Weather and emergency protocols

Storms, freezes, hurricanes, and outages are part of operating in every climate. The difference between a stressful week and a customer-loss event is preparation.

Rain protocol. Light rain → service as normal, accelerate. Heavy rain or lightning → reschedule. Communicate via mass text *before* the customer notices the skip. Most customers are reasonable about weather; they're irate about silence.

Freeze events. In freeze-prone climates (TX, NC, GA, mid-latitude states), have a freeze playbook: which customers' equipment needs to run continuously, which need pump covers, which have heaters that must be set above freezing. Mass text 48 hours before a forecast freeze with action items.

Hurricanes. Pre-storm: photo every customer's pool and equipment for insurance purposes. Add chemicals in advance (chlorine demand spikes after a storm with debris). Post-storm: prioritize visible safety issues and equipment damage; chemistry catches up in week 2.

Power outages. Many areas now experience multi-day outages. Pumps off for 5+ days in summer = green pool, possible algae bloom requiring extra chemistry to recover. Communicate proactively that recovery may take an extra visit or two.

Tech illness or absence. Backup plan: who covers the route? Most owners are the backup tech; that works for 1 week and breaks at 2. Pre-arrange a relationship with a friendly competitor for "I'm sick this week" coverage; most are happy to swap favors.

Customer communication during disruption. Over-communicate. A weekly "here's what's happening" text during any disruption keeps customers patient and prevents cancellations.