There are a lot of people whose lives were changed on 9/11, especially those who survived it, including Jason Werner. He graduated in the top of his class at Clemson University and was working as a financial advisor until that fateful day altered the trajectory of his life. He left the corporate world and briefly went into teaching, eventually ending up as a project manager for a pool company. This is where he learned how a business should not be run.

"I saw the way things should not be done—overpromising, lacking customer service and transparency," Jason says. It inspired him to break out on his own and in 2010 he founded EverClear Pools & Spas. "Every decision I make as the owner of this company is based on customer experience and what I have learned over the years in this industry. We're customer and family focused, so we work with them to get what they want with the budget they have."

EverClear started with just a handful of accounts and is now one of the larger pool builders in New Jersey, with several awards under its belt from the Northeast Spa & Pool Association.

The way the company has scaled since 2010 is nothing short of impressive. "When I started, I didn't know how big it would get, but this is just the beginning for us," he says. "We were scaling before the pandemic hit. We moved into our newly constructed office building and hired a number of employees for key positions. Now, our staff is four times the size of what it was pre-pandemic."

He has plans to open offices across multiple states and expand EverClear's presence in the market. He credits this to his talented employees. "We're continuously hiring and we're very selective with the people we bring into our ecosystem, making sure they mesh with our culture," he says. Drawing from his corporate background, Jason also offers employees a 401(k) plan, pays for life insurance for all employees and medical benefits are in the works. "Benefits like this are typically unheard of in this industry and it's brought a lot of highly qualified people to our company because they hear how we treat our team."

When it comes to pool construction, EverClear focuses on custom gunite and vinyl pools, built with only the highest quality materials. The company also has a dedicated service division and coordinates landscaping, hardscaping and fencing, should a client need those services to complete their backyard paradise.

"We don't cut corners on any aspect of any job. We have one of the strongest reputations in the industry," Jason says.

That reputation is built on customer service values, the most important of which is transparency, he states. "When we meet you for the estimate, we're going over the full cost and scope of the project, not just the pool. The pool is half the project, but there are a ton of details that other companies might just gloss over: engineering costs, dirt removal, permit fees, patio, coping, fencing and more. These are all things that a customer might not think of when shopping for a pool and going over it with them is usually an eye opener."

This philosophy helped craft EverClear's mission statement: "We Help Families Make Memories That Last A Lifetime Through Building Relationships And Continued Service."

"We're focused on delivering a high-quality pool experience for families, whether that's a basic pool or something extravagant, we make it happen. There are companies out there where the first question they ask is your budget because they only think about money. We're not like that. We focus on the client's goals and tailor the product to what they are looking for," says Jason.

Once a customer decides to work with EverClear, the team handles every detail, from securing engineered plans to obtaining permits and this continues through construction with the help of two project managers overseeing every job. Once the pool is completed, customers are seamlessly transitioned into EverClear's service division to ensure the pool is maintained properly and regularly. The company purchases all of the pool equipment it will need for the year up front and stores it in a warehouse, which has been a major benefit while the supply chain crisis lingers.

"Keeping these services under one roof streamlines communication. We do our best to return all calls and emails within 24 hours, and with the depth of our office and field staff, we're able to pivot faster than other companies," Jason says. "While some have been trying to complete more work with fewer employees since the pandemic, we're continuously adding people so the projects are completed more smoothly."

Although enjoying a backyard pool may be a seasonal pleasure, he says customers can expect their relationship with EverClear to last much longer. "We want to build client relationships that will last for the next 30 years, not a season or two."

EverClear Pools & Spas
144-146 Rossiter Ave.
Paterson, N.J.
(973) 998-6886
EverClearPoolsNJ.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 22, Issue 7 (April 2022). 
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