Lawn care may at first seem like a commodity that many companies offer. You may even initially presume that lawn care companies are pretty much the same other than a few small details.
But hire the wrong company, or use a few different ones over the years, and you’ll soon find out that that’s can be a costly mistake.
Whether it’s lackluster results, unreliable communication or major problems that get missed, it’s important to do enough research to figure out if you’re in good hands before you commit to a lawn care service.
3 Keys for a Great Choice
There are many factors to going into making the best choice for your lawn care needs, but they boil down to three main areas:
Company Approach
What is important to the lawn care company? It should be blatantly obvious in everything they do. Don’t be fooled by marketing slogans, special offers or a low price.
A great company will be positioned to not churn through their customers, give individualized service, retain and invest in their employees, and take extra measures to deliver results that are far above average.
That’s simply not the case with most companies you’ll find.
Happy Clients
Every company makes claims, but it’s important that you validate them. Search online for “Company Name reviews” and you’ll see quickly what people are saying.
Make sure the company you choose has a 4.5 star rating or higher and there are plenty of reviews. Take a look on their website or sales materials. Do they have testimonials from happy clients? What does your neighbor that uses their service think of the company?
Mutual Goals
Why do you really want to hire a lawn care company? It may seem like a simple question, but give it some consideration.
When you’re in an initial sales discussion, talking to your technician, or dealing with someone from the company, do you get the sense you’re both after the same thing? Have they told you how they are going to meet your expectations?
Important Lawn Care Facts
Improving soil health is key for a great lawn, but not an area most companies focus on. Instead, most of them only treat symptoms of the underlying problems.
Lawn care materials like weed controls, pre-emergent herbicides and insect controls vary in quality and their price to a company. Most companies choose primarily to maximize profits and keep their prices lower than their competition.
The lawn care industry has a notoriously high turnover rate which means most technicians have very little experience and knowledge to do their job well.
Large, national brands and even some smaller, local companies lose 30 percent or more of their customers each year.
A lot of lawn care companies heavily incentivize their technicians for the quantity of work they can get done each day. The more lawns treated, the more money they make.
It’s easy to get duped into a lawn care program that looks like it will meet your expectations, only to find out you were wrong. The power of a great choice lies in the questions you ask lawn care companies and their representatives.
Now not everyone will know the answers to each of these questions. It’s not completely reasonable to expect them to have answers rolling off the tip of their tongue. But if they don’t know a few of these answers, they should admit it freely and then find answers for you.
Their goal should be the same as yours—to help you make a smart choice.
Here are some great questions to ask of your lawn care company:
- How long have you been in business?
- How long have you, or my technician been with your company? What about the rest of the team as a whole?
- Beyond the trainings required for state licensure continuing education credits, what does your company do to train your team on a regular basis?
- How are your technicians paid? Do they have hefty production bonuses based on how much they get done in a week?
- How does your company improve the health of my lawn’s soil? What do you do beyond the normal Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus found in fertilizers?
- How do you address a more difficult weed like wild violets, nutsedge or ground ivy?
- Where can I see several lawns you care for, near my location?
- What are some significant changes you’ve made over the past few years to improve your lawn care program’s results?
- What percentage of your clients do you retain each year?
Trust your gut. If a company can’t answer most of these questions with answers that make sense, then keep looking for one that can. Even the newest of their staff should be able to answer at least half of these questions with some degree of competence or know where to get the answers you’re seeking.
With the right care for your lawn, you’ll gain valuable peace of mind. If you’re interested in having your lawn inspected and its health assured, contact us for a free quote or give us a call at 833-JTE-TREE.
