Tales of a technician: lizards, landings and snowbirds are all in a day's work for this service technician

There aren't a lot of native Floridians living in Orlando, which creates some unique challenges for pool professionals. "Orlando does have a lot of customers who aren't familiar with the local setting," says Tim Osborne, head service technician for All Pool Service & Supply Inc.

Whether clients have come to Central Florida for work or play, their lack of awareness of the local flora, fauna and folklore spurs interesting emergency calls to All Pool.

"We have these ordinary lizards here, thousands of them," Osborne says. "We'll get calls from visitors in time-share properties who swear there's an alligator in the pool." A quick-responding technician usually arrives to find one of the common--albeit large--lizards taking a swim.

"There has been a true gator here and there," he acknowledges, "but we can't touch them. We call the gator hunters."

Also unique to Orlando are service calls from customers claiming that the landings of NASA space shuttles approximately 50 miles away at Cape Canaveral have affected their pool equipment.

During the landings, the shuttles emit a few sonic booms, which can startle unsuspecting pool owners. "One customer called and told us she just heard three big booms, and now her pool equipment isn't running," Osborne recalls. "Technically, there was nothing wrong with her pool. The timer on the pool equipment just hadn't hit yet. She just needed some reassuring."

Dealing with 'head-scratchers'

In a city saturated with pools, Osborne also specializes in what he calls "headscratchers"--repairs to high-end heaters, pool and spa automation systems, or chlorine generators that other repair techs have been unable to diagnose or fix.

"I go out and fix anything that is pool related and broken," he says. "Anything other guys have thrown in the towel on."

This talent, paired with his ability to gently handle the firm's retired or vacationing customers, makes Osborne a crowd favorite--and, often, the subject of a neighborhood inquisition.

"Typically I've got the homeowner and all the neighbors there, and they are all trying to analyze the problem with me," he explains. In the end, Osborne always pinpoints the problem and makes the repair, all while responding to the well-meaning advice from the crowd.

Osborne thrives on this customer contact. He has yet to meet a customer he couldn't charm. "I love to get 'Old Mr. Crotchety,'" he says. "This old-timer had our company remodel his pool. He gave everybody a hard time. He asked me 100 questions on this and that, and I answered every one of them."

Osborne claims it's these types of Orlandans that make his job both a pleasure and a challenge. "I enjoy the people in general, the challenge of troubleshooting, and ultimately the customer finally saying 'I should have got you in here five years ago,'" he says.

He takes personal pride in his work. "I tell them this is my house, pool and yard until I leave," he adds, "and when I leave, it's done right."

That's straight talk--Orlando style.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Hanley-Wood, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group