3 Generations Family Owned Since 1979
3 Generations Family Owned Since 1979
John and JoAnn Carvell – founders of Pool Co in Carbondale, IL – knew their customers on a personal level, Mark and Mary Carvell continued building on that same customer experience for nearly 40 years!
Now in 2020 Sonnia and Justin Stone look forward to continuing that same great customer experience that Pool Co in Carbondale has been known for.
Sonnia Stone started working for the Carvells in 2008 when she was just 19 years old. She quickly started to feel the passion that had driven the Carvell family to serve southern Illinois pool and spa owners for so many years. Her husband Justin has been the pool install supervisor for the last 2 years. Before that he worked along side his father, Jim Stone, in his concrete construction business Stone’s Concrete & Construction Inc. located in Alto Pass, IL. for over 15 years.
During that time he learned how important it was to treat every project like it was his own, ensuring a great customer experience by working hard and paying attention to detail. Their daughter Naomi, 10 years old, is often seen in the store during the summer months performing water analysis and helping customers out the door with their products.
“ We are very grateful for the opportunity to continue serving southern Illinois pool and spa owners” says Sonnia Stone “ southern Illinois is our home and we plan to be here for our customers for many, many years to come”.
What keeps them coming back? Fun!
Fun is their secret to good customer service. “We hire fun people and try to have fun with everything we do,” Mark Carvell says. “If you let your customers know that you’re enjoying what you do, they will see it and appreciate it.”
A significant proportion of the PoolCo staff are students from Southern Illinois University and John A. Logan College. Even though they may only be with us for a few years, we appreciate what they bring to our establishment. Our student workers fit in so well with our team.
Each and every one of our staff has that “mid-western work ethic” and are very driven to achieve their goals… The very same traits that the original owners, John and JoAnn Carvell, used to begin and establish PoolCo.
Service
Customers have been appreciating the service they get at PoolCo since 1979 when Mark Carvell’s parents started the business. Mark and Mary purchased the company when his father retired in 1993. Their children, John and Maria Carvell, have worked with their parents for 3 years thus making three generations of Carvells who have served the public. Customers appreciate the many years of employment by most of PoolCo’s staff.
Quality at a Great Price
We offer our customers products that last. PoolCo offers its customers everything they need for an “outdoor oasis”: Sharkline brand of extruded aluminum above ground pools; Caldera brand hot tubs; and quality BioGuard pool and spa maintenance accessories.
Skylin Henard, sales manager, is often heard to say, “How fun is it to own something that just doesn’t endure? Our customers all work too hard to waste their money on cheap products that don’t last.”
Training
They install and service what they sell. “In 30 years we have seen many new pool and spa retailers come and then go”, adds Mark, “They just didn’t last. Even though they said they had customer service, they just didn’t take care of the customer on the level that we do. People in southern Illinois expect a high level of customer service. We are proud so say that we are the only pool and spa retailer in our area that provides a very high level of service. New customers often tell us that they were instructed to come here and not even shop anywhere else!”
Our spa service technicians attend rigorous off-site training and must take 21 different tests to become qualified.
Knowledge
PoolCo goes to great efforts and expense to stay current and keep our employees technically trained. Every new employee receives a minimum of 30 days in house classroom training before we “turn them loose”. A tremendous amount of testing and mentoring is required to ensure that high level of customer service is maintained. Sharing that knowledge with our customers.
Teaching customers how to maintain their pools and spas is a very important part of PoolCo’s customer service. The Stones and their professionally trained staff host many free schools and seminars. They offer expert advice on how to open pools in the spring and how to close their pools in the fall. The Carvells started the annual pool school events held in store twice a year over 20 years ago and that tradition is still followed today.
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