Budget Pools

Four hundred and seven Google ratings, averaging 4.6, and an unusual share of them are about the same thing: the counter. Budget Pools is the Route 1 store in Peabody that North Shore pool owners drive to with a water sample and a broken part, and the reviews read like a running thank-you note to the people behind the desk — Rob, Mike, Chris, Derek, Leslie, named over and over across years. The store sells and services above-ground residential pools, spas and pool equipment, alongside chemicals, accessories and even Christmas decorations. A CBS round-up in 2016 called it a shop dedicated to pool parts, toys, lounges and games; a 2025 trade-magazine profile put it at more than 55 years in the business. What customers describe is diagnosis more than sales. One in June 2026 brought in a whole pump and was told it was probably a missing seal and some lube — it was. Another had a chlorine feeder fixed at the counter and was out in fifteen minutes. A third had a Super Pump motor repaired. The water-testing desk comes up constantly: a printed analysis, then someone walking through which chemical to add and when. The loyalty runs deep — reviewers this summer count 20, 25, 32 and 40 years as customers, and one recalls buying his first pool here in 1976, when the Shay family ran it. The complaints are few and mostly about the edges of the operation rather than the work. In May 2026 a caller wrote that nobody picks up the phone or the call gets hung up; another that a mail-order filter arrived wrong and, while Budget credited it, they would not cover return shipping. A June 2026 buyer was sold a pool listed as in stock that was not, and only got it delivered after reaching a different staff member. The most serious account, also June 2026, involves a three-year-old pool damaged over winter and an installer the store had recommended who left problems in the yard — the store came out, said the pool could be reset, and the installer redid it free of charge. Two things are worth knowing before you go. The installation crews can be recommended contractors rather than store staff, so ask directly who will be on your property and who warranties their work. And ownership changed hands: a 2023 trade article reports the store was purchased in 2021 by the owners of a nearby pool company, who have since bought a New Hampshire store as well — worth noting if you are relying on a promise made under prior management. The right call for water testing, parts, equipment repair and buying an above-ground pool or hot tub from people who will still answer questions in year twenty. Just pin down the installation arrangements in writing.