“Charge What You’re Worth," Rich Gallo Says. (Gen Z, Cover Your Ears)

In this episode of the Talking Pools podcast, Rudy interviews Rich Gallo, founder and CEO of Pure Swim. Rich shares his journey from growing up in a family of pool professionals to establishing a successful concierge-level pool service in Los Angeles. He discusses the importance of mentorship, the impact of fatherhood on his business philosophy, and the lessons learned from mistakes in customer relationships. Rich emphasizes the significance of building a team with purpose, innovative service models, and the law of reciprocity in business. He concludes with reflections on the challenges of entrepreneurship and the importance of having fun in life.

takeaways

• Rich Gallo is the founder of Pure Swim, a premium pool service company.
• He emphasizes the importance of mentorship and investing in people.
• Fatherhood significantly influenced his approach to business and team building.
• Mistakes in customer relationships can lead to valuable lessons.
• Innovative service models can enhance customer satisfaction and team morale.
• The law of reciprocity is a key principle in Rich's business philosophy.
• Building a team with purpose leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.
• Navigating challenges in the pool service industry requires adaptability and resilience.
• Rich believes in creating opportunities for his employees to grow and succeed.
• Having fun and enjoying the journey is essential in life and business.

Sound Bites

• "It's an art form."
• "You gotta pay that guy."
• "I teach him the law of reciprocity."

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to Rich Gallo and Pure Swim

04:50
Early Memories and Family Influence

12:12
The Impact of Fatherhood on Business

17:12
Building a Team with Purpose

22:10
Navigating Pricing Challenges in the Industry

26:03
Building a Strong Team Culture

31:41
Recognizing and Nurturing Talent

37:12
The Importance of Giving Back

41:25
Lessons from the Apprenticeship Program

43:15
Starting from Scratch: Key Habits for Success

44:13
Sustaining Passion in the Pool Business

47:09
The Law of Reciprocity and Its Impact

Transcript

Rich (00:00)
the slogan that we have inside and in-houses, hey, listen, anytime, anywhere, we're gonna bend over backwards for our customers. We're just not gonna bend over forwards.

Rudy Stankowitz (00:19)
Hey everybody. Welcome back. It's Friday. This is the Talking Pools podcast. I'm Rudy Stankiewicz. Today we've got a guest with us who really doesn't need much of an introduction in the industry, but I'm going to give him one anyway because he deserves it and so does his story. Rich Gallo is the founder and CEO of Pure Swim, a concierge level

pool service company in Los Angeles area. He's a second generation pool professional who grew up around the trade, watching his father and uncle build pools. And he's taken those early lessons and turned them into a business model that's all about setting the bar higher. Over the years, has become known for its premium same day, same hour.

Responsiveness, a level of service that most companies would say is impossible, but Rich not only made it work, he used it to build a fiercely loyal customer base. What makes his story even more compelling is how he invests in people. He's been known to help employees strike out on their own by selling them starter routes, handing them referrals, and supporting them as they build their careers. He's also been involved with apprenticeship programs that bring fresh blood into the trade.

which says a lot about his vision for the future of this industry. Rich has over 30 years experience. He's been featured in pool and spa news, and he sat down with our friends several times over at the pool chasers podcast, I believe more than once to share his knowledge. Today we get a chance to go deeper into his influences that shaped him, the philosophy behind pure swim and the lessons he's learned along the way. Rich Gallo. Hello. Welcome.

Rich (02:01)
Brody, how you doing?

Rudy Stankowitz (02:02)
I'm doing good. I'm so happy to get a chance to get together with you.

Rich (02:06)
Same here, man, it's been a long overdue.

Rudy Stankowitz (02:08)
We have the,

it has, hasn't it? one of our top 10 mentors, Rich,

one person will emerge with the championship belt. Have you seen the belt?

Rich (02:20)
Yeah, I have that that belt is impressive

Rudy Stankowitz (02:22)
being in the top 10 out of that group, huge. So congratulations there. And my fingers are crossed for everyone,

Let me ask you, your dad, your uncle, they did pool work. What was your first memory of being around them while they were doing pools and how did that memory stick with you years later when you started building Pure Swim?

Rich (02:44)
That's a good question. I remember, you know, I probably was 10 years old when my dad started his company and my uncle and father were working together for another company at the time and branched out on his own. And, you know, just as a little kid, I remember going to see on the weekend, Saturday jobs, you'd watch the pool being the excavation being done. And that was unbelievable for a 10 year old to see.

You know, you know, a Bobcat and to see, you know, never, never have seen one of those before, you know, we had Tonka trucks, but I never saw a Bobcat. That's, that's impressive. You know, and we've, know, dump trucks and the conveyor belts and just seeing these guys like in motion and they just didn't stop and they're digging a hole. And then by the end of the day, this hole is like a swimming pool and you can see the shape of it. It's like.

Rudy Stankowitz (03:20)
Yeah.

Rich (03:38)
You're watching something being created. And even to this day, I'm just in awe how they would actually use, you know, Bobcat shovel and make these con, these curves and these angles and everything. And it's, it's just, it's an, it's an art form and, and seeing that and being a kid and that it's like, yeah, I want to be involved. I want to be involved. And, I got to drive a Bobcat operated once and only once.

And that's because I rolled it, flipped it up and rolled it. And that was it. Yeah. It was like 14 or 15, but that was a one shot deal. No, one and done. That was it. ⁓ but yeah, those are early memories.

Rudy Stankowitz (04:10)
wow.

Not a great start.

You didn't get, did you get hurt? I

have to ask, did you get hurt?

Rich (04:22)
No, I probably got just more, you know, shooken up, more embarrassed. You know, the guy was like, yeah, let's see what you can do, kid. And, you know, go in there and hit this, pull this and boom, it went up in the air and rolled back. And I got laughed at and, you know.

Rudy Stankowitz (04:37)
Well, thank God that that's the worst of it.

Rich (04:42)
Yeah,

those things are like the roll cages. I mean, you could roll off a cliff and you'd be okay. So I wasn't in any danger, but it just, it was a great experience.

Rudy Stankowitz (04:45)
Yeah.

We don't,

I'd like to point out at this time to our listening audience that Rich is a trained professional, do not try that at home. so, listen, no. You had, so you had kids at a young age. How did that responsibility change the way you approached running a business and guiding the people around you?

Rich (04:58)
Right. I wouldn't try that on either.

So I went on my own when I was 18. I went on my own the day I graduated high school. So graduated, walked across the stage around 11 in the morning. Three o'clock, I had my first customer. Still have them to this day. They were old then. They are really old now. They're in their 90s. And it's awesome. They've been the whole journey. been there. I could do a podcast just on them.

It was great. I just, you know, at 18, I started going and you know, everybody and everything you heard about business is like, Hey, it's going to take three years before you make a profit. They all lied. It took nine. You know, it was just, it was tough. It's tough to build something. And, know, I had my son when I was 21. So I'm real grateful for that because that really like pushed everything in gear. You know, now you have to, you know, make this work and you got to make it, you know, you got to.

You're not living for just yourself, you're living for someone else. yeah, it was great having him at that age. I'm 52, he's 31. Now I got two grandkids. a granddaughter's in turn, she's gonna turn two in October next month. And I got a little guy named Jimmy Gallo. He's four months now and you know, it's just awesome. Yeah, it's really awesome.

Rudy Stankowitz (06:15)
I was gonna ask.

Isn't

as hard as it was being a young father at times, isn't it fun being a young grandparent?

Rich (06:33)
Oh, it's awesome. I mean, it's totally awesome because it's the same thing when I would go to the back to school nights, you know, and they would think that I'm, you know, my son's brother, older brother, maybe, or they just look at me and they would know I, you he's a guy who had a kid when he was a kid type thing. But I just knew that there would be a balance in this, you know, and I had to work really hard in his first 10 years of life, you know, even his first 20 years. So you got, you got that to deal with. um,

You know, none of it matters at all. It all comes down to at one point, he'll tell me, you know what, you were just the greatest father ever. And, you know, and he'll mean it, you know, it will just be like some father's day card. And then last month he came over with the family and he's telling me this, you know, these nice things. He's either, you're the happiest I've ever seen. You know, I love watching you being a grandfather. So I'm thinking, you know what? I think I did okay. I think I did okay with this kid.

me a sleepless night. He never gave me a sleepless night. you know, so he's doing his thing and he's doing real well. And. But yeah, it was challenging. But, you know, the kids are a great way to motivate you.

Rudy Stankowitz (07:38)
Yeah they are.

Rich (07:40)
gave me the blueprint for hiring my team. And I realized, you know what? There's a lot of guys out there. Maybe they might be five years older than what I was. They're in their mid-20s having kids, right? So that's good. But you know what? I want a guy that has a kid or is gonna have a kid, wife, girlfriend, what have you. Someone that's building a family, right? They have a meaning and a purpose. And it's the same meaning and purpose that I have, that I had, that I have now.

you know, we do this for our families, you know, we make sure that they're going to be elevated and they're going to be better off than we ever have been, create opportunity for them. So that really made it clear for what kind of team I want to assemble. And it's just going to cost more. You know, you got to pay that guy more. You got to, you know, pay the benefits are going to be more because there's kids, you know, but it's like, okay, let's do this. Let's figure out how to structure the pricing.

but let's take care of everything and everyone. And at the end of it, let's make some money on it.

Rudy Stankowitz (08:36)
So just jumping off that statement,

you're a huge advocate of being paid what you're worth in an industry where that's in an industry where it's not really that common as much as we'd like it to be. How are you able to do that?

Rich (08:44)
100%.

Rudy Stankowitz (10:39)
you're a huge advocate of being paid what you're worth in an industry where that's in an industry where it's not really that common as much as we'd like it to be. How are you able to do that?

Rich (10:44)
100%.

I take care of people who take care of me and the company is 34 years old and I can make this statement and I just realized this the other day Anybody who's worked here more than one year, you know, you two years or more Everybody who's come to the door and has worked here more than one year has made more money each year working here Including myself owning the company. So 34 years that's a long time to say that you know, I started in the recession

went through the Great Depression, went through earthquakes, fires. We lost 20 % of our accounts this last eight months in the Palisade fires here. And you just keep going.

Rudy Stankowitz (11:31)
If you could go back and teach little kid Rich, you when you were little, how to brush a pool using only a broom from the garage, what would the lesson you'd want him to walk away from that with be?

Rich (11:45)
I want him to know that you can utilize anything around you to do anything and to pivot and to be able to get through any task. And it's not always going to be, you know, clear black and white. And it's not always going to be the thing in front of you. But if you start to look outside and you start to think outside the box and you start using the principles of being an outlier, a contrarian, and you do things your way.

and it makes sense to you, there's nothing you can't do.

Rudy Stankowitz (12:15)
When you were just starting out, was there a mistake you made that seemed small at the time but ended up shaping how you approach training or preparing people today?

Rich (12:24)
God.

Well, like any successful person, Honest successful person. I have failed more than I have succeeded. you mean from, you want something specific, like from the very beginning?

Rudy Stankowitz (12:36)
Anything that stands out, as far back as 34 years is a long time ago to remember.

Rich (12:38)
I can give you

a highlight. I can give you the best of, best of, best of, best of. Okay, check this out, right? Okay, so you're rocking and rolling. This happened 10 years ago, 24 years into the deal. You got a great team, got the best guys. Every year I can make that statement. I got the best guys I've ever had working for me right now. 10 years ago, I the best guys. So we're draining a And we're draining a pool because I think we're doing some lights. And it's a salt pool.

Rudy Stankowitz (12:43)
Do that. Give me the best of. Alright.

Rich (13:07)
Big pool.

So I tell the two guys there, listen, you know what's real important when we drain these pools right here, we wanna have the hose stop right at the end of the driveway so it doesn't go over the sidewalk so somebody doesn't trip and break their neck. And you really have to understand that. So I explained it to them and they understood it. And no matter what, it cannot go over the sidewalk. Well, it didn't go over the sidewalk. The hose is about 10 feet short.

So instead of running it down the driveway, just 10 feet short, no big deal, now they thought on their own, we're gonna put it in a planter, one of these little garden drains. Because why not? That's what drains do. But what they did is they hung out for about 10, 15 minutes. They waited and watched the water go down the street. Everything's fine. And they're thinking they're hitting a home run. I get a call the next morning from the homeowner.

This house is registered as a California historic landmark. It's got a plaque on the front door. And she was a child celebrity. So she has all her heirlooms. in California, born and raised, I've never seen, I've never heard of until that day, a house having a basement. So this guy had a basement. Apparently that pipe was broken.

And that pipe goes right into the basement. And there was six and a half feet of water in this basement. And everything that wasn't floating was completely damaged because of the saltwater. So that's how I started that day. And I'm thinking, God, I have insurance, but do I have enough? Well, that guy took the hit as a homeowner and blamed himself for not telling us. I got over there. Yeah, I got over there immediately to just

Rudy Stankowitz (14:32)
wow.

you

Really?

Rich (14:54)
Damage control, know, hey, I got insurance. We got, we'll figure this out. Never made a claim, didn't cancel us, kept the job going with the lights. ⁓ Real sad to see the wife take all her childhood stuff and lay it on a, you know, chase lounge to dry out with towels. But he was the coolest guy ever, you know? And that was my biggest screw up. And at the same time, my biggest lucky break.

Rudy Stankowitz (15:04)
Wow.

Rich (15:21)
that customer draining a emptying it into a basement. I even got to talk to the insurance guy, the plate showing, hey, I have this, this happened and he's now clenching his chest. And I said, the good news is that happened six months ago. We saw the guy and he took care of everything and he took the hit and said it was his fault. And he even apologized. So yeah, that,

Rudy Stankowitz (15:40)
Wow. Can I ask who

the celebrity was?

Rich (15:44)
on, BeWitch? She's Tabatha.

Rudy Stankowitz (15:46)
Yes.

Wow, okay. That is cool,

Rich (15:52)
Yeah, that cool.

And then as

soon as the pandemic happened, they, like a few other Californians, said, hey, we're not, we're not sticking around for this and we're high tailing it. And I had probably a dozen or two that all moved to your school, to Florida. So they live somewhere in Florida. And he would tell me, you know, something about something Gables, you know, at some area, some high end area he moved. And he says, you know, Richie, if you ever in.

Florida, you you're always welcome to come over and stay. Thank you.

Rudy Stankowitz (16:26)
So now they're over

here and they pay $60 a month for their current service.

There is a mix. there might be some of the lowest rates in the country here. But there are folks that do charge an appropriate amount of money. There are also folks that, and maybe there's less of them, or it's spread out. But there are a few that do definitely the charge they're worth. there's a lot of areas where.

Rich (16:47)
Yeah.

Rudy Stankowitz (16:49)
It was just a constant.

fly by night, low balling, somebody would come in and compete on price, knock the price down, compete on price, knock the price down, and it gets to the point where it just devalued service in the area to such a horrific extent. What advice would you give someone working in that area where that's been done to the market in order for them to start to pull back on the nose of the plane

Rich (17:12)
funny you ask is we have a guy that we do mentoring with who's in your area and you know face with those same exact challenges. So the first thing is right

First thing is you gotta believe that you can do this. Because if I'm gonna help you in any way, and you tell me you can't do that, it's over. It doesn't start. That's it. There's no start on that. If you can't do it, then why pursue this? So you have to believe that you can do it. And it should be believable because if somebody else is doing it, especially if that's somebody who's doing it, it's telling you,

It can be done. I think you should listen. And we've helped guys, you know, all over the country, Florida, Texas, Scottsdale, you know, Vegas, you know, all over. And yeah, they have to believe that they can do it. And that's not that easy. know, lot of guys, that's why they, I think that's the biggest problem why they charge what they charge. It's like, I can't do that.

Rudy Stankowitz (17:59)
It's a shit.

Rich (18:07)
And then the homeowners are the biggest proponents of, know, they control the market because the homeowners have a, a buying process. So their buying process is just the classic, you know, get three, line them up on the wall and pick the middle guy or the cheapest guy. And so you have to have your own process when you're selling yourself and you're selling the company, your process has to be, the complete opposite of their process.

and you have to get them to go in that direction that, yeah, I understand you're buying something right now, but you don't hear me because I'm here right now in front of you. And what I have to sell you and what I have to offer you, no one else is doing this. So you have a unique time, a unique moment. You have a need and it's not for everybody. We don't service every pool and if it works, it works. But this is a rare opportunity that you have and listen to what I have to say and.

Everybody who hears my pitch, you know, as far as a perspective customer, they all would say, yes, that's what I need. You just, you just laid out everything I need. Now it just comes down to do I have the money? And you know, like, you know, I remember as a kid, I go sit in dealerships and sit in the car and, know, I mean, as a kid, I'm 25, you know, I'm looking at the truck and like one day I'm going to have this. Yeah. I don't tell the guy who's there trying to sell it. Yeah. I'll be back in 10 years. I tell him.

Let me think about it. Let me think about it. Let me think about it. Well, my cells process, there is no thinking about it. We're to have a conversation right from the get that we're going to go down this. We're going to spend some time, you and I. listen, at the end of this time that we're going to spend here, even if it's five minutes, if there's any reason why we're not a fit, would you have a problem telling me? And it could be for anything. You don't like the cut of my jib, whatever it is.

Would you tell me, thank you, but no, thank you. Would you have a problem with that? And they say, no, of course I, yeah, I would tell you that. Okay, good. So right off the bat, we made an agreement. We're not going to, we're going to give a yes or a no at the end of this. So I think when it comes to pricing, there's so many variables and there's so many psychological things as to why guys don't charge more. It's not as simple or as black as white as.

Hey, we have a certain group of guys and those guys just charge less because they can and they live 50 in an apartment and they do this and they do that. They don't pay taxes. That's all true, but it's not, that's not it. That's not, that's not what we're competing with. We're not competing with that. It does exist, but there's clients that will only pay that. They'll only pay like you said, 60 bucks, right?

Rudy Stankowitz (20:38)
Thank you.

Rich (20:45)
They're not paying 68. They're not spending 75. They're going to pay 60 and that's it. They don't care about their pool at all. The pool is an adversary. They don't want the pool. How much would it cost? Would it be cheaper to fill it with dirt? That's their big question. Can you fill it for dirt for like, let's say 400 bucks? Because if you could do that, then I'm out of it. Is that an option? So those are the people. It doesn't matter who's selling service for 60 bucks because you...

Rudy Stankowitz (20:54)
Mm-hmm.

Rich (21:13)
That's not your demographic at all. That's not mine. I wouldn't waste any time with those people because, you know, I'd be wasting their time as well. They're not going to pay eight to ten times that. They're just going to pay that. That's fine. So they do their thing. I do mine.

Rudy Stankowitz (21:22)
Mm-hmm.

Looking back at the first person who ever worked with you under the Pure Swim banner, what do you remember about how you got them on board with your standards?

Rich (21:41)
I had the Armenian Tom Cruise lookalike guy. He was awesome. He was a 20 year old kid. And you know, I didn't see that in him, but chicks, my God, we pull up in neighborhoods. They come flying out and talking to him, right? And I'm like, my God, what the hell is, what are they seeing in this kid, right? But he just graduated high school. He's part of Mensa. There's no way he's supposed to be cleaning pools. He wanted to take a year off.

Rudy Stankowitz (21:45)
You

Rich (22:06)
Big mistake, didn't want to go to school, had some other issues.

But the way I spoke to him, the way I treated him, the way I respected him, the way I brought everything down to simple and basic form, the way I would teach him in a very methodical way and be patient and look for his success. His success as a student, my success as a teacher. So just being in line with that and watching him not get out, watching him understand chemistry, watching him get a grip of that.

watching them about how we do this and how we do we vacuum a pool every time no matter what you know hey when there's windows there's windows on every house so when you walk past the window you'll look the opposite direction in case there's some 14 year old girl changing a dog someone's daughter in the room they just see the back of your head they can't go run to their their parents say hey there's some guy looking in the window and feel all uncomfortable that's their home right so

He just listened to everything.

The one thing I didn't tell him that I regret is towards the end of that summer, he didn't really understand instrument panels on truck dashboards. And then he said on a very hot day, you know, after you dropped the truck off, check out the thermostat needle, because I think it's broken. It's all the way over and I think something's wrong with the needle. And this is a Toyota.

So I'm like, nah, nah, nah, no, listen, listen, just relax. Let this thing cool off, have a seat, I'll make you a sandwich. We go out there and the radiator's not scalding hot. So I figured I'm gonna go straight underneath. I'm gonna go to the drain plug on the right here and just see how much water comes out. Smoke, steam comes out, that's it. No water. So he fried the engine, but it drove all the way all around town all day long and did the route.

Rudy Stankowitz (23:40)
Here we go.

wow.

Rich (23:59)
And then it was, was so like new to having a guy. So well, that's going to cost me three or four grand. I can't pay you for a couple of months and pay for this engine. So you're going to have to sideline this deal. And it was the best decision ever because college started around that time. And, and he says, I'm so sorry. I'm going to go back to college. that's great. That's great. That's great. That's what you should do. I applaud that. And he's a great kid, you know, ran into him 10 years, 15 years after that, you know, and

Rudy Stankowitz (24:05)
Hmm.

Rich (24:28)
It was good to see him and went out and had dinner and caught up and everything. And he was doing pretty good. I met my second employee the next day. some guy's 20 years older than me. He's driving into our complex, brand new F-150, four door, right? And I'm like, wow, that's the truck I want. That's the truck. And he's got a pole sticking out and this and that. And I started talking with them.

And after 20 minutes, he works for somebody else that was 35, 40 miles north of where he just moved in. And I'm like, you know, hey, by the way, I can have you work for me and the way you're getting paid per pool. Yeah. I don't know about that. I can pay you this. And it was much better. And he's like, I'll take that deal. And that guy worked for me for 10 years. And then that guy ended up buying a route and talked to him last week. He's doing great. Has a lot of the same customers. Yeah. So.

Rudy Stankowitz (24:59)
wow, okay.

wow.

That's fantastic.

That's great.

Rich (25:20)
You

know, again, treating people based on taking care of people that take care of you, that's huge. That's huge. They're doing this work. I know what it's like to work at 110. I know what it's like to work where you have no fumes. I know it's like the push through. I know all that, right? So I know they're doing that. I know they're out there busting their asses. And it's like, okay, so you know what? You gotta really...

Rudy Stankowitz (25:36)
Hmm.

Rich (25:48)
make sure they understand that I'm appreciative. And they're not just a paycheck, right? Because that's an automatic. You gotta take time. You gotta sit them down and just show them some love. It's awesome.

Rudy Stankowitz (26:03)
you have a same day, same hour response time.

I think it's brilliant.

how did you present this to your crew so that they didn't think you'd lost your mind?

Rich (26:10)
Yeah.

Good question. I didn't have to present it to anybody because I wasn't the one that came up with it. That's my main, that's my main guy, Adam. Adam is the goat. So Adam starts now realizing, okay, so if we just do the day a little different and every day is not jammed up and we create what he calls pockets and there's 45 minutes, hour, hour and a half pockets each day, we should be able to, if we're in the field and we're with this crew,

Now you got 10 trucks out there with 10 routes, but you got six other trucks out there. And those might be stopped at a job. But if somebody needs an igniter, like now, and then all these service trucks have all these parts. So call that guy, he's right there within three miles and say, hey man, go over and hit that and we'll reroute your pool work. know, either someone else will take care of it or we'll just reroute it.

So if you have the fleet of trucks, the crew of guys, and you create this, you know, drag net, this blanket, this net of trained technicians, not quote unquote pool guys, and they have these new trucks, and they're stocked with six to 10,000 in parts, and chemicals and tools, what have you, and they're just always driving around.

Why wouldn't you have those guys

move around instantly and take out a problem. So that was that was Adam's idea.

Rudy Stankowitz (27:41)
I think it's brilliant.

Rich (27:42)
Yeah, he made that happen.

Rudy Stankowitz (27:43)
and the buy-in from the team was immediate.

Rich (31:07)
Why wouldn't you have those guys

move around instantly and take out a problem. So that was that was Adam's idea.

Rudy Stankowitz (31:16)
I think it's brilliant.

Rich (31:18)
Yeah, he made that happen.

Rudy Stankowitz (31:19)
and the buy-in from the team was immediate.

Rich (31:21)
Yeah, because they're like, okay, that makes sense too, because everyone's going to be happy. What's going to happen is happy people refer us and, you know, it's going to work out. It's going to work out great.

Rudy Stankowitz (31:31)
Go Adam, nice job. What was the hardest lesson you had to learn about people early in your career and how does it affect the way that you lead today?

Rich (31:33)
Yeah.

personalities. Everyone's got one, right? personalities are very hard to change. And if somebody doesn't know about chlorine, sit down and I can make you an expert because I know about that. But if you've got a personality trait, I'm not a psychologist, you know, and I'll do my damn best to help you through anything.

but a lot of personality traits are very, very difficult to deal with, both just with employees or customers. So a customer will just, you know, we have a saying and you know, we were gonna put this on the trucks, you know, someone said no.

But the slogan that we have inside and in-houses, hey, listen, anytime, anywhere, we're gonna bend over backwards for our customers. We do that, right? We're just not gonna bend over forwards.

And when somebody is just going out of their way, they're overly incessant. We've tried everything and it's just not working and they're incorrigible. You just can't make them happy. It's like, you know what? At this point, we're just going to say, listen, we feel you'd be better off with somebody else. We're not in the business of losing accounts or giving them up, but same time, they're disruptors. And it's like, hey, you know what?

I like to consider myself financially free and have financial freedom. If I have to take a monthly check from somebody like that, I'm not. I don't have any financial freedom. I'm beholden to that person because I have to count on their money and I don't want to do that. And I've done that many times. I've kept bad customers for many years when I should let them go. I've kept bad employees for many years when I should let them go.

And at this point in life, at this age, know, time is short and it's sweet and you want to make the most of it and you want to enjoy it the most and having people that just are hell bent on making your life hell, it's over.

Rudy Stankowitz (33:39)
I don't know who it is that stopped you from putting that on your truck, but if you want me to circulate a petition to get it back, I will sign my name first because I think that is brilliant.

Rich (33:47)
Right.

Right. Yeah, that's yeah. You know, even if we put it on there really small or you know.

Rudy Stankowitz (33:55)
Yeah, really

small. It doesn't have to be emblazoned on this. Although it could be, but so when somebody on your team shows promise, what's the little signal you notice that tells you they're ready to take on more?

Rich (34:07)
So what we do is basically internally we grade guys, you know, just on a real simple A, B, And then we recently went into another category, A plus. And there's some distinguished characters between an A and a B player, definitely an A and a C player. You know, A players are very self-motivated. They don't need micromanaging. They take initiative. They're going to see things and breathe things to our attention.

And there's ways of doing that. They can text call, they can go on our skimmer app, they can put the notes. They're real good about that, almost all of them. And they just figure things out. They don't create problems for other people in the group. They just figure, I'm here, I got to figure this out. And when you start seeing that initiative and you start seeing that, hey, they're making some big calls here on the fly and they're doing it on their own. And I get to hear about it afterwards and everything's good.

those are the signals that say, you know what, this guy is definitely in this category, this A-plus player. It usually takes about two years to get somebody to get there. Two seasons on everything, two summers, two winters. But once you have those guys, I've also made a big change this year. And it's been really, really good in a big way. So, you know, normally, right?

the C players basically, they're always pulling at you. They're always, they're getting all your attention, right? So you're putting fires out, you're doing this. And it's like, wait a minute, I don't have any time for my A plus guys, right? So I made a conscious decision at the beginning of the year, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that because it's a waste of time. I've wasted so much time with guys who just don't want to be here or aren't going to be here more than a couple of years. But the guys that are here and they're pulling through, those are the guys really, really taking care of me. So it's like, okay, you know, I'm flipping that script.

I'm actually going to have guys and show them and tell them, I come over here, sit down. You're one of the A plus players or you're an A player. want to take you to the A plus level and here's how I value you. And here's how I see that every time I hire a guy. And then a lot of times in staff meetings, I remind people remind my staff, you guys are assets and any and every business by definition, your liability, because liabilities actually are expenses and they, you know, they're expense by company. So

you would fall in our liability column for many other reasons. But in my world, you're an asset until you become an asshole. And at that point, it's like, OK, well, hey, we got a part here. And most guys aren't that. Most guys will come in, they'll play hard, they're coachable, they listen to the critique, they'll take it in stride, they'll make changes, and they want to win.

They want to be part of this. They want to be part of the winning team and they want to and their winners themselves. You know, and again, they have a wife and a lot of guys that have wives and kids, the wives don't work. So now you go back, I don't know, 75 years ago, 60 years ago in this country where you can have one parent at home raising kids. I mean, that's huge. That's huge. I mean, they're not they're not going to become rich doing this, obviously. But, you know, and they have apartments. These aren't mansions to live in.

Rudy Stankowitz (37:03)
Mmm. Yeah.

Rich (37:12)
They understand that my family comes first and this is the best way my kids can have the best opportunity is if one parent's here during the day.

Rudy Stankowitz (37:23)
You're involved heavily with the apprenticeship program. What drew you to that and what have you seen it do for people that have come through it?

Rich (37:32)
my mentor, God rest his soul, Greg Garrett. So I met Greg Garrett early on, well, probably halfway in between 34 years. I met him at a job where he's gonna come out there and tell me how bad the plaster is, because of my startup or my pool service. So I thought, and then he didn't. He told me that there's a thing called mind impurities and it's on page such and such and paragraph four and this and that. And I'm like, I don't even know what the hell you're talking about.

But he came out and he saved my ass. And then he understood that I was open to learning and he just started teaching me. And what Greg did, which I always loved about him, is Greg made me feel like I'm his only mentee. I'm the only guy he's helping. And I had access to him all the time. And I was like, wow, you know something? I'm going to do better because of this guy.

clearly I'm gonna do better because of this guy. And this guy right here has got a friend for life with me because who would do that? I mean, he's always available and he's always looking to elevate and opportunities like, hey, I got a plaster company and they don't know what they're doing. I'm gonna send you or this pool builder and let's merge you guys together. And you guys start working together and trade shows. he's the one that got me into the PHTA and then got me on the...

the recreational water board and he was there. He was the one who was instrumental in all that. And then those groups, you're dealing with the top echelon of people in the industry. And then they're the ones that create these programs with the apprenticeship. And it's like, okay, now we're gonna do this in his memory. So we got some big shoes to fill, but let's do that. Let's make sure that what he has set out, that that just continues. And guys like me are making that happen.

Rudy Stankowitz AI (39:25)
Greg Garrett, a true pioneer in the swimming pool industry whose influence will be felt for generations. Greg began his career in 1969 and went on to dedicate his life to understanding and improving the relationship between water chemistry and pool finishes. As a builder, consultant, and founder of Applied Materials Technologies, he became the go-to authority on plaster science, startup procedures, and surface preservation.

through his leadership in the National Plaster Council, his role in developing the Pool Chemistry Training Institute and his countless seminars and technical writings, Greg shaped both standards and education across the industry. He bridged the worlds of chemistry and materials, helped establish the National Pool Industry Research Center, and guided professionals in protecting pool surfaces

through proper startup and water balance. Beyond his technical brilliance, Greg was a mentor and teacher, always willing to share his knowledge with patience and clarity. His legacy lives on through the NPC Startup Certification Program, the Greg Garrett Scholarship, and the countless pool professionals whose work is better today because of his contributions.

Rich (40:53)
You know, it's interesting. mean, you know, I've learned also in last five years that one of the biggest things about making it, you know, being on the top or whatever you want to call it, being wealthy, whatever, is, how much gratitude you have and how much you're willing to give back. And giving back is everything. That's one of the biggest wealth attributes you can have is, you know, giving back. And what better way to give back than to give knowledge?

At the same time, I'll make a disclaimer. I'm not a moron. If some competitor down the street wants to come over here and start, you know, how do you do this? How do you do that? You could take a walk. You know, we're not doing that. But, know, as a way of just seeing somebody's, you know, genuineness and seeing how authentic they are and vetting them and saying, yeah, I'll spend some time here. Let's go. And it's awesome. It's awesome to see these guys. I two guys out there and they're surpassing me.

talk to them like, hey man, how much you charging? I'm charging this. No, you're not. Yes, I am. What? Dude, I gotta like step it up on my end and we go back and forth. It's a healthy competition, but some of these guys are really, really focused and they're just in a short time, they've compressed what I've done in 34 years, I've done in five. It may not be the volume that I have, but they'll get there, no doubt.

Rudy Stankowitz (42:11)
That's fantastic.

Rich (42:17)
And they're having fun. They're having fun with it. It's enjoyment. It's excitement. It's awesome.

Rudy Stankowitz (42:23)
you do help people strike out on their own, we know that. Do you have a story where you saw someone take a route that you'd helped them with and they did something really surprising with it, something that blew your mind?

Rich (42:35)
There's four guys that took over routes and I wouldn't say surprising. I'm in surprise when some of these customers, honestly, the reason why you get rid of a route, there's a lot of reasons, but it's like, it's not hitting our demographic now. It's not gonna, you if they're paying 168 bucks, they're not gonna pay, you know, an extra hundred on that just because that's what we charge. That ain't happening. So, you you figure, okay, so rather than just say goodbye, you know, here's an opportunity here.

And I'm just stunned because that happened. That was an 09 with Michael. That's 16 years ago. And some of those customers were. I mean, they were already 15, 16. 18 years, whatever it was. And he still has them. You start dropping names and like, my God, you know, and it's like, you know, one day I'd want to go with him on the route and just, you know, show up in the backyard. But I remember every time.

People would see me in the backyard, the customer, they're like, what the hell are you doing here? It's like the Grim Reaper, get out of here, get out of here. You're always gonna tell me something's wrong. But now time's kind of flying by in that sense. But just amazing that he built it and kept it going and grew it too. And so he's 72. I say, when's the runway, how short is this runway for you? When's this all gonna?

Rudy Stankowitz (43:44)
That is fantastic.

Wow.

Rich (43:56)
He's like, I don't know, 75? Yeah, second employee. Yeah.

Rudy Stankowitz (43:58)
And this was your second employee that we were talking about earlier? Wow. That's great.

let me ask you this, if you had to start from zero again, no name, no reputation, what would be the very first habit or system that you'd rebuild right away?

Rich (44:12)
That's a good one.

I probably go with the AB5 that we have in California. It came out right when the pandemic hit. AB5 is a bill that basically you gotta, everyone's a W-2, no more 1099s. And I did that early on, but not early enough. And I was fearful or just like, I'm not gonna make any money if I do this. I mean, there's extra costs. There's tax, payroll tax, that's extra cost. There's workman's comp, that's extra costs.

Yeah, if I would have that early on, I would have known what would happen, that I would also cover those costs. You know, my margin has never been, has never shrunk. And that's gone up every year too. So I remember when I was doing pools for $85 and thinking chemicals are $5 a month, I'm making 80 bucks. And then sitting there doing the math, if I charge an extra $4, I'll make 84. 84 times 12 is a thousand.

I think I deserve $1,000 per account per year. And then figure out how to maintain that 34 years running. That's huge. I like that.

Rudy Stankowitz (45:14)
What do you think separates the people who last in this business from those that fade out quickly?

Rich (45:19)
right now there's a lot of, investment opportunities of rollout companies trying to, you know, merge and buy companies and make one big conglomerate. I don't know how that's going to work out. That's going to be a competition factor, possibly maybe. I just know that in my time when I've seen that franchises come in or new franchises come in, you don't see them more than five years.

The numbers just don't make, they're trying to go to the whole demographic and they don't know. They're dealing with $60 month people and not $250 month people. They want everyone to be a $250 customer, but that's not the reality. And if you have outside investors, you know, putting that pressure on, it's just not happening and it ain't gonna happen. But...

I think guys that come into this industry with a decision that they want to do this, and this is a life commitment, this is something that they have a passion for, it's crazy to think of cleaning a pool as a passion, but when you're good at it, and like anything else, you develop a passion. And if your passion is cleaning a pool, and you become good at it, and you become known at it, you will work, you will have plenty of work. And so if you stay that course, it's definitely a long game. I don't think it's a short game.

and

I just think that if you stay the course, reach out to people, network properly, you know, get as much information as you can, really get into AI real fast if you haven't, and just go, you know, and just you got to do a full immersion, you know. I think a lot of people don't understand when you own a business, there is a lot that you give up and no one tells you what you're going to give up.

And you don't know what you're going to give up until you give it up. And there's a lot. I mean, there is a lot. There's stuff like you're giving up family time. OK, so you know how hard it is to have a marriage when you're working 80, 90 hours, you know, and so those those start stacking up on you before you know it. You know, same thing with your kid. You're not there for your kid. So how much of that do you really want to sacrifice? No matter how.

Biggie become a well off, become you don't get to go back for those years. You don't get to, you know, make those times up. You can't, you can't buy them cars. You can't buy them houses. It doesn't, it doesn't bring it back. It's not, and it's not supposed to.

Rudy Stankowitz (47:42)
people who don't own a business, who aren't an entrepreneur, hear someone refer to their business as, well, that's my baby. And what they don't realize, they take it as the cooing, the nurturing, the raising, but they don't realize that sometimes babies stay up all night screaming and shit all over the place. And it happens, and you gotta take, and it's all of it, and you're right. And sometimes you can't go places because you got the kid.

Rich (48:01)
You're right. Yeah. Yeah.

Rudy Stankowitz (48:07)
What do you hope people who have worked at Pure Swim carry with them no matter where they go in life?

Rich (48:13)
That's a great one. I hope...

I teach him all this and Greg taught me this. I teach him the law of reciprocity. And when Greg taught me that, it took me two weeks just to pronounce that because I never heard that word. I didn't know what it meant. he would joke with me and say, hey, boy, you're a little slow. And I'd laugh and say, yeah, I am. But I listened to him. I understood what that meant.

And I understood, you know, that's his heart speaking there. So he would speak from the heart and heart isn't in business. Hearts for your family. You know, if you want to get a little of a, of lack of a here, you know, excuse my French, but business is usually brains and your balls. And some of the women out there doing this job, they got the biggest balls I've ever seen. So, you know, the hearts, the heart is for the family.

and to expose the heart and let somebody in like Greg did with me and teaching me the law of reciprocity was great. It was the best lesson of my whole life. I was like, yeah, that makes sense. That resonates. I want to do that. So when these guys get hired, we're get coming in Monday morning at 5.30. And in that interview, because he's already had a phone interview by me, now he has a face-to-face interview, he will get a lesson on law of reciprocity because that is what we are about.

And, you know, it just goes back to that book, The Giving Tree, know, basics and just, you know, too good onto others, you know, and it's, it's simple. So I think a lot of these guys, they definitely walk away with that. They walk away with also that I'm one of their best bosses just because I've talked with them, even if it was hard talk. I talked, I the time and it was memorable and a lot of guys want to come back.

And sometimes we let them come back and then we realize, there's a reason why you left. But it's nice that they want to come back. And I think reciprocity and understanding that and them taking that forward in their lives is like a major ripple on Greg Garrett's memory and him as a person in his heart.

Rudy Stankowitz (50:26)
I mean, knew Greg not extremely well, but I did know Greg and great guy. And I think you're doing him proud for sure.

Rich (50:33)
I

really appreciate that. Thank you.

Rudy Stankowitz (50:36)
No problem. Everybody, Rich Gallo, Pure Swim, one of our top 10 mentors. Thank you, Rich, for being with us here today. I really appreciate you. If there's you want to leave the listeners with, anything that maybe they need to be reminded of, or maybe they hadn't heard it for the first time yet, anything that you think that the industry should know off the top of your head.

Rich (50:44)
My pleasure. Thank you.

Just make sure you're having fun. Life is short. I'm on the other side of 50. And I don't have regrets, a few of them, you know, but I'm happy with that. But just, you know, having fun and being, it's awesome to wake up and be excited. Even if you got opposition, it's like, I'm gonna do this. Like I'm challenged here, but I know I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna make this happen and create that mindset that you're just going to, you're gonna enjoy this.

and everything's gonna be okay and you're gonna get through it and have fun with it.

Rudy Stankowitz (51:28)
Don't just hear it, everybody. Live it. That's the best way to go with it. So, Rich Gallo, again, thank you, sir. I'm Rudy Stankiewicz. This is the Talking Pools podcast. Until next time, be good, be safe.

Rich (51:31)
Yeah.