WEBVTT
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Then you got Tom Hanks for his gone.
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Slow.
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Yes.
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Retarded.
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Maybe.
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But he turned the pants off Nixon.
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And he won a ping pong competition.
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Any retarded.
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And he was a goddamn war hero.
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You know any retarded war heroes?
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You and full retard, man.
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Never go full retard.
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The 2026 Top Ten Mentors, Brandon Reed, Jeff Hamp, Chris Kavanaugh, Tim McDowell, Lacey Davis, Jerry Wallace, John Poma, Greg Beard, Terry Tammanin, Peter Wiederman.
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Congratulations to the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Pool Industry Mentors.
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Your willingness to teach, mentor, encourage, and elevate others has made a lasting impact on the swimming pool industry.
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These honorees were selected by the hosts of the Talking Pools Podcast in recognition of the difference they have made in the lives and careers of pool professionals.
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The sponsors of the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast pool industry mentor recognition are Blu-ray XL, United Chemical, Lamotte Company, Revved Up Apparel, and Aquacomfort Water Group.
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Let me preface today's talk.
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That quote from Tropic Thunder, from RDJ.
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You can't say that nowadays, I guess.
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Welcome to Friday.
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I'm Rooney.
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This is the Talking Pools Podcast.
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Hope you're doing well.
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Thank you for stopping in to visit with us.
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Yes, again, it is weekend Eve.
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And I want to preface today's talk by saying this episode is going to be intentionally abrasive.
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Profanity included, not because profanity is the point, but because sanitizing the language would miss the culture I'm talking about.
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Hot routes, exhausted text, filthy filters, customer nonsense, and the comments section circus where confidence often shows up wearing clown makeup and carrying a test strip.
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Out in the rest of the world, a few people have allowed their brains to become a haunted bounce house full of bad shit.
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And as Tropic Thunder tried to warn us, some people insist on taking dumb confidence past the point of no return.
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Looking at social media, I sometimes wonder about certain pool people.
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I'm not gonna call them professionals.
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I don't care who jumps into a Facebook group and strings together four letter words, F bombs, and assorted expletives to blow off steam after a hard as fuck week working in triple digit heat, trying to keep every pool on their route from turning into Swamp Things bathtub, that's not what disqualifies somebody from being a professional.
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Profanity doesn't bother me.
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I speak fluent Long Island.
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Profanity is practically punctuation.
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If you spend ten hours opening filters that fucking smell like Satan's asshole, digging worms out of pump baskets, dragging fifty pound chemical buckets across backyards and listening to homeowners explain how the pool water tastes cloudy, you've earned the right to say a few bad words.
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Some of the smartest, most capable professionals I've ever met could make a drunken sailor clutch his pearls.
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And some of the dumbest people I've ever encountered speak politely, wear a branded polo shirt, and begin every sentence with all due respect.
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Language isn't the problem.
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The problem is whether the words are carrying truth or just dragging ignorance around in a dirty work boot.
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Penter is warning that major pool industry channel partners are reducing equipment inventory much more aggressively than expected.
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As reported by Penter on July 28th, the company's pool segment was negatively affected by a significant inventory correction among major channel partners.
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Penter estimates that this de stocking could reduce its full year 2026 pool segment sales by approximately$250 million and pool segment income by approximately$155 million.
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Penter previously expected pool sales to increase by approximately 2-4%.
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The company now expects pool sales to decline by approximately 4-7%.
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Penter says distributors and other channel partners are right sizing inventory ahead of the 2027 pool season.
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In plain English, the distribution channel appears to have more pool equipment than current demand can support.
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This does not necessarily mean existing pools have stopped needing repairs.
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It suggests distributors overestimated demand, particularly for new construction, renovations, and discretionary equipment, and are now reducing what they carry.
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Pool Corp's latest results show that the maintenance and repair side of the industry remains comparatively stable.
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As reported by Pool Corp on July 23rd, second quarter net sales increased approximately 2% to$1.82 billion.
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The company said the increase reflected steady maintenance activity, inflationary pricing, and improved building material sales.
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Pool Corp also reported that discretionary consumer spending remained muted.
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Equipment sales increased approximately 3%, supported primarily by pricing and repair-related demand.
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Chemical sales declined approximately 2%, largely because of pricing.
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Pinter and Pool Corp may appear to be telling different stories, but both reports can be accurate.
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Pinter is describing equipment moving from the manufacturer into the distribution channel.
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Pool Corp is reporting products moving through distribution to dealers, service professionals, and customers.
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Existing pools still require pumps, filters, replacement parts, chemicals, and repairs.
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The greatest weakness appears to be in new pools, renovations, and equipment purchases homeowners can postpone.
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Leslie's Pool Supplies is reportedly considering strategic options to address its debt, including the possibility of seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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As reported by Bloomberg, on July 23, Leslie's was evaluating several options as it dealt with its debt load.
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As of the end of July, Leslie's had not announced that it had filed for bankruptcy.
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That distinction is important, considering Chapter 11 is not the same as filing for Chapter 11.
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The July report nevertheless raises serious questions for the pool industry.
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Leslie's is one of the country's largest specialty retailers of swimming pool chemicals, equipment, and supplies.
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A restructuring could result in additional store closure, changes to vendor relationships, and reduced availability of professional pool products in some markets.
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Independent pool stores and service companies could gain customers if Leslie's reduces its footprint.
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However, Amazon, home improvement chains, and other online retailers would also be positioned to capture that business.
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Pool professionals should not assume that Leslie's customers will automatically move to weekly service.
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If Leslie's restructures, the resulting vacuum could accelerate the movement of pool chemicals, equipment, and replacement parts into online retail.
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The most serious chemical manufacturing news from July came from Conyers, Georgia.
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As reported by the United States Chemical Safety Board on July 21st, the catastrophic September, 2024 biolab fire began after a corroded sprinkler system component failed.
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Water contacted chlorinated isocyonurates stored inside the warehouse, initiating a decomposition reaction and generating significant heat.
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Additional sprinkler heads then activated, putting more water onto reactive chemicals and escalating the event.
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As reported by the Chemical Safety Board, the sprinkler system had experienced significant corrosion and leaking since shortly after Biolab began storing chlorinated isocyze inurates in that warehouse in 2019.
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During a December 2023 inspection, more than 1,100 sprinkler heads were reportedly found to be corroded.
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The Chemical Safety Board also reported that approximately 14 million pounds of chemicals were stored at the facility, more than twice the quantity originally intended for the building.
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Materials inside the warehouse included chlorinated, isocyanates, cyanuric acid, aluminum sulfate, and sodium bromide.
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The resulting fire destroyed the warehouse, produced a massive toxic plume, forced residents to shelter in place, and close schools.
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Property damage was estimated at approximately$50.5 million.
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Biolab later ceased operations at the Conyers facility.
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The final report could affect far more than one manufacturer.
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Pool Brain has announced that it hired Eric Knight in a strategic move to accelerate delivery of game-changing education and software tools in the swimming pool industry.
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As part of this move, Eric has chosen to step down from his role as executive director of Watershape University to join Pool Brain as their new head of education technology.
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Among other things at Pool Brain, Eric Knight will oversee the advancement of fully automated water chemistry dosing, creating guided training workflows and interactive point of need educational modules.
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This marks a significant shift toward digital accessibility, aiming to provide pool professionals at every skill level with the resources they need to thrive in an increasingly tech-driven market.
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We're thrilled to welcome an industry legend like Eric Knight to the Pool Brain team.
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Eric's deep industry knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we continue working to provide pool companies with even more industry-first game-changing features.
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Said Adam Beach, founder and CEO of Pool Brain.
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Knight's transition to Pool Brain follows a 16-month tenure leading Water Shape University, where he oversaw the expansion of accredited courses, the development of a new comprehensive service track, and several courses, including an eight-hour water chemistry class, Service 2211, Essential Water Chemistry.
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Prior to WU, Eric was vice president at both Orenda and Hasa, where he created the Rule Your Pool podcast and led development of the Orenda calculator, which is integrated into most of the pool service software platforms widely used in the pool industry today.
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Bill Drakeley, co-founder of Watershape University, expressed support for the transition.
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And that's our breaking news for today.
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Why share this breaking news that Pool Brain hired Eric?
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Pool Brain has stepped up and has come on as a new sponsor with the Talking Pools podcast.
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It's not sponsoring one, but sponsoring all episodes across the week of the Talking Pools podcast.
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So we look forward to hearing more from them.
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Check them out.
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They've got good things going on.
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They got big things going on.
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Some of the platforms out there are great.
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Some of them I hate.
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This one, it's moving and shaking.
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That's exactly where we all need to be.
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God bless the pool proof.
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God bless the pool pro.
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Pull up on my detail, gate, down, test it out.
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PH Facts D S D I H.
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Run around the top metal to our balance on the clock green by car casting on the do it in the stack.
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Turn it's woman, boomer getting green flee.
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I've been getting Service Industry News since I first stepped into this business, and every time it landed, I did the same thing.
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Flip straight to the horror file.
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The weird installs, the absurd finds, the stuff only pool pros ever see.
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Then I'd go back and read the articles.
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Service Industry News is a twice-monthly trade publication for pool and spa service texts, 24 issues a year, emailed free to over 10,000 texts and available on their app.
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Every issue covers nationwide industry news and real technical content you actually will use.
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Get your free subscription at serviceindustry news.net.
00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:09.750
Again, that's serviceindustry news.net.
00:14:10.470 --> 00:14:11.430
Do it now.
00:14:14.950 --> 00:14:17.269
Some of these folks say the stupidest shit imaginable.
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And anyone here, this does not apply to the listeners of the Talking Pools podcast.
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You guys are top-notch and you know your shit.
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But somebody asks the question, and these people come charging into the comments like they were launched out of a cannon packed with confidence, fire grease, and unresolved childhood issues.
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They don't know the answer, but they know they have an answer.
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And in their minds, that's apparently the same thing.
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It isn't.
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Bad information is not just annoying.
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Chemistry ignorance can become expensive, dangerous, and public.
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While we're arguing over bullshit on Facebook, Conyers Georgia is sitting there as a reminder that pool chemistry is not comment section entertainment.
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When 14 million pounds of pool chemicals help to feed a catastrophic fire, bad information stops being funny and starts becoming a huge public safety problem.
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Now let me say, everyone that listens to this podcast is at a higher level.
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But we know those folks are out there, and there is a major difference between having an opinion and accurate information.
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They don't see it, but it's there.
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An opinion is what you think.
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Accurate information is what you can support.
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Those are not interchangeable.
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I've always done it this way, is not research.
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My old boss told me, a guy at SCP said, I saw somebody post it in another Facebook group is definitely not fucking research.
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That's not even hearsay anymore.
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That's hearsay that's been photocopied twelve times, left in the rain, run over by a truck, eaten by a goat, and shit back into a laminated chart, and then reposted as a colorful infographic.
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And once that infographic has a blue background, a picture of a swimming pool and three words written in capital letters, people treat it like it's the Ten Fucking Commandments, chiseled into a chlorine puck when all it really is is confidence dressed up as a source.
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Then somebody who actually understands the subject enters the conversation and says, Well, you know what, that's not quite how it works.
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Now we have a problem.
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Because the original commenter isn't interested in learning anything.
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They're interested in protecting their position.
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Now their entire identity is tied to whatever bullshit they typed with Cheeto dust on their fingers while sitting in their truck outside.
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They can't back down now.
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So they dig in.
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You show them chemistry.
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They show you confidence.
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You give them research.
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They give you an antidote.
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You explain what actually happened.
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They say, Well, I've been doing this for 20 years.
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Congratulations.
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You may have been wrong for 20 consecutive years.
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Longevity doesn't automatically create expertise.
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Sometimes it just gives bad information, two decades to breathe in the walls like mold.
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And profanity only makes the mold louder.
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Doing something for 20 years can make you incredibly knowledgeable if you spent those 20 years paying attention, asking questions, studying failures, updating your understanding, and correcting yourself.
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But if you repeated the same procedure every day without questioning it, you don't necessarily have 20 years of experience.
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You might have one year of experience repeated 20 times.
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That's not the same thing.
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Pool industry has changed.
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Our understanding of water chemistry, microbiology, filtration, corrosion, scaling, coatings, hydraulics, and disinfection has changed.
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Science did not freeze on the day you completed your first training class.
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It didn't hold a meeting and say, that's enough, everybody.
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Vinny from Long Island's got his certificate and now put the microscopes in a dumpster, shoot the textbooks, and shut down the laboratories.
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Science keeps moving.
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The instruments used to examine water, surfaces, microorganisms, and chemical reactions have improved drastically over the last 10, 20, and 30 years.
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At the same time, the business side of the industry is shifting too.
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And I think pool people are understanding what happens when a major retailer starts circling the drain.
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You're potentially about to lose one of the largest forces keeping professional pool car in front of the public through massive national advertising campaigns.
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And when that familiar retail option disappears, the floodgates don't suddenly open and send all those customers running to their neighborhood pool professional.
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A lot of them are going to look online first, where bad advice, miracle products, and have a bag comment section chemistry become even more dangerous.
00:18:48.469 --> 00:18:56.629
They open Amazon where common sense goes to die in a cardboard box next to a six-pack of pool potion and a flashlight shaped like a duck.
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Every pool owner already standing on the DIY fence is about to get shoved onto the other side with a test strip in one hand, a smartphone in the other, and same-day delivery heading toward the front porch.
00:19:08.229 --> 00:19:10.469
Did you think they were coming to you?
00:19:11.189 --> 00:19:12.629
That's adorable.
00:19:13.750 --> 00:19:20.149
Back to extreme algae, LSI, and chlorine dreams because that same pattern shows up everywhere.
00:19:20.389 --> 00:19:23.269
Here's the thread running through all of this.
00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:27.509
Experience matters, but only when it stays connected to evidence.
00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:34.869
The moment experience becomes a shield against new information, it stops being wisdom and starts being fossilized bullshit.
00:19:46.229 --> 00:19:51.429
The Jax Magic three-step program is a quick and effective way to remove stains and scaling.
00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:56.469
First, we identify the problem, then our top quality products will remove the discoloration.
00:19:56.629 --> 00:20:00.629
Finally, our preventative solutions will keep your pool looking like new for much longer.
00:20:00.789 --> 00:20:05.109
Get helpful tips and check out our product catalog today at Jaxmagic.com.
00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:16.709
Aquastar's new pipeline cartridge filters, available in two sizes, deliver top-notch hydraulic efficiency along with best-in-class filtration performance, approaching that of DE filters.
00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:22.309
Uniquely designed open plate spacing means 100% of the media square footage is usable.
00:20:22.389 --> 00:20:25.429
And these claims are backed by NSF test results.
00:20:25.669 --> 00:20:35.829
Designed with a pro's time and comfort in mind, the patented double locking system improves safety and ease of access, making filter cleanings faster than ever before.
00:20:36.069 --> 00:20:37.109
Available now.
00:20:37.269 --> 00:20:39.589
Ask your supplier for pipeline filters today.
00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:40.549
That is amazing.
00:20:40.629 --> 00:20:43.669
I can actually go out and make money doing filter cleanings if you were like this.
00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:47.589
If they were Aqua Star filters out there, then I could be a filter cleaner girl.
00:20:48.469 --> 00:20:49.029
We can do that.
00:20:49.189 --> 00:20:49.669
Make it happen.
00:20:49.829 --> 00:20:50.389
Let's make it happen.
00:20:51.990 --> 00:20:52.629
There you go.
00:20:52.789 --> 00:20:53.189
Awesome.
00:20:53.349 --> 00:20:54.949
Thank you, Jules the Pool girl.
00:20:55.189 --> 00:20:58.949
Again, Aquastar Pool products pipeline filters.
00:20:59.269 --> 00:21:00.309
Super easy, right?
00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:01.750
Super easy.
00:21:14.229 --> 00:21:21.589
Whether you have 20 accounts or 20,000, Blu-ray XL's direct pricing and free shipping to the pool trade have you covered.
00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:25.990
Improving pool professionals' profit and work-life balance is what they do.
00:21:26.229 --> 00:21:29.429
Blu-ray XL, the real mineral purifier.
00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.389
Visit them at Blu-rayXL.com.
00:21:35.589 --> 00:21:37.429
Blu-ray all day.
00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:48.389
Researchers can now detect, measure, and observe things that were difficult or sometimes impossible to see when many of us first entered this industry.
00:21:48.629 --> 00:21:52.469
That means some of what we were originally taught was incomplete.
00:21:52.789 --> 00:21:54.389
That should excite you.
00:21:54.629 --> 00:21:57.269
New information doesn't erase your experience.
00:21:57.509 --> 00:22:00.949
It helps you understand your experience more accurately.
00:22:01.189 --> 00:22:04.709
It gives names to things you observed but couldn't explain.
00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:11.349
It lets you separate what actually caused a result from what happened to be standing nearby when the result occurred.
00:22:11.669 --> 00:22:17.669
That makes a difference because human beings are terrible at separating correlation from causation.
00:22:18.229 --> 00:22:21.509
We do something, something else happens.
00:22:21.750 --> 00:22:26.229
Then we decide that the first thing must have caused the second thing.
00:22:26.549 --> 00:22:29.109
We pour chemical A into a cloudy pool.
00:22:29.429 --> 00:22:31.349
The pool clears two days later.
00:22:31.509 --> 00:22:33.990
Therefore, chemical A cleared the pool.
00:22:34.229 --> 00:22:34.789
Maybe.
00:22:35.269 --> 00:22:39.429
Or maybe the filter ran continuously for 48 hours.
00:22:39.669 --> 00:22:42.869
Maybe the chlorine finally caught up with the demand.
00:22:43.189 --> 00:22:45.269
Maybe the particles settled.
00:22:45.509 --> 00:22:48.389
Maybe somebody cleaned the filter without telling you.
00:22:48.629 --> 00:22:50.629
Maybe the circulation improved.
00:22:50.869 --> 00:22:52.789
Maybe the water would have cleaned.
00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:54.869
Anyway.
00:22:55.269 --> 00:22:59.589
A result can be real while your explanation for the result is completely wrong.
00:22:59.909 --> 00:23:04.229
That is one of the most important things any professional can understand.
00:23:04.629 --> 00:23:10.309
Being right about what happened does not automatically mean you're right about why it happened.
00:23:10.469 --> 00:23:13.669
But social media doesn't reward that kind of careful thinking.
00:23:13.909 --> 00:23:16.469
Social media rewards certainty.
00:23:16.789 --> 00:23:24.549
The person who writes, there could be several contributing factors and we would need more information gets ignored.
00:23:24.789 --> 00:23:32.949
The person who writes, Drain it, bad TDS, gets 63 likes and an invitation to appear on a live stream.
00:23:33.189 --> 00:23:41.109
Apparently, punctuation, capital letters, and the confidence of someone shitting out flaming porcupines has replaced laboratory analysis.
00:23:41.349 --> 00:23:49.909
And if you add three red siren emojis, suddenly the bullshit looks urgent, which is how a bad guest gets dressed up as a public service.
00:23:50.229 --> 00:23:55.909
We have created an environment where the fastest answer often beats the correct answer.
00:23:56.149 --> 00:23:58.629
People don't read the question carefully.
00:23:58.869 --> 00:24:00.869
They don't ask for test results.
00:24:01.029 --> 00:24:10.869
They don't ask about pool volume, water temperature, surface type, circulation pattern, sanitizer, chemical history, weather source water, or anything else that might matter.
00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:15.269
They see one word they recognize and start typing Cloudy?
00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:16.709
Phosphates.
00:24:17.029 --> 00:24:17.509
Stain?
00:24:18.389 --> 00:24:19.029
Copper.
00:24:19.589 --> 00:24:20.309
Algae?
00:24:20.629 --> 00:24:21.750
Not enough chlorine.
00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:23.750
High chlorine demand?
00:24:24.149 --> 00:24:24.949
Ammonia.
00:24:25.509 --> 00:24:26.949
Paint peeling?
00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:28.869
Taylor Swift.
00:24:29.669 --> 00:24:30.949
Pump making noise?
00:24:31.189 --> 00:24:32.629
Fauci motor.
00:24:32.949 --> 00:24:39.909
How the fuck did you diagnose all that from one blurry photograph in a sentence written by somebody who spelled chlorine three different ways?
00:24:40.149 --> 00:24:41.829
That's not a diagnosis.
00:24:42.229 --> 00:24:43.429
That's theater.
00:24:43.750 --> 00:24:49.750
Sometimes guesses are correct, but a correct guess is not the same as a competent diagnosis.
00:24:49.990 --> 00:24:57.829
If I throw a wrench across the equipment pad and it accidentally tightens a union, that doesn't make me a mechanic, it makes me a lawsuit.
00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:00.309
Professionals collect information.
00:25:00.709 --> 00:25:03.669
Professionals consider competing explanations.
00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:09.669
Professionals understand that the obvious answer is not always the correct answer.
00:25:10.149 --> 00:25:19.029
For anyone newer to the term, the Langolir Saturation Index is a way to estimate whether water is likely to dissolve or deposit calcium carbonate.
00:25:19.109 --> 00:25:22.869
It is useful, but it answers a narrow question.
00:25:23.189 --> 00:25:25.990
Not every question that matters in a pool.
00:25:26.309 --> 00:25:35.669
People think the LSI is the answer to swimming pool water chemistry, that if the little number lands in the acceptable range, nothing else needs to be considered.
00:25:35.909 --> 00:25:37.269
That's bullshit.
00:25:37.509 --> 00:25:39.990
The LSI answers one narrow question.
00:25:40.229 --> 00:25:45.829
Whether the water is likely to precipitate or dissolve calcium carbonate under those conditions.
00:25:46.069 --> 00:25:46.949
That's it.
00:25:47.269 --> 00:25:50.309
It doesn't tell you whether the water is properly sanitized.
00:25:50.389 --> 00:26:04.789
It doesn't measure oxidation, algae, biofilm, phosphate, cyanuric acid management, combined chlorine sulfate damage, corrosion involving metals other than calcium carbonate, or whether your treatment protocol makes any practical friggin' sense.
00:26:04.949 --> 00:26:14.229
You can have a beautifully balanced LSI and still have an unsafe, algae-filled equipment destroying swimming pool that looks like Satan rinsed his balls off in a blender full of swamp meat.
00:26:14.389 --> 00:26:16.149
The LSI is a tool.
00:26:16.309 --> 00:26:21.429
It is not the whole damn toolbox, the truck, the map, the priest, and the exorcism kit.
00:26:21.750 --> 00:26:28.069
Professionals are willing to say three words that terrify social media experts.
00:26:28.469 --> 00:26:29.429
I don't know.
00:26:29.669 --> 00:26:31.990
There's no shame in saying I don't know.
00:26:32.229 --> 00:26:35.269
The smartest people I know say it regularly.
00:26:35.589 --> 00:26:37.829
The fool has an answer for everything.
00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:39.829
The expert has questions.
00:26:40.389 --> 00:26:41.509
What changed?
00:26:41.750 --> 00:26:43.429
What are the test results?
00:26:43.669 --> 00:26:44.869
What's the surface?
00:26:45.109 --> 00:26:46.309
What's the history?
00:26:46.549 --> 00:26:47.349
What was added?
00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:48.309
When was it added?
00:26:48.469 --> 00:26:49.750
What happened after that?
00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:52.869
Those questions aren't signs of weakness.
00:26:53.189 --> 00:27:03.750
They're the tools that keep us from confidently projectile vomiting bullshit across the internet when what we really need is patience, evidence, and a little professional humility.
00:27:03.990 --> 00:27:09.029
Nobody checks anything and then people pass it along until it starts sounding like fact.
00:27:09.429 --> 00:27:12.789
No, it isn't gossip wearing safety glasses.
00:27:12.949 --> 00:27:16.869
We live in a time when fact checking yourself has never been easier.
00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:34.149
You have a device in your pocket that can access technical documents, patents, scientific journals, manufacturer instructions, government publications, safety data sheets, university research, and more recorded knowledge than any previous generation could have possibly imagined.
00:27:34.389 --> 00:27:36.309
And what do some people use it for?
00:27:36.549 --> 00:27:41.269
To type you're an idiot under an answer they didn't understand.
00:27:41.589 --> 00:27:42.549
Amazing.
00:27:43.189 --> 00:27:51.589
Entire recorded history of human knowledge is sitting in your hand and you're using it to argue that Chlorine has whispering prophecies from the sewer.
00:27:52.069 --> 00:27:55.269
You don't need to become a research scientist.
00:27:55.669 --> 00:28:02.229
You need enough intellectual discipline to stop before you post and ask yourself, do I actually know this?
00:28:02.469 --> 00:28:03.750
How do I know it?
00:28:03.990 --> 00:28:05.349
When did I learn it?
00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:07.269
Has the information changed?
00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:10.949
Can I find a reliable source supporting it?
00:28:11.269 --> 00:28:13.990
Can you back up everything you say?
00:28:14.229 --> 00:28:19.429
That five-minute pause could save you from looking like an asshole whose confidence outran as evidence.
00:28:19.589 --> 00:28:26.149
And if you want to be appreciated for your contributions, stop trying to be the first person to answer.
00:28:26.469 --> 00:28:28.549
Be the person whose answer can be trusted.
00:28:28.709 --> 00:28:35.909
That reputation takes longer to build, but it comes from accuracy, not volume, titles, or performative expertise.
00:28:36.149 --> 00:28:37.269
And nobody's perfect.
00:28:37.429 --> 00:28:40.069
Nobody can literally never be wrong.
00:28:40.309 --> 00:28:49.750
But there is a tremendous difference between making an honest mistake after doing work and being recklessly wrong because you couldn't be bothered to look something up.
00:28:49.990 --> 00:28:53.109
When you discover you were wrong, correct it.
00:28:53.589 --> 00:28:55.750
Say, I was wrong.
00:28:55.990 --> 00:28:57.829
Here's the correct information.
00:28:58.309 --> 00:29:07.029
That single sentence will earn you more respect from intelligent people than a hundred defensive comments ever could, because being corrected is not humiliation.
00:29:07.269 --> 00:29:13.109
Remaining wrong after you've been shown better evidence is changing your mind is not weakness.
00:29:13.349 --> 00:29:19.349
Changing your mind when the evidence changes is exactly what rational adults are supposed to do.
00:29:19.589 --> 00:29:24.149
We need to stop acting as though consistency is more valuable than accuracy.
00:29:24.389 --> 00:29:36.149
If I believed something ten years ago and better evidence has since demonstrated that I was wrong, I should not continue repeating it merely to prove I'm consistent.
00:29:36.469 --> 00:29:38.229
That's not integrity.
00:29:38.389 --> 00:29:40.629
That's stubbornness within the corpse.
00:29:40.949 --> 00:29:45.990
You should be able to say, and this is what I understand now.
00:29:46.229 --> 00:29:47.429
That's growth.
00:29:47.669 --> 00:29:49.429
That's professionalism.
00:29:49.750 --> 00:29:52.789
That's how knowledge advances.
00:29:53.189 --> 00:29:55.750
Sometimes relearning is harder than learning.
00:29:56.069 --> 00:30:00.549
New information has to compete with the old story already living in your head.
00:30:00.869 --> 00:30:03.429
You may have taught that old story.
00:30:03.750 --> 00:30:05.750
Finding out it was wrong can hurt.
00:30:05.990 --> 00:30:06.949
I get it.
00:30:07.189 --> 00:30:08.869
I've had to rethink things.
00:30:09.029 --> 00:30:12.709
I've had to revisit explanations I accepted earlier in my career.
00:30:12.949 --> 00:30:17.349
I've had to look at new evidence and say, well shit, that changes things.
00:30:17.589 --> 00:30:18.789
That isn't failure.
00:30:19.029 --> 00:30:24.869
Failure would be seeing the evidence and refusing to change because my ego is more important than the truth.
00:30:25.109 --> 00:30:31.750
Your experience should be a foundation, not a prison where old assumptions sit in solitary confinement, licking the walls.
00:30:31.909 --> 00:30:42.709
Use what you've seen in the field, the thousands of pools you've maintained, the equipment failures, unusual water conditions, chemical reactions, damaged surfaces, frustrated customers, and expensive mistakes.
00:30:42.949 --> 00:30:46.549
But combine that experience with current information.
00:30:46.949 --> 00:30:50.869
Field experience and research should work hand in hand.
00:30:51.189 --> 00:30:52.469
We need both.
00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:57.829
The industry does not need more people who can memorize a chart and repeat it word for word.
00:30:57.909 --> 00:31:00.389
It needs people who can fucking think.
00:31:00.869 --> 00:31:02.629
And here's the beautiful part.
00:31:02.869 --> 00:31:08.629
If you want to become a superstar in the Facebook groups or on Instagram, the bar is not especially high.
00:31:08.949 --> 00:31:13.509
People ask the same fucking questions over and over again.
00:31:13.990 --> 00:31:15.669
My pH keeps rising.
00:31:15.990 --> 00:31:16.469
Why?
00:31:16.709 --> 00:31:19.269
My salt cell has white stuff on it.
00:31:19.509 --> 00:31:22.229
Why did the pool turn cloudy after I added this?
00:31:22.469 --> 00:31:24.229
What causes black algae?
00:31:24.469 --> 00:31:26.709
Can high chlorine damage the surface?
00:31:26.869 --> 00:31:28.949
Why is my filter pressure climbing?
00:31:29.109 --> 00:31:30.229
What is this stain?
00:31:30.389 --> 00:31:32.229
How do I lower cyanuric acid?
00:31:32.389 --> 00:31:34.309
What made the water green?
00:31:34.629 --> 00:31:44.709
So with a halfway decent memory, open mind, and willingness to verify information before typing, you can become unusually useful in those spaces.
00:31:45.029 --> 00:31:47.509
What a freaking accomplishment.
00:31:47.750 --> 00:31:52.389
In a comment section full of noise, you became useful.
00:31:53.589 --> 00:31:55.349
You can make a real contribution.
00:31:55.589 --> 00:32:00.309
The technician asking that repeated question may be seeing it for the first time.
00:32:00.629 --> 00:32:06.789
They may be standing in the backyard, exhausted, embarrassed, and worried that they're about to lose a customer.
00:32:06.949 --> 00:32:08.949
They don't need you to ridicule them.
00:32:09.349 --> 00:32:19.589
They need you to know what to test, what to rule out, what information matters, and how to think through the problem without turning every answer into a magic spell from the comments section swamp.
00:32:20.229 --> 00:32:22.629
That's how you help people.
00:32:23.109 --> 00:32:28.149
Not by dropping an answer from the sky like you're the pool industry's filthy mouthed oracle.
00:32:28.389 --> 00:32:30.389
Mouth is not the credential.
00:32:30.629 --> 00:32:31.990
The reasoning is.
00:32:32.229 --> 00:32:33.990
Teach them how to investigate.
00:32:34.149 --> 00:32:39.990
If somebody becomes permanently dependent on calling you for answers, you haven't necessarily mentored them.
00:32:40.229 --> 00:32:43.750
You may have simply trained them to outsource their thinking.
00:32:44.069 --> 00:32:46.389
A professional helps build capable people.
00:32:46.549 --> 00:32:50.789
None of this requires you to become polite, delicate, corporate, or sanitized.
00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:52.869
You can still use the word fuck.
00:32:53.349 --> 00:32:57.109
Just make sure you've earned the confidence behind it.
00:32:57.349 --> 00:33:00.469
Be as loud as you want after you've done your homework.
00:33:00.709 --> 00:33:03.909
Because profanity backed by accurate information is a style.
00:33:03.990 --> 00:33:04.949
It's an emphasis.
00:33:05.109 --> 00:33:05.829
It's a voice.
00:33:06.069 --> 00:33:11.109
Profanity used to disguise ignorance, well now that's just noise.
00:33:11.349 --> 00:33:14.069
Like a dumpster fire trying to give a TED talk.
00:33:14.229 --> 00:33:17.589
I'm not judging professionalism by vocabulary.
00:33:17.829 --> 00:33:19.509
I'm judging it by conduct.
00:33:19.829 --> 00:33:21.909
Do you verify what you say?
00:33:22.469 --> 00:33:24.949
Do you understand the limits of your knowledge?
00:33:25.189 --> 00:33:27.109
Do you update your thinking?
00:33:27.349 --> 00:33:29.029
Do you correct your mistakes?
00:33:29.269 --> 00:33:30.869
Do you explain your reasoning?
00:33:31.109 --> 00:33:33.829
Do you help other people become better at their work?
00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:35.349
That's the difference.
00:33:35.589 --> 00:33:37.750
A professional doesn't have to know everything.
00:33:37.990 --> 00:33:41.509
A professional has to respect the truth enough to not pretend.
00:33:41.829 --> 00:33:49.029
So the next time you see a question online and feel that irresistible urge to answer immediately, take a breath.
00:33:49.269 --> 00:33:50.949
Check what you think you know.
00:33:51.189 --> 00:33:52.229
Then answer.
00:33:52.389 --> 00:33:55.429
And if you don't know, say you don't know.
00:33:56.149 --> 00:33:58.629
You don't lose credibility by waiting.
00:33:58.869 --> 00:34:15.750
You lose credibility when the answer you fired off in 12 seconds is still sitting there six months later being repeated by 20 other people who assume you knew what the fuck you were talking about when really you didn't just We can raise the level of conversation in this industry without removing its personality.
00:34:16.070 --> 00:34:21.909
We don't have to become a bunch of sanitized corporate robots speaking exclusively in approved marketing phrases.
00:34:22.150 --> 00:34:33.829
We can still laugh at the insanity of maintaining pools and brutal heat for a customer who swears nobody used the pool whilst vape pen and a pair of underwear are floating in the deep end like evidence from a crime scene.
00:34:34.150 --> 00:34:40.789
But if we want to call ourselves professionals, then we need to act like professionals when accuracy matters.
00:34:41.110 --> 00:34:51.909
Not because we politically correct them, not because we're afraid of looking stupid, but because other people make decisions based on what we say.
00:34:52.230 --> 00:34:55.269
They spend money, they give advice to customers.
00:34:55.590 --> 00:34:58.150
Bad information has consequences.
00:34:58.389 --> 00:35:05.349
Sometimes a cloudy pool, sometimes thousands of dollars in damage, and sometimes real safety risks.
00:35:05.590 --> 00:35:11.349
So yeah, say fuck when the work, the heat, and the customers and the nonsense call for it.
00:35:11.510 --> 00:35:12.470
I don't care.
00:35:12.710 --> 00:35:15.430
That isn't what determines whether you're a professional.
00:35:15.670 --> 00:35:23.670
But before you start launching facts across social media with the force of a demon clearing his throat, make sure the facts deserve the force.
00:35:23.990 --> 00:35:29.510
Don't just say shit because it sounds strong and it's okay to not have anything to say.
00:35:30.309 --> 00:35:34.550
Learn shit, verify shit, and relearn shit when better evidence shows up.
00:35:34.789 --> 00:35:49.269
Because the loudest person in the Facebook group may get the most attention, but the person who does the work, checks the facts, admits what they don't know, and consistently provides information, that's the person people eventually learn to trust.
00:35:49.510 --> 00:35:53.510
And trust is worth a hell of a lot more than likes.
00:35:54.230 --> 00:35:55.750
That's all I got for this week.
00:35:55.910 --> 00:35:57.349
I'm Rudy Stankowitz.
00:35:57.430 --> 00:35:59.269
This is the Talking Pools podcast.
00:35:59.510 --> 00:36:01.910
Until next time, be good.
00:36:03.190 --> 00:36:03.910
Be safe.
00:01:05.989 --> 00:01:08.150
Then you got Tom Hanks for his gone.
00:01:08.629 --> 00:01:09.030
Slow.
00:01:09.349 --> 00:01:09.590
Yes.
00:01:10.069 --> 00:01:10.549
Retarded.
00:01:10.870 --> 00:01:11.109
Maybe.
00:01:12.950 --> 00:01:14.950
But he turned the pants off Nixon.
00:01:15.189 --> 00:01:17.189
And he won a ping pong competition.
00:01:17.590 --> 00:01:18.549
Any retarded.
00:01:19.109 --> 00:01:20.950
And he was a goddamn war hero.
00:01:21.590 --> 00:01:23.269
You know any retarded war heroes?
00:01:23.670 --> 00:01:25.189
You and full retard, man.
00:01:25.829 --> 00:01:27.189
Never go full retard.
00:01:27.670 --> 00:01:42.310
The 2026 Top Ten Mentors, Brandon Reed, Jeff Hamp, Chris Kavanaugh, Tim McDowell, Lacey Davis, Jerry Wallace, John Poma, Greg Beard, Terry Tammanin, Peter Wiederman.
00:01:42.789 --> 00:01:47.829
Congratulations to the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Pool Industry Mentors.
00:01:47.990 --> 00:01:54.150
Your willingness to teach, mentor, encourage, and elevate others has made a lasting impact on the swimming pool industry.
00:01:54.390 --> 00:02:03.349
These honorees were selected by the hosts of the Talking Pools Podcast in recognition of the difference they have made in the lives and careers of pool professionals.
00:02:03.590 --> 00:02:16.150
The sponsors of the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast pool industry mentor recognition are Blu-ray XL, United Chemical, Lamotte Company, Revved Up Apparel, and Aquacomfort Water Group.
00:02:16.310 --> 00:02:17.750
Let me preface today's talk.
00:02:17.909 --> 00:02:22.949
That quote from Tropic Thunder, from RDJ.
00:02:23.509 --> 00:02:26.389
You can't say that nowadays, I guess.
00:02:28.389 --> 00:02:29.590
Welcome to Friday.
00:02:29.670 --> 00:02:30.310
I'm Rooney.
00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:32.389
This is the Talking Pools Podcast.
00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:33.829
Hope you're doing well.
00:02:33.990 --> 00:02:35.750
Thank you for stopping in to visit with us.
00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:38.389
Yes, again, it is weekend Eve.
00:02:38.550 --> 00:02:45.670
And I want to preface today's talk by saying this episode is going to be intentionally abrasive.
00:02:45.990 --> 00:02:54.949
Profanity included, not because profanity is the point, but because sanitizing the language would miss the culture I'm talking about.
00:02:55.189 --> 00:03:05.829
Hot routes, exhausted text, filthy filters, customer nonsense, and the comments section circus where confidence often shows up wearing clown makeup and carrying a test strip.
00:03:06.149 --> 00:03:13.430
Out in the rest of the world, a few people have allowed their brains to become a haunted bounce house full of bad shit.
00:03:13.829 --> 00:03:21.029
And as Tropic Thunder tried to warn us, some people insist on taking dumb confidence past the point of no return.
00:03:21.269 --> 00:03:26.550
Looking at social media, I sometimes wonder about certain pool people.
00:03:26.709 --> 00:03:28.550
I'm not gonna call them professionals.
00:03:28.790 --> 00:03:46.149
I don't care who jumps into a Facebook group and strings together four letter words, F bombs, and assorted expletives to blow off steam after a hard as fuck week working in triple digit heat, trying to keep every pool on their route from turning into Swamp Things bathtub, that's not what disqualifies somebody from being a professional.
00:03:46.389 --> 00:03:48.069
Profanity doesn't bother me.
00:03:48.230 --> 00:03:49.829
I speak fluent Long Island.
00:03:49.910 --> 00:03:52.389
Profanity is practically punctuation.
00:03:52.949 --> 00:04:10.230
If you spend ten hours opening filters that fucking smell like Satan's asshole, digging worms out of pump baskets, dragging fifty pound chemical buckets across backyards and listening to homeowners explain how the pool water tastes cloudy, you've earned the right to say a few bad words.
00:04:10.470 --> 00:04:16.230
Some of the smartest, most capable professionals I've ever met could make a drunken sailor clutch his pearls.
00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:25.029
And some of the dumbest people I've ever encountered speak politely, wear a branded polo shirt, and begin every sentence with all due respect.
00:04:25.509 --> 00:04:27.110
Language isn't the problem.
00:04:27.589 --> 00:04:33.670
The problem is whether the words are carrying truth or just dragging ignorance around in a dirty work boot.
00:04:40.149 --> 00:04:48.230
Penter is warning that major pool industry channel partners are reducing equipment inventory much more aggressively than expected.
00:04:48.389 --> 00:04:57.589
As reported by Penter on July 28th, the company's pool segment was negatively affected by a significant inventory correction among major channel partners.
00:04:57.750 --> 00:05:09.590
Penter estimates that this de stocking could reduce its full year 2026 pool segment sales by approximately$250 million and pool segment income by approximately$155 million.
00:05:09.910 --> 00:05:14.069
Penter previously expected pool sales to increase by approximately 2-4%.
00:05:14.629 --> 00:05:18.230
The company now expects pool sales to decline by approximately 4-7%.
00:05:18.710 --> 00:05:25.990
Penter says distributors and other channel partners are right sizing inventory ahead of the 2027 pool season.
00:05:26.150 --> 00:05:31.590
In plain English, the distribution channel appears to have more pool equipment than current demand can support.
00:05:31.830 --> 00:05:35.430
This does not necessarily mean existing pools have stopped needing repairs.
00:05:35.590 --> 00:05:45.030
It suggests distributors overestimated demand, particularly for new construction, renovations, and discretionary equipment, and are now reducing what they carry.
00:05:45.910 --> 00:05:51.990
Pool Corp's latest results show that the maintenance and repair side of the industry remains comparatively stable.
00:05:52.069 --> 00:05:59.910
As reported by Pool Corp on July 23rd, second quarter net sales increased approximately 2% to$1.82 billion.
00:06:00.310 --> 00:06:06.629
The company said the increase reflected steady maintenance activity, inflationary pricing, and improved building material sales.
00:06:06.790 --> 00:06:11.110
Pool Corp also reported that discretionary consumer spending remained muted.
00:06:11.270 --> 00:06:17.030
Equipment sales increased approximately 3%, supported primarily by pricing and repair-related demand.
00:06:17.189 --> 00:06:20.870
Chemical sales declined approximately 2%, largely because of pricing.
00:06:21.030 --> 00:06:25.670
Pinter and Pool Corp may appear to be telling different stories, but both reports can be accurate.
00:06:25.830 --> 00:06:30.230
Pinter is describing equipment moving from the manufacturer into the distribution channel.
00:06:30.470 --> 00:06:35.670
Pool Corp is reporting products moving through distribution to dealers, service professionals, and customers.
00:06:35.830 --> 00:06:40.470
Existing pools still require pumps, filters, replacement parts, chemicals, and repairs.
00:06:40.629 --> 00:06:46.389
The greatest weakness appears to be in new pools, renovations, and equipment purchases homeowners can postpone.
00:06:47.189 --> 00:06:56.710
Leslie's Pool Supplies is reportedly considering strategic options to address its debt, including the possibility of seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
00:06:57.110 --> 00:07:03.990
As reported by Bloomberg, on July 23, Leslie's was evaluating several options as it dealt with its debt load.
00:07:04.069 --> 00:07:08.389
As of the end of July, Leslie's had not announced that it had filed for bankruptcy.
00:07:08.470 --> 00:07:13.350
That distinction is important, considering Chapter 11 is not the same as filing for Chapter 11.
00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:17.430
The July report nevertheless raises serious questions for the pool industry.
00:07:17.590 --> 00:07:23.670
Leslie's is one of the country's largest specialty retailers of swimming pool chemicals, equipment, and supplies.
00:07:23.830 --> 00:07:31.670
A restructuring could result in additional store closure, changes to vendor relationships, and reduced availability of professional pool products in some markets.
00:07:31.830 --> 00:07:37.189
Independent pool stores and service companies could gain customers if Leslie's reduces its footprint.
00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:44.069
However, Amazon, home improvement chains, and other online retailers would also be positioned to capture that business.
00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:49.590
Pool professionals should not assume that Leslie's customers will automatically move to weekly service.
00:07:49.750 --> 00:07:57.350
If Leslie's restructures, the resulting vacuum could accelerate the movement of pool chemicals, equipment, and replacement parts into online retail.
00:07:57.509 --> 00:08:02.069
The most serious chemical manufacturing news from July came from Conyers, Georgia.
00:08:02.310 --> 00:08:12.710
As reported by the United States Chemical Safety Board on July 21st, the catastrophic September, 2024 biolab fire began after a corroded sprinkler system component failed.
00:08:12.870 --> 00:08:20.710
Water contacted chlorinated isocyonurates stored inside the warehouse, initiating a decomposition reaction and generating significant heat.
00:08:20.870 --> 00:08:26.470
Additional sprinkler heads then activated, putting more water onto reactive chemicals and escalating the event.
00:08:26.550 --> 00:08:37.590
As reported by the Chemical Safety Board, the sprinkler system had experienced significant corrosion and leaking since shortly after Biolab began storing chlorinated isocyze inurates in that warehouse in 2019.
00:08:37.669 --> 00:08:43.429
During a December 2023 inspection, more than 1,100 sprinkler heads were reportedly found to be corroded.
00:08:43.509 --> 00:08:52.629
The Chemical Safety Board also reported that approximately 14 million pounds of chemicals were stored at the facility, more than twice the quantity originally intended for the building.
00:08:52.789 --> 00:09:01.029
Materials inside the warehouse included chlorinated, isocyanates, cyanuric acid, aluminum sulfate, and sodium bromide.
00:09:01.189 --> 00:09:07.909
The resulting fire destroyed the warehouse, produced a massive toxic plume, forced residents to shelter in place, and close schools.
00:09:08.069 --> 00:09:12.069
Property damage was estimated at approximately$50.5 million.
00:09:12.629 --> 00:09:15.830
Biolab later ceased operations at the Conyers facility.
00:09:15.990 --> 00:09:19.269
The final report could affect far more than one manufacturer.
00:09:20.870 --> 00:09:30.789
Pool Brain has announced that it hired Eric Knight in a strategic move to accelerate delivery of game-changing education and software tools in the swimming pool industry.
00:09:31.029 --> 00:09:43.830
As part of this move, Eric has chosen to step down from his role as executive director of Watershape University to join Pool Brain as their new head of education technology.
00:09:43.990 --> 00:09:55.430
Among other things at Pool Brain, Eric Knight will oversee the advancement of fully automated water chemistry dosing, creating guided training workflows and interactive point of need educational modules.
00:09:55.669 --> 00:10:06.550
This marks a significant shift toward digital accessibility, aiming to provide pool professionals at every skill level with the resources they need to thrive in an increasingly tech-driven market.
00:10:06.789 --> 00:10:11.029
We're thrilled to welcome an industry legend like Eric Knight to the Pool Brain team.
00:10:11.110 --> 00:10:19.750
Eric's deep industry knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we continue working to provide pool companies with even more industry-first game-changing features.
00:10:19.990 --> 00:10:22.710
Said Adam Beach, founder and CEO of Pool Brain.
00:10:23.029 --> 00:10:40.550
Knight's transition to Pool Brain follows a 16-month tenure leading Water Shape University, where he oversaw the expansion of accredited courses, the development of a new comprehensive service track, and several courses, including an eight-hour water chemistry class, Service 2211, Essential Water Chemistry.
00:10:40.710 --> 00:10:56.389
Prior to WU, Eric was vice president at both Orenda and Hasa, where he created the Rule Your Pool podcast and led development of the Orenda calculator, which is integrated into most of the pool service software platforms widely used in the pool industry today.
00:10:56.550 --> 00:11:01.029
Bill Drakeley, co-founder of Watershape University, expressed support for the transition.
00:11:01.190 --> 00:11:02.870
And that's our breaking news for today.
00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:05.990
Why share this breaking news that Pool Brain hired Eric?
00:11:06.149 --> 00:11:10.870
Pool Brain has stepped up and has come on as a new sponsor with the Talking Pools podcast.
00:11:10.950 --> 00:11:17.029
It's not sponsoring one, but sponsoring all episodes across the week of the Talking Pools podcast.
00:11:17.190 --> 00:11:19.269
So we look forward to hearing more from them.
00:11:19.430 --> 00:11:20.230
Check them out.
00:11:20.389 --> 00:11:21.669
They've got good things going on.
00:11:21.750 --> 00:11:23.110
They got big things going on.
00:11:23.269 --> 00:11:25.430
Some of the platforms out there are great.
00:11:25.590 --> 00:11:26.710
Some of them I hate.
00:11:26.870 --> 00:11:28.870
This one, it's moving and shaking.
00:11:28.950 --> 00:11:30.629
That's exactly where we all need to be.
00:11:31.590 --> 00:11:33.350
God bless the pool proof.
00:11:36.789 --> 00:11:38.149
God bless the pool pro.
00:11:42.870 --> 00:11:45.350
Pull up on my detail, gate, down, test it out.
00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:47.269
PH Facts D S D I H.
00:11:47.509 --> 00:11:53.669
Run around the top metal to our balance on the clock green by car casting on the do it in the stack.
00:13:24.629 --> 00:13:27.430
Turn it's woman, boomer getting green flee.
00:13:30.470 --> 00:13:36.710
I've been getting Service Industry News since I first stepped into this business, and every time it landed, I did the same thing.
00:13:36.950 --> 00:13:39.110
Flip straight to the horror file.
00:13:39.269 --> 00:13:43.909
The weird installs, the absurd finds, the stuff only pool pros ever see.
00:13:44.230 --> 00:13:46.470
Then I'd go back and read the articles.
00:13:46.789 --> 00:13:56.710
Service Industry News is a twice-monthly trade publication for pool and spa service texts, 24 issues a year, emailed free to over 10,000 texts and available on their app.
00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:03.190
Every issue covers nationwide industry news and real technical content you actually will use.
00:14:03.669 --> 00:14:06.950
Get your free subscription at serviceindustry news.net.
00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:09.750
Again, that's serviceindustry news.net.
00:14:10.470 --> 00:14:11.430
Do it now.
00:14:14.950 --> 00:14:17.269
Some of these folks say the stupidest shit imaginable.
00:14:17.669 --> 00:14:22.070
And anyone here, this does not apply to the listeners of the Talking Pools podcast.
00:14:22.149 --> 00:14:24.149
You guys are top-notch and you know your shit.
00:14:24.230 --> 00:14:33.750
But somebody asks the question, and these people come charging into the comments like they were launched out of a cannon packed with confidence, fire grease, and unresolved childhood issues.
00:14:33.990 --> 00:14:39.110
They don't know the answer, but they know they have an answer.
00:14:39.350 --> 00:14:42.230
And in their minds, that's apparently the same thing.
00:14:42.470 --> 00:14:43.350
It isn't.
00:14:43.669 --> 00:14:46.789
Bad information is not just annoying.
00:14:46.950 --> 00:14:50.550
Chemistry ignorance can become expensive, dangerous, and public.
00:14:51.269 --> 00:15:00.870
While we're arguing over bullshit on Facebook, Conyers Georgia is sitting there as a reminder that pool chemistry is not comment section entertainment.
00:15:01.110 --> 00:15:12.389
When 14 million pounds of pool chemicals help to feed a catastrophic fire, bad information stops being funny and starts becoming a huge public safety problem.
00:15:12.629 --> 00:15:18.470
Now let me say, everyone that listens to this podcast is at a higher level.
00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:25.909
But we know those folks are out there, and there is a major difference between having an opinion and accurate information.
00:15:26.070 --> 00:15:27.909
They don't see it, but it's there.
00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:29.990
An opinion is what you think.
00:15:30.470 --> 00:15:33.110
Accurate information is what you can support.
00:15:33.430 --> 00:15:35.750
Those are not interchangeable.
00:15:36.310 --> 00:15:39.909
I've always done it this way, is not research.
00:15:40.149 --> 00:15:49.669
My old boss told me, a guy at SCP said, I saw somebody post it in another Facebook group is definitely not fucking research.
00:15:49.909 --> 00:15:52.310
That's not even hearsay anymore.
00:15:52.550 --> 00:16:03.029
That's hearsay that's been photocopied twelve times, left in the rain, run over by a truck, eaten by a goat, and shit back into a laminated chart, and then reposted as a colorful infographic.
00:16:03.269 --> 00:16:15.990
And once that infographic has a blue background, a picture of a swimming pool and three words written in capital letters, people treat it like it's the Ten Fucking Commandments, chiseled into a chlorine puck when all it really is is confidence dressed up as a source.
00:16:16.230 --> 00:16:22.470
Then somebody who actually understands the subject enters the conversation and says, Well, you know what, that's not quite how it works.
00:16:22.710 --> 00:16:24.470
Now we have a problem.
00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:28.310
Because the original commenter isn't interested in learning anything.
00:16:28.550 --> 00:16:31.029
They're interested in protecting their position.
00:16:31.430 --> 00:16:38.710
Now their entire identity is tied to whatever bullshit they typed with Cheeto dust on their fingers while sitting in their truck outside.
00:16:39.190 --> 00:16:40.870
They can't back down now.
00:16:41.190 --> 00:16:42.710
So they dig in.
00:16:43.110 --> 00:16:44.629
You show them chemistry.
00:16:44.870 --> 00:16:46.230
They show you confidence.
00:16:46.389 --> 00:16:47.669
You give them research.
00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:49.269
They give you an antidote.
00:16:49.509 --> 00:16:51.350
You explain what actually happened.
00:16:51.590 --> 00:16:54.230
They say, Well, I've been doing this for 20 years.
00:16:54.470 --> 00:16:55.509
Congratulations.
00:16:55.750 --> 00:16:58.389
You may have been wrong for 20 consecutive years.
00:16:58.550 --> 00:17:01.669
Longevity doesn't automatically create expertise.
00:17:01.830 --> 00:17:05.990
Sometimes it just gives bad information, two decades to breathe in the walls like mold.
00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:09.589
And profanity only makes the mold louder.
00:17:09.829 --> 00:17:20.230
Doing something for 20 years can make you incredibly knowledgeable if you spent those 20 years paying attention, asking questions, studying failures, updating your understanding, and correcting yourself.
00:17:20.309 --> 00:17:27.349
But if you repeated the same procedure every day without questioning it, you don't necessarily have 20 years of experience.
00:17:27.669 --> 00:17:31.509
You might have one year of experience repeated 20 times.
00:17:31.829 --> 00:17:33.909
That's not the same thing.
00:17:34.309 --> 00:17:35.829
Pool industry has changed.
00:17:36.149 --> 00:17:44.470
Our understanding of water chemistry, microbiology, filtration, corrosion, scaling, coatings, hydraulics, and disinfection has changed.
00:17:44.789 --> 00:17:49.669
Science did not freeze on the day you completed your first training class.
00:17:49.909 --> 00:17:52.950
It didn't hold a meeting and say, that's enough, everybody.
00:17:53.190 --> 00:17:59.589
Vinny from Long Island's got his certificate and now put the microscopes in a dumpster, shoot the textbooks, and shut down the laboratories.
00:18:00.069 --> 00:18:01.349
Science keeps moving.
00:18:01.589 --> 00:18:09.909
The instruments used to examine water, surfaces, microorganisms, and chemical reactions have improved drastically over the last 10, 20, and 30 years.
00:18:10.069 --> 00:18:13.990
At the same time, the business side of the industry is shifting too.
00:18:14.149 --> 00:18:19.750
And I think pool people are understanding what happens when a major retailer starts circling the drain.
00:18:19.909 --> 00:18:29.029
You're potentially about to lose one of the largest forces keeping professional pool car in front of the public through massive national advertising campaigns.
00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:38.869
And when that familiar retail option disappears, the floodgates don't suddenly open and send all those customers running to their neighborhood pool professional.
00:18:39.109 --> 00:18:48.229
A lot of them are going to look online first, where bad advice, miracle products, and have a bag comment section chemistry become even more dangerous.
00:18:48.469 --> 00:18:56.629
They open Amazon where common sense goes to die in a cardboard box next to a six-pack of pool potion and a flashlight shaped like a duck.
00:18:56.789 --> 00:19:07.669
Every pool owner already standing on the DIY fence is about to get shoved onto the other side with a test strip in one hand, a smartphone in the other, and same-day delivery heading toward the front porch.
00:19:08.229 --> 00:19:10.469
Did you think they were coming to you?
00:19:11.189 --> 00:19:12.629
That's adorable.
00:19:13.750 --> 00:19:20.149
Back to extreme algae, LSI, and chlorine dreams because that same pattern shows up everywhere.
00:19:20.389 --> 00:19:23.269
Here's the thread running through all of this.
00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:27.509
Experience matters, but only when it stays connected to evidence.
00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:34.869
The moment experience becomes a shield against new information, it stops being wisdom and starts being fossilized bullshit.
00:19:46.229 --> 00:19:51.429
The Jax Magic three-step program is a quick and effective way to remove stains and scaling.
00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:56.469
First, we identify the problem, then our top quality products will remove the discoloration.
00:19:56.629 --> 00:20:00.629
Finally, our preventative solutions will keep your pool looking like new for much longer.
00:20:00.789 --> 00:20:05.109
Get helpful tips and check out our product catalog today at Jaxmagic.com.
00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:16.709
Aquastar's new pipeline cartridge filters, available in two sizes, deliver top-notch hydraulic efficiency along with best-in-class filtration performance, approaching that of DE filters.
00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:22.309
Uniquely designed open plate spacing means 100% of the media square footage is usable.
00:20:22.389 --> 00:20:25.429
And these claims are backed by NSF test results.
00:20:25.669 --> 00:20:35.829
Designed with a pro's time and comfort in mind, the patented double locking system improves safety and ease of access, making filter cleanings faster than ever before.
00:20:36.069 --> 00:20:37.109
Available now.
00:20:37.269 --> 00:20:39.589
Ask your supplier for pipeline filters today.
00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:40.549
That is amazing.
00:20:40.629 --> 00:20:43.669
I can actually go out and make money doing filter cleanings if you were like this.
00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:47.589
If they were Aqua Star filters out there, then I could be a filter cleaner girl.
00:20:48.469 --> 00:20:49.029
We can do that.
00:20:49.189 --> 00:20:49.669
Make it happen.
00:20:49.829 --> 00:20:50.389
Let's make it happen.
00:20:51.990 --> 00:20:52.629
There you go.
00:20:52.789 --> 00:20:53.189
Awesome.
00:20:53.349 --> 00:20:54.949
Thank you, Jules the Pool girl.
00:20:55.189 --> 00:20:58.949
Again, Aquastar Pool products pipeline filters.
00:20:59.269 --> 00:21:00.309
Super easy, right?
00:21:00.549 --> 00:21:01.750
Super easy.
00:21:14.229 --> 00:21:21.589
Whether you have 20 accounts or 20,000, Blu-ray XL's direct pricing and free shipping to the pool trade have you covered.
00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:25.990
Improving pool professionals' profit and work-life balance is what they do.
00:21:26.229 --> 00:21:29.429
Blu-ray XL, the real mineral purifier.
00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.389
Visit them at Blu-rayXL.com.
00:21:35.589 --> 00:21:37.429
Blu-ray all day.
00:21:39.109 --> 00:21:48.389
Researchers can now detect, measure, and observe things that were difficult or sometimes impossible to see when many of us first entered this industry.
00:21:48.629 --> 00:21:52.469
That means some of what we were originally taught was incomplete.
00:21:52.789 --> 00:21:54.389
That should excite you.
00:21:54.629 --> 00:21:57.269
New information doesn't erase your experience.
00:21:57.509 --> 00:22:00.949
It helps you understand your experience more accurately.
00:22:01.189 --> 00:22:04.709
It gives names to things you observed but couldn't explain.
00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:11.349
It lets you separate what actually caused a result from what happened to be standing nearby when the result occurred.
00:22:11.669 --> 00:22:17.669
That makes a difference because human beings are terrible at separating correlation from causation.
00:22:18.229 --> 00:22:21.509
We do something, something else happens.
00:22:21.750 --> 00:22:26.229
Then we decide that the first thing must have caused the second thing.
00:22:26.549 --> 00:22:29.109
We pour chemical A into a cloudy pool.
00:22:29.429 --> 00:22:31.349
The pool clears two days later.
00:22:31.509 --> 00:22:33.990
Therefore, chemical A cleared the pool.
00:22:34.229 --> 00:22:34.789
Maybe.
00:22:35.269 --> 00:22:39.429
Or maybe the filter ran continuously for 48 hours.
00:22:39.669 --> 00:22:42.869
Maybe the chlorine finally caught up with the demand.
00:22:43.189 --> 00:22:45.269
Maybe the particles settled.
00:22:45.509 --> 00:22:48.389
Maybe somebody cleaned the filter without telling you.
00:22:48.629 --> 00:22:50.629
Maybe the circulation improved.
00:22:50.869 --> 00:22:52.789
Maybe the water would have cleaned.
00:22:53.990 --> 00:22:54.869
Anyway.
00:22:55.269 --> 00:22:59.589
A result can be real while your explanation for the result is completely wrong.
00:22:59.909 --> 00:23:04.229
That is one of the most important things any professional can understand.
00:23:04.629 --> 00:23:10.309
Being right about what happened does not automatically mean you're right about why it happened.
00:23:10.469 --> 00:23:13.669
But social media doesn't reward that kind of careful thinking.
00:23:13.909 --> 00:23:16.469
Social media rewards certainty.
00:23:16.789 --> 00:23:24.549
The person who writes, there could be several contributing factors and we would need more information gets ignored.
00:23:24.789 --> 00:23:32.949
The person who writes, Drain it, bad TDS, gets 63 likes and an invitation to appear on a live stream.
00:23:33.189 --> 00:23:41.109
Apparently, punctuation, capital letters, and the confidence of someone shitting out flaming porcupines has replaced laboratory analysis.
00:23:41.349 --> 00:23:49.909
And if you add three red siren emojis, suddenly the bullshit looks urgent, which is how a bad guest gets dressed up as a public service.
00:23:50.229 --> 00:23:55.909
We have created an environment where the fastest answer often beats the correct answer.
00:23:56.149 --> 00:23:58.629
People don't read the question carefully.
00:23:58.869 --> 00:24:00.869
They don't ask for test results.
00:24:01.029 --> 00:24:10.869
They don't ask about pool volume, water temperature, surface type, circulation pattern, sanitizer, chemical history, weather source water, or anything else that might matter.
00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:15.269
They see one word they recognize and start typing Cloudy?
00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:16.709
Phosphates.
00:24:17.029 --> 00:24:17.509
Stain?
00:24:18.389 --> 00:24:19.029
Copper.
00:24:19.589 --> 00:24:20.309
Algae?
00:24:20.629 --> 00:24:21.750
Not enough chlorine.
00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:23.750
High chlorine demand?
00:24:24.149 --> 00:24:24.949
Ammonia.
00:24:25.509 --> 00:24:26.949
Paint peeling?
00:24:27.349 --> 00:24:28.869
Taylor Swift.
00:24:29.669 --> 00:24:30.949
Pump making noise?
00:24:31.189 --> 00:24:32.629
Fauci motor.
00:24:32.949 --> 00:24:39.909
How the fuck did you diagnose all that from one blurry photograph in a sentence written by somebody who spelled chlorine three different ways?
00:24:40.149 --> 00:24:41.829
That's not a diagnosis.
00:24:42.229 --> 00:24:43.429
That's theater.
00:24:43.750 --> 00:24:49.750
Sometimes guesses are correct, but a correct guess is not the same as a competent diagnosis.
00:24:49.990 --> 00:24:57.829
If I throw a wrench across the equipment pad and it accidentally tightens a union, that doesn't make me a mechanic, it makes me a lawsuit.
00:24:58.069 --> 00:25:00.309
Professionals collect information.
00:25:00.709 --> 00:25:03.669
Professionals consider competing explanations.
00:25:03.990 --> 00:25:09.669
Professionals understand that the obvious answer is not always the correct answer.
00:25:10.149 --> 00:25:19.029
For anyone newer to the term, the Langolir Saturation Index is a way to estimate whether water is likely to dissolve or deposit calcium carbonate.
00:25:19.109 --> 00:25:22.869
It is useful, but it answers a narrow question.
00:25:23.189 --> 00:25:25.990
Not every question that matters in a pool.
00:25:26.309 --> 00:25:35.669
People think the LSI is the answer to swimming pool water chemistry, that if the little number lands in the acceptable range, nothing else needs to be considered.
00:25:35.909 --> 00:25:37.269
That's bullshit.
00:25:37.509 --> 00:25:39.990
The LSI answers one narrow question.
00:25:40.229 --> 00:25:45.829
Whether the water is likely to precipitate or dissolve calcium carbonate under those conditions.
00:25:46.069 --> 00:25:46.949
That's it.
00:25:47.269 --> 00:25:50.309
It doesn't tell you whether the water is properly sanitized.
00:25:50.389 --> 00:26:04.789
It doesn't measure oxidation, algae, biofilm, phosphate, cyanuric acid management, combined chlorine sulfate damage, corrosion involving metals other than calcium carbonate, or whether your treatment protocol makes any practical friggin' sense.
00:26:04.949 --> 00:26:14.229
You can have a beautifully balanced LSI and still have an unsafe, algae-filled equipment destroying swimming pool that looks like Satan rinsed his balls off in a blender full of swamp meat.
00:26:14.389 --> 00:26:16.149
The LSI is a tool.
00:26:16.309 --> 00:26:21.429
It is not the whole damn toolbox, the truck, the map, the priest, and the exorcism kit.
00:26:21.750 --> 00:26:28.069
Professionals are willing to say three words that terrify social media experts.
00:26:28.469 --> 00:26:29.429
I don't know.
00:26:29.669 --> 00:26:31.990
There's no shame in saying I don't know.
00:26:32.229 --> 00:26:35.269
The smartest people I know say it regularly.
00:26:35.589 --> 00:26:37.829
The fool has an answer for everything.
00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:39.829
The expert has questions.
00:26:40.389 --> 00:26:41.509
What changed?
00:26:41.750 --> 00:26:43.429
What are the test results?
00:26:43.669 --> 00:26:44.869
What's the surface?
00:26:45.109 --> 00:26:46.309
What's the history?
00:26:46.549 --> 00:26:47.349
What was added?
00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:48.309
When was it added?
00:26:48.469 --> 00:26:49.750
What happened after that?
00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:52.869
Those questions aren't signs of weakness.
00:26:53.189 --> 00:27:03.750
They're the tools that keep us from confidently projectile vomiting bullshit across the internet when what we really need is patience, evidence, and a little professional humility.
00:27:03.990 --> 00:27:09.029
Nobody checks anything and then people pass it along until it starts sounding like fact.
00:27:09.429 --> 00:27:12.789
No, it isn't gossip wearing safety glasses.
00:27:12.949 --> 00:27:16.869
We live in a time when fact checking yourself has never been easier.
00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:34.149
You have a device in your pocket that can access technical documents, patents, scientific journals, manufacturer instructions, government publications, safety data sheets, university research, and more recorded knowledge than any previous generation could have possibly imagined.
00:27:34.389 --> 00:27:36.309
And what do some people use it for?
00:27:36.549 --> 00:27:41.269
To type you're an idiot under an answer they didn't understand.
00:27:41.589 --> 00:27:42.549
Amazing.
00:27:43.189 --> 00:27:51.589
Entire recorded history of human knowledge is sitting in your hand and you're using it to argue that Chlorine has whispering prophecies from the sewer.
00:27:52.069 --> 00:27:55.269
You don't need to become a research scientist.
00:27:55.669 --> 00:28:02.229
You need enough intellectual discipline to stop before you post and ask yourself, do I actually know this?
00:28:02.469 --> 00:28:03.750
How do I know it?
00:28:03.990 --> 00:28:05.349
When did I learn it?
00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:07.269
Has the information changed?
00:28:07.589 --> 00:28:10.949
Can I find a reliable source supporting it?
00:28:11.269 --> 00:28:13.990
Can you back up everything you say?
00:28:14.229 --> 00:28:19.429
That five-minute pause could save you from looking like an asshole whose confidence outran as evidence.
00:28:19.589 --> 00:28:26.149
And if you want to be appreciated for your contributions, stop trying to be the first person to answer.
00:28:26.469 --> 00:28:28.549
Be the person whose answer can be trusted.
00:28:28.709 --> 00:28:35.909
That reputation takes longer to build, but it comes from accuracy, not volume, titles, or performative expertise.
00:28:36.149 --> 00:28:37.269
And nobody's perfect.
00:28:37.429 --> 00:28:40.069
Nobody can literally never be wrong.
00:28:40.309 --> 00:28:49.750
But there is a tremendous difference between making an honest mistake after doing work and being recklessly wrong because you couldn't be bothered to look something up.
00:28:49.990 --> 00:28:53.109
When you discover you were wrong, correct it.
00:28:53.589 --> 00:28:55.750
Say, I was wrong.
00:28:55.990 --> 00:28:57.829
Here's the correct information.
00:28:58.309 --> 00:29:07.029
That single sentence will earn you more respect from intelligent people than a hundred defensive comments ever could, because being corrected is not humiliation.
00:29:07.269 --> 00:29:13.109
Remaining wrong after you've been shown better evidence is changing your mind is not weakness.
00:29:13.349 --> 00:29:19.349
Changing your mind when the evidence changes is exactly what rational adults are supposed to do.
00:29:19.589 --> 00:29:24.149
We need to stop acting as though consistency is more valuable than accuracy.
00:29:24.389 --> 00:29:36.149
If I believed something ten years ago and better evidence has since demonstrated that I was wrong, I should not continue repeating it merely to prove I'm consistent.
00:29:36.469 --> 00:29:38.229
That's not integrity.
00:29:38.389 --> 00:29:40.629
That's stubbornness within the corpse.
00:29:40.949 --> 00:29:45.990
You should be able to say, and this is what I understand now.
00:29:46.229 --> 00:29:47.429
That's growth.
00:29:47.669 --> 00:29:49.429
That's professionalism.
00:29:49.750 --> 00:29:52.789
That's how knowledge advances.
00:29:53.189 --> 00:29:55.750
Sometimes relearning is harder than learning.
00:29:56.069 --> 00:30:00.549
New information has to compete with the old story already living in your head.
00:30:00.869 --> 00:30:03.429
You may have taught that old story.
00:30:03.750 --> 00:30:05.750
Finding out it was wrong can hurt.
00:30:05.990 --> 00:30:06.949
I get it.
00:30:07.189 --> 00:30:08.869
I've had to rethink things.
00:30:09.029 --> 00:30:12.709
I've had to revisit explanations I accepted earlier in my career.
00:30:12.949 --> 00:30:17.349
I've had to look at new evidence and say, well shit, that changes things.
00:30:17.589 --> 00:30:18.789
That isn't failure.
00:30:19.029 --> 00:30:24.869
Failure would be seeing the evidence and refusing to change because my ego is more important than the truth.
00:30:25.109 --> 00:30:31.750
Your experience should be a foundation, not a prison where old assumptions sit in solitary confinement, licking the walls.
00:30:31.909 --> 00:30:42.709
Use what you've seen in the field, the thousands of pools you've maintained, the equipment failures, unusual water conditions, chemical reactions, damaged surfaces, frustrated customers, and expensive mistakes.
00:30:42.949 --> 00:30:46.549
But combine that experience with current information.
00:30:46.949 --> 00:30:50.869
Field experience and research should work hand in hand.
00:30:51.189 --> 00:30:52.469
We need both.
00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:57.829
The industry does not need more people who can memorize a chart and repeat it word for word.
00:30:57.909 --> 00:31:00.389
It needs people who can fucking think.
00:31:00.869 --> 00:31:02.629
And here's the beautiful part.
00:31:02.869 --> 00:31:08.629
If you want to become a superstar in the Facebook groups or on Instagram, the bar is not especially high.
00:31:08.949 --> 00:31:13.509
People ask the same fucking questions over and over again.
00:31:13.990 --> 00:31:15.669
My pH keeps rising.
00:31:15.990 --> 00:31:16.469
Why?
00:31:16.709 --> 00:31:19.269
My salt cell has white stuff on it.
00:31:19.509 --> 00:31:22.229
Why did the pool turn cloudy after I added this?
00:31:22.469 --> 00:31:24.229
What causes black algae?
00:31:24.469 --> 00:31:26.709
Can high chlorine damage the surface?
00:31:26.869 --> 00:31:28.949
Why is my filter pressure climbing?
00:31:29.109 --> 00:31:30.229
What is this stain?
00:31:30.389 --> 00:31:32.229
How do I lower cyanuric acid?
00:31:32.389 --> 00:31:34.309
What made the water green?
00:31:34.629 --> 00:31:44.709
So with a halfway decent memory, open mind, and willingness to verify information before typing, you can become unusually useful in those spaces.
00:31:45.029 --> 00:31:47.509
What a freaking accomplishment.
00:31:47.750 --> 00:31:52.389
In a comment section full of noise, you became useful.
00:31:53.589 --> 00:31:55.349
You can make a real contribution.
00:31:55.589 --> 00:32:00.309
The technician asking that repeated question may be seeing it for the first time.
00:32:00.629 --> 00:32:06.789
They may be standing in the backyard, exhausted, embarrassed, and worried that they're about to lose a customer.
00:32:06.949 --> 00:32:08.949
They don't need you to ridicule them.
00:32:09.349 --> 00:32:19.589
They need you to know what to test, what to rule out, what information matters, and how to think through the problem without turning every answer into a magic spell from the comments section swamp.
00:32:20.229 --> 00:32:22.629
That's how you help people.
00:32:23.109 --> 00:32:28.149
Not by dropping an answer from the sky like you're the pool industry's filthy mouthed oracle.
00:32:28.389 --> 00:32:30.389
Mouth is not the credential.
00:32:30.629 --> 00:32:31.990
The reasoning is.
00:32:32.229 --> 00:32:33.990
Teach them how to investigate.
00:32:34.149 --> 00:32:39.990
If somebody becomes permanently dependent on calling you for answers, you haven't necessarily mentored them.
00:32:40.229 --> 00:32:43.750
You may have simply trained them to outsource their thinking.
00:32:44.069 --> 00:32:46.389
A professional helps build capable people.
00:32:46.549 --> 00:32:50.789
None of this requires you to become polite, delicate, corporate, or sanitized.
00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:52.869
You can still use the word fuck.
00:32:53.349 --> 00:32:57.109
Just make sure you've earned the confidence behind it.
00:32:57.349 --> 00:33:00.469
Be as loud as you want after you've done your homework.
00:33:00.709 --> 00:33:03.909
Because profanity backed by accurate information is a style.
00:33:03.990 --> 00:33:04.949
It's an emphasis.
00:33:05.109 --> 00:33:05.829
It's a voice.
00:33:06.069 --> 00:33:11.109
Profanity used to disguise ignorance, well now that's just noise.
00:33:11.349 --> 00:33:14.069
Like a dumpster fire trying to give a TED talk.
00:33:14.229 --> 00:33:17.589
I'm not judging professionalism by vocabulary.
00:33:17.829 --> 00:33:19.509
I'm judging it by conduct.
00:33:19.829 --> 00:33:21.909
Do you verify what you say?
00:33:22.469 --> 00:33:24.949
Do you understand the limits of your knowledge?
00:33:25.189 --> 00:33:27.109
Do you update your thinking?
00:33:27.349 --> 00:33:29.029
Do you correct your mistakes?
00:33:29.269 --> 00:33:30.869
Do you explain your reasoning?
00:33:31.109 --> 00:33:33.829
Do you help other people become better at their work?
00:33:33.990 --> 00:33:35.349
That's the difference.
00:33:35.589 --> 00:33:37.750
A professional doesn't have to know everything.
00:33:37.990 --> 00:33:41.509
A professional has to respect the truth enough to not pretend.
00:33:41.829 --> 00:33:49.029
So the next time you see a question online and feel that irresistible urge to answer immediately, take a breath.
00:33:49.269 --> 00:33:50.949
Check what you think you know.
00:33:51.189 --> 00:33:52.229
Then answer.
00:33:52.389 --> 00:33:55.429
And if you don't know, say you don't know.
00:33:56.149 --> 00:33:58.629
You don't lose credibility by waiting.
00:33:58.869 --> 00:34:15.750
You lose credibility when the answer you fired off in 12 seconds is still sitting there six months later being repeated by 20 other people who assume you knew what the fuck you were talking about when really you didn't just We can raise the level of conversation in this industry without removing its personality.
00:34:16.070 --> 00:34:21.909
We don't have to become a bunch of sanitized corporate robots speaking exclusively in approved marketing phrases.
00:34:22.150 --> 00:34:33.829
We can still laugh at the insanity of maintaining pools and brutal heat for a customer who swears nobody used the pool whilst vape pen and a pair of underwear are floating in the deep end like evidence from a crime scene.
00:34:34.150 --> 00:34:40.789
But if we want to call ourselves professionals, then we need to act like professionals when accuracy matters.
00:34:41.110 --> 00:34:51.909
Not because we politically correct them, not because we're afraid of looking stupid, but because other people make decisions based on what we say.
00:34:52.230 --> 00:34:55.269
They spend money, they give advice to customers.
00:34:55.590 --> 00:34:58.150
Bad information has consequences.
00:34:58.389 --> 00:35:05.349
Sometimes a cloudy pool, sometimes thousands of dollars in damage, and sometimes real safety risks.
00:35:05.590 --> 00:35:11.349
So yeah, say fuck when the work, the heat, and the customers and the nonsense call for it.
00:35:11.510 --> 00:35:12.470
I don't care.
00:35:12.710 --> 00:35:15.430
That isn't what determines whether you're a professional.
00:35:15.670 --> 00:35:23.670
But before you start launching facts across social media with the force of a demon clearing his throat, make sure the facts deserve the force.
00:35:23.990 --> 00:35:29.510
Don't just say shit because it sounds strong and it's okay to not have anything to say.
00:35:30.309 --> 00:35:34.550
Learn shit, verify shit, and relearn shit when better evidence shows up.
00:35:34.789 --> 00:35:49.269
Because the loudest person in the Facebook group may get the most attention, but the person who does the work, checks the facts, admits what they don't know, and consistently provides information, that's the person people eventually learn to trust.
00:35:49.510 --> 00:35:53.510
And trust is worth a hell of a lot more than likes.
00:35:54.230 --> 00:35:55.750
That's all I got for this week.
00:35:55.910 --> 00:35:57.349
I'm Rudy Stankowitz.
00:35:57.430 --> 00:35:59.269
This is the Talking Pools podcast.
00:35:59.510 --> 00:36:01.910
Until next time, be good.
00:36:03.190 --> 00:36:03.910
Be safe.
