Steve Ast of Shasta Pools and Spas, Phoenix, Arizona (interview by David Brake).

www.shastapool.com
Topics include:

• Astonishing Customers
• Backyard Living Spaces
• Time-saving Products

 - -  Please see below for a text version of this audio file. - - 

David Brake:        

When you have as part of your company’s mission statement to astonish your customer, you know you’re dealing with a company that has an interesting perspective on making people happy. We’re talking today with Steve Ast, the vice president of sales and marketing with Shasta Pools and Spas. Steve, welcome to the Innovation Lab.

Steve Ast:            

Well it’s great to be here.

David Brake:        
Tell me about astonishing customers. What do you do to astonish your customers?

Steve Ast:            
Well I think with a lot of different divisions it really comes down to looking at what that customer expects and then just doing that little tad bit more in every area. I think customers nowadays are looking for great customer service, that they have the ability to tell friends, neighbors, coworkers a lot faster than in years past. So we’re just trying to get the jump up and really take care of them in a way they don’t expect.

David Brake:        
Steve, the thing about your customers, their tastes and their needs and the different pool trends that you’ve seen over the last few years, how have those customer tastes changed?

Steve Ast:            
Well I think, you know, with the current economic climate and whatnot they’ve really moved towards enjoying their home and backyard a lot more than I think they’ve in the past. There’s a lot of pride in ownership there, but they’re looking to put designs in the backyard and areas where they can entertain family and friends, and of course spend more time back there and less time doing other things. So lots of stuff go into that. They’re looking for equipment and options that really accentuate it a little bit more than I think maybe in years past.

David Brake:        
Do you think the people are looking at their pools and the area around their pool as an extension of living space rather than just something that the kids jump in and get wet?

Steve Ast:            
Oh, by all means. It’s really changed; especially from 20 years ago. Twenty years ago it was mainly just about the pool. Now it’s about rooms in the backyard. You know, you’ll have areas for sitting around a fire pit, areas for lounging in the pool itself, areas of course for cooking and relaxing. And so it’s really conformed to the home itself where you have different rooms; it also has different backyard rooms.

David Brake:        
Steve, let’s look at what might be a typical customer; somebody who likes to entertain, they’d like to do something with their pool and the pool area and they’re looking for the biggest bang for their buck. What advice do you give that customer?

Steve Ast:            
Well everybody – it seems like our customers, their biggest bang for their buck is really, in their eyes, some people have different wants and dreams and when you’re talking about their time and time spent in and around the pool, they really don’t want, I think, they really don’t want to spend a whole lot of time on it. They’re very busy. And I think the biggest opportunity is to put type of equipment on their pool that they don’t have to spend a lot of time on; things that allow them to enjoy their pool versus endure their pool.

David Brake:        
Well it’s interesting, you’ve mentioned time a few times here and I realize that people are very busy, so what kind of products are you recommending, are you using, are you selling a lot of that actually save time for people?

Steve Ast:            
Oh yes. You know the Sta-Rite, we use the Sta-Rite brand of Mod Media filter and what – it’s a filter that you don’t have to backwash. In the dust environment here in Arizona it does an incredibly good job cleaning the water and filtering the water. But we also provide them when they purchase the pool a first year cleaning free of charge from Shasta, so they really don’t have to open up that filter for maybe even a couple of years. And so it’s really a different, you know, evolution as far as how much time they have to spend working on their pool or tinkering or, you know, repairing or anything of that nature.

David Brake:        
Steve I know Pentair does a variable speed pump and I’ve never quite understood exactly how that works, but how would that Pentair variable speed pump save me money? How does that work?

Steve Ast:            
Well it’s probably the most innovative product. We waited a year until it came out; until it got some use, but after that it’s probably the most innovative product that I’ve seen in the last five years, maybe in the last 20 years. What the pump does, I know many of our clients in Arizona they’re on a utility rate that allows them to clean their entire pool, you know, three or four hours at night. And then of course circulate the water all day long. So it’s really cutting the utility bills and many of our customers will say that they’re saving anywhere from 40 to 70%. Now in Arizona the utility companies just came up with a $200 rebate on the pump itself, so it’s almost a nonissue for customers. We’re selling them hand over fist.

David Brake:        
Steve, as you think about the pool being an extension of your living space, what kinds of things are people looking for from you and your company to help them with as they consider enhancing this outdoor living space? What are some typical questions that you get?

Steve Ast:            
Some typical questions that we get is, you know, of course “What have you done in the past? Do you have any examples of what you’ve done?” but I think customers are asking questions about types of water features. They’re asking for advice on design planning. You know, they’re sponges for information, and so what we try to do is we just try to give them direction in how to see the pool from the house, from the backyard, how they’re going to entertain in and around the swimming pool. But I think we’re just trying to identify that real dominant buying motive that each customer has as to how they want to use that backyard pool.

David Brake:        
We’ve been visiting with Steve Ast, Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Shasta Pools and Spas. Steve, final question for you as think about outdoor living space and some of those kitchens that I’ve seen around pools before. I’m wondering do you do any poolside cooking and do you happen to have a favorite recipe that you might allow us to post in the Innovation Lab and share with some of our listeners?

Steve Ast:            
You bet. We – you know, I kind of enjoy just putting a long rack of ribs on the grill itself; kind of hand rub it with some spices that we buy from a local store here in Phoenix. And I’d be more than happy to send the recipe over there for you.

David Brake:        
Well I know that everyone would appreciate it. Well Steve, I want to thank you for your time. The fact that you’re willing to astonish your customers; I find that very intriguing. We appreciate you sharing some of your thoughts and your perspectives with us today inside the Innovation Lab.