Pools by John Clarkson

I too am a frustrated client. My project was completed a year and paid for during my purchase of a new home at Amelia National in Fernandina Beach. I was supposed to have a overflow drain drain installed but John Clarkson forgot to install it. During heavy rain I need to go outside and manually drain my pool. My neighbors laughed when I told them this story and insisted I have this automatic drain present. Two different service men from Clarkson have come out to tell me that this drain was never installed, I cannot get Clarkson to send a crew out to finish this job! Terrible customer service.

Would not recommend pools by John Clark. They will take him forever to finish the job. Good luck on getting a hold of anybody you always get an answer machine and they call you back when they feel like it. In my neighborhood they washed concrete down the storm drain and left a terrible mess for the neighbors to look at. Also very disrespectful to surrounding neighbors when they’re working on someone’s property. They are very social a pathic in the way they act and treat the neighbors

Beware of PBJC. I wanted to wait until the project was finished, but couldn’t keep waiting and wanted to warn others in a timely manner about shortcomings in service that have shaped my assessment. In short: -Communication is inexistent regarding when milestones will actually be completed. ‘I don’t know’ may be an honest answer by the company, but unacceptable in project management. -Their phone constantly directs to voicemail…no matter what time of day a call is placed. Sometimes calls are returned, though most times multiple calls and messages need to be left prior to getting a call back. -No verification that specific finishes can be applied to the material selections, resulting in the selected design finishes not being possible (up to this point no correction has been proposed for the mistake). -Subpar workmanship on paver installation. Time will tell if items get corrected as they claim they do…though we are 20 weeks into a 12 week project and review of the paver work did not result in rework (yet). According to PBJC, we are ‘already at the point where things will move really fast’. That was 10 weeks ago. We have had a project manager on site weekly, which we appreciate, but I don’t know that there is effective communication or optimization of resources and processes to actually get work completed in a timely manner…even considering the effects of the pandemic. Rather than focus on delivering quality in product and service, PBJC seems more focused on digging out 5 pools weekly…leaving their customers unhappy and with a MASSIVELY DANGEROUS hole in their back yard for longer than is acceptable. Their product may be ‘ok’ in the end, but their service so far is subpar, and not worth the premium in costs. I would love nothing more than for PBJC to make good on their sales pitch, deliver a good product, and give me a date on when my project will be completed. Until then, look elsewhere.

There is not enough room on this site to write how thankful and appreciative we are to Shannon at PBJC! Upon our initial meeting with Shannon and Erich in June 2020, we were immediately impressed by the level of expertise, knowledge and professionalism they displayed,. They took a lot of time to sit and talk with us about our swimming pool needs and how we envisioned our new pool, and how we'd use it - including asking us about our "must have" list. They discussed line item by line item with us so we could weigh all the options to make our decision. After weeks of thoughtful consideration, input from family members and taking into account the potential for cost savings, we decided to hire another pool company who came in with lots of promises and a bid just under what PBJC proposed. WE'RE STILL REGRETTING THE DECISION to not hire PBJC!!! What a NIGHTMARE it's turned out to be with the OTHER pool company. We are now 12+ months into the pool project (yes you read that correctly, 12 months) with "the other guy" and are still not done. The other guy left off so many details from his estimate that we're now at the same price as what PBJC originally quoted us. (Top of the list of what wasn't included with "the other guy" : no electrical for the equipment, no footer, no water sanitization system?! Aren't these things a requirement to operate a pool? We have learned so much from this horrible experience.) We have buyer's remorse 100%. However, to our amazement when we contacted Shannon at PBJC in hopes of gaining a little advice, he went above and beyond with his expertise and his generosity of time and talent to help bail us out of this disastrous situation. There is something truly remarkable about a team who epitomize professionalism, have an affinity for their craft, and who consistently demonstrate overall integrity and kindness. THANK YOU, SHANNON and your crew at PBJC...your benevolence and professionalism have not, and will not, go unnoticed. With kindest regards and thanks.

I am going to keep this short and to the point so people actually read it -They seemed to have a good reputation we chose them base don that even at the pricing premium -The organization is severely understaffed -The worst communication I have ever experienced -I am project managing my own build -every answer from anyone is I don't know, let me check with scheduling - No real phone numbers, they all lead to a voicemail - Consistent misses throughout the project - Buyer beware, this is not the Clarkson pools of old

I honestly cannot stress this enough: think twice before you choose PBJC to build or renovate your pool. I wanted to wait a month or so after the job was complete so I could write an objective review for PBJC. I had such high hopes for our pool renovation, but they disappointed at every turn. I attribute some of this poor experience to the pandemic and the fact that PBJC is obviously very busy, so I want to be fair in my assessment, but the absolutely terrible communication, the constant missteps, and the terrible subcontractors would dissuade me from ever using or recommending them again. They were about 15% more expensive than competing bids, but their reputation precedes them, so we didn't mind paying a premium for what we perceived to be the best option. We learned the hard way that word of mouth is not always the best thing to trust. We had doubts from the very first design meeting, but we ignored it because of their reputation. I wish we had trusted our guts on this one. The entire process was such a mess. From ordering the wrong pavers to not knowing our coping selection wasn't an option until the week before the project started to having to beg for 3 months to see pebbletec samples, we essentially had to project manage the entire process ourselves. Their subcontractors were genuinely atrocious. They had to redo portions of our pool deck and tile 3 times because it was so sloppy. PBJC would blame the sub, and then the sub would show up and blame PBJC for giving them the wrong instructions. I have no idea where the fault lies, but I know having an actual project manager would have saved everyone the time and money wasted on this project. We were assigned a project manager (Julie) at the kickoff in January, and she told us she would be onsite weekly to check on progress and would contact us near daily. She literally disappeared and never came back, and we found out at the very end they took her off our project because they were too busy but never bothered to assign us a new PM or to let us know this change occurred. The designer Erich "managed" the project, but it was very clear that project management is not his strength or his primary role, and I'm not even sure he knew he was the PM? We had to constantly send him photos and videos after the subcontractors would work each day since he was too busy to stop by. Debbi attempted to help me throughout, and I'm thankful for that, but this 6-8 week job (what Julie, Shannon, and Erich told us up front) ended up being a 4 month job because of all the wrong orders and rework from the subs. I'm convinced if we hadn't stayed on top of this ourselves, the project would probably still be going on. Certainly not worth the premium price you pay to go with PBJC over their competitors. Three pieces of advice if you decide to use PBJC: 1) Demand that an assigned PM be called out in your contract. 2) Do not sign the contract until they provide all the samples. 3) Make sure you ask up front who your subcontractor will be since PBJC does very little of the work themselves, and you risk getting less qualified subs if you're not careful.

I reached out to PBJC for a spa, outdoor kitchen and fire pit project. We got extremely lucky when PBJC assigned Jordan Rothman (JR) to our project. From the very start he was extremely professional on all fronts. He was always punctual, his subject matter knowledge was impressive and he was extremely creative with his ideas and problem solving. He took great care to keep costs down where he could and he was always upfront with his assessments. We never felt like he was sugar coating or skirting the truth when giving us his unfiltered opinion. His software rendering were well thought out and executed to near perfection. If you decide to use PBJC for your project ask for JR. You’ll appreciate his professionalism, patience and subject matter knowledge. Very respectfully, Stacey Wright

Pools by John Clarkson renovated my pool 2 years ago and has serviced it since then. Jeff Hocker did a great job on the renovation, and Vanessa Greene has been outstanding with the service and any repairs. I can't recommend PBJC enough!

We worked with JR (Jordan) and he captured our vision perfectly. Highly recommend getting him as your designer. We love the final design and have received so many compliments. Definitely would recommend.

Hands down the best contractor we’ve ever dealt with. Starting with our designer, Jeff Hocker to our construction manager, Jonny Carpenter our pool exceeded all of our expectations and then some. From every design detail to all the finishing touches they worked with us without any hesitations. They are an honest company that puts customer satisfaction first! They were true to their word, budget and commitment to a beautiful quality product.

I was looking for a company committed to excellence and anchored in integrity. I was not looking for the least expensive as I have heard some bad experiences with other friends who have had pools built. From several pre contract meetings and conversations with sales rep Joel Hartman and the construction process with project manager Eric Jent I was not disappointed. The finished product was incredible and the process was smooth. I never felt like I needed to battle with the company to make good on their workmanship nor their verbal or contractual commitments. Even after all monies were paid there was still an outstanding issue that involved a third party that needed resolve. I am happy to report Pools by John Clarkson did not forget my name nor their commitment to my customer satisfaction. They remained faithful to follow up with the third party and ensured all was completed to my satisfaction and expectation. I recommend them without hesitation for an outstanding product and pool design and building experience.

Awesome experience throughout the process! Jordan R. made our dream pool come true. With respect to the pool design. We have to say that you “nailed it!” We are so happy with the overall design as well as the workmanship. We are so happy that you were able to see exactly what we wanted and designed the pool and decking area better than we had imagined! The construction process was the best by far we have experienced and we are not joking. The entire staff took time to listen to our needs and never pressured us. We cannot believe how efficiently everyone worked and the quality of the end result. We are more than pleased with John Clarkson Pools and, of course, Jordan R., Eric, and Jim.