How we grade
One public scorecard for every Valley pool company
Every company gets a score built only from public information: what it states on its own website, its Google reviews, and how long it has been in business. The score sets the order of every list and the letter grade. A grade says how much we could find out, not how well a company will fix your pump, so get more than one quote.
Six groups of points
Each profile shows how many points a company earned in each group, out of the maximum below. The six maximums add up to 99.
| Group | Weight | What feeds it |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 22 pts | How many Google reviews the company has, and its average. |
| Profile | 22 pts | A working website, phone, a real description, how complete the facts are, and social accounts. |
| Service scope and terms | 18 pts | Equipment repair, leak detection, replastering and resurfacing, barrier and fence work, permits, a written contract with a licence number, warranty, free estimates, financing. |
| Credentials | 14 pts | Hayward, Jandy and Fluidra and Pentair programmes, the PHTA service pathway, NPC start-up training and BBB accreditation, as stated. |
| Track record | 14 pts | Years since founding, and profiles on BBB, Yelp, Angi and similar. |
| Licence and insurance | 9 pts | Licensed, insured and bonded, and workers’ comp proof, as stated on their site. ROC numbers earn nothing until they can be checked. |
The scale
From A to D, or Limited info
The top score in the Valley today is 64. 320 of 524 listed companies have enough public information to be graded. A company whose relevance to pool work is borderline (one that mostly does something else, say) can grade no better than B.
- AExcellent
Excellent
55 and up
20 companies today
- BGood
Good
46 to 54
80 companies today
- CFair
Fair
37 to 45
87 companies today
- DPoor
Poor
25 to 36
133 companies today
- Limited info
Limited info
under 25, a site we could not read, or no website
204 companies today
What the grade is, and is not
- Built from public information only, the same rules for every company.
- Every fact on a profile quotes the company’s own page, with the date we read it.
- ROC licence numbers are shown as listed on the company’s site. We have not checked them, and they earn no points until we can.
- Too little information shows “Limited info”, not a failing grade. Those companies stay listed.
- It is not a review of workmanship. Get more than one quote.
Check any Arizona contractor licence yourself on the ROC public search ↗.
How a company can raise its grade
- 1
Say it on your own website
We grade what a company states publicly. A warranty, a partner programme or a licence that only comes up in a sales call does not count.
- 2
Show the proof
Name the programme or certification and who holds it. We keep the sentence and the page it came from.
- 3
Put your terms in writing
Your service-call fee, your warranty, what a monthly plan includes. These earn scope-and-terms points and help homeowners compare.
- 4
Keep the reviews coming
Google review count and average are the biggest single group. Ask every customer.
- 5
Tell us when something changes
We re-read websites when we refresh the directory. If yours changed, write to us and we will look again.
How we read the posted prices
The cost ledger on the home page shows prices companies print on their own websites. It is not our price list, and it never mixes in a quote.
- Each company counts once for a job, at its lowest posted price for it. Two listings with the same website are one company.
- Weekly service is shown per month. A weekly rate is multiplied out; a figure with no unit is left out, because we cannot tell a visit from a month. Hourly rates never go into a per-job row.
- Ranges (“$100 to $20,000”) are a company’s own general guidance, not a price it quotes, so they are left out.
- First-month offers, specials, and a job sold bundled with a drain, a power wash or a start-up are left out.
- With five or more companies, a price over three times, or under a third of, the middle is set aside and counted on the row.
- A job needs at least 4 companies posting before we show it.
Questions
Can a business pay for a better grade?
No. Listings and grades are never influenced by payment.
Why does a business show "Limited info"?
We found too little public information to grade it fairly: a very low score, a website we could not read, or no website at all. It stays listed, and it is not a judgement on the quality of its work.
Are the licence numbers verified?
No. Arizona ROC licence numbers and certifications shown on a profile are what the business says on its own website. They do not change a grade. Use the Check on ROC link on a profile to confirm a licence yourself before you hire.
See the grades in action
Run a pool company in the Valley and something is wrong or missing? Tell us.