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McCarthy Pools Corporation has been at 221 Turnpike Road in Southborough a very long time — the BBB file records the business as started in 1959 and incorporated under new ownership in 1968, with John T. Donahue as president, and the company's own site claims 57 years of experience servicing in-ground vinyl liner pools. It builds fiberglass and vinyl-liner pools, renovates and services them year round, and runs a retail store and water-testing counter on site. The construction side draws the strongest praise. A 2023 customer who put in an in-ground pool said the crew showed up every day and kept the project on schedule; a 2024 customer called a fiberglass installation seamless with the timeline as promised, and said the company moved the pool filters late in the project without argument. A Nextdoor neighbour in Lancaster wrote in March 2026 that McCarthy replaced their liner about six years ago and has opened and closed the pool every year since, and has been "the most reliable and consistent" of the companies they have tried. The service and scheduling side is where the complaints cluster, and they are specific. A June 2026 reviewer says a liner installed for over $7,000 has left the pool losing more than two inches of water a week, that the only sign of a promised leak test was a pencil mark on the skimmer, and that the company stopped responding, prompting a BBB filing. A 2023 reviewer describes a pool opening booked three weeks ahead where the techs never arrived, three calls and two emails went unanswered, and a tech who reached the driveway drove off. A 2025 reviewer reports a missed 8am appointment they had taken time off work for. Another describes a fiberglass quote $100,000 above two competitors and then a refusal to quote a safety cover because the pool was not installed by McCarthy. One five-star customer adds a caution worth repeating: they were happy with McCarthy itself but advise against its preferred partners, citing an electrician's quote more than double other bids and dissatisfaction with the hardscaping partner's project management. So: a long-established builder whose installations are well spoken of, and whose scheduling, communication and after-sale response are the risk. Get service commitments and the leak-test protocol in writing, and price the preferred subcontractors independently.
“McCarthy Pools out of Southboro replaced my liner about 6 years ago. They did a great job and I’ve been using them to open and close it every year since. I’ve tried a couple of other businesses, but McCarthy has been the most reliable and consistent.”
This company does not even deserve one star. ZERO should be an option for McCarthy Pools. Do yourself a favor and use anyone else. Like many others have said, they will blame you. They installed a new liner in my pool for over $7,000. I am a thirty year pool owner. The water level continues to drop, even after excessive rain. The level will drop over two inches in a week. My neighbors pools are not losing water. They claimed to have come out and tested, but the only evidence of that is a pencil mark on the skimmer opening. They stopped responding so I had to file with the BBB. My next step is to have an outside leak detection company find the leak. Please save yourself the aggravation and use another company. See attached pictures. Their manager, Tom insists there is no leak. The liner install looks like the ripped the liner instead of cutting it. Nice quality McCarthy Pools.
Would not recommend using them, bought a home that recommended using this company, called to setup an appointment, he missed our appointment time and never showed up, when I called in his response was “had to stop somewhere else will be there later” even though we had an appointment for 8am that I took time off of work for, very unprofessional, as a company you shouldn’t be setting up appointment times if you’re just going to disregard them and peoples time. If I could leave 0 stars I would especially since I’ve waited 5 days for this appointment
Best customer service!!!! So happy with the personal approach from the owners and the service department. RICHIE was amazing and I highly recommend this company!!!!!!
McCarthy pools has been a pleasure to work with. They installed our fiberglass pool and the process was seamless. Timeline was as promised. This pool was part of a large backyard project and when the project was near completion, we decided to move the pool filters. McCarthy’s was very responsive, quick and agreeable with getting the pool filters moved. I highly recommend them!
Friendly staff and helpful. They installed our pool a couple years ago and the process went great. No issues with pool and everything is working well. We use them for all services, highly recommend.
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No changes recorded yet — last scanned Aug 16, 2026.
One-day installs4.2
Neglected pool revivals3.9