GORHAM, Maine — With the summer weather finally here, who wouldn't want to jump in the pool?
That is exactly why business is doing so well at Sebago Lake Pools.
"Well it's basically because the customers are telling me the kids are locked in the house and they gotta get them outside," owner Steve Richard said.
Richard has been installing pools in southern Maine for more than 30 years.
He told NEWS CENTER Maine he and other companies across New England are lucky to see the increase in demand right now, but it has been hard to keep up with all the changes.
"I'm starting my days at 6 in the morning and ending my day at 9 o'clock at night," Richard said.
While there is plenty of work, it has been a challenge. The pool showroom is essentially shutdown with a make-shift tarp entryway for customer pick-ups.
Richard said he is also having a hard time keeping enough workers on the job.
"My employees have childcare issues, daycare issues," he said. "We're doing the best we can running with a limited crew."
The top concern is safety for both his crew and his clients.
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Additional PPE, sanitizer and ensuring crews can travel to worksites individually have increased his operating costs as much as 15-percent, according to Richard.
"I've always been a little chicken little I've been a very very conservative person," he said. "Even today 30 years into this, I always worry about next week."
For now, he is taking it day by day, just fortunate to have business flowing in to keep his company afloat.
"I've seen many many recessions, I'll call it the depression of '08-'09. We definitely succeeded in that event we will succeed in this event too," Richard said.
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