Short email version
For customers who never open mail. Same message in a third of the words.
How to raise prices without losing customers
Give 30 days' notice
Thirty days is the norm and long enough that nobody feels ambushed. Send it right after a billing cycle, so the new rate starts on the next full month instead of partway through.
Raise everyone a little, every year
Small annual increases go over better than a big jump every few years. Customers learn to expect them, and your rates never fall far behind your costs. January or each customer's contract renewal are the most common times. In Skimmer's 2025 industry survey, most owners who raised rates did it by 10% or less (source).
Lead with what stays the same
The letter above spends more words on what the customer keeps than on the new number. That's deliberate. Don't apologize, don't over-explain, and don't offer a discount in the same letter. It invites negotiation.
Know your number first
Work out your real cost per pool, including drive time, before you pick the new rate. The pricing calculator shows what you need to charge to hit your margin. Raising rates also raises what your route is worth: routes sell on monthly revenue (see the route value calculator).
Expect a few to leave, and be fine with it
If you're priced right, the customers who leave over a modest increase are usually your least profitable ones. Their slots go to new customers at the new rate.