How Pool Scouts’ Recession Resistant Model Sets Franchisees Up For Success

Pool Scouts, the 109-territory pool cleaning and maintenance franchise, allows franchisees to tap into the growing $24.7 billion pool service industry with the backing of a proven franchise model. Because there are over 10.7 million swimming pools across the United States, pool service is a necessary business that is adaptable across any economic climate. Pool Scouts owners can have peace of mind knowing they own a recession-resistant brand that works in markets around the country.

“The past couple of years have been incredibly robust from a pool construction standpoint across the country,” said Michael Wagner, president of Pool Scouts. “Lots of new pools have been built, and they need us to take care of them. So, we expect customer acquisition to continue to be robust, and we're very much looking forward to that. The brand really hit a tipping point over the past couple of years, especially with the number of customers we're servicing around the country.”

As an essential industry, the home services market is in a unique position. Demand and profits increased for companies like Pool Scouts during the COVID-19 pandemic because there was still a need for their services. In fact, people spent more time at home, driving more awareness towards things that need servicing around the house. Pool Scouts franchisees around the country benefited, and continue to benefit, from this.

A franchisee who can attest to the brand’s viability during the challenging time is John Breton. Breton began franchising with Pool Scouts in April 2018, and his business saw a boost in 2021 thanks to COVID-19.

Franchise growth

“Interest in residential pool services is skyrocketing right now, as families are looking for a safe activity they can do together to relax,” Breton said at the time. “They’re also looking for a trusted brand that will follow best safety practices, which Pool Scouts is absolutely doing.”

Notably, Pool Scouts reached the 100 unit mark in 2021 and broke revenue and franchise sales goals along the way, despite such economic uncertainty.

In 2022, business didn’t slow down. The brand even celebrated multiple franchisees in the “$1 Million Club,” or those who reached $1 million or more in revenue during the year, including Breton. Other franchisees who reached the milestone included Tiffany Glascock, Pool Scouts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk General Manager; Tiffiny Consoli and Stacey Schaffer, Pool Scouts of the Greater Triangle Region, North Carolina; and Brent Berridge, Pool Scouts of Sugar Land, Texas.

The $1 Million Club celebration followed a great year for Pool Scouts. The franchise system grew at 67% year-over-year in system-wide revenue, with 58% more services and 42% more customers – well over 11,000 nationwide. And in 2023, the brand is continuing to see growth in areas such as its client base, sales and unit count.

Customer loyalty

Something that contributes to Pool Scout’s recession resistant nature is how much customers love the brand. Franchisees benefit from an extremely loyal customer base.

This can clearly be seen in the brand’s net promoter score (NPS), which recently reached a high of 80 system-wide. The NPS is a leading metric for measuring customer loyalty. It comes from the question, “How likely is it that you would recommend (insert company or product/service) to a friend or colleague?” To put that into greater context across global benchmark data, which accounts for the NPS of more than 150,000 organizations, the average score is 32. Chick-fil-A, for example, has a NPS of 63. In 2022, 11 Pool Scouts locations had a NPS of over 90.

A whopping 71% of Pool Scouts’ clientele in 2022 were recurring customers across the franchise system. Additionally, Pool Scouts’ value per customer increased 15% year-over-year, despite the fact that 58% of invoiced customers were brand new to the company.

For franchisees looking to invest in this recession-resistant business beloved by its customers, the time has never been better. In 2023, Pool Scouts is continuing to expand in key markets around the United States and looking for motivated franchisees to do so with.