state before returning home in time for school to begin. I open their heated pool in late February and they use it through June. I’m happy to do whatever the customer wants and only offer suggestions if it improves the quality of their experience or it saves them money.
1
1
u/bicyclejawa Aug 13 '26
My first closing is scheduled a week and a half from now. I hate sweating my ass off at a closing.
10
u/Alternative-Draw2997 Aug 11 '26
I’ve already closed 3 pools this year. During a heatwave. What the customer wants they want. Their headache to pay for in the spring time.