Pool Chasers Podcast

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Episode 97: Pool Openings with Chas Bogardus of Budd’s Pools & Spas

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In this episode, we sat down with Chas Bogardus of Budd’s Pools & Spas to discuss all things Pool Openings. This is a topic that we are not too familiar with being from Arizona, so we thought it was best to talk to an expert about it. Memorial Day is approaching quickly and we know many of you are starting to open your pools. Budd’s has been around since 1958, so they know what they are doing! Chas shares their process of opening a pool with us as well as some best practices, most common mistakes, and how pool openings can differ with every pool. He believes that a “summerization” customer is an important one because they are choosing to have the company open the pool instead of doing it themselves and that the company should go above and beyond to ensure those customers are properly taken care of. 

Budd’s Pools & Spas began with the vision of one man, Herb Budd, Jr. He founded the company fresh out of college in 1958, working side by side with his wife Phyllis. That same year, Budd’s Pools & Spas became a member of the National Spa and Pool Institute, where Herb later served as one of the National Directors. With continued service and dedication, Herb and Phyllis grew Budd’s Pools & Spas to become an award-winning business, highly respected by its peers in the industry. In 1998, Budd’s Pools & Spas became one of 13 pool and spa dealers nationwide to be inducted into the AQUA 100 HALL OF FAME. The Aqua 100 Hall of Fame recognizes companies selected as the top 100 Pool and Spa dealers in the industry for five or more consecutive years.


Connect With Chas Bogardus

Website: https://poolchasers.link/budds-web-97

Seasonal Maintenance: https://poolchasers.link/budds-seasonal-97

Facebook: https://poolchasers.link/budds-fb-97

Instagram: https://poolchasers.link/budds-ig-97

Twitter: https://poolchasers.link/budds-twitter-97

Pinterest: https://poolchasers.link/budds-pinterest-97

YouTube: https://poolchasers.link/budds-youtube-97

Resources Mentioned

Pool Safety Covers: https://poolchasers.link/safetycovers-resource-97

Vinyl vs Mesh Covers: https://poolchasers.link/vinylvmesh-resource-97

Pool Plug Options: https://poolchasers.link/plugoptions-resource-97

Potassium Monopersulfate: https://poolchasers.link/potassium-resource-97

PHTA: https://poolchasers.link/phta-resource-97

NESPA: https://poolchasers.link/nespa-resource-97

Episode Sponsors

Pentair: https://poolchasers.link/pentair-web-97

Anderson: https://poolchasers.link/anderson-web-97


Show Notes (Time Stamped)

  • [01:23] Chas Bogardus Introduction 

Chas Bogardus: “I grew up in a blue collared home. My dad was in business for himself. I went to work with him in construction and I went to work with him a ton on the weekends. He'd come pick me up. So I just did a lot of work with him, working with my hands.”

  • [04:57] Chas early years before getting into the pool business 

Chas Bogardus: “I was getting there before the service company was in and then one thing led to the next. I ended up splitting my duties between lifeguard management and service. And then I just I just stayed in the service and I did that for probably commercial pools for five years.”

  • [11:52] The visual part of pool service for customers

Greg Villafana: “I think we're really lucky because there's not too many businesses that can walk into a situation where something looks so, you know, nasty and gross, like a green pool filled with algae. You can't see the bottom. And, you know, the pool wizzard kind of comes in here and puts all his magic potion in.”

  • [13:07] Painting swimming pools

Chas Bogardus: “You paint with chlorinated rubber back then.”  

  • [21:27] Business in New Jersey during COVID-19 Coronavirus

Chas Bogardus: “We're finding is we had a lot of people call and want to open their pools earlier.”

  • [23:20] Swimming pool openings meaning

Chas Bogardus: “For us, pool opening essentially is is getting out to the pool, taking the pool cover off, cleaning the pool cover, putting all the equipment back together, firing the system off and getting everything up and running.” 

  • [25:40] Pool opening process

Chas Bogardus: “We'll go out with the pressure washer, take the cover off, fold over, top itself in, and then we'll clean it.” 

  • [33:17] Not testing water during pool opening

Chas Bogardus: “We can test the water and then they can lead with what they need. They're here. They can buy their supplies parts if they need different things, toys, everything just in the store.” 

  • [35:55] Opportunities during pool openings with repairs and more

“Chas Bogardus: So you have a lot of homeowners that may open the pool themselves, but they don't close.” 

  • [41:08] The difference between drain plugs and rubber winterizing plugs

Chas Bogardus: “Every pump is manufactured, has to drain plugs on. There's one at the bottom of the pump, housing itself at the very bottom.”   

  • [52:05] Adding pool openings to your business model

Chas Bogardus: “So we are proactive with our weekly service customers where we are calling them and saying, hey, listen, when did you open? Last year. You open this time. And we even go as far now as when we get a deposit for the opening, we actually get a deposit for the closed to hold their spot and set the date.”

  • [56:07] Common mistakes when opening a pool

Chas Bogardus: “The biggest mistakes that happen now are with that. I guess I see more times than I care to think about or the pool spa combinations with actuators.”   

  • [01:14:50] Where to learn more and get trained on pool openings 

Chas Bogardus: “We have multiple opening classes. We have multiple closing classes too.”

Episode 97 Transcription

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