This month's issue of Safety First, a publication issued by Aquaguardian, a property and casualty insurer serving the swimming pool industry from service and repair to construction, profiled Pool Service America's policies and practices with regard to background checks on new hires.

The article highlights a "you can never tell" example cited by the CEO of an extremely clean cut applicant who was well groomed, spoke well, and was exceedingly polite. This potential employee's background, however, was scary, including multiple convictions for violent crimes. "This was someone our customers would defintely not want in their backyard."

A company spokesman, commenting on the article, remarked, "We are keenly aware that within the swimming pool service and repair industry our hiring practices stand out as the vast majority of our competitors do not perform formal background checks. If people were to view the criminal backgrounds of some of the people working in their backyard, they would be stunned. The average pool owner is generally unaware of the types of backgrounds these people frequently have."

Pool Service America is a South Florida based company intent on leading the professionalization of the swimming pool service and repair industry by driving a culture of excellence, service, and honesty through strong leadership utilizing a well designed set of systems, policies, and procedures. The company, one of the largest of its kind, offers weekly or more often maintenance services (professional water chemistry testing, water chemistry maintenance, and cleaning), repair services, and equipment installations for both residential and commercial customers within its service areas.

More information can be found on the company's website, www.poolserviceamerica.com.