If I were you I'd insist on having them redone. Did you have any specs they were supposed to follow? People of all ages will going in and out of the pool, and it needs to be comfortable for all of them.
Don't let them B.S. you that there is a way to patch it. It should have been done right the first time. I had no problems like this with my pool, but I can tell you that when we renovated our kitchen there was all sorts of nonsense the construction guys tried to convince me of. I'm talking about big items that a blind person could see were wrong.
You're spending a lot of money on this. Now is the time to fix it, not once it's been plastered over.

The picture is kind of deceiving, the distance between those first and second steps and second and third steps really is 12 inches. And until you try to step down you can't even imagine how awkward it is. We live in a retirement community and have a little 4 yr old granddaughter too so it will be a haphazardly way to enter the pool I think.

703.2 Stairs/Steps. Stairs/steps shall have a slip resistant surface and no sharp edges. Public pools shall have a maximum riser height of ten (10) inches (254 mm) with a minimum horizontal tread depth of twelve (12) inches (305 mm). Riser height variation within each stair shall not exceed one (1) inch (25.4 mm). The distance from the bottom of the pool to the bottom step shall not be considered a riser. Private pools, private and public spas and water features shall have a maximum riser height of twelve (12) inches (305 mm), with a minimum horizontal tread depth of twelve (12) inches (305 mm). Steps shall extend to a depth of forty-two (42) inches (1067 mm) of water depth or within twelve (12) inches (305 mm) of a portion of the pool floor. The distance from the bottom of the pool to the bottom step shall not be considered a riser.

Is there anything I can do. The distance is exactly 12 inches.

What does the pool builder say? Aren't there municipal inspections that have to pass? It seems like the steps won't pass inspection and the pool builder will have no choice but to correct them.

Durango, I will repost this in this site for all who are jumping on the pool builder.

The majority of pools are shot with the top step 9" down, then 12" down to next step/bench then 12" down to third step.
Depending on how deep your pool is where that third step is, will determine the riser height. That is why the code says that that measurement varies. So did they do anything wrong No. Should they be willing to make you happy, Yes.
Here is my question:
How deep is your pool supposed to be at that end. If it is 3' and your last riser is 3" then they are 3" short. A 3' pool will be 39" deep from the top of bond beam. So typically with a 3' deep pool going into the 3' end you will have a 6" riser.

Quite honestly once it is filled you will never notice it, it is totally different coming in and out with water in it, then dry.

Thank you just-a-pb. They are definitely up to code, but they don't want to hear anything about redoing or anything like that. There are some serious miscommunications going on with the designer and the owner of this company. There were things I found out after we signed our contract that kept me up at night but I won't go any further. Although I was disappointed at first with the stair height, if this is all I will have to deal with during this build I'm way ahead. Your last sentence saying "it's totally different coming in and out with water in it" calmed my fears.
Thanks again.