AFT&C news🗞️ - Page 10 of 18 - Aquatic Facility Training and Consultants

Businesses That are Considered an Essential Service

Post author:Rudy
Post published:April 8, 2020
Post category:Uncategorized

✍? Is My Business on the Essential Service list? Nothing is causing more confusion during the coronavirus pandemic than the words "Essential Service." The reason it is perplexing is that…

Essential Services COVID-19

Post author:Contributor
Post published:April 5, 2020
Post category:COVID-19

Are Pool Companies an Essential Service in Your Area? CISA Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce: Ensuring Community and National Resilience in COVID-19 Response Version 1.0, Page 9. Public…

Hand Sanitizer Recipe – Coronavirus Surface

Post author:Contributor
Post published:March 29, 2020
Post category:COVID-19

Everyone is sold out of hand sanitizer. No worries, as long as we have water, we can make our own. What if our supply is contaminated or the stores are…

COVID-19 Pool Water Transmission & Pool Service Lockdown?

Post author:Rudy
Post published:March 22, 2020
Post category:COVID-19

A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China, in 2019. The…

How and When to Install Wellpoints

Post author:Contributor
Post published:March 14, 2020
Post category:Builders Drain & Fill

Swimming Pools with High Water Tables? When you think of building pools, you think of dirt. When you think of building pools in the South, you think of clay soil.…

How Much DE Should I Add? ⚖

Post author:Rudy
Post published:March 8, 2020
Post category:Apartment Pool Maintenance CPO Certification Class Equipment Hotel Pool Maintenance

Diatomaceous Earth Hey Guys. Hoping your March is off to a good start. I wanted to talk about this for a while, and going into spring seems to be the…

Why The CMAHC Will Make You Question Everything

Post author:Rudy
Post published:February 16, 2020
Post category:Uncategorized Pool News

Hey, Pool Talkers! Quite a few things are going on that we are pretty excited about. There are also some other topics I think are super important. So, this week…

Pool Pro Found Liable

Post author:Contributor
Post published:February 9, 2020
Post category:Pool News

⚖ A Court Ordered Settlement Pool Pro Found Liable Welcome back for the conclusion of our version of Law and Order: The Swimming Pool Industry. Bay-Not Watching Not only do…

How To Compete With The Internet

Post author:Rudy
Post published:January 26, 2020
Post category:Marketing

Maybe we shouldn't... Maybe those Mother Fathers should compete with us Somewhere along the way, when these e-commerce powerhouses first came about, they managed to convince us that we would…

Pool Guy Saves Lives with Sewing Machine

Post author:Contributor
Post published:January 20, 2020
Post category:Pool News Swimming Pool Safety

? Stitching for Swimming By Jules Johnson Pool Guy Saves Lives with Sewing Machine ? Every day we get up and check our phones, let the dog out, grab…

Talking Pools Podcast

If you’ve ever stared at a test kit like it personally insulted your family… welcome home.

Talking Pools Podcast is the pool industry’s “pull up a chair” show—part shop talk, part field manual, part therapy session—built for people who actually live on pool decks: commercial operators, service techs, builders, facility managers, and anyone responsible for water that can’t afford to go sideways. The network was created to level up the pool industry with real-world conversations on water chemistry, filtration, troubleshooting, construction, safety, and the business side of keeping pools open and budgets intact.

Here’s the hook: it’s not theory-first. It’s experience-first—a roster of seasoned pros (with 250+ years of combined “been there, fixed that” wisdom) turning complicated problems into practical moves you can use the same day. And it’s not one voice, one vibe, one corner of the industry: it’s a network of shows designed to reflect how diverse this work really is—different regions, different specialties, different personalities.

Also worth saying out loud: women aren’t “special guests” here—they’re on the mic as hosts, from the beginning, with an intentionally balanced roster. That matters, because the best ideas in this industry don’t come from one lane—they come from the whole road.

If you want a podcast that can make you laugh and make you better at what you do—without pretending the job is easier than it is—Talking Pools is the one you queue up before the first stop, and keep on when the day starts getting weird.

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On this episode of the Talking Pools Podcast, Lee Salisbury, Shane from Auckland, and Nick from Brisbane dive headfirst into one of the biggest challenges facing pool professionals everywhere: time management.

From subscription fatigue to overloaded schedules, the crew discusses how pool service companies can streamline operations, eliminate wasted effort, and create smarter workflows without adding more stress—or more monthly software fees.

Nick shares how he has transformed Buffer Zone into a centralized operational hub for his business, using it for everything from technician scheduling and supplier management to equipment manuals, staff notes, training resources, and client communication. The conversation explores how keeping everything inside one ecosystem reduces missed jobs, forgotten tasks, duplicated subscriptions, and operational chaos.

The episode also explores creative “workarounds” within software systems—showing listeners how to use scheduling tools for personal appointments, admin blocks, vehicle servicing reminders, supplier pickups, and inventory management. Shane discusses his previous use of the Timely calendar system and how similar functionality can be recreated directly inside Buffer Zone to simplify operations and reduce reliance on external apps.

Lee takes the conversation further into productivity systems, sharing how tools like Google Workspace, Google Calendar, Google Tasks, Google Forms, Google Drive, and automation integrations can dramatically improve efficiency for pool service companies. The discussion highlights real-world examples of live technician reporting, automated spreadsheets, winter repair prospecting, quote generation, inventory forecasting, and field-to-office communication systems that save hours every week.

The team also discusses password management, shared staff access, cloud-based documentation, technician accountability, and how centralizing information can protect businesses when employees leave or systems fail.

Most importantly, this episode focuses on the philosophy of continuous improvement—making small operational changes that create massive long-term gains. Whether you’re a solo operator or managing multiple technicians, the crew emphasizes that investing time into better systems today can save enormous amounts of time, stress, and money tomorrow.

Support the show

Thank you so much for listening! You can find us on social media:

Email us: talkingpools@gmail.com