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The team at Suncrest Gardens, located in Peninsula, Ohio, has learned that success doesn’t come without putting yourself out there. The company started in 1976 as a landscape maintenance and snow removal company. Now, it prides itself in being a “broad based horticultural company,” having added landscape design/build/install services and a garden center to the mix.
The company recently hosted a meeting of the Ohio Landscape Association. Lawn & Landscape took a peek behind the curtain to share a few things the company did right to get where it is today:
• It’s not afraid to take a little risk. Michele Cimprich, the store designer for the garden center, says she always makes sure she has more than enough of each product. They may invest in a lot of pottery, but if a customer comes in and wants 15 pots, they have the selection the customer is looking for. They want to be ready for that. “We have this selection,” she says. “That was a big risk for us.”
• It focuses on a culture of organization. Ric Haury, Suncrest’s founder and president, says one of his priorities is to develop a good company culture. That means making sure everyone on staff knows their role and knows what is expected of them. “My role in the company is administrative and what I do best is I get out of everybody's way and let them do their jobs,” he says.
• It has a constant desire for quality. When it comes to the garden center, Cimprich says she demands a certain level of quality in all of their products, and strives to keep that quality so their customers will always be satisfied. “A lot of people will say we're not the cheapest but we're the best,” she says. “It has to be the best quality that I can get.”
• It requires great customer service. Suncrest employees don’t just provide good customer service by performing their duties and completing jobs. The company also tries to build relationships with the customers, so they leave a positive, long-lasting impression. They want to make sure the clients know they care and are there for them. “It builds the relationship, and that's what Suncrest is about,” Haury says.
• It cares about the staff as well. Happy employees are the employees that will come back every year, willing to work. This saves time on having to train new staff, and it provides customers with a familiar, friendly face they come to know. And with 105 employees spread across all its divisions, that’s no small feat. Cimprich says she always remembers that employees have lives outside of work, and it’s important to be compassionate about employees both inside and out of the job.