Clarkson Pools

I can count on one hand the amount of times I have left a review for anything as I generally never leave reviews. However, I feel compelled to leave a review here. I had a large private home project with a modern pool, large raised marble pool deck, lanai, infinity spa, turf areas, sunken seating area with fireplace, etc. My design was detailed and I had sketched out what I had envisioned. I looked into several top pool companies and ultimately chose Clarkson. The Clarkson team did a great job on the design and execution of the build. John Montgomery, my project manager, in particular was always accountable, a true professional, and very pleasant to work with. With a build of this size and detail there are many things that need to be refined after the initial construction. Even though it took quite a while to get through our punchlist to get things just right John never wavered in his commitment to deliver an exceptional product. He is easy to reach and a tireless customer advocate. He single handedly made what easily could have been a very tedious and difficult experience into one where I felt there was always someone in my corner who was going to support the project through completion and beyond. I have recommended Clarkson to friends for their projects as a result.

Hiring Clarkson Pools for our renovation was the single most frustrating and costly mistake of our existing pool remodel. We chose them despite cheaper options, paying nearly $10,000 more because we thought we were buying superior quality and expertise. Instead, we got delays, rework, unresponsiveness, and constant battles just to get what was promised in our contract. Once the contract was signed and the deposit was made the whole pace and tone of the project began to change. The deposit was paid on December 16, 2024. The contract required work to start within 6 weeks (by Jan 27, 2025). Clarkson didn't begin draining the pool until Feb 10. The pool was supposed to be plaster-ready within 6 weeks of mobilization (by Mar 21, 2025) and fully complete by Apr 4, 2025. In reality, the pool was not swimmable until the first week of July -- three months late. Deck work dragged on until August 2025. Clarkson blamed permitting delays, even though only one inspection (the final safety/electrical) was required. In truth, there were weeks of inactivity with no real weather justification. Almost every major phase of the project had to be redone at least once. Reinforcing dowels were installed without cleaning the drilled holes; I could pull them out with my fingers. The reformed pool beam and waterline tile were both installed incorrectly and had to be ripped out and redone. The new pool drains weren't set square initially. When they finally pressure-tested (months after I began asking), the system failed because pipes hadn't even been glued together. Both drains had to be cut out and replaced, causing further delays. The resurfaced deck bubbled and cracked almost immediately because existing cracks weren't properly remediated. Low spots caused water to pool. Correcting these issues dragged on until August before it was finally completed. Our original contact, David Mauney, was chronically unresponsive. As an example, during the week of Feb 17th, I sent him 3 texts, 2 voicemails, and 1 email with no reply until I escalated with a blunt message that weekend. This was not unusual. His supervisor, Shannon Phifer, avoided direct communication. I left multiple messages that went unanswered until I physically showed up at their office. Only after this visit did I get a return phone call. Clarkson Pools also attempted to hold the job hostage on more than one occasion. First by refusing to schedule plaster until I paid the full remaining balance, even though the job was incomplete. The second was during the completion of the Punchlist, which included the retexturing of the bubbled and cracked deck. Only after escalating to senior leadership, Judson Clarkson (COO) and Jordan Clarkson (CEO), and negotiating additional partial payments did work resume. Though it should be noted that neither Judson nor Jordan ever formally responded to my emails. In contrast, Lance, a newly hired but experienced project manager who Clarkson Pools brought in half-way through, was the only person who showed consistent responsiveness. While not perfect, he made a genuine effort to keep things moving despite little support or resources from his own company. The failure of this project rests squarely on Clarkson Pools' leadership and systemic mismanagement -- not on Lance. Bottom line, while the final product looks good, it is in spite of Clarkson Pools, not because of them. Every step forward required me to catch errors, push for corrections, and escalate to management. As a construction professional, I understand that challenges happen -- but this wasn't bad luck. It was a pattern of poor scheduling, poor quality control, and poor accountability at every level. We hired Clarkson Pools for their reputation, paid a premium for what we thought was professionalism, and instead endured one of the most painful construction experiences we've ever had. Future potential customers think very carefully before signing a contract with Clarkson Pools. The polished sales pitch and higher price did not translate to quality or reliability.

We recently contracted with Pools by John Clarkson to correct defective water falls installed by another pool contractor. The original water falls were defective and needed to be removed and replaced with new ones. This was to be a highly involved and complex task requiring removal of the top of a wall including pavers and bull nose bricks. After that, there was the task of removing the falls themselves that required a lot of skill and expertise. The team led by Vanessa Coates did an outstanding job performing these tasks. Vanessa was on the job site daily overseeing every phase of this job making sure the team did things right. They managed to quickly open the wall and remove the old walls in a day or two. Then they identified an issue with the plumbing and engineered a complex valve arrangement that allowed individual regulating of the flow to each falls. After the falls were installed, they replaced the original pavers and matched our old bull nose bricks with an exact color match of both bricks and grout. You cannot tell any work was done except for perfectly working water falls. Thanks so much to the project manager Vanessa Coates and the John Clarkson crew for doing a outstanding job and repairing a very big issue with our brand new pool Kudos to all!

Beware of PBJC. I wanted to wait until the project was finished, but couldn't keep waiting and wanted to warn others in a timely manner about shortcomings in service that have shaped my assessment. In short: -Communication is inexistent regarding when milestones will actually be completed. 'I don't know' may be an honest answer by the company, but unacceptable in project management. -Their phone constantly directs to voicemail...no matter what time of day a call is placed. Sometimes calls are returned, though most times multiple calls and messages need to be left prior to getting a call back. -No verification that specific finishes can be applied to the material selections, resulting in the selected design finishes not being possible (up to this point no correction has been proposed for the mistake). -Subpar workmanship on paver and coping installation. Time will tell if items get corrected as they claim they do...though we are 20 weeks into a 12 week project and review of the paver work did not result in rework (yet). According to PBJC, we are 'already at the point where things will move really fast'. That was 10 weeks ago. We have had a project manager on site weekly, which we appreciate, but I don't know that there is effective communication or optimization of resources and processes to actually get work completed in a timely manner...even considering the effects of the pandemic. Rather than focus on delivering quality in product and service, PBJC seems more focused on digging out more pools weekly...leaving their customers unhappy and with a MASSIVELY DANGEROUS hole in their back yard for longer than is acceptable. Their product may be 'ok' in the end, but their service so far is subpar, and not worth the premium in costs. I would love nothing more than for PBJC to make good on their sales pitch, deliver a good product, and give me a reasonable date (read: within 1-2 weeks) on when my project will be completed. Until then, look elsewhere.

In an economy where most pool companies weren't taking on new clients or would only promise you a wait list or a year-long project at best, Pools by John Clarkson was eager to start my pool project and promised a pool by the summer! Pools by John Clarkson started my pool mid-March 2023 and I was relaxing in my pool mid-June! They more than made good on their promise and I am thrilled with my new pool. The first step had been bringing their design consultant, Jordon (JR) Rothman onsite to survey the property, inquire as to my design ideas/desires and explain the whole process. He was extremely knowledgeable and a true professional. JR was a pleasure to work with from the very beginning. He quickly provided artist renderings, and design suggestions that made the process fun and easy. He presented a design that included a beautiful hot tub and an extra large sun shelf, exceeding all my expectations. From the start of the project, the entire team made me feel like an old friend- just as excited about my pool as I was! My project manager, Edmund Meyer, did an amazing job of scheduling the individual crews required for each phase and following up on each to a timely completion. He excelled in his leadership role by taking a genuine interest in all of my concerns and questions with quick responses and resolutions. I often dropped by the office when an invoice was due. Their customer service team, Annette Clark and Debbi Werling were so warm and welcoming. Always smiling faces and kind words. If I had a question or concern, they always had the answers and always responded in a proficient and expeditious manner! If you are looking to build your own beautiful pool, I highly recommend Pools by John Clarkson.

Good Grief! (where to begin?), simply put, if you don't have 100(+)-k to dump on a new pool, don't even bother these people. They, "pander to elitist" charging nearly double that of any other repair. The fact that we paid $125.00 (non-refundable) for what basically amounted to a, "sales pitch", they then had to, "go back to the office" just to gives us an estimate for a simple repair. The estimate was nearly double what anyone else would charge for the very same work, I believe, (IMHO) that they purposely over-inflate the estimate astronomically to, discourage any commitment and you subsequently, by doing so, forfeit the deposit. (with very little effort on their part) They also want ALL of the cost of parts, "up front" (50% down, %50 upon completion), they literally don't want to be out ANY expenditure whatsoever. Is this a good, "business model"?, Yes if your, "bottom line" is your top priority (not your client), is it illegal? No, is it an ethical business practice?, "border line" in my opinion. If you need a simple repair in a timely manner at a reasonable cost, this is not the place, go to Florida Bonded Pools instead, (sure, Florida Bonded has hit a few, "rough spots" lately but I think that they are, "back on track")....