Poolside Designs is a very unscrupulous organization. Over a six month period, they engaged in very shady business practices. First, their representative insisted that we deal only with him. He refused to share the email addresses of any other company personnel. Red flag. They didn't even have an office. Another red flag. They may have one now. We went ahead anyway because we liked the price. They sent me a proposal based on the design I created and repeatedly urged me to sign off on the proposal. When I finally did sign the proposal, I suggested a potential bonus structure. Because pool contractors are notoriously unreliable, and I wanted the project to stay on track, I suggested that I might offer an incentive. I suggested a potential bonus structure: a 10% bonus if they finished in 8 weeks, and a 5% bonus if they finished in 10 weeks. Meanwhile, I waited for a final copy of the contract signed by Poolside Designs. After 30 days, they still had not sent me back a copy of the contract with Poolside Designs signature on it. I asked for a copy of the contract with their signature on it. They refused to sign it. A few days later, they sent me an addendum to the contract, which added the bonus structure I had suggested, containing terms and conditions that made it very easy for them to get the bonus. Then their representative advised me that the owner of the company refused to sign the original contract until I had signed the new bonus addendum. What amazing gall. My generous offer of a potential bonus had transformed into a demand from Poolside Designs. Unbelievable. Did they really think I was stupid enough to let them dictate the terms of the bonus addendum? This will be our fourth pool, so this is not my first rodeo. I advised their representative that since they had not signed the original contract within 30 days, that the old proposal/contract was null and void. I signed a new copy of the proposal/contract and added new terms and conditions which included giving them three (3) business days to send me a signed copy of the new contract, or the new contract would be null and void. In the email with the new contract, I advised them that we would talk about the bonus addendum after I got a signed copy of the contract. Poolside Designs never responded. Organizations like Poolside Designs give all pool contractors a bad name. If you are considering them, run away. Run far away. - Colonel (R) Dave L.
