Pool Owner Story: Brad Warner on Peace, Tranquility, and a Pool Nestled by the Lake

Hosts: John Watts & Brad Cook  ·  Guest: Brad Warner, Herman Jenkins Motors, Union City

MEET BRAD WARNER

JOHN

Today we’re interviewing our customers, and we have Brad Warner — the almost world-famous car salesman at Herman Jenkins Motors in Union City. Brad and I have done a lot of business back and forth over the last few years, and a couple years ago he came to me and we went back and forth on pool options. Through all that, he became the happy owner of an Aloha pool. At least I hope he is.

BRAD W

Absolutely. And full disclosure — he told me to say good things. But no, I just like the guy. He actually sold me a truck one time because I got tired of talking to him. I said, “If I just buy this truck, will you let me go for a little bit?” And then he turned around and told me I had a job at Aloha anytime I wanted it. Sorry about that, Lynn.

WHY BECOME A POOL OWNER?

JOHN

Walk me through why you wanted a pool to begin with.

BRAD W

I guess anybody that swam as a kid and hung out with their buddies — it was a lot different when I was younger. We didn’t have the internet or cell phones, so swimming was a big deal. I’ve always loved to swim. My wife’s the same way — she loves the sun, tanning, all of that. And then I’ve got five kids and six grandkids, so they love to come over and swim. If the weather permits, I swim pretty much every day in the summer. Your guys actually just came and opened it yesterday, so I’m letting the heater get going. I may not get in this weekend, but the very minute I can, I will.

A MEMORY FROM THE WATER

JOHN

Think back to your early years — is there one memory that stands out when you were swimming as a younger person?

BRAD W

I’ve always been a good swimmer. My dad had a pool put in when I was in middle school or high school, and we had a family member — a younger uncle type — come stay for the weekend. We thought he could swim. He was a little timid around the water, but he was going to jump off the diving board. Dad had me tread water out there to catch him if he got scared. Well, the guy jumped and just about drowned me. He was way more scared than we thought. That’s a bad memory, but it probably helped my swimming ability. We joke about it to this day. And no — I don’t think I’ve seen him more than two or three times since.

BRAD W

But there were so many good ones too. Growing up out at Sun-Kissed Beach — jumping off the pier and the tower, learning to ski out there. It was a really cool place for a real lake. A lot of great memories.

WHY ALOHA?

JOHN

What was your reasoning for buying a pool from us specifically?

BRAD W

Because of this man right here. And I mean that seriously — he did not pay me to say this. He’s a good friend. We cut up a lot, but when it comes to business, we get down to business. We buy from each other. We’ve had some disagreements along the way, but we always work through them. I like his business model. The way he sells, the way he operates — I model myself after it, honestly. I’ve been in sales my whole life and I just like the way he does things. I’ll come down and hang out just to watch him work sometimes.

JOHN

I’ll say the same right back. Anytime I need something with my vehicle, I call him and he comes and gets it — even if he’s in Martin, he’ll swing by on the way back. He comes to you. He’s a true customer servant, and that’s why he’s always on the billboards around Union City as the number one salesperson.

BUILDING THE POOL: A CHALLENGING SITE

JOHN

Brad’s property had a big slope that goes right down to a pond — almost a lake, really. We had to figure out where the sun would hit longest during the day, do significant grade work, dig into the bank, and build a retaining wall. It was a real project.

BRAD W

It was. And what made a big difference to me was that Brad didn’t just send his engineers and design people — though they did come — he came himself. He gave me his ideas, walked the property with me, and was right there through the whole process. That was huge for me.

JOHN

We ended up digging down to a shelf level even with the lower level behind his house, put the retaining wall in, and tucked the pool right beside the house since being so close to the lake meant we couldn’t go straight behind it. The way it turned out, you wouldn’t even know the pool was back there from the road. It’s nestled down in the ground — his own little private spot.

BRAD W

People driving by see water and think they’re looking at the lake. They can’t even see the pool. And I was real proud of the way it turned out. Of course, John will tell you I bought a $40,000 pool for $90,000 because I kept adding things — but I ended up getting it exactly the way I wanted it.

WHAT HE ADDED — AND WHY HE’S GLAD HE DID

JOHN

What advice would you give to someone thinking about a pool?

BRAD W

I’m an all-or-nothing type of guy. We went back and forth on things — do we want a slide for the grandkids? Fountains? We looked through the catalogs and talked through different options. We knew we wanted peace and tranquility at night, but we also knew the grandkids were going to turn it into chaos. So we thought, well, we can always add a slide later, add laminars later, whatever. But I went ahead and just did it — spent the money up front. And I’m so glad we did. We get out there at night and it’s just so peaceful.

JOHN

He ended up going with a three-foot LED-lit sheer descent waterfall. Tell them about that.

BRAD W

It comes out in just a steady stream, and the sound it makes when it hits the water — I can’t put it into words. I was trying to describe it to somebody the other day. It’s not like a trickling sound, not like rain hitting the pool. It’s something about the way that sheet of water slices down into the surface. I used to turn it off when people came over just to show them the difference, and they’d immediately say, “Why did you turn that off?” It’s that good.

BRAD W

We also got laminar deck jets — those are the ones that shoot a perfect tubular arc of water into the pool. The LED light actually bends with the water as it travels through the air. It’s just beautiful at night. And the grandkids love getting on floats and running through them. So we got both — the peace and tranquility for us, and what I’d call the “fun triloquy” for the kids.

JOHN

We also put in a slide, which meant we needed a bigger pump to run everything at once — the slide, the sheer descent, and the laminars. You ever run them all at the same time?

BRAD W

We try sometimes. If you run everything at a moderate level it’s awesome. Usually we run either the sheer descent or the deck jets — both have a peaceful sound to them, both are LED lit. Sometimes a beach ball gets stuck rolling in the sheer descent and just sits there all day. That’s always good for a laugh.

THE SERVICE EXPERIENCE

BRAD W

They’re really good with follow-up. Jay and another guy — I’m blanking on his name, one of the newer guys, good worker, great attitude — came and opened the pool last night. Very helpful, very professional. Walked us through what chemicals we needed and what to expect. It’s just a professional atmosphere all the way around, and everybody’s friendly.

FINAL THOUGHTS

BRAD W

It was a big project that we took on, and we are thoroughly pleased. If anybody that knows me has any questions, feel free to stop by the dealership or give me a call. I highly recommend Aloha and Brad — and he absolutely did not pay me to say that. We buy from each other, we’ve become better friends over time, and yeah — we’ve made each other mad a time or two along the way. But that’s just part of doing real business together.

JOHN

Thanks for coming on, Brad. Hope you have a great summer in that pool. And as always — dive safely.