CLIENT SUCCESS STORIES

The Geiberts

Parnell Pool & Spa
Fayetteville and Lumberton , NC
www.parnellpoolandspa.com

In the early 1980’s Dick and Kathy Geibert moved to Lumberton, NC, and purchased a house with a swimming pool. The pool developed some service problems. Dick called a local pool service company to repair it, but after several weeks no one ever showed. Eventually, Dick found someone to help fix the service problem. During this process, a well-established pool company, Parnell Pool and Spas, was for sale in Fayetteville. The company had been in business since 1955. Dick and Kathy purchased Parnell Pool in 1984. The Geiberts struggled like many new business owners, but after many tough years things began to turn around in their favor. They opened another store in their hometown of Lumberton. The Geiberts have since turned primary leadership over to their son, Doug, while maintaining management roles.

Almost twenty years ago, Kathy was reading the Robesonian and saw a write-up about an SBTDC business seminar. She attended and learned a lot about starting and managing a business. Years later, when she needed assistance with her stores, she contacted the SBTDC. Today, she works closely with business counselor Ron Duffer, who assists the company with managing the growth of their business.

“I was at a conference in another state, and mentioned the SBTDC. The gentleman knew of it and said he wished others would use such services,” says Kathy. “That says a lot about the reputation of the SBTDC.”

To plan for the transition of leadership and improvement of management/staff relationships, the Geiberts and their employees attended a two-day strategic planning retreat with Ron, Barry Phillips, and Johnnie Marshburn of the SBTDC.  There they received assistance with financial analysis, operations, marketing, and planning their human resources and information technology. “The retreat was helpful to employees because they were able to give input during the strategic planning session.” Since that retreat, they have met with both Ron and Barry and discussed the possibility of another retreat in 2007 that will offer personality profiles (TAIS) for every employee to help them improve relationships between management and employees. Kathy has also attended a DiSC workshop at Fayetteville State University. The workshop helps an organization build productive teams, develop effective managers, train a strong sales force, reduce interpersonal conflict, and improve customer service.  

The SBTDC has also connected the Geiberts with two MBA teams. The Fayetteville State University MBA team participated in the SBTDC’s Graduate Business Student Competition. The relationship between the Parnell Pool and Spa management and the FSU team was fantastic. The team’s financial analysis proved to be invaluable to the business. “Their help really turned us around. It was a turning point for the company,” says the Geiberts. “The team’s calculations for sales of pools were so close that they were only off by one pool!”

With Ron’s assistance, they have also made great improvements in their organization. An organizational chart was created that has drastically improved the chain of communication and command. They have also created job descriptions for all positions, which keep everyone clear on their roles and responsibilities. “Things are much more structured, but there is always room for a little change,” says Doug. The Geiberts now have human resources and financial departments, and 20 employees between the two stores.

Dick, Kathy and Doug plan to continue working with the SBTDC because they consider it an excellent resource for small businesses. “I was at a conference in another state, and mentioned the SBTDC. The gentleman knew of it and said he wished others would use such services,” says Kathy. “That says a lot about the reputation of the SBTDC.”