After two brutal back to back hurricanes, pool professionals in Florida continue to struggle while facing massive cleanup efforts. These past few weeks have tested the pool industry in Florida in ways like never before. Hurricane Ian caused a level of damage and devastation unseen in decades. Just as the industry was catching a breath, a second storm, Nicole made landfall and reminded us all that hurricane season isn’t quite over yet.
To find out how the pool industry in Florida is coping with the damage from the hurricanes during this timeframe, we recently spoke with Elizabeth McMurry Executive Director of the FSPA, Nicki Presley Rice of Wek & Associates and Virge Jones from PoolCorp on the Pool Magazine podcast.
PM (Pool Magazine: “What are you seeing in terms of how pool contractors are recovering from hurricanes Ian and Nicole?”
EM (Elizabeth McMurry): “It’s definitely a complicated situation because people are personally affected but their businesses are additionally impacted. We’ve got some member businesses who have lost their operating structures and so they basically have lost their physical presence due to the hurricanes. Others are still able to work and have boots on the ground as far as servicing their customers or providing our distributors are able to provide materials and still have their storefronts open and their doors open to serve their customers. There are more people on the road, there are more contractors coming in from out of state. So there are a lot of other challenges that are going on just as far as the organizing of resources and actually physically getting around and being able to get to those pools that are potentially damaged or need to be serviced.”
NPR (Nicke Presley Rice): “There are so many people here. I’m on the road almost every single day in sales and it is extremely difficult to get around anywhere right now, regardless if you’re cleaning pools, building a pool, or subcontractor. To be honest with you, it is very challenging. Everybody down this way is dealing with the personal side of it too, which you do think about even when you’re working. You try to kind of balance it all out, but cleanup is going to take months, maybe years.”
“It’s emotional more than anything, but we are coming together. I really appreciate what FSPA has done. Shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, we help each other as a family in the pool industry. That makes me extremely proud.”
VJ (Virge Jones): “Most pool professionals are dealing with the situation as best they can. They’re not in panic mode and are taking care of things best they can, one pool at a time. Some are being proactive and taking advantage of opportunities to do more business; cleaning up cages and things like that. Some are just managing their pools and leaving that kind of clean up to more professional people.”
“A lot of people are asking for warranty. I’m telling them that right now, the way things are with some of the manufacturers, I’ve actually got to put the warranty on hold for a little bit. They are not going to cover the warranties knowing that some of those pool pumps have been submerged for a certain amount of time. They’re like, forget the warranty. I’m just going to put a new pump. So we’ve been selling a lot of pumps, not even motors, but mostly pumps. A lot of electronics being asked for, stuff like that, a lot of cartridges. We sold twice as many in eleven days in October that we normally do in a month.”
PM: “From the very beginning, FSPA was trying to inform folks about how serious these hurricanes were going to get and how to prepare for them. What are some of the challenges in getting that kind of information out to the general public before an event such as this happens?“
EM: “Everyone is dealing with the personal impacts and their own personal preparation, but then you’ve also got the business preparation as well. People are trying to prepare their personal homes and their families and figure out, are they staying? Are they going? Those are the same people that need to help their customers during the hurricanes, so they’re trying to take care of their families and their customers at the same time.”
“Consumers are sometimes misinformed or need better information. The FSPA is working really diligently with our members to ensure that consumers get the right information. We want to be that resource for what to do to prepare your pool if bad weather is coming; ensuring that they follow the right procedures to prepare their pools in those types of scenarios.”
PM: “Virge, let me ask you a question. We saw that storm that hit Texas a couple of years back. Do you think the extent of damage that occurred in Florida is possibly going to take a lot of that equipment out of circulation?”
VJ: “Definitely going to. My branch has been suffering because unfortunately of the way we are being replenished, but that’s an internal issue, so we’ve been struggling down here. With that said, I think we’re in much better shape than we were two years ago. I think the manufacturers are finally getting back on track, compared to what it was.”
PM: “So just to clarify things, we’re not going to see the same kind of glut that we saw in the demand for equipment we saw in the ice storm that happened two years ago?”
VJ: “I don’t think so. I think manufacturers are a little more proactive right now. They’re preparing for the early buyers and all that for next year.”
PM: “No need to go out and start panic buying, right?”
VJ: “Yes, that’s correct.”
PM: “Elizabeth, what we saw during the hurricane was a lot of folks throwing furniture in their pool. In one unfortunate incident, an elderly man died while trying to drain his pool during the height of the storm. I mean, how do we keep pool owners from following that bad information that’s out there that can damage their pool and potentially even cost lives?”
EM: “That’s a great question. I mean, I really believe that the FSPA is here to service our members as well as the consumers at large. We did a huge digital media push prior to the storm arriving in regards to what to do with your pool from a consumer perspective. We also have resource pages on our website for both industry professionals and for consumers. We definitely want to be that resource and help educate pool owners about what you should do and not to drain your pool. A lot of consumers aren’t aware what pool popping is and what happens when you remove the weight of the water out of your pool. We want to help ensure that consumers are educated. We hope that our partners, like yourselves, will assist us in that by pointing consumers to our pages, to our resources, to ensure that they do the right things and follow the right processes when there’s bad weather coming their way.”
PM: “A lot of pools damaged during the hurricanes, and lots of folks are still trying to get back on their feet. How is the FSPA helping to coordinate efforts to help members in this time of need?”
EM: “We have a lot of different initiatives going on. Consumers and industry professionals can find those resources on our website, Floridapoolpro.com. We have tips dedicated to hurricane recovery for both pool professionals as well as pool owners on what to do with their pools now that the storm has come and passed. Additionally, we are trying to coordinate donation efforts towards our industry members that were impacted. Basically, if you are able to donate labor, time, supplies, any type of inventory or materials that might help a fellow industry member, there is a form that you can complete on our website. And then if you’re one of those members who need those supplies, who needs labor, who needs someone to come and help them with clean up after the hurricanes, you can also let us know that you are in need and we will help connect you to those who are donating.”
“Finally, the other big thing, we have is a list of different personal and business resources such as the US Small Business Administration has a disaster loan. There are different disaster contractor networks that they can get engaged with. We have resources on how to file commercial insurance claims. Above and beyond that, we’ve engaged our Florida Swims Foundation and are fundraising for grant money that goes directly to our members. Member businesses can apply for recovery grants. The purpose of the grant is for them to utilize the funds that they receive in the form of a forgivable grant. This is to pay for their business insurance deductibles, to make payroll. It’s for employees who can’t currently work due to impacts of the storm. It’s also to help pay for physical losses to their building or to their inventory that perhaps is not covered by insurance. Things of that nature. So we’re kind of trying to be holistic in our approach and help people to help themselves while continuing to be that resource for both the consumers and the professionals in the industry.”
Listen to our entire conversation on the Pool Magazine podcast.
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