Meet Guy Wood
Founder, Westside Watershapers
Guy Wood is a pool-building master. He has learned the business from the very bottom of the pool up to the highest of ‘high design’ from his more than 30 years experience in swimming pool construction and design.
Guy
Wood (Photo by Ralph Lauer) |
Today he is widely sought after for building the best and most outstanding of pools. He is Fort Worth’s pool builder to the stars – yet he remains very down-to-earth. Talking to Guy is great. He speaks with quiet confidence. He knows his craft. He can design to create wonder. And, he can build to satisfaction.
His philosophy is surprisingly simple.
“Provide the finest materials and install them with qualified craftsmen overseen with professional supervision and the result will be a long-lasting quality product. Attention to detail is a must in this process.”
With Guy Wood's pools, you are getting quality – through-and-through… top quality advice, design, construction and long-running performance. Further, he’ll be there to take care of you and keep your enjoyment flowing.
Here’s the ‘back story.’
Guy’s career started in the summer of 1976 as a pool cleaner. He learned the basics of pool operations and minor equipment repair. Within two years, he was exposed to pool construction and renovation. This quickly expanded his knowledge, and his curiosity and zeal led him to work two jobs (pool cleaning and restauranteering) to earn enough to start his own company.
The late 70s were heady days... getting married and starting his own pool business. With help from his father, he purchased 20 pool cleaning accounts with which he had established strong relationships.
In the first year, Guy grew his business to 45 accounts and began doing pool renovations. It would be three years before he built his first pool. The job was a success, and the referrals started. He literally built the second pool over the fence from the first, and then another two doors down. The curious point is that these first customers are now repeat customers. Guy has built two more pools for his very first customer.
By the mid-80s, Guy had moved the business out of the apartment and into a small office. He had full-time help cleaning pools, three trucks… and soon enough he purchased land and built his own office and warehouse in a light industrial area.
He was doing about 10 new pools and a dozen renovations a year, while building the cleaning and repair service to more than 100 customers. The first full-time office help he hired in 1986 is still keeping the books today!
By the late 1980s, Guy began investing in membership in the national association for pool builders, the National Spa and Pool Institute, now known as the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP). He quickly rose to the top leadership roles at the local chapter level. Attending seminars and classes further expanded his knowledge and experience.
|
The 1990s were a blur as Guy built the business significantly. Westside Watershapes and Westside Pool Service now occupy most of a 10,000 sq. ft. building. And Guy has purchased the adjacent lot for future expansion. The company now has 18 employees, hundreds of service accounts, and more than a dozen vehicles.
Consistent with his belief in quality, and dedicated to knowledge and craftsmanship, Guy joined the Carecraft Group of pool builders, a national organization dedicated to quality building at every level – from buying only the highest quality components, products, and materials to studying and implementing best practices and methods throughout his company.
Westside Watershapes builds primarily higher-end pools that are more complex, require more expertise and acute attention to detail. Most new jobs continue to come as referrals from very pleased clients as well as the region’s leading architects, landscapers and home builders.
Westside Watershapes dedicates three of its own crews to new pool construction and renovation instead of using subcontractors for everything. While a bit unusual for a small pool company, Guy feels this makes a notable difference at each job. His own people do all the plumbing, equipment installations, tile & stone work as well as all the preparations and clean-ups each day. Job sites are never left messy during construction, and customers are extremely pleased despite disruptions.
“I am very serious about quality and detail,” says Guy. “My simple rule is ‘if it’s not right, then we fix it.’ This dedication to quality has been instilled in my people, and they now will point out problems to me instead of the other way around. I still personally supervise the projects with the help of a full-time assistant.”
Guy continues to maintain membership with the local Better Business Bureau, the APSP and the Carecraft Group. Westside Watershapes has won multiple awards in every international design competition it has entered. And Guy plans to enter more projects in the near future. “We proudly provide references,” says Guy. “We have a top rating with Dun and Bradstreet. We have a strong reputation with our vendors due to our excellent pay history. And, most important, we have an outstanding reputation with our customers who we are pleased and proud to serve year, after year."
“My simple rule is ‘if it’s not right, then we fix it.’ "
Guy Wood
Westside Watershapes is a member of:
Carecraft Group
APSP
Better Business Bureau
of Ft. Worth