New England Pool & Spa

Two fairly different businesses share one address on Providence Highway. Walk into the store and you get the version customers write kindly about: in June 2024, a homeowner whose pool pump died the Friday before Father's Day weekend found the replacement part in stock, and an employee named Kevin spent a long stretch walking him through a swap he had never attempted himself. Hire the service crew, and the reviews turn. New England Pool & Spa Service, Inc. runs weekly pool cleaning plus spring openings and fall closings across Greater Boston, with a pool, spa, hot tub and sauna store at the same Norwood address. The company says it has been doing this since 1986. BBB, which categorizes it as a pool contractor selling, servicing and installing pools, puts the incorporation date at February 1980 and lists a branch in Newton; it is not BBB accredited and carries no BBB rating. Its Google average sits at 3.5 across 25 ratings, and the shape underneath that number matters more than the number. The complaints cluster on two things. The first is how customers say they were spoken to: a first-time pool owner wrote in July 2026 that the owner hung up on them after they said they wanted to discuss pricing with family; a June 2025 reviewer used the words rude and condescending; another that May called the staff unprofessional and unfriendly. The second is the service work itself. In June 2025 a saltwater pool owner said the company added so much salt that the equipment stopped producing chlorine, and that repeated calls got the answer that levels were fine until the manufacturer and a second pool store said otherwise. A July 2024 customer cancelled weekly cleanings, describing crews that did not do an adequate job, calls that went unreturned, and pricing they considered high. There is genuine praise too, and it is worth reading for what it is about. A July 2025 reviewer credited Scott and his staff with coming out on short notice and knowing the products in detail; a May 2026 customer called it the best place around for pool supplies. The pattern is that the counter and the parts inventory draw the warmest comments, while the recurring trouble lands on the phone and on the truck. One thing to settle before signing anything: the Massachusetts home improvement contractor registration on file for New England Pool & Spa Services, Inc., number 146703, is expired in the state registry. That matters most if your job involves installation work rather than routine cleaning. If you need a part today, or want someone to talk you through a repair you intend to do yourself, this is a well-stocked local counter with a long history behind it. If you are shopping a full season of weekly maintenance, get the scope, the chemical plan and the price in writing first, and ask how they handle it when a customer disputes a water reading.