Austintatious Pools

THomas R.

We went with Longhorn Pools to replaster our pool and the deck around the pool. They did a reasonable job on the pool walls but the resurfacing of the deck had areas where anyone could trip. We had specifically asked Peggy the salesperrson and she assured us this would not happen. They would not respond to our multiple calls to fix it and would not come out to look at it. Finally we disputed the entire job with AMEX and they still would not come out to look at it or discuss it with us. When we finally reached Peggy she said ""you already got more than you paid for!!"". Verry arrogant!! The owner was supposed to call us and come out to see and discuss, but never did. Everyone we spoke with that knew Longhorn Pools told us they do the work quickly but NEVER follow up. My advice: buyer BEWARE!! Work with them at your own risk and peril. I would NOT recommend them, to anyone.

Kate M.

Paul came and did a great job. The pool looks great. He kept in touch by phone and made things look new.

Mark K.

NOTE: I posted the same review under 'Longhorn Pools'. However, since this is the same company as Austintatious Pools, I wanted to make sure this company (and their employees) gets the credit it deserves for a perfect job and a completely satisfied customer.

I had Longhorn Pools replace my filter and pump. I had a 15 year old cartridge filter/pump combo that I hated, but continued to work fine. However, then the pump died a few days before I was scheduled to have a small party at my house. Since it was a combo unit, and I wanted a new filter anyways, I started a desperate search for a company to replace it with only 2 days notice.

I called several other companies, but it seemed no-one could do the work with 2 days notice (and I completely understood why..). I eventually called Longhorn Pools (AKA Austintatious Pools), and Peggy responded immediately that they could replace it in time.

I was honestly very hesitant due to the number of negative reviews on yelp and other review sites, but really didn't have a choice.

The job was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! It was not a 'slam-dunk' install as almost everything on the equipment pad had to be moved/re-plumbed to accommodate the new filter/pump. Peggy responded immediately to every single request. Maurice and Rodney came by earlier then scheduled and did a FANTASTIC job. I'm an engineer by day, and tend to be very picky about the quality of work done on my house. In addition, I've done some minor PVC plumbing in the past, so I know basically what to look for. Maurice and Rodney exceeded my every expectation (and hope); in addition to the perfect install, they didn't mind me watching their every step, answered every single one of my frequent questions, and took the time to explain everything.

My other dealings with the company, including Peggy (design consultant) and the owners, was completely flawless. I will not hesitate to call them for future projects, or recommend them to other people looking for a pool company.

Ms. T.

I wish there were an option for zero stars. I agree with the other two legitimate reviews. Worst company I have ever encountered. When I tried to give them a chance to fix the problems their technicians caused to our pool, I was talked down to, disrespected, and completely insulted. Obviously the ""owner"" thinks he can intimidate people by raising his voice. I am rarely compelled to write a review, but if it saves you, reader, from going through what we've been through in the last 2 months, then it's worth it.

We were told our pool would be drained into the street. Instead, they flooded our back yard, our neighbor's back yard, and our neighbor's neighbor's back yard. Our trees have lost all of their leaves and are a grey color. When the pool was filled back up, ""coincidentally"" our Polaris cleaner is broken, our pump works at half power, and our Spa completely drains when we turn it on. What a nightmare this has been. Everyone except for Tamberly (co-owner and wife to the complete jerk) has been angry, defensive, evasive, DISHONEST, and needs a class in customer service. THEY LIE ON THIER WEBSITE...THEY ARE NOT BBB ACCREDITED. LOOK IT UP WITH THE BBB.

Do yourself a favor and call someone else. I truly feel bad for anyone who has to deal with these people.

William R.

Austintatious Pools/Longhorn Pools, or whatever new name they come up with, is absoltely the worst company I have ever dealt with. All of the work they did for me is horrible. All monies spent repairing my pool were a waste. Micheal, the owner, and his wife just came by my house and said crack repair lasting is 50/50. Who would spend 50k plus on a 50/50 proposition? The ""repairs"" were completed 6 months ago and plaster was cracked after a month and coping looks like it was done by a child.

They do not stand by their work and if you have problems they will not correct them...lesson learned...go with a large reputable company with resources and expertise to make things right.

Brett M.

They are unresponsive, do not care about their customers, are arrogant, did not follow through on appointments, did not adhere to promised date, have the wrong posted office hours on both their voice mail and their web site. Act entitled. Their service manager actually stated ""I don't report to anybody, I do what I want"". avoid these people. They tell you what you want to hear when you first call them, and then could care less. The obviously have more business than they need. Give your business to a company that wants to earn it, not one that thinks they are entitled to it.

John N.

We asked Longhorn to bid on a pool replaster after a friend had been very satisfied with their work.

We could not be more pleased with the result. They were responsive and professional with the bid process and with any questions during the work, they kept us informed of the work schedule, the work crews came early, stayed late, worked hard, and left a clean site at the end of each day, and we wound up with a beautiful result.

We even had an unplanned bonus when during the prep we asked what could be done to improve the steep entry. They redid the existing steps and added two more, giving us an attractive and safer entry. It was an additional bid, but one we felt very reasonable for a significant improvement.

We are happy to compliment the entire Longhorn team and gladly recommend them.

Suzy E.

Had them resurface my pool and spa. They left a mess: excess plaster just poured down the hill behind the pool, clogged jets in the spa. Service guy who responded clearly did not care at all. Do not recommend. The woman in sales however was great...

Jeff G.

Horrible. I hired them for a simple repair of a leaky skimmer and they destroyed my pool. In less than two years the repair buckled crushing the skimmer and sending a crack down the side of my pool. Engineer I had look at told me they cut the supporting concrete ring when repairing the pool, and did not reinforce it when the poured the new concrete. He was really suprised that it looked like the made no effort event to float the concrete. When I called them they told me it was out of warranty so I paid them 2K to ruin the pool.

Greg R.

I started my service off with Longhorn Pools with their weekly cleaning service. For the most part, the service was uneventful and they seemed to do a relatively acceptable job. At this point my pool was approximately 10 years old and I contracted Longhorn to do a re-plaster - this was around March 2010. The re-plaster occurred but I immediately had to have the plaster crew return because the spotter tiles on the bench areas and steps were crooked, out of alignment and completely covered over by the plaster in several cases. They corrected the tiles but in doing so had to dig them out of the plaster, which left the plaster area around the tiles rough and depressed from the surrounding plaster. After several complaints I succeeded in getting the owner to come out and take a look. He had the plaster company correct all of the problem areas and then acid wash the pool. That resolved the issue for the most part and I was ready to be done with it at this point. I stayed on Longhorn Pools cleaning service with the thought that since they performed my re-plaster and their cleaning crews were maintaining it I would then have some recourse should I run into future plaster issues. That theory didn't work out! In April of 2011 I got into the pool for the first time after the winter season. I notice that all over the plaster, particularly on the sides, there were rough bumps almost like sandpaper. I contacted Longhorn and they came out and looked at it. After a month or so Longhorn had the Plaster crew come out and buff out the plaster to remove the bumps. They buffed the sides of the pool and told us that it was built up calcium. They were able to do the sides without draining the pool because the dust settled to the bottom and didn't obscure their vision too much. The plaster crew told us in was a build up of calcium. In May of 2011 at a family gathering, all of the kids were coming out of the pool with the bottoms of their feet bloody from the plaster. I called Longhorn and again explained the situation and requested that the bottom of the pool be buffed to remove the bumps. I was given the run-around with every excuse imaginable until late August. At that point I managed to get the owner to call me back. I fully explained the situation and realized at that point that he had no intent of having a crew sand the bottom of the pool without draining it. I explained my concerns with draining a pool in the middle of the worst drought in decades and he informed that he wasn't going to have a crew spend several days on the plaster just to avoid draining it. I let him know that the plaster was barely a year old and his crew had been maintaining the chemicals since it was done - his costs were not my issue and he needed to address the plaster. At this point he attempted to tell me that they couldn't do anything about calcium and it was just a factor of the water in our area. I quickly pointed out that the pool was 10 years old and in the 9+ years prior I had never had this problem. I found it highly unlikely that the water quality suddenly changed at the time that the pool was re-plastered. Finally, I relented and agreed to let them drain the pool but insisted it wait until cooler weather in October so we set a date for October 3rd, 2011. October 3rd came and no one showed up or contacted me so I call Longhorn. I was told that their head chemical guy was supposed to have called me to setup a time to come out and look at the pool. This surprised me as I thought they were coming to sand the plaster. On October 4th Stan shows up at my door and says he was there to look at the pool and test the water. I accompany him out back, go through the entire history with him again and he proceeds to test the water. Finally, he tells me there is too much calcium in the water and that's what's causing the buildup. I was dumbstruck! The cause was never in question and he again tried to play it off as the water changing and becoming more calcified. He took some pictures and said he would take his findings back and they would get back to me. After a week I called Longhorn to get a status and was unable to get anyone with any authority to call me back. At this point it's mid-October 2011 and I have given up. I canceled my cleaning service with Longhorn and will never utilize their services again. Incidentally, I had the water tested by Warehouse Pool Supply 3 days after Longhorns last cleaning (their door hanger reported ""the chems were perfect""!). The analysis from Warehouse Pools showed the Chlorine to be off the charts and the alkalinity to very high. I have since been trying to get the chemicals back in balance. I received nothing but a runaround since May when they clearly planned to do nothing to resolve the issue. Instead I spent the next several months calling and waiting for calls back for an issue that wasn't going to be addressed.