Questions on Optimum Semi Inground Pool Install

[BosKat]

I purchased a 21’ foot round Optimum pool from a local company with the agreement that their installer would install it to a depth where only 6 to 12 inches sticking above ground (it is a semi inground pool designed for this purpose). The installer dug the hole in mid April and the pool has arrived at my house (it is in boxes in my garage and driveway). The installation date on the contract was April 24. I have paid the pool company the complete amount for the pool, accessories and heat pump and I have paid the installer a deposit for the excavation and installation, plus additional money for some additional digging they had to do. It ended up raining the week of the anticipated installation - the installation never happened. Now here we are nearly three weeks later - I have a huge hole in my backyard, collecting water and filled with mosquitos. When I ask when the pool will be installed, I am told by the installer that I will have to wait for 7-10 days without rain (which doesn't happen in New England this time of year) or from the pool salesman that it must be dry for 2-3 days. I have reached out to them multiple times over the past weeks and they will not give me a new installation date - instead they tell me I have to “be patient.”

Here are my questions:

1. Is it normal to dig the hole for the pool installation weeks ahead of the installation date? I'm wondering if this is just poor business practice on their part and now the installer has all of these holes around waiting for pools and can't get to them in a timely manner.

2. Should the installer be able to give me a new installation date - or at least an idea of when he might be able to install it? As I asked them, am I number two or three on their list or number 10, 11? I need to get some idea of when this pool will be installed so I can plan other things around it, such as a deck being built.

3. I asked the installer if I could pump the rainwater out of the hole myself to get it ready for installation. He said yes so I spent $200 renting the equipment and an afternoon off work to do it. When I gave him an update he then said we would have to wait for 7-10 days without rain for the installation so I essentially wasted my time and money. Could this company pick a day where they pump out the rainwater themselves and put down some lime or something else to prepare the hole for the pool installation?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Teapot]

1. Yes, quite often especially at busy times when diggers may not be available.
2. Weather has a big affect on pool installation so if you are going through adverse weather you may have to wait. It does amaze me that professional installers haven't got access to large covers to work under. I once installed a pool working under a poly tunnel because we hit a rainy spell. Other pool installers do not possess the intellect to think outside the box and would rather let down customers.
3. I don't believe you wasted your money pumping the water out, you may need to do that a couple of times so maybe go to home depot and buy a pump, can always sell it afterwards, rather than risk a collapse of the excavation which is why, by the sound of it, the installer wants to wait 7-10 days after the rain stops.

I doubt this installer will stay in business the way they are working so make sure you get some kind of warranty Optimum will honour.

[BosKat]

Thank you for your response - I truly appreciate it. I heard back from the installer this afternoon and he said I'm on his schedule for early June. Unfortunately I've had to cancel my pool deck build and a shed delivery (both scheduled for May) because of the pool installation delay.

Honesty, communication and setting realistic expectations in the beginning of this whole process, before I even handed the pool company or installer a credit card, would’ve gone a long way in making this a successful project. Good customer service means setting realistic expectations from the beginning. I’m self-employed and if I knew that there was a chance of something causing a delay in my providing services to a client I would tell them that upfront before a contract was signed.

I know they can’t predict the weather, but as experienced pool sellers/installers they have obviously encountered rainy weather before and know the impact of it on installations. If the pool company and installer had set expectations up front and explained that rain could significantly delay the pool installation (before I gave them my money) then I could have planned accordingly.

Instead whenever I inquire about the installation delay they tell me to "be patient." As my boyfriend has been saying, they weren’t asking me to “be patient” at the beginning of this project when they were taking my money.