It’s been part of the national consciousness for years now and has had a huge impact on building the clientele base of many lawn care and landscaping companies. Still, recent legislation regarding telemarketing is leaving some contractors with the fear that soon they may not even be able to make calls to their own clients without having written contracts in place.
As Bob Andrews, president, The Greenskeeper, Carmel, Ind. said, “This is a volatile issue when it comes to the voting public, and I simply do not see widespread use of telemarketing, by our industry or any other, as a long-term tool for building business. Either federally, or state-by-state, telemarketing will be regulated out of the marketing mix.”
The topic was broached recently at the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA) town hall meeting held during the Green Industry Expo in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 14. As it stands, 26 states currently maintain do-not-call databases and enforce laws regarding telemarketing. Bill Hoopes, outgoing PLCAA president and director of training, development and regulatory affairs at Scott’s Lawn Service, Marysville, Ohio, encouraged those in attendance to understand that large companies outside the lawn care industry are busy on Capitol Hill pushing for exemptions to the laws. With hard work and persistence, companies in the green industry can make their mark as well.
In the meantime, understanding and abiding by telemarketing laws is the best way to steer clear of trouble with customers and lawmakers. The following information, compiled by PLCAA for the purpose of informing contractors about do-not-call lists that impact their businesses, includes Web links to individual states:
State Do-Not-Call Lists
Effective: July 1, 1999
877/727-8200
Effective: Nov. 4, 1996
Anchorage – 907/564-1133 (tjackson@atu.com)
South Central – 907/761-2635 (lpendergrass@mta-teleco.com)
Other – 907/835-2231 (pmurphy@cvtc.org)
Effective: Jan. 1, 2000
501/682-7383
501/682-8130 (fax)
Effective: Jan. 1, 2003
Effective: July 1, 2002
888/249-9097
Effective: Jan. 1, 2001
Effective: Oct. 1, 1987
850/410-3687
Effective: Jan. 1, 1999
877/426-6225
Effective: Jan. 1, 2002
208/334-2424
Effective: Jan. 1, 2002
Kansas
Not effective until regulations are outlined; working with the DMA.
Effective: July 15, 2002
502/696-5398
Effective: April 1, 2002
Effective: Aug. 1, 2001
207/626-8861
Massachusetts
Effective: Jan. 1, 2003
Regulations will be announced.
Minnesota
Effective: Jan. 1, 2003
Regulations will be announced.
Effective: July 1, 2001
573/751-3321
Effective: April 1, 2001
866/887-5478
Oklahoma
Effective: Jan. 1, 2003
Regulations will be announced.
Effective: Jan. 1, 2000
877/700-6622
Effective: Oct. 1, 2002
Effective: July 17, 2000
615/741-2904 ext.162.
Effective: July 1, 2002
866/896-6225
Effective: July 1, 2002
Effective: Nov. 1, 2002
Effective: July 1, 2001
*If you are required to register as a telemarketer, you are also required to use the state do-no-call list.
The author is Assistant Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at lspiers@lawnandlandscape.com.