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Tru in the Loop | Talking Pools Podcast
Host: Truman
Guest: Zach of Pineapple Pool Boyz, Arizona
Truman bids a one-day cleanup that turns into a four-day construction-debris nightmare, complete with a long commute and a well-water refill that adds another headache. Then he revisits the morning he fell into a pool and walked face-first into a glass door in front of a room full of realtors. All before 9 a.m. Some business lessons come with spreadsheets. Others leave forehead prints.
This week, Zach of Pineapple Pool Boyz joins Truman to explain how he went from a corporate banking job to buying his first 12 pool accounts and building a service business. They get into buying routes, training technicians, hiring longtime friends, and why a poorly priced account is the owner’s problem to fix.
The conversation tackles a trap plenty of pool pros recognize: chasing more accounts without making enough money on the ones they already have. Zach shares his approach to pricing, charging separately for chemicals, building customer trust, and bringing in skilled repair professionals when their expertise saves time.
Plus, Truman opens the mailbag for a debate about high pool water levels and closes with part two of his business mini-series: writing a job description that tells applicants what the work actually requires.
In this episode:
- The cleanup estimate that missed three extra days of work.
- Leaving corporate life and starting with a small pool route.
- Growing through referrals, networking, and account purchases.
- Training employees before sending them out alone.
- Hiring friends while setting clear expectations and boundaries.
- Paying technicians fairly and taking responsibility for pricing mistakes.
- Improving profit per pool instead of simply adding more stops.
- Building relationships with customers, employees, and fellow pool pros.
- Finding mentors who help you understand the business side.
- The water-level debate: skimmer performance, debris, and customer communication.
- Turning company values into an honest hiring process.
This week’s business homework
Before writing your next technician job description, answer three questions:
- What personality traits does your ideal technician have?
- Which parts of this job have made you want to quit?
- What made your worst hire, coworker, or boss difficult to work with?
Use those answers to describe the person you need, the realities of the work, and who would struggle in the role. Next week, Truman moves into interview questions.
Connect with Zach
Find Pineapple Pool Boyz on Instagram. Boyz ends with a Z.
Episode sponsor
PoolBrain, tools to help pool professionals run smarter, more efficient, and more profitable service businesses.
Listen, follow, and share
Send this episode to the pool pro who keeps adding accounts but still wonders where the money went. Follow Talking Pools Podcast for more conversations about the work, the business, and the people behind the pole.
Contains adult language.
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