Completely agree.
GCP got the contract May 3, 2011. Mike Caruso said the whole buildin process would take max 6 weeks, probably 4. They got city permit after long delay caused by themselves, but only for pool construction. They failed to apply for plumbing permit incl. gas for heater and for electrical permit. Gas heater was red-tagged by CenterPoint Energy because of faulty installation.They subsequently got the plumbing/gas permit and got the heater plumbing fixed, but have not even applied for electrical. We were finally able to use the pool at the end of July, 3 moths after contract date. I then sent Mike Caruso a list of complaints and he came back with this reply:
"I appreciate the pictures. we will schedule for these things to be addressed with you at your residence. I have been out of town attending a service for a family member. I have not been able to communicate with the office for 10 days. You made comments that you are sending "text" messages. Our phones do not receive text messages.
That part of our service was canceled some time ago. Please correspond with our office at 281-232-8825. This has always been the best way to reach our staff. Someone will be able to receive your calls between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Saturday. We will be contacting you today to arrange a schedule."
And nothing happened. Ron, the supervisor tried to make something happen but Mike wouldn't let it.

Our yard was a mud hole after completion. We had to get a drainage company to dig down pipes to get the water out. They did not put it back in order as they promised. The plaster in the pool is cracked on tanning ledge and up the wall and also around every waterspout around the pool. They have promised again and again to re-plaster but nothing happens. Same with yard. We have now hired landscapers to do our grass from scratch and will find someone to re-plaster later. Then we'll take GCP to small claims court to get back our expenditure. We'll probably have a good witness in Ron, the supervisor who has left because of frustration with Mike Caruso not coming through on promises to clients.

Also completely agreed. We have had a horrible experience with Gulf Coast Pool Company and owner Mike Caruso. Gulf Coast Pool Company now has an "F" rating with the BBB, and we will now be adding to the complaints. Feel free to look them up there.

We have had several of the same problems as the other two posters above (long drawn out build, multiple broken promises of completion, terrible workmanship, nonexistent warranty, won't stand behind his word or product, misrepresentation of the warranty, subcontractors walking off the job for nonpayment, etc). In our opinion, Gulf Coast Pool Company is about the worst choice we've ever made and the most unprofessional and unethical company we've ever dealt with. In addition to taking forever to complete, we had multiple contractors either walk off the job due to nonpayment by Mike and Gulf Coast Pools, or ask us if we could pay them directly! Our pool, less than a year old, has multiple problems with workmanship, quality, and is in need of warranty work. We have been trying to get Gulf Coast Pool Company to come out and fix their shoddy work for several months to no avail.
Gulf Coast Pool Company has informed us that they do not warrant any of the work done by their subcontractors, and that it is our responsibility to track down the contractors they chose to use to try and get them to fix the issues. So let it be known, that despite Mike Caruso saying that Gulf Coast Pools provides a "bumper-to-bumper" warranty on all the work they are contracted to do, you will get no warranty work from them. I will post pictures of what you get with Gulf Coast Pool Company soon...

We highly recommend that anyone considering Gulf Coast Pool Company in Richmond TX to go elsewhere and avoid the problems that all of us have had with them. In our opinion, they are a poorly run pathetic excuse for a pool builder.

Pearland / Sprinter 123, please contact me before you start legal proceedings, as I would like to participate if possible. Please contact me at zvicarious-21@yahoo.com.

Yeah not impressive

http://www.bbb.org/houston/business-reviews/swimming-pool-contractors-dealers-design/gulf-coast-pool-company-in-richmond-tx-90013930#reasonrating

I have recently been researching pool builders in the Richmond area and I did go to the BBB website posted here and Gulf Coast Pool Co has an A rating as well the other pool companies I researched. Gulf Coast has 7 Complaints , Platinum Pools has 21 , Anthony Sylvan has 22, Richards has 7, Blue Haven has 12. So I have checked out references from Richards and Gulf Coast Pools and both seem to have many pleased customers. I did like John who I met at Gulf Coast Pools and I was impressed with the comments made by the references about his ability to supervise the job. Was John involved in any of the projects listed in the forum? He has stated to me that he has not been involved with any negative jobs referenced to Gulf Coast pools on the web and I would like to verify it if at all possible. The information given to me was that there was a different supervisor prior to him who was terminated and John took his position. I have seen both companies work and think they both build a nice pool, but feel Gulf Coast will provide us more attention and their pricing is lower.We are looking to move forward very quickly , so Any info is very appreciated.