Peninsula Swim School and WeatherPort® share a lot in common. Both got their starts in 1968. Both believe in maintaining family atmospheres at work. Most importantly, both understand the importance of loyalty to customers and repeat business.
“I’m loyal because (WeatherPort) gives you a good product and good bang for the buck,” said John Aitken, Peninsula Swim School’s founder and owner. “They stand behind their product and they’ve been around for a long time. I wouldn’t consider or recommend anywhere else.”
That’s why Peninsula and WeatherPort have had a successful relationship for almost 30 years. Like Aitken, who has taught generations of San Francisco-area families to swim, WeatherPort has a proven history of repeat business.
Aitken’s swimming school has used WeatherPort Pool Enclosures since the late 1980s. In fact, he’s still using his original SlipFit™ galvanized steel frame. Aitken simply replaces the structure’s durable composite fabric membrane every decade or so.
In September 2015, Aitken said Peninsula was working with a WeatherPort building specialist to create a new 34’ x 55’ tensioned membrane pool enclosure. His new shelter solution will include a pre-hung metal door in addition to an ample number of versatile rollup doors.
“When the weather is not nice you can put any combination of the doors down,” Aitken said. “The water is always 92°F and we can be totally indoors and tropical when it’s cold and windy outside. It’s the best of all worlds.”
Eight years ago, Aitken added a custom, 10’ x 14’ corridor to connect his pool enclosure to the swim school’s building.
“Now, people can flow from our dressing rooms and showers (to the swimming area), totally indoors, all year round, and that’s been a nice addition,” Aitken said. “(WeatherPort) worked out a nice door mechanism for that (corridor) that’s worked out well. They designed a special horseshoe because the (corridor) comes out on an angle and then there’s a 45-degree angle over the last four or five feet to the building structure.”
When Aitken ran into an issue several years ago with his enclosure’s zipper system, he contacted WeatherPort and a designer came up with a solution that’s now found on every model. Aitken said he has not had the same problem since.
“The company is good. When you have a problem they work with you, they come up with something to help you and they do it right,” Aitken said.
That’s one reason why Aitken keeps using WeatherPort fabric buildings. A couple more reasons are the easy-to-install pool enclosure’s appearance and low construction costs.
“The structure presents itself in such a way that it’s attractive enough that people don’t look at it as a tent. It’s an actual structure,” Aitken said. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than people building $2 million or $3 million facilities.”
With independently tested and certified snow load and wind load standards, WeatherPort Pool Enclosures also meet local building code for safety and performance.
“Even the city building department says we’ve been an icon for decades,” Aitken said. “Everyone is aware of our structure in the entire extended community.”
Portable pool enclosures and permanent pool enclosures from WeatherPort also help reduce the amount of chemicals needed for safe swimming, reducing expenses.
“In an outdoor, chlorinated pool, in sunlight the chlorine dissipates very rapidly. That’s why people would use a stabilizer, which slows down the evaporation of the chlorine,” Aitken said. “Because we don’t have any natural sunlight directly hitting the pool, even when our sides are open, it really reduces the amount of chlorine that we would use.”
Because of his long-term, positive relationship with WeatherPort, Aitken said he proudly recommends the company’s pool enclosures to his colleagues in the swimming instruction industry.
“When you amortize out the use you get for the price you pay, it’s a great, great value,” Aitken said.