Feeling the Squeeze

Everyone is talking about it, it’s on every tv channel, it’s on every social feed. While we might be on the other side of the planet, the ripple effect of what’s going on in the Middle East is being felt here, particularly at the bowser. Now I’m not making light of war, and the plight of those at the centre of it, and I am certainly not going to get into a political debate over it, but I am going to address how it is affecting the pool and spa industry. The pain at the bowser - the increased fuel costs and in some cases fuel shortages. And unfortunately its only just started.

If you run a pool and spa business that offers onsite servicing, you are starting to feel it. Your vehicles are on the road every day, your team still has to get from job to job, and every extra kilometre is costing more than it did a week ago. When you are already carrying the weight of wages, stock, freight, customer expectations and the normal day-to-day demands of running a business, this is now one more pressure you have to manage.

We cannot control fuel prices. We cannot control what is happening in the world around us. We cannot control whether some service stations run low or temporarily run out (it’s starting to feel like COVID but with people hording fuel instead of toilet paper). But we can control how we respond, and that can make a difference.

For businesses like ours, this is not something we can just ignore and hope it settles down. Fuel is a direct operating cost. When it rises sharply, it flows straight into the cost of servicing, squeezing our margin. It affects every van on the road, every trip between jobs, every call-out, every return visit and every extra run for parts or supplies. If we are not paying attention, it can quietly eat away at our margin without us even realising how much it is costing.

But, you’re thinking, what can we do about it? Right now, the best thing we can do is to stay calm, be honest about the pressure, and get proactive. We may not be able to bring the price down, but there are still practical ways to reduce the impact and protect your business.

One option worth considering is to put a ‘fuel levy’ on services, rather than increasing your standard service fee, it’s a more transparent way to handle it. The customer can clearly see what it relates to, and if conditions improve, it can be reduced or removed without having to rework your entire pricing structure. If prices keep climbing, it can also be adjusted more easily.

You can be more deliberate about where you buy fuel. When prices are moving around quickly, using an app like PetrolSpy can help you find the cheaper options nearby rather than simply filling up wherever happens to be closest. That might not sound like a big deal on one tank, but when you have multiple vehicles on the road week after week, those savings add up.

Look closely at your service routing and logistics. Are jobs being grouped in the most efficient way, or are your vehicles zig-zagging across town because that is just how the schedule fell together? Tightening up service runs, grouping jobs by area, and being more deliberate about how the week is mapped out will not solve the fuel issue, but it will help you burn less of it. And right now, that matters.

Repeat visits are another area worth tightening. A second trip for a missing part, unclear job notes, restricted access, or information that could have been gathered beforehand now costs even more. The more you can do to make each visit count, the better. Clearer notes, better communication before the job, photos when needed, and keeping common parts and consumables in the van all help reduce wasted trips and wasted fuel.

It may also be time to look honestly at your service coverage areas and minimum charges. Some jobs can end up taking a lot of travel for very little return, and when fuel rises sharply, that becomes harder to ignore. This is not about becoming unreasonable, it's about making sure the work you are doing still makes sense for the business.

Make sure you communicate these pressures with your customers. They understand that costs are rising, they’re seeing it themselves in their own lives. A calm, clear explanation will usually land far better than trying to making changes without warning or explanation. Customers do not expect you to carry every external cost increase without adjustment. What they do appreciate is transparency.

But we need to be realistic, this won’t stop at at the bowser for us. Rising oil costs and disrupted freight routes will very likely flow through to stock availability, supplier pricing and freight charges as well. So, while it feels like a fuel problem today, it's likely to become a much broader cost and supply problem over the coming months. We do not know exactly what next summer will bring, but I think it would be wise to assume it will come with higher prices, tighter supply on some items, and longer lead times than we would like.

With winter only around the corner, it gives pool and spa businesses a valuable window to get on the front foot, with price increases looming. It is the time to talk to customers about ageing equipment, to quote replacement work before urgency kicks in, to secure stock earlier where possible. If higher fuel and freight costs continue to push product and transport prices up, then helping customers act earlier may prove to be one of the smartest things a business can do.

So yes, this current fuel situation is a real concern, especially for industries like ours where on onsite servicing makes up a large portion of a business. But panicking is not going to achieve anything, and you can’t close your eyes and pretend it isn't happening. The opportunity right now is to be proactive, to tighten what needs tightening, to communicate clearly, and to use winter wisely.

We cannot control the situation itself, but we can control our actions and reactions. And in times like this, that is often what makes the biggest difference.