Pool Patrol’s 2023 Pool Cover Message: We’re Ready!

Hey everyone. I’m Allan Horwood from the Pool Patrol. It’s been a while since we’ve talked. I’m coming to you from Kelowna, in the beautiful, sunny Okanagan.

So, 2022 was really the year of the challenge. It was difficult—it was difficult for our pool builders, and our customers, things just weren’t happening as quickly as I think we all would have liked them to happen. Because of the delays in the industry in general, it pushed us behind as well. So a lot of pool builders ordered automatic pool covers, a lot of customers wanted pool safety cover installations, and we were trying to get them done, but that was challenging for us.

The other thing that happened in 2022 was, of course, price increases. All across the board prices were going up everywhere you look, not just in the pool industry: gasoline, interest rates, food costs, raw material costs, it was right across the board, and we were obviously affected by it. In a lot of cases that was just raising our prices to stay in business. I think consumers got that message towards the end of the year, and they understood which was great.

Another big factor in 2022 was the labour shortage. Everybody knows about the labour shortage. Where did everybody go? What happened? Here at the Pool Patrol, we managed to keep all of our staff through the COVID situation. Same guys that have been with me for years. We’re a solidly staffed company of pool cover specialists, we’re not getting seasonal workers. We’ve been very, very blessed to have the same guys year after year come back.

Something else that we’re doing at the Pool Patrol that I’m really proud of, we worked very closely with the manufacturer of our automatic pool covers to make sure we have product. Here at our Kelowna warehouse, we have 4,000 square feet of automatic pool cover product ready to roll, ready to assemble and ready to supply our consumers and our builders.

There’s lots of talk in the industry about what’s going to happen in 2023. I think the swimming pool market’s healthy, I think it’s strong, and it’s here to stay. I don’t think these pools are going anywhere and I think people want swimming pools.

So I think we’re going to see a continued high level, high volume throughout 2023. We’re ready for it, we anticipate it. I don’t think it’s going to be out-of-control growth like we’ve seen—more of a controlled growth, which is exciting for us. It’s a little bit more predictable than things where I think people have adjusted to the new pricing.

People have adjusted to how things are maybe not operating as smoothly as they would have liked. But here at the Pool Patrol, we’re confident we’re going to bridge any gaps in your process of getting your automatic cover and making sure that we’re ready for you.

So communication is really the key, isn’t it? Let us know what’s happening. Let us know if you’re considering a swimming pool auto cover. And when you make your decision, let us know how quickly you want it because we want to be there for you early in the season. We want to try to meet all of your expectations and meet your timelines.

So we’re encouraging people to say if you’re deciding on a pool or deciding on an auto cover and let our office know as soon as possible. Email, text phone call, tell us what you need, and we’ll make it happen for you earlier rather than later.

Our pool cover specialists are ready to tackle whatever 2023 has in store and are here to communicate with you every step of the way. No surprises. Contact us to get started.