MAKE A SPLASH con't. next column MAKE A SPLASH continued MAKE A SPLASH con't. next column MAKE A SPLASH continued MAKE A SPLASH con't from FRONT PAGE When the season was right, Marion and Melinda Vaughan, owners of Southern Tropics Pool and Spa, dove into the local economy on June 9, 2009, with a storefront presence and onsite service. Drawing from a love of the Tropics and being located in Southern Pines, the name came easily—Southern Tropics Pool and Spa. Going strong for eight years, they continue to provide our community with custom installations, maintenance, and repairs. From pools to spas, grills, floats, toys, and other pool accessories, Southern Tropics offers complete pool and spa services from start to finish and continues with outstanding customer service. Melinda emphasizes, “The philosophy of many pool companies is to make customers buy more merchandise, but our philosophy is to help each customer solve their individual pool issues. We are service-oriented rather than sales-oriented. We strive for great customer service.” Pull up a deck chair and an ice-cold drink as we talk all things pools and spas with Melinda Vaughan, Owner and her daughter Jessica Tessman, Store Manager. Bring your questions, your water samples, and your dreams as Melinda and Jessica will meet you with a smile, solve your water issues, and design a plan to make your pool-side dreams a reality! Happy to teach the do-it-yourselfers, they try to make it easy for each client in supplying a basic knowledge along with printouts as they focus on water chemistry. Melinda smiles, “A balanced pool is a happy pool which makes a happy customer!” Practical Pool Training 101 continues with my wonderings. First, let’s compare a pool with a spa. Melinda begins, “One is just a smaller body of water than the other. Our outdoor spas offered can either be freestanding or in-ground. As with our in-ground customized pools, we offer maintenance, repair, and service of spas. Jessica continues, “A spa is a little trickier to take care of due to the hot water which can breed bacteria without proper balance and proper sanitation. Because of the filtration system, you may not notice the problems as you might not see anything green or slimy, but unsanitized water can cause rashes, infections, viruses, bacteria, staph infections, folliculitis, protozoa viruses, MRSA. If you have a cut on your body and get into a poorly-maintained spa, you can get blood poisoning.” Over the years, salt water pools have grown from a new concept to the norm. “Yes,” Melinda explains, “A salt water pool is still a chlorine pool as the salt generator continuously adds chlorine into the pool versus having to manually add chlorine tabs and store chemicals. Many customers have transferred over to the saltgenerated pools; we offer both options. With salt water pools, customers can go out of town, come back, and their pool remains crystal clear unless there is a power failure. However with a chlorine pool, someone must look after the pool and put tabs in while you’re away. With less maintenance, salt water pools provide more time to enjoy the pool.” So how much maintenance is required in owning a pool? “It all depends, but most importantly, you must keep the debris like leaves and pine straw out of the pool,” Melinda emphasizes. “Empty the skimmers, test the water chemistry at least once a month, and vacuum the pool at least once a week unless you have an automatic cleaner. Every once in a while, you’ll find an animal in the pool. From copperheads, to worm snakes, rabbits, squirrels, possums, rats, mice, birds, and lots of frogs— we’ve seen just about everything.” With an unforgettable story, Melinda continues, “We had a customer who used chemicals he bought online in his pool. While maintaining his pool during the summer, we noticed some white calcium-looking deposits growing on the bottom of his pool liner. Even though our crew brushed them off each week, the deposits grew taller. We captured a sample and sent it off to be analyzed—it was Asian Sea Coral! Although he thought he was going to save money in buying chemicals from China, we were using an exorbitant amount of his versus ours when caring for his pool. He ended up having to get a new liner because he used foreign-made chemicals to save a dollar.” Jessica encourages, “We seek to help our customers; we don’t want your money; we want your loyalty. We’re upfront and honest and go out of our way to make sure you understand every step of the process. Whenever customers follow our instructions for solving their pool problems, it works 99 percent of the time.” Both Melinda and Jessica offer a wealth of knowledge, and Melinda is quick to credit a friend named Mary a representative for the chemical company. “When Mary inquired about our tabs, I was as green as they were. Mary spent hours teaching me as I was a blank slate! Mary remains a good friend. Currently she and Melinda are correcting an indoor pool that has staining. Melinda shares, “Our first thought was the staining looked like black algae. One mold spore will last six months outside of water, and in the right conditions up to two years. We decided to treat the pool, and as soon as I put in the treatment for black algae, the water turned black. There were so many metals such as silver and nickel in the pool that the reaction from the oxidation turned the water black. Thus, we’re treating the pool with a metal and stain remover as the surface of this pool has been green for over ten years. The customer thought the color of the plaster was green; it’s actually a white.” Southern Tropics not only helps locals, but they also support local in selling Americanmade products. Melinda highlights, “We sell Swim Ways Aquaria floats and accessories, which are North Carolina made. Products continue with swim vests, baby floats, and goggles. Our chemicals are American-made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our distributor is a family-owned NC company located about an hour and 15 minutes away. They’ve grown into a big operation covering North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina. Our Oreck nets, brushes, and vacuum heads, come from a family-owned company as well.” Customer service continues with the warranties and financing. When Southern Tropics builds a pool, there is a 30 year warranty on the galvanized steel pool walls. All Hayward equipment offers anywhere from a three to four year warranty. Melinda assures, “We guarantee our workmanship for at least a year, and if anything happens, we fix it.” In working with a homeowner’s budget, Southern Tropics offers financing through Springleaf Financial and Lyon Financial if needed. Not only do they support local in their business relationships, but they also support local in their personal endeavors. As to the best way to spend a day in Moore County? Melinda and Jessica agree, “We like to hang out in downtown Southern Pines and shop with the small businesses every chance we get. We also enjoy the Full Moon Oyster Bar.” Visiting the Farmers’ Market on Thursdays remains top on their list of favorites. Small hometown living reminds of childhood days shared in Statesville, NC, with one brother, nine years younger than Melinda. Growing up across the street from her grandparents who owned a small farm grounded Melinda in all things family and community as she attended traditional school and enjoyed farm life. A job brought Melinda’s family to Sanford and to a home in the country with a pool. No matter the place to call home, Melinda tells, “I’ve always been water bound! During childhood days, we had a pond beside our home, and my parents rented a place on Lake Lookout where we spent summers swimming and skiing on the lake. As time progressed, when a friend of ours needed some help cleaning pools, Marion, my husband started cleaning pools in 2006. Pool cleanings progressed to maintenance to ultimately opening the store in June 9, 2009. Family remains a constant along the journey as all of her children work at Southern Tropics. Under the direction of Marion and Melinda, both sons Michael and Austin open and close pools and handle the mechanicals. Marion, Maintenance Supervisor, oversees operations. Michael handles weekly maintenance, in addition to repairs. Austin who runs a route and helps with maintenance, is pursuing the Marines with hopes of becoming a pilot. He plans to join the Marine Reserves and return to SCC to continue his schooling. While the guys handle the outside work, daughter Jessica manages the store. Happy at home and in the business, Melinda smiles, “I’m thankful for my life for many reasons. During the early years, I was able to stay at home with my children, and now we can work together. Vision hopes to provide the best customer service possible. Before they help the next customer with their questions, they answer my last. “What would you like locals to know about your company?” Melinda smiles, “That we’ve been here since 2009. We’re probably one of the most established pool stores in the area.” Come on out, make a splash, and meet some new friends. Once you enter the doors at Southern Tropics Pool and Spa, you’re part of the family. ����For more info, see ad p. 28 Melinda Vaughan & Jessica Tessman. p.6 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 127
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