Pool Problems

I've been a water baby my whole life. I love the sun and I love it even more within a chlorinated body of water. We decided when we built our home that we would need our lot to be able to accommodate a pool. That was a fairly easy feat--our builder even insert a pool on our blueprint just to show the capability.

Jump a year after we moved in and decide to start gathering quotes and seeing what the pool process is all about. The first thing I did was reach out on Facebook for pool company suggestions, as well as pros and cons on fiberglass and gunite. We aren't interested in a liner pool and almost every pool professional has guided us away from that option. Most comments led us to believe that a fiberglass pool would be the way to go---less longterm maintenance, more affordable, and easier to maintain. The downsize to fiberglass is they're not customizable, so you have to be able to find one in the size and shape that works for you. However, there are literally hundreds of options, so unless you're wanting something totally whacky, you should be able to find a suitable option. Keep in mind, when we initially started looking, we were looking at the largest pool sizes that would fit the yard. As you can imagine, the larger the project, the larger the fees. We paused our pool dreams because it was turning into a mental money pit and Dave Ramsey's voice took over.

These are the companies that were recommended to us or ones that we reached out to:

Brad's Pools (Gunite) *Recommended, but haven't contacted yet
Pristine Pools (Gunite) *Recommended
Blue Haven Pools Someone with Blue Haven came out and while he seemed knowledgable, he told us we'd have to pay about $1,000 to have the city come out and blah blah blah, basically a load of crap. Okie had already come out to mark the yard, so this additional $1,000 was unnecessary.
Loch Ness Pools (Fiberglass) *Recommended and while we know two people who have used them, both had lengthy installs and not the best experience.
Seabreeze (Fiberglass) *Recommended - We had Mark with Seabreeze out and had planned on him starting the install during February of 2021. He started off great and was enthusiastic. Once we pumped the brakes and had more questions, it seemed like we were a bother to him. He didn't seem to want to give estimates or quotes and his responses became short when we asked for specific pricing. He would take days, if not weeks, to reply. One quote he gave was nearing $70k. Ew.
Thunder Pools (Fiberglass) *Recommended Someone with Thunder Pools came out and they were fine, but then they went through a company makeover and new people were on board and the reviews didn't weren't great.
Aquascacpe OKC (Gunite) Aquascape started off great with communication and scheduling an appointment. Mark with Aquascape came out. A couple things to note: 1) He immediately talked about having a disgruntled customer. 2) He said he'd call by the end of week for us to come to their store and see the plan on paper. It has now been 21 days and it appears another pool company has ghosted us. I think I scared him when I said that we want to take the "minimalistic approach." Update: After following up, we have an appointment to visit their store and go over the design they've come up with. I actually contacted a friend who used Aquascape and she didn't have a spectacular experience, so I'm curious how our meeting will go. Post-meeting update: We met with Aquascape and while their showroom is pretty amazing (literal in-ground pools installed on-site with landscaping and all the pretty things), we just weren't super impressed. It seems like there wasn't a lot of consideration for what we said we were wanting put into our proposal. Because I do want to be transparent about our experience, I will have you know that our quote was near $70,000. Does that sound like the minimalistic approach we talked about? Not at all. There was no consideration for our backyard, which confuses me a bit about why the sales employee ever came to our home. There was an excessive amount of landscaping in our proposal....$10,000 to be exact. We NEVER said we were interested in additional landscaping (we are, just probably not from the pool company---we like to hire professionals designed for their specific line of work).
Fox Pools They replied to my inquiry asking for more information and then ghosted me.
Rock Creek Pools (Fiberglass) Keith with Rock Creek was quick to reply to my email with his contact information, but when I called it seemed very gimmicky. He told me, "If you buy a pool today, it would be X amount." Sir, this isn't a pool drive-thru, I'm not "buying a pool today." He also said he'd text me pictures of his "stock" and I never heard from the man again. Keith, you alright bud? Again, ghosted.
Elk City Pools & Spas I am actually super impressed with Elk City Pools because they not only replied to my inquiry, but sent me an itemized quote for the pool we're wanting. My only hesitation is that Elk City is not anywhere near our home.
Antler Pools & Patios I was impressed with Antler Pools and Patios from the start. Their website, presence on social media, and scheduling process was so simple---I chose a date/time online and submitted my information. Chris called shortly after to confirm our appointment and what we're looking to do. They have even make TikToks, which may seem trivial, but it tells me they're trying to stay relevant and not to mention, TikToks are a great way to display the work and process of pool installations!

Chris and Ryan with Antler Pools & Patios came out and we IMMEDIATELY liked them. Chris came prepared to flag off our yard to show us a visual of where the pool would go. They listened to our wishes, took notes, and were honestly the most genuine professionals we have encountered in the pool biz so far. They were super personable and honestly, building a positive work relationship is half the battle for us when it comes to hiring anyone. If I get even an inkling of a bad vibe, I'm out and unfortunately, a lot of companies have bad vibes. Antler was only good vibes and if they don't pan out, I might throw in the towel (jk, kind of).

We met with Chris and Ryan again to look at the design and LOVE it. The proposal was more in our budget comfort zone and we're looking forward to a pool for summer of 2022.

Out of every pool company we've talked to, each have claimed to be the "best." I think that should be the customer's discretion.

Now we're in 2021 and have decided HEY, we don't NEED a large ass pool, we WANT a water source to cool off in and to create a mini-oasis. We've shifted our efforts to more of a spool/cocktail/plunge style pool, rather than an entire yard of pool. Because honestly, when have you ever seen me doing laps? Yeah, never.

Send us positive vibes as we weed through maybe every single pool company in the state of Oklahoma.

Bye Flaminga