So many of the times that I have sat down to write this column, I find myself beginning with: ”when we started Salt Pure®”. Well this one kinda begins that way too, I guess the operating philosophies of many successful companies are born from the necessities required to sustain and grow a young business.

The norm in the industry is for Pool Builders or Dealers to install pool equipment. When we started out in the early 1990’s our goal was to work with the pool dealer/builder network to provide local service for our equipment. After some time grappling with multiple dealers, we realized that we had to bring all facets of our support in-house in order to achieve consistent support. We set to work developing our TMI ICSC program with integrated support.

The reality that we began with was that the traditional commercial service group was usually a local company that derived it’s income by actually calling on the customer and charging for their time, by installing and repairing equipment. TMI Salt Pure equipment is modular and, with TMI either on line with the maintenance staff, using modem control or providing telephonic support, the problem could be resolved rapidly and with minimum cost to the customer. This is the basis of TMI ISCS support. In short, rather than providing support by dispatching a service truck, TMI provides support with access to up to three tech support people, available to dial in to controllers while providing chemical and equipment advice telephonically.

Due to logistics and associated costs to our client, on- site service was essentially an out-dated model as far as the Salt Pure® process is concerned. We could provide a faster level of response at a reduced cost to our customers, by building a program of Remote Support, verses on-site Service. The 3 building blocks of that support had to be:

• Knowledge
• Response
• Attitude
• AND the customers involvement in day to day troubleshooting and Preventative Maintenance

What we have ended up with, is a unique program that is designed to work directly with the end- user on every level. The program is designed to support the installation of the product by either the end user (Facilities maintenance) or local plumber. Thereafter, all support is directed to the person responsible for maintaining the equipment – usually the Maintenance Director. Our goal is to provide a level of support and knowledge that allows our client to understand and operate our equipment efficiently, and correct problems by calling TMI Tech Support to solve any problems that arise. Indeed, we are able to help you solve all pool/spa related chemistry problems, and have crafted a Preventative Maintenance Program to do just that. Once equipment has been installed, we begin daily dialog with the pool operator, utilizing a proprietary link on our website with day to day operating procedures and tracking charts..

We are certainly not where we want to be, but we are sure trying hard, day in and day out. Our policy is to return all calls with one business day, and to put the customer first by being accountable. Period.