WARNING- Im writing this review to caution others with their dealings with Betz Pools so they dont have to endure what we have.
My situation with Betz and Ryan, my former sales/Project Manager is very similar to the previous review from Laura. She really summed it upits a NIGHTMARE dealing with Betz! Its been 2 years for us.
We hired Betz for a new vinyl pool, spa, cabana/washroom and outdoor kitchen. What a BIG MISTAKE!
Our project was suppose to start in the spring of 2020 but the first sign of Betz was not until Oct. 2020. Ryan continuously kept promising us different start and end dates (regardless of Covid) There was very poor communication and he was impossible to contactweeks, months would go by before he returned my calls, texts, or emails. It was radio silent for months and we often wondered what was going on with our pool. Together with very poor customer service, disorganization and very poor workmanship our experience with Ryan and Betz has been extremely frustrating and stressful, an absolute Nightmare to say the least! They have a substantial amount of our money and after 2 years we still have NO POOL. ( see pictures) Nothing has been built properly, all the work done to date either has to be fixed or redone because its beyond repair. The list is endless, too long to detail here. Ive attached some pictures of the cabana pillars and kitchen. The pillars have no proper concrete footing to support the ledgerock that is already falling apart. The kitchen is beyond repair (Difficult to see on the pictures) All coping stones on the pool and spa have to be replaced because they are either badly chipped, broken or different size. The list is endless. Unbelievably, Ryan has tried to convince me that there is nothing wrong with the masonry work, he claims some items just need minor adjustments and that Im just too picky with high expectations. Betz has also told me they will lose a lot of money on my project because they have to fix the items now and everything has gone up since 2020This is not our fault, if they had delivered good quality work in the first place and finished when they were suppose to finish they would not be taking a loss on my project! My expectations were only to receive good workmanship from a company that prides themselves as having generations of experience and being the industries leader. After several stressful months of back and forth with Ryan, Frank (the president of Betz ) was called in to see what was going on. He has recently agreed that the kitchen had to be redone and took it off the contract since I hired a different contractor for the kitchen. Its been exhausting and very frustrating the back and forth for the last 2 years just trying to get them to agree to fix everything properly and finish what they started. To make matters worse we recently discovered that all the Rough-in inspections did not pass because everything was buried by the time the inspector was called. Our washroom was never disclosed on the original plans so now, more delays until the its all approved. Fast forward to May 2022, I had enough dealing with Ryan and Frank assigned a new project manager. Tom came in to try to resolve the issues and try to get the project finished. He put together an action plan and mentioned they had accepted the fact that they would be taking a loss on my project but were willing to just move on quickly. I had agreed and thought it was a fair, however the next day the proposal had been revoked. I just discovered that Betz had taken off pool items that were suppose to be included as per our contract and was now charging us without any discussion or consent. This is one reason why the balance owing is still being disputed. They continue to go back and forth and the deadline I gave them is quickly approaching. If they cant honour what they said and just complete the project quickly I will have to pursue further. Im the meantime they are holding us hostage until we sign to their terms, they will not fix anything.
So our pool sits untouched and we have to accept the fact that unfortunately, we may not be swimming for the 3rd summer in a row because they do not stand by their word.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $188,000.00
- Company Response
Mrs. Saccoia,
We are sorry that despite our countless attempts to satisfy you we have not been able to do so. The actual events of your project are very different from what you describe.
In an attempt to proceed to completion, we made offers including generous concessions, clarified specifications and completion guarantees which you have refused to sign. It would not be prudent for us to commence work without having an agreement signed by both parties.
The reason we had so many difficulties was greatly impacted by your reluctance to make decisions and your habit of making ongoing changes. Here are some examples:
• Over 20 design revisions were done to the overall landscape design.
• After the initial design was presented on Oct 25, 2019, the number of ongoing revisions and requotes delayed contract approval until July 15, 2020. We immediately ordered the steel walls and commenced construction the moment they arrived on Oct 1, 2020.
• Four major design changes were done to the pool and spa after the contract was signed and the steel walls were ordered. We rushed the steel changes through and fortunately fabrication had not begun, so we were able to ensure delivery.
• For over a year we discussed choice of vinyl liner on 26 separate occasions and presented hundreds of liner options from every quality manufacturer we deal with, yet you continued to ask to see what else was available.
• There were over 30 different occasions when you changed your mind about things that were designed, specified and quoted. You usually asked to see something else, review other available options or said that you had found something else.
• You would often make a selection and add that you weren’t completely happy with it but would go with it for now. This continued practice cast a level of doubt which made it impossible for us to proceed.We are not surprised that other pool contractors are reluctant to take on the project. We’ve been told by one of our subcontractors you hired behind our back that they will never work with you again because you repeatedly tried to get them to include more work than was agreed-upon and argued over the price after the work was completed.
I wish to strongly emphasize that our company is totally committed to providing exceptional quality products and services but regret that we were not able to do so for you.
Yours sincerely,
Marc Luff, Partner – Betz Pools Ltd.