No two days are alike in the pool and spa industry. In the Day in the Life series, we dive headfirst into the workdays of the people who keep the pools running smoothly.

For Drew Christy, a good day starts with a pen, a piece of paper, and a willingness to solve problems.

Drew has spent more than 40 years in the pool and spa industry. Today, he works with customers at Rocky Mountain Pool Spa & Sauna, where his focus is simple: help people get safe, good-looking water without making water care harder than it needs to be.

That sounds straightforward. It rarely is.

Customers who don’t listen or those who think they just know it all take up a lot of his time in a typical week, Drew says.

Customer education is a big part of the job. So is patience.

When a customer has a water-care problem, Drew works through the basics. Is chlorine low? Add more. Is pH low? Raise it. The solution is often simple. Getting everyone to understand that can be the harder part.

The day rarely goes as planned

Drew knows better than to expect a perfect schedule.

Someone will arrive with an issue they believe is more important than whatever he is working on. Often, it is something the customer could handle themselves. However, that does not mean Drew can simply ignore it.

“I deal mostly with customer water care issues,” he says. “But pool and spa service issues can also take a lot of time, even though they are not directly my responsibility.”

One of the biggest daily decisions is maintaining inventory. Having the right products available matters. Running short can create problems for customers and the rest of the team.

Drew keeps track of those details the old-fashioned way. “Pen and paper,” he says.

Nothing surprises him anymore

After four decades in the business, Drew has heard just about every question a customer can ask.

He says nothing really surprises him anymore.

For all the interruptions, questions, and unexpected requests, there is one part of the work that still gives Drew the most satisfaction—helping a customer solve a problem.

That might mean restoring water chemistry to balance. It might mean figuring out why a pool or spa is not performing as expected. Whatever the issue, the reward comes when the customer has a clear answer and a solution.

That is the point of the job, he says. Make water care easier and make it safer. Let people enjoy their pool or spa without worrying about it.

Water care has come a long way

Drew’s perspective is shaped by time. After several decades in the industry, he sometimes thinks about what comes next.

Retirement is somewhere on the horizon. He is not sure what he would do with himself.

What has changed most is not his approach to the work. It is the work itself. Water care is easier than it used to be. Testing has improved. New treatment options have simplified maintenance. New products have given customers easier ways to keep their water clean and balanced.

For him, those changes are meaningful. The goal has always been to make pool and spa ownership easier. Better tools and better products make that possible.

Write everything down

If Drew could go back to his first week in the industry, he would give himself one piece of advice. Write everything down.

“Write everything down in a workbook/journal,” he says. “Then check back regularly. And I mean EVERYTHING.”

It is advice that fits Drew’s approach to the job today. Keep track of the details, follow up, and pay attention. Solve the problem in front of you. He has learned that pool and spa water care may be easier than it once was. But the people and problems are still unpredictable.

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