Thirty years and still growing strong

R&R POOLS

By Fred Sgambati

R&R Pools in Timberlea will celebrate a milestone in 2013 – 30 years in business. But if you ask owner Derek Redden, the time has gone by pretty quickly and he has certainly had a lot of fun.

The company started modestly in late summer 1983, and clients then weren’t looking for anything high-end or too complicated. They mostly wanted a pool that provided a simple refuge on a summer’s day, a place to kick back, relax and enjoy the company of family and friends.

That part hasn’t changed over the past 30 years, but Redden suggests that what people look for in a pool has. More people these days have had a resort experience that includes all the usual bells and whistles and then returned home with a desire to recreate that atmosphere in their own backyards. The good news is that R&R has grown right along with their customers and remains responsive and innovative. Delivering a backyard oasis that meets budget and expectations is still their primary focus and they’ve gotten pretty good at it over the past three decades.

The key, Redden says, is personal service. R&R Pools is family-owned and operated, with Derek’s daughter Kara managing the store in Timberlea while Derek, son-in-law Ryan and their team work onsite. They know customers by name and many become friends, Derek says.

That kind of relationship comes easily, too, he adds, if you care about what you’re doing. From initial consultation to installation to after-care and servicing, “customers naturally become a part of your life,” Derek says. “I tell them it’s my pool; it just happens to be in their backyard, and we make certain we take very good care of it. We ensure that the quality is put in the installation so that in 10 or 20 years’ time, that pool will be just as good as new.”

Hometown Values

Derek embraces the hometown values upon which the business was built, noting that one-to-one service has always been a top priority. He and his wife Cindy, who passed away in 2007, had considered expanding the operation early on, but quickly realized that it just didn’t make sense to get bigger. “I wanted to be on top of it,” he says, “and it wasn’t what Cindy and I wanted to have. There’s a balance to business and living your life, and one store that offered personal service was the way to do it.” You can tell that sentiment has trickled down through the family as Kara and Ryan feel exactly the same way today.

Derek says ongoing communication with customers is the secret to his company’s success and longevity, and he and his staff work hard to anticipate what customers need. Sometimes it’s simply information on how to open or close a pool or perform a water test. Other times it’s good advice on how to proceed with a project as it unfolds.

Redden says it has been a great ride so far “and I’ve had a good run. We know what needs to be done – you put in your 60-70 hours a week and get the job done. I look at things like, ‘This is the challenge today,’ and it’s usually fun to take things on. As challenges present themselves, I say, ‘Let’s get through the logical steps, get ‘er done and keep everyone happy.’ ”

That’s putting the customer first, for sure, but on the cusp of their 30^th anniversary, where does R&R Pools go from here? Redden sums it up nicely. “Why can’t it go for another 30?”

Why not? For more on R&R’s products and services, please www.rrpools.ca