Running a route

Raise Pool Service Prices Without Losing Customers

Learn the break-even math for a pool service price increase, when to raise, how to write the notice and the mistakes that make customers leave.

Costs go up and a price that stays flat shrinks your pay. It is easy to put off a raise because you fear losing customers. The math below shows how many accounts you can lose before the raise stops paying off. The answer is larger than most people expect.

All figures are examples. Use your own.

The break-even math

If you raise your price by r (as a decimal), revenue stays the same only if you lose r / (1 + r) of your accounts.

Example: you have 60 accounts at $180 a month, so revenue is $10,800. You raise the price to $195, an increase of $15, or 8.3%. The break-even loss is 0.083 / 1.083 = about 7.7%, which is a little over 4 accounts.

Revenue is only half the picture. Each account that leaves also frees about 40 minutes of route time and the chemicals for that stop (an example figure). If you can refill those slots at the new price, you come out ahead even after the losses. You can check your own profit with the route profit calculator.

When to raise

• Your costs went up: chemicals, fuel, insurance, labor or the truck.
• An account's price has not changed in a long time. Look at the date of the last change on every account.
• The pool changed: a spa was added, trees grew in, equipment was swapped.
• Your profit math shows an account below your target.

Raise by account or across the board

Steps

1. Calculate profit per account. Flag the ones below your target.
2. Decide the new price for each account or tier. Round to clean numbers.
3. Read your agreement for price change terms and follow them. If you have no agreement, check local rules.
4. Send a written notice with an effective date. Email or text with a copy in your records is fine.
5. Give one short reason: your costs went up. State what stays the same.
6. If you offer an alternative, such as a smaller scope of service, price it first so that you profit under each option.
7. Track who replies, who agrees and who leaves. Do not discount in a panic. One cancellation costs less than a deep discount across the route.

Sample wording with example numbers: "Hello, starting on the first of next month, weekly service at your home will be $195 a month, up from $180. Our costs for chemicals, fuel and insurance have gone up since your last price change. Your service day and the visit checklist stay the same. Call or reply if you have questions."

More ready-to-send wording is in customer message templates.

Timing and tone

• Send the notice when service is going well. Do not send it the week after a missed visit or a complaint.
• Do not apologize. State the new price, the date and the reason.
• Keep it short. A long explanation reads as doubt.
• Answer replies the same day. A quick, calm answer keeps most conversations short.

Handling replies

Mistakes people make

• Raising only for new customers. Your oldest accounts fall further behind every year.
• Waiting years, then asking for a large jump. Small, regular changes are easier to accept than one big one.
• Hiding the raise in an invoice. Customers who find a surprise charge feel tricked.
• Raising before fixing a known problem. Fix the algae, the late arrivals or the missed notes first.
• Skipping the agreement check. If your agreement sets notice terms and you ignore them, you may have to honor the old price. Pool service contract covers a price change clause.

What to do with the customers who leave

Some will go, and that is part of the math. Ask for a one-line reason if they are willing to share it, and write it down. If three people say the same thing, you have learned something about your service or your message. Free up the route slot and offer it to the next account on your waiting list.

Contract terms, notice rules and consumer protection law differ by state. When in doubt, ask a local attorney before sending the notice.