I live by the customer notes section in Skimmer during the summer chaos! It’s a lifesaver when things get hectic—I can always refer back to it instead of trying to remember every little detail. I also rely heavily on work orders to document any special customer requests—“add this,” “skip that,” etc. It helps me stay on top of things and gives me a solid CYA if there are any questions later on. Organization = sanity in the summer! 
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The “Service Notes” in the Admin panel is awesome! Instead of a collection of texts, calls, and verbal notes from tech of things to “be aware of” or “keep in mind” at this pool or that. This is a list of all things that may be a concern, that I can’t forget or forget who told me that. I have a list to review and either reach out to the homeowner that their salt cell may be on its way out, or let them know their gate won’t close. It’s been a life saver!
To survive the chaos, we add seasonal help, train them in Skimmer, provide a bonus to incentivize our employees to show up on time and not call out, we get Skimmer fully loaded with personalized checklists per customer (in the absence of having different service packages that can broadly be applied to all which I wish the system had!), leverage customer notes and pool notes to communicate anything special per stop and are always ready to move routes between technicians if/when needed.
During the summer, my Dad stocks up on electrolyte packets when they go on sale at Costco or wherever, and gives each of the techs a box or so of packets. This has helped the guys get through some rough HOT days here in Florida and has prevented a tech or two from almost passing out. Make sure everyone is staying hydrated!!!
I've got two things that help us stay on top of the heat and the crazy pace that summer brings-
First, we use a work order and label it “Note” to track small customer requests. Things like “My vacuum isn’t moving as quickly, can you check it?” or “I had to adjust the water leveler, can you make sure I did it right?”
These notes make it easy for the tech to take care of it and snap a photo for the skimmer report, so the customer sees we followed through. It’s a small thing, but it goes a long way in making people feel heard and taken care of.
Second is preemptive IVs. Once a month, everyone has the option to get an IV to stay ahead on hydration. Some guys pass on it, but those of us who do it feel a huge difference. It keeps us one step ahead of that brutal summer dehydration.
Hey everyone!
These are some awesome ideas about hydration! We take it a step further by providing our team with lightweight company shirts and hats for sun protection, especially since things get really hot here in Texas. It’s all about keeping our crew comfortable while they work!
What gear do you all use to stay cool and protected during those scorching summer days? Let’s share our best tips for keeping our teams safe and effective while navigating the heat!
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! 
To survive the chaos, we add seasonal help, train them in Skimmer, provide a bonus to incentivize our employees to show up on time and not call out, we get Skimmer fully loaded with personalized checklists per customer (in the absence of having different service packages that can broadly be applied to all which I wish the system had!), leverage customer notes and pool notes to communicate anything special per stop and are always ready to move routes between technicians if/when needed.
Thanks @AJSTAAR for sharing this! I’m curious about how you manage to bring in seasonal help.
- Where do you advertise to attract these seasonal employees? I assume you’re looking for part-time workers?
- Also, can you elaborate on how the bonus structure works? What percentage of their pay does the bonus represent? Is it based on showing up on time a certain number of times each week or month?
We’ve been exploring ways to improve accountability in our scheduling while also providing incentives, so any details you can share would be greatly appreciated!
This year has been crazy, raining every weekend! 🤯 Didn't think I'd be wearing pants and sweatshirts while cleaning pools in June. Due to the rise in pool service companies within a 30-mile radius, I've had so much competition. The skimmer docket helps me stand out, sent to customers with detailed photos of my work. It's a great idea. My best friend also owns a pool company he just opened in March, and we both share customers and help each other out on jobs when needed! 
#PoolSeason #PoolService #Competition #CustomerService #Pools #Business #Friendship #Customers#7yearsinbiz
@ATXpoolguy - We leveraged our ADP→ Career Plug relationship to post the seasonal jobs which then posts on multiple job boards- we bring them on for full time hours but with the understanding it’s seasonal for our peak months. We have had seasonal work out to be solid performers that we ended up keeping on, otherwise we release when volume of work decreases. We’re in a cold climate, so we have major work peaks in spring and fall for pool openings and closings.
We did an experimental ‘spring bonus’ this year to incentivize attendance and showing up on time for our peak 8-week pool opening season since it’s so crazy and even 1 person calling out greatly impacts our ability to service all our customers scheduled. We offered $100 for the week for perfect attendance AND arriving on time (no leeway given on even 1-minute late clocking in!). I do think it helped quite a bit, though I think next year we’ll look to do more performance based pay structure in general.
Happy to chat about any further questions!
