Technician Repairs: The verdict is still out. Our jacuzzi is malfunctioning. It allegedly began with the actuator and they came out several times, but they were supposed to return today to Determine why all the water drains out of our jacuzzi every afternoon. They are also claiming initial setup should have been different. Question: Are they trying to put us off until warranty expires? They were supposed To return today to rectify the problem 10/14/24. The day is almost over and they are not Returning the phone calls. Question: We weren't treated like this when we were spending our money!!!!! We have had to cancel several functions and still no solution. Couldn't even enjoy our jacuzzi for the holiday today. read more

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I'm happy to say Richard's Total Backyard Solutions did the right thing. Mr. Richard and I came to an agreement to address my problem. This is the customer service I and anyone else who uses Richard's Total Back Yard Solution deserve. They did the right thing. With that said, I will use and recommend Richard Total Backyard Solutions to everyone and for future projects only because Mr. Richard is a man of his word. This is all I wanted to feel like a valued customer. Thank you, Mr. Richard. read more

The sales person we had was not as knowledgeable as he should have been. He was very nice but new, He did many not measure the space where our tub was to be placed and when the tub was delivered it barely fit onto our patio. We also found out later the tub was placed to close to the electrical outlet that their master electrician installed. Overall communication was very poor, mainly because the store manager left a new sales person alone when he (the manager) went on vacation without proper supervision. read more

ZERO STAR rating if I could. We are over a year (and over $120,000) into the construction of our pool and 'backyard oasis'. After a painful year with delays, errors and terrible communication, we are still awaiting final inspections. We had Richards recommend and install trees, which died after 2 weeks, and are still awaiting replacements. We have sent countless emails, text messages and phone calls, the majority of which go ignored. So here we sit, we haven't heard from anyone from Richards since August (its November) and we have no idea that status of our permits, and we sit looking at dead landscape and dirt stained house from construction (that was promised to be cleaned). Kristi sold us easily, promising we would be a part of the 'family' forever. Never have I been so disappointed by an entire company. Stay far away. You will thank me. read more

Richards Total Backyard Solutions - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Spring, Texas

Just got hit with the surprise repair bill (straight to my credit card, no quote) . It seems that the Lifetime Warranty leaves a lot to be desired and Richard's definition of "wear and tear items" is wide open and conveniently ambiguous. So while it might say that "control valves" are covered, that only really means certain ones. Guess which category mine falls under? Even the service dept. manager admits that "yeah, we need to add more fine print in the agreement". It sucks that the main reason I chose this company over the other builders was because of the supposed "lifetime warranty" that now doesn't seem to be all it was touted to be when they can just unilaterally declare that whatever breaks is due to wear & tear. read more

Richards Total Backyard Solutions - Company admits warranty agreement needs more fine print - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Spring, Texas

This company gets 4-Stars from us.  They were recommended by a friend after we got several crazy bids from over $100K to less than $50K for the same size and same features. Our sales rep Kristi came out the same day I called her and took pictures and measurements.  We then met with her at her Katy location to look at the design and go over cost and features.  The owner Richard even stepped in to explain more details about the brands they offered along with the reasons why we wanted to use specific equipment  for energy efficiency and why they recommended the specific coating that would last longer.   We waited to get started until after Christmas and again met with Kristi to make color selections.  Do your research, you have to choose colors on tile, coping, interior pool coating and deck colors.  There are multiple YouTube videos on all of this which I didn't see until after the fact :/ Construction meeting follows when you meet your Project Manager and pray you get Jose.  If you can request him he was the best!  He kept us in the loop daily and was even here some nights an weekends when necessary.  He quickly became part of the family since he was here everyday making sure every inch of this pool was done correctly.  He had several crews for the different areas listed above and we were just blown away with how he coordinated and took care of each one of them.  They also have an app for your phone, since we were not at home most days he would post progress pictures on the app with any current information we might need to refer to.   We were warned the yard would look like a war zone during the construction but in just a months time we came home to a full yard of grass and a beautiful blue pool.  If you didn't see the grass squares you'd think nothing ever happened from the front yard but walk into our back yard and you can see from the before and after pics what an amazing job they did.  Couldn't be happier and can not wait for warmer weather so we can landscape and enjoy our beautiful new pool.   Thanks to everyone at Richard's for making our backyard dream come true and special thanks to Jose for pulling it off so quick and without a hitch.  Amazing - I highly recommend. read more

Richards Total Backyard Solutions - Quartz Interior St. Maarten - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Spring, Texas

I booked a service call with Emily at Richard's north location on November 1st. I received automated notifications that my credit card was charged, and to confirm my appointment. On the date of the appointment, November 7th, I checked the confirmation and the appointment was no longer listed, so I called. I spoke with Emily, who does not seem to have patience with customers on the phone. She checked if I indeed had an appointment, as she could not give me information regarding why my appointment had disappeared from the system. She told me I did have an appointment and the technician would call 30 minutes before arrival. That was all good. The technician called a while later. He was at my home. I was pleased, not affronted that I had not been given the 30 minutes notice. After completing the check, the technician attempted to call. I was at work. He did text his diagnosis, and that parts would need to be ordered. I replied to please proceed with that. That the technician diagnosed and alerted me of the problem was the only good part of this service order. I received no confirmation that would be done. This was Wednesday morning. I waited for some information, but received none, so I called to follow up the next day. I was informed Emily, who was the only one knowledgeable about my $18000 Strong Spa, was away at a training. I was asked if I would like her to call me when she returned from training on Friday. I responded, "Yes, please have her call." I was told to expect a call on Friday. I received none. I waited until after 10:00 on Monday morning, called, and asked to speak to Emily. I expected Emily to be aware of me when she answered, as I had left word for her to call me, and she was hopefully working on my service order. She had no recollection of me, and checked her system, and found my parts had been ordered. It would have been nice to have received this information from her or your service department. My follow up q&a was disappointing to say the least. The part(s) may not arrive for 2 months. I was shocked. At the same time, Emily maintained her lack of patience and very poor customer service by trying to cut me off, not asking if I needed any more help, or any more questions. I am very disappointed in the over all service experience. Finally, I looked up the part. It is a Balboa heater, from what I can tell. If I order it on Amazon I can have it in a week, and there is nothing you can do to expedite my service to better than possibly two months. Very disappointing. Also, in the current day of tracking orders, there should be better information than, "It could be as long as two months." I realize I am trapped by your warranty service system, but I will share this information with other customers. I do hope Richard's and Emily can improve consideration for their customers in the future. 8 days later: on the day I posted the review Emily reached out to me and addressed each concern. I informed her that I wished she had taken that time with me in the first instance. I will not be changing my initial review, because any more stars would indicated the entire experience was better. After the alert of my review, Emily was able to contact the manufacturer and obtain my parts within a few days rather than 2 months. I hope this experience makes a difference in future customer's experiences. I have read good reviews about Richard's for years. I chose Richard's because of their service record. I was greatly disappointed, but they have corrected the situation. My hot tub has been repaired and is heating up. I hope this situation has insured that future service calls will be met with the service I received after the review, the service which I expected in the first place. read more

I 100% do NOT recommend Richards Pool. Dealing with Mike has been a total headache and he does not honor his word. We were in the process of moving, so we did not have the time to really shop around. Called him and he sold me over the phone on his warranty and convinced me to pay $1500 for his design and he would throw the warranty in. I figured ok, worst we would be out is the $1500. Never asked about our budget even though I told him early on we wanted to stay around $100K. Never came to our new house and look at the property. Had me and my wife come to his office, and it felt like a pressure used car sale. Had us pick everything out and then sat us down for the huge $200K+ shocker. My wife and I looked at each other and almost laughed at him. I started telling him to take stuff off. We walked away that day thinking we probable will just wait to get a pool. He continued to call saying he could now give me discounts and get the price down. We came back in, and he had it down to under $150K. Still thought that was high, but we figured with inflation and all that is going on that must be it. We said we needed to get the breakdown of the pricing so we could go shop loans. He said he could not do that unless we signed a contract and put $3000 down. I said, "What if the loan doesn't get approved or the rates are too high?" He said no problem he would refund the money and tear up the contract. So, we said ok and paid the $3000. We shopped the contract, and the rates are really high right now, so I let Mike know. I told him we would just wait, and he could refund the money. He then said he could not refund the money, because it says non-refundable on the contract. Since that last conversation with Mike, I have reached out to three other pool companies and all three do free design, free sight visit and do not charge a deposit until you lock in funding. All three also looked at his design and said they could do it for around $100K or less. This guy is a big fraud who must not be doing well if he wants to fight over $3000. I have already disputed the charges and will fight him all the way to court if needed. He could have just refunded it, still had a chance at getting our business (because I might not have shopped around because I had invested the $1500 in the warranty), and no bad reviews. read more

I was extremely happy with the customer service. Jenna was kind and knowledgeable. She was not pushy and was very patient with us. The delivery crew Brian,David and Innocent were equally thorough and knowledgeable. I'm beyond happy with my purchase! Kristen was amazing as well!! read more

Update: The pool is now finished, actually finished about a month ago. Looks great and so far so good. Other than a few sub-contractor issue's it went fairly smooth. The in floor PV3 cleaning system is great but be aware that the additional plumbing does add time and is VERY plumber dependent. t a suggestion from several friends I plan to review during the phases of my pool build. This review will be updated and pics added as it progress's! Starting off Barry was a great sales person to deal with, he spent a lot of time reviewing options and upgrades and helping my wife and me to decide on pool design and materials. Jose, our project manager, has been great communicating and letting us know whats going on. I look forward to his updates as we progress. Phase 1 - The Dig. Fast forward to the dig, wow those guys are fast! This is my first pool construction but have to say I was very impressed with the dig. Phase 2 - Coming soon! (updated 07/06/2018) Well phase 2 snags, will update with more info once I get some better information from Richards. Updated 07/07/2018) Sounds like back on track for Monday. Updates will be posted. read more

Richards Total Backyard Solutions - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Spring, Texas

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We started the process of adding a pool to our backyard in July and our family was so excited. We went with Richard's Total Backyard Solutions, not because of the price or even the first person we met; neither was he the best, and maybe that should've been the red flag. Looking back I wish I had trusted my gut. I've been in the construction business for over 30 years and I know how one person can change your view/perception of a good company. I will say now that the salesman who rescheduled twice on us and then made us wait for over an hour for our scheduled design appointment was sloppy and very unorganized. Like I said, I pushed through and was happy to get the process started. Even though a surprise deposit for the pool was also asked for to lock us in for the quick scheduling and to get us in the books. We were told it could be done in 4-6 weeks from start to finish. We even went with a financing company Richard's pool had worked with before. Almost two weeks went by after we were told we had the green light to proceed and all the contracts and paperwork had been signed and they finally started digging on August 20th. For a week I thought it would all work out and that the concerns I had had originally would vanish. I was so very wrong again... The day after they started digging they called me and said my fence line was wrong and that my backyard should be seven foot deeper. I laughed and thought, I hope this guy who just told my neighbor that my new pool will be in her old backyard is right. Two hours later he called me back and said they had to move the pool over closer to the side of my house and that the fence line was only 3ft wrong. Needless to say by the end of the day, the original survey I gave him was right, and he caused a massive storm of chaos with my wife and the neighbor. After the pool was dug and the rebar and gunite had been completed I approved the first draw from the financing company and I told them that Richards had completed the first and second phase, and I thought would be finished with the pool entirely in a week. A walk through and approval was scheduled with Richards for the concrete around the pool. After the approval we were told that nothing would be done until they were paid by the financing company. We immediately called them while the construction foreman was on site. Richards was told not to involve us and to give them a call directly for the payment. Like I said earlier, I've worked in construction my entire life and never have I been paid before the job is completed. I understand if it was over $100,000 and they need a draw to start for materials, but this company has been in business since 1987 and this is an overpriced $50,000 bath tub. I have talked to multiple pool contractors, and one that I wish I had went with originally about this. I will be giving Richards a 10 day notice to complete or I will supplement and finish the pool with another company. read more

I really wanted a salt water hot tub for Christmas and looked around only to find the first people I checked out were the best. This place offers everything from start to finsh and were happy to make suggestions. I never felt pressured as everything went together easy. We worked with Barry and he is a perfect example of what a Backyard Solution Advisor should be. I am very pleased with the experience and will continue to go back as we will have Richards Total Backyard and Barry design more for our family now and in the future. read more

Richards Total Backyard Solutions - Richards Total Backyard Solutions - Pool & Hot Tub Service Near Me - Spring, Texas

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We spent $50,000 on what we hoped would be an amazing backyard oasis. It turned into one headache after another. They completely botched the salt finish we wanted on the cement. They instead covered the mistake with cool-decking. When I pointed out how bad the cement looked the owner of Richard's said, "I was wondering if you were going to mention that." Also, the drainage from the patio was done so poorly that it now causes the patio to flood when there is even just a moderate rain. They paved over sprinkler lines rather than move them. When the lines broke we had water coming up through the expansion joint. The repair cost $875.00. They also installed our gas grill with the wrong fittings which resulted in a gas leak that could have killed somebody. The "plumber" they hired said he didn't have the proper part. the same "plumber" tried to use styrofoam as a spacer under the grill. Styrofoam and heigh temperatures don't go well together. The plants they sold us were of such low quality they all died. The sales person said, "We don't really do landscaping." I pointed out the name of the company literally includes the phrase "Total Backyard Solutions." They gave us $1000 because they knew we were less than pleased. We wasted $50,000 dollars on a job that should have only cost $25,000. Avoid this company at all costs. read more

Review Working with Richards Total Backyard Solutions for our pool has been a breeze! The sales team was helpful through the design process and helped us make the best choices for our backyard. Jose, our protect manager, was involved every step of the way throughout the building process from start to finish. He was available to address any of our concerns and any questions that came up throughout the building process. We are confident we chose the right place to make our backyard enjoyable for our family for years to come! read more

We stopped by this store looking for a hot tub. We were greeted nicely by Corey. Purchased a great 4 person hot tub. We mentioned that we really wanted a pool. A couple days later we received a call from Barry H. He is very nice and has extensive product knowledge. We are so happy that he reached out! He took our dream pool ideas and we are now getting our pool. Barry is always there for us to answer our questions. Communication has been amazing. He is very patient with picky customers like us. Thank you read more

Our experience with Ms. Tre was amazing from the moment my family walked through the door. She greeted us with a smile and positive attitude. She actively listened to our wants and needs. She provided water while we waited and came through with everything she said she would. Ms.Tre even greeted others while she was assisting us and appeared to have made them feel welcomed as well. Even though she was alone on the showroom floor she made everyone that entered that building feel like they were her priority. I look forward to working with her again in the near future at our forever home! read more

I have to say our experience with Richards has not been the best, especially when you factor in over $100k spent with this company! Our existing pool was damaged during Harvey as well as our home. We knew we had a long road ahead of us and with good intentions we decided to hire Richards for our pool renovation. At first it all sounded great when the salesman "sold" us on our project taking 6-8 weeks to complete. There were numerous items that we were sold on after the initial purchase that caused numerous change orders, but I feel most of those items should have been sold to us in the beginning. On to the construction, at first the demolition of the pool happened very fast and it was clean. We were then thrown a curveball by having to switch superintendents. This was frustrating at first but John Oak was great. He was very knowledgeable and I felt comfortable having him as our superintendent. Throughout the construction he made sure to catch all the mistakes that the sub contractors were making. Getting into week 6 we knew this pool was NO WHERE close to being completed and I can tell you right now it was the lack of good quality sub contractors. I can't tell you how many times they rescheduled on us. Close to 12 weeks later during Memorial Day weekend we were able to start filling the pool. I was sold on the in floor cleaning system, and I won't go much into detail on that but the jets had not been installed prior to starting the fill up of the pool. I was stuck treading water installing something I knew nothing about not too mention I paid great money for the experts to do this! Low and behold the caps for the jets fell right off and were floating in my pool. Come to find out they weren't even the right caps and 5 months later I still don't have a self cleaning system! It is now mid July, we are on our third superintendent, whom seems great as well. But once again our In Floor cleaning system has yet to be fixed properly which leaves leafs and dirt at the bottom of my pool continuously. Our spa still does not work and we have not been shown how to work it. Our pool chiller has yet to be properly explained to us on how it works and turns on. Our $3,000 extra pool smart system has yet to work like it should nor has it been fixed. We were told glass would be put in our fire pit and yet it is stone. All in all as you can tell, the lack of follow up and quality sub contractors for this company is very disappointing. We have invested a large sum of money into this company and to receive this poor of customer service is disheartening. I'm not going to say our pool doesn't look great because it does, but when you pay thousands and thousands extra for items that you have yet to receive is not how business should work. We just want our pool finished and for it all to work like a $100,000 pool Should work! read more

After learning how dissatisfied we were, Mr. Richards contacted me immediately to discuss the situation. During our conversation, he explained that the company mission statement includes the goal of astonishing customers, not just satisfying them. Then he demonstrated his commitment to that mission. He was genuinely interested in finding a path forward to the end result we were looking for - a pool that compliments the lakeside setting. Then he worked diligently to make it happen. He came to our home to see for himself that we had a solid plan, and stayed In close contact providing updates and checking on our satisfaction with the progress. As important, Mr. Richards sought to pinpoint where his team and business processes need to improve to prevent a repeat of this in the future. In the end, we have a beautiful, quality pool that we love. Because of Mr. Richards' proactive response and the many ways he showed the entire mission statement is more than just words to him, I've revised my rating. I can now highly recommend Richards Total Backyard Solutions. read more