There has been a lot of talk about the US being in a recession.
Some say we’re already in a recession. Regardless, I get a lot of buyers wanting to find out what happens to a pool route when a recession does hit. I know people are concerned rightfully because they just do not know what to expect.
We used to own a pool route in San Antonio, Texas back in 2008. It was in July and our timing was perfect because 2 months later, we were efficiently in a recession. For the most part, we did not see any cancellations from customers. What we found out was half talking anecdotally with many of our customers is that during that time they cut back on the trips to Europe that is like $15, 000 USD. They were not interested in cutting back pool service just because for a hundred and fifty and two hundred dollars a month. It did not move the needle for them that much all in their budget.
Most customers stayed with us.
We went from having 63 accounts when we started to about 143 accounts in about two years. We were able to grow during that time.
I always tell people, “Customer service is the hallmark of your business. If you focus on that, then everything kind of takes care of itself.”
It is true, and from personal experience, pool routes are resilient and recession-proof. A couple of years ago, we found out they were pandemic proof.
People were staying at home, and they weren’t going out on those vacations. They wanted their pool maintained. The repairs they were putting off, they decided they wanted to go ahead and do that right there and then.
You saw with the construction boom, remodeling boom, the repair boom, you go to Home Depot, and it’s a line out the door. People were taking care of their homes, and so part of that was the pool.
So yeah, it’s a very resilient industry. It takes work and it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. But you know you can grow it, bring on employees and grow the business.
-Arif Sealey
