Why? . . . Because It’s Fun!
Sometime when you have some time to play around on the web, like after you’ve checked out the entire Eastgate Pools web site, do a search for Gatlinburg Chalet Rentals. Go to a few realtors’ web sites and you will notice a common theme. More and more rentals feature hot tubs, pool tables and game tables. Chalet owners know that prospective renters are looking for quality time to spend with their loved ones, and they are looking to have fun, as after all, the renters are on vacation. By providing these amenities, the chalet owner increases the likelihood of renting out their property.
This Gatlinburg phenomenon reminds me once again why Eastgate Pools & Spas’ motto is “Resort living …at home”. Vacations are great, but the same things that help make vacation fun can be enjoyed year-round right in your very own home.
Eastgate Alumni
Recently, I reflected in a blog how 2009 marked my 25th year with Eastgate Pools & Spas. Over these years, I have had quite a few co-workers. Don’t get me wrong, at Eastgate we have a very large core of employees with lots of years of service, but in these 25 years we have had lots of young people that have used Eastgate Pools as a learning and earning tool on their way to other careers. Just a quick search of my mind and I can think of a chiropractor, a lawyer, a pharmacist, a couple of engineers, a couple of accountants, a teacher, a couple of nurses to be, and more that have made Eastgate Pools a part of their growing up. Like any good relationship, Eastgate has given to these young people from the surrounding community, but has also reaped many benefits in return. What a pleasure it is when these young people return to visit with us and reminisce about the time they spent in the pool business. All of this just proves once again how important local businesses are to a community and how important the community is to a local business.
Wow! Has It Really Been This Long?
Recently, as I was pausing to reflect about all of the things that I have to be thankful, I realized that one very large thing that I was thankful for was the fact that 2009 marked my 25th year working for Eastgate Pools & Spas. The 25 years hadn’t really crossed my mind up to this time. To have this many years working for the same company doesn’t seem to happen near as much anymore. I know that for me, I couldn’t have ever stayed anywhere if I wasn’t happy, so to my co-workers that help keep my job fun and interesting, thank you. More importantly, to all of the customers that have chosen Eastgate Pools & Spas over all of these years, a very sincere thank you to you, for you are the reason that I can reflect back on 25 great years.
Looking For A Game Table Or Pool Table?
As the billiard and game table buyer for Eastgate Pools & Spas, my attention increases any time I see ads for these product lines. What I have noticed during the last year or so, and especially very recently, is that many of my competitors have reduced their offerings of game tables and pool tables. Well, I am happy to report that Eastgate has not followed their example, as our selection of game tables and pool tables is as large, if not larger than ever. While billiards and game tables is just a little side item for some stores, it is an important part of Eastgate Pool’s constant desire to provide resort living at home for our customers. So while others are cutting back to save some money on inventory, our game table and pool table selection is as large as ever.
SHOWROOM SWITCHOVER
If you haven’t been into the store for a few weeks, well, things will look a little different if you stop and visit with us. We recently completed our fall showroom switchover. One of the best things about the new showroom and warehouse that we built a couple of years ago is that it gives us the ability to display lots of game tables and lots of casual furniture year round. Before we had this second showroom, we couldn’t fully display either product line year round. After the showroom switchover, all of our great game tables, including table tennis, air hockey, foosball, poker and bumper pool can be found on display in our main showroom. The new showroom right across the parking lot is loaded with our huge assortment of outdoor casual furniture. It sure is nice to be able to show our visitors lots of great game table and casual furniture choices no matter the time of year! So, if this upcoming winter you start to get a little of that cabin fever, remember you can always stop by and visit with us and start planning for the warmer days ahead.
Freezing Weather And Casual Furniture
Fall is officially here, and though we will certainly have many beautiful autumn days to be outdoors, it is a good time to remind everyone that winter’s freezing temperatures can ruin your outdoor furniture. Today, I would like to remind everyone that each piece of furniture should be checked before we get any freezing weather to make sure that no water is trapped inside the frame. If you can feel or hear water inside the frame, it needs to be removed in order to prevent frame and finish damage. Once the water is out, make sure you either cover the furniture with a good quality furniture cover or store it in an area where it will not take on additional water. If you have questions on getting your outdoor furniture ready for winter or need help on finding the right size cover for your set, just let us know.
Replacement Hoses
Quite often, when I am helping customers on replacement hoses for their swimming pool filter, I will get the question about using clear, thick walled hose instead of the ribbed hoses that are normally used. In answer to their question, I tell them that yes, they can use the clear hose, but it really should only be used on the line that runs from the pump outlet up to the filter. The clear high-pressure hose is ideal in this location. But what about using it on the line from the skimmer to the pump inlet? Well, as many have found out, when you put the clear hose on a suction line, it will collapse down, and the pump doesn’t like being starved of water for very long. And what about the return line from the filter back to the pool? Well, in my experience, if the line is very short, you can use the clear high-pressure hose, but in most cases, the filter sits back from the pool far enough that the clear hose will want to sag and kink due to its weight and no spiral support being built into it.
So, in summary, the clear high-pressure hose is great stuff, but only when used on the proper line, which is the line from the pump outlet to the filter. Any questions just let us know.
Telescope Casual Furniture
You may have noticed on our main web page, or maybe you saw an earlier blog from Kathy, that Eastgate Pools just bought Telescope Casual’s entire Chicago Merchandise Mart showroom. You might ask yourself, why was it for sale? Well, it’s a pretty easy answer. It’s the beginning of show season for casual furniture manufacturers, with the first of two yearly trade shows being scheduled the week after July 4th. Casual furniture retailers from all over the USA will converge on Chicago to check out the very latest in styles and colors. Leading manufacturers, such as Telescope, like to make sure that their showroom is fresh and new every year. As such, it is out with the old, which is really still pretty new, and in with the really, really new. Cleaning out their showroom in June also gives Telescope a chance to clean the carpet and paint the walls prior to the new product being delivered and setup.
What does this mean to the casual furniture shopper? That’s simple. Great prices on great Telescope furniture! With an over 100 year tradition, Telescope is known for producing furniture that is comfortable, stylish, and long lasting. When you put these Telescope qualities together, you have value, and when you add in the fact that you can save 45% off of Telescope’s price index on this special buyout furniture, you have tremendous values. From our previous experience buying the showroom, we know that the sets go fast. So if you want to experience Telescope Casual furniture at greatly reduced prices, stop in and see us.
Have No Fear, Help Is Here!
Countless times each year we hear, “I just moved into a house with a pool or spa (or both), and I don’t know how to care for it.” If you have moved into a home with a pool or a spa, have no fear, we have helped many, many people over the years in this very situation, and we can probably help you too. To make it easier to help you, here are a few suggestions.
1. If the previous homeowner left any paperwork, including owner’s manuals or receipts, bring them with you when you stop by our store.
2. If you have a digital camera, take a few minutes and take some photos. Pictures of the actual pool or spa and pictures of the equipment (filter, pump, heater, etcetera) are a great help. If you see manufacturer’s names or specification labels on the equipment, get pictures of these or make some notes. This type of information is a true help.
3. Especially on swimming pools, measure the pool and write down the dimensions. If it is a round pool, you will need to measure the diameter. If it is an oval or a rectangular pool, you will want to measure the overall width and the length. On above ground pools, measure the wall height. (Usually 48″, 52″, or 54″) On inground pools, try to get an idea of the depth at both ends.
4. If the previous homeowner left any chemicals, take a few minutes to write down the product names and approximately how much is left in each container. There is no need to have you buy more of a product if it is already sitting in your garage or shed. (Since you may be unfamiliar with some of these items, use care in handling them until we can discuss what you have and how to properly and safely use them.)
While we will almost certainly have additional questions for you when you visit the store the first time or two, the more information from the above list that you can bring in, the quicker we can help you start enjoying your “new” pool or spa.
Help For You, The Customer
In a recent blog, Chris talked about Eastgate Pools ability to order parts for our customers. In his discussion, he talked about bringing in the needed part, or parts, if possible. Actual parts are always the easiest to work from, but if it just isn’t possible to get the part off of the pool or to bring it in to the store, take several digital photos, and then bring in the camera.Just the other day, I took photos of a customer’s part that they brought in with them, but which I didn’t have in stock.My service department was not in at the time, but by having the pictures, I was able at a later time to show my service coordinator exactly what part the customer needed.
Also, many of the parts have the manufacturer’s name and/or a part number stamped on them.These numbers are a great help along with the pictures when it comes down to tracking down the proper part. Actual parts beat pictures, but pictures are better than verbal descriptions
Preparing Your Outdoor Furniture For Spring
The calendar says it is spring, and hopefully Mother Nature gets the message soon and doesn’t allow winter to return for a long time! For many of us, spring means getting our casual furniture sets uncovered or out of the shed, garage or basement. Depending on how it was stored, and how motivated we were last fall, it probably could use a good cleaning. In this blog, I am going to talk about cleaning sling furniture, as I have sling furniture at home, and it is far and away the most common type of furniture.
Sling furniture is so easy to clean, especially with the right cleaner. At the start of each season, I move my chairs and chaise lounges out to a sunny area and spray them down with the garden hose. While they are still wet, I use my special weapon on them, which is Feron’s 1 For All Cleaner, which is also known as Feronclean. (I used to use just soap and water until I noticed that the thin white stripes in the sling material had become thin gray stripes over the years. Soap and water wasn’t doing the job as well as I had thought.) I let the Feronclean sit for several minutes, and then I lightly scrub the sling with a soft bristled scrub brush. With a rinse and a wipe down to dry, the job is finished and my white stripes are white again.
I learned from experience how well Feronclean works, and in the years that Eastgate Pools has carried this product, we have heard many stories similar to mine about how well it works. Of all of the products in our furniture accessory department, Feronclean is the one that is most requested by name. (Legal stuff: read product label before using)
Save Your Umbrella & Save Your Table!
I have been in the swimming pool, spa and casual furniture business since 1980, and I have seen many changes. Some things never change, though. Each year, too many people have to prematurely replace their patio furniture umbrella and/or patio table, all because they left the umbrella up when they weren’t home. Just one example is the following true story.
A few years back, I was delivering some casual furniture to a customer’s home. They had taken delivery of a patio table and chairs a few weeks earlier, but had ordered a couple of additional accessory pieces. When these pieces arrived, the customer had told me to deliver them out anytime, even if they weren’t home. That afternoon, when I arrived at the house, I noticed that the umbrella was up, and I also knew that the weather forecast had mentioned potential storms. I lowered the umbrella, and sure enough, the storms came later that day. A few weeks later, that same customer was calling to find out about ordering a new umbrella and patio table. You guessed it! They had left the umbrella up again and another storm came through and damaged the umbrella and table.
Sails move sailboats, and when an umbrella is left up and unattended in windy weather, you have just installed a big sail on your outdoor table. When I work with casual furniture customers, I always recommend leaving the umbrella down except for the times when the outdoor furniture is being used and enjoyed. A minute of precaution can save you lots of money and aggravation. David
Trash Night & Replacement Furniture Cushion Thoughts
I was driving home from work a few nights ago, and it was trash night. Being in a subdivision, I was going fairly slowly, so I had a good opportunity to see an entire set of casual furniture sitting out at the curb, with some really grungy cushions sitting on top. The furniture frames looked in good shape, though I admittedly didn’t stop to examine them piece-by-piece. It made me wonder whether these patio chairs were strictly at the curb because the cushions had seen better days. If so, there was a pretty easy fix. Replacement cushions could have saved these chairs from the compacter. For years, we had customers ask us about replacement casual furniture cushions, but the programs that we looked at were too complicated for the consumer. That has changed, though, as we have found an outdoor cushion manufacturer with 30 years experience and an easy to use program. The bottom line is that Eastgate Pools is now stocking several common replacement cushion sizes in a variety of colors, and we have lots of other sizes available for order in a ton of different colors. (Over 160 colors to be exact!) So if worn out, grungy cushions have made you fall out of love with your outdoor furniture set, maybe all that you need is some replacement cushions. Eastgate Pools can probably help.
Preserving Your Outdoor Casual Furniture
I’m lucky. Having a screened in porch to store my casual furniture set when winter weather arrives, I just need to make sure my outdoor furniture doesn’t have any water caught in the frame which could freeze and damage the frame and finish. Some people forget to check for water that has found its way inside their outdoor furniture’s frame, and the resulting freeze damage can be extensive. Fortunately, many casual furniture manufacturers place small drainage holes on underneath areas of the furniture, keeping things drained. A quick check for trapped water before freezing weather can save you a great deal of trouble and dollars.
But, what about those outdoor furniture owners that can’t store their furniture in a covered and more protected environment? I highly recommend a furniture cover. At my last house, I had no place to take the furniture set in the winter, so I invested in a good quality furniture cover, and each year I covered the table and chairs after I checked for any trapped water. A furniture cover keeps your furniture clean, helps prevent water from entering the frames while stored, and in general just protects your investment. There are covers that will cover the entire set, covers for just the table or chairs, and covers for the accessory pieces like chaise lounges, deep seating pieces and ottomans. A good furniture cover will increase your outdoor furniture’s life, and they are very quick and easy to “install”. At Eastgate Pools & Spas, we stock a huge assortment of furniture covers year-round, so just let us know what size table that you have, and we can help you find the right cover for your set and accessory items. David
Introducing David
Hello, this is David. Don’t laugh, but this is my first blog ever. I have been in the swimming pool business since 1980, and I have been with Eastgate Pools & Spas since 1984. What started as a way to earn my college money became my career after college. I always tell people that pool business just got into my blood. There is something about working with swimming pools, spas, pool tables, game tables, and casual furniture that I truly enjoy. I think it is the fact that in retail, everyday is different. Add in the change in products for the changes in seasons, and my job is always changing!
I have always enjoyed helping people, and I love to teach. If I wasn’t in the pool business, I probably should have been a teacher. In my future blogs, I hope to use my many years of experience to help people learn more about the use and care of the products carried by Eastgate Pools. Even if your pool, spa, casual furniture set, or pool table didn’t come from Eastgate Pools, I hope I can still answer a few questions that you might have. David