April 1, 2026: It's not a cost, it's a strategic investment
Greetings!
It's the Wednesday before a long weekend for most Canadians, so my inbox has been unusually quiet this week except for a few ongoing projects.
I've had some really bad customer service experiences recently. I won't detail them because we've all had terrible customer service at some point since the Pandemic. Any time something goes south, I try to pinpoint WHY. Insufficient staff training? Poor leadership? Missing standard operating procedures (SOPs)? Why exactly did this happen?
I wanted to share a classic business principle that serves as a counterpoint to bad customer service. The too long, didn't read (TL;DR) of this article is that the Ritz-Carlton Hotel group allows (encourages) staff to spend up to $2,000 per guest as a strategic investment to facilitate something they want or need.
$2,000 is a lot of money to most aquatic facilities, but if we scale the amount down to something appropriate like $20 or $50: what friction or paint point could you reduce or eliminate on the job if you let your team spend that money without prior authorization (but yes, they do have to provide receipts).
Maybe it would be a bunch of new color-coded scoops & jugs for chemical dosing. Maybe it would be new squeeze bottles or disposable coffee stir sticks for water testing. Maybe it would be a case of ramen for the staff lunch room or an everyone birthday cake once per month.
A lot of managers I've worked with over the years in consulting come from the perspective that team members are going to spend extravagantly if we don't keep a very close eye on every single line item. That has not been my personal experience. What I've seen is more often team members who truly stretch the small amount of money they've been given by DIYing supplies from the grocery/dollar/thrift store and taking the limited autonomy they've been given very seriously.
So my question for you this week is this: What problems do you have in day-to-day operations that could be easily resolved conclusively with just $50? You probably can't think of any, but ask your team, and they probably have several they muddle through each & every day. What are you waiting for? If not now, then when?
Here's everything else I've been reading in the aquatic industry this week -
Ice Water Drowning Survival after 147-minute Submersion: A Case
If you don't have an Instagram account, you can view this carousel by copying & pasting the link above (right click) into a third-party anonymous viewer here. This one reminds of me of the 90 minutes of CPR case from 2019.
DOJ Sues SeaWorld’s Parent Company for Disability Discrimination
This in no way surprises me given our December 3, 2025 newsletter. I'll chat more about this in the audio recording of this newsletter. Past episodes are here.
Girl, 5, Seriously Injured in Freak Accident Involving Hotel Pool Drain on Family's Last Day of Vacation
More reports about this incident are finally coming out.
Mackay Council launches 'Lowdown on Code Brown' campaign following nine faecal incidents costing ratepayers $27,000
During my last municipal pool manager role, I got pushback from the swim club for trying to charge them $1,500 for two consecutive diarrhea contaminations. There is a huge, real cost to pool water contaminations (lost revenue from canceled rentals, swim lesson credits on account, staff wages to clean, cleaning supplies, fill water, etc.) and I do personally believe - where it can be shown that professional advice was disregarded - the cost of these closures should be passed on to guilty parties.
From the local pool to the wedding altar
Vandals cause more than $100K damage at HOFV water park construction site
Click here to read without a paywall.
Waterville USA offering free admission to firefighters who battled Gulf State Park blaze
This is such a great idea and very effective marketing.
Bay Area day care co-owner found guilty in 2023 drowning deaths of 2 toddlers
Prosecutors allege "the defendant had many opportunities to fix this extreme hazard and failed to do that."
Man touched, exposed himself to teens in Celebrity cruise sauna, deputies say
54-Year-Old Woman Dies at Texas Spa, Police Investigating Death as Drowning
It is my personal speculation that this will be a cold plunge incident given that we can see photos of sauna (ergo, cold plunge) on the facility's social media accounts.
Family of preschooler who drowned in a Miami-Dade Airbnb pool speaks out after tragedy
The allegation is the home used for commercial bookings did not have pool safety alarms or barriers as required by Florida laws.
She taught backyard swim lessons. One complaint shut them down.
Click here to read without the paywall. There are over 1,366 comments on the article if you dare to dive into the comments section.
The case of the tragedy in the Pärnu water park has reached the state court: who is responsible for safety
I really like the executive summary format providing the main details of the dispute.
25-Year-Old Man Dies After Jumping off Waterfall and Becoming ‘Submerged’ at Popular Tourist Hotspot
The force of water can absolutely be hard/heavy enough to prevent an adult or child from effectively surfacing. In speaking with staff from The Haggard Law firm about the presentation I did for the Southwest Pool & Spa Show, they indicated a number of legal claims where waterfalls or spillover ledges have caused fatalities due to the force of the water.
Family settles with bar in 2021 drowning death of 20-year-old University of Alabama student
3-year-old boy drowns in neighbor’s koi pond in Prairie City
All water, including decorative ponds, fountains, water features, reflecting pools, etc. is a drowning hazard if not properly secured.
Woman Born Without Limbs Learned to Swim After Dad Threw Her in Pool and She 'Sank Straight to the Bottom' (Exclusive)
I actually appreciated seeing this feature because I've seen her videos on social media and they're terrifying if you don't have any context.
Regarding Online Discourse on Fredericton Aquatic Infrastructure
Lee resort opens $26M water park, more expansion tied up in litigation
Renters at popular resort hoping for compensation after water park found closed
Before you laugh & think these customers are "extra," I paid day admission on ResortPass last year at a facility where the entire pool deck was being removed with a jackhammer. This was in no way a mistake or a new project; the facility's condition was blatantly misrepresented on the booking website when there were literally hundreds of other properties I could have chosen in Orlando, Florida. So I feel their pain, and do think facilities should have some level of accountability to rendering the services and amenities they claim to offer. (No, we never got a credit or refund.)
One of world’s oldest water rides turning 100
Xcaret theme park banned from using Maya culture for marketing, for now
Royal Caribbean unveils Hero of the Seas, with record number of eateries, pools + largest ice arena, waterpark, swim-up bar at sea
I'm booked for a sailing in February 2028, so stay tuned!
University City District Unveils $60M Project Proposal to Build Bi-level Water Park on the Schuylkill
I will never understand the desire to build so many of these facilities around rivers. See, for example, +Pool in New York.
We've been updating videos from the back catalogue of our YouTube channel with closed captions (CC) for increased accessibility.
Apple Watch water safety patent: game changer or overreach?
Resharing this amazing idea from Dominique M. who created a Guess Who boardgame-inspired lifeguard scanning activity for the University of Calgary Lifeguard Games in 2019. It could also be done with staff baby photos.
NEW! Anonymous Advice Column
People are always asking for help or my opinion, but sometimes they're too embarrassed to ask in the first place. I've started an advice column. Please feel welcome to submit any & all questions HERE without any judgement.
Thanks for joining us this week!
Katie Crysdale
Lakeview Aquatic Consultants Ltd.
PS. The audio version of last week's newsletter is here.